A month ago, I reviewed companies like Rev.com, TranscribeMe, Scribie, and today I have the pleasure of introducing CastingWords.
CastingWords is a US-based transcription company that has both paid transcriptionist and reviewer positions.
Working online as a professional transcriptionist has never been simpler than it is now. Gone are the days when you struggled to find general transcription jobs or clients to work for.
So, let’s head straight to the CastingWords review!
How to Apply at CastingWords
Casting Words is a transcription company that hires transcribers all over the world. For a freelancer the application process is quick and simple. You just go to their workshop page Casting Words and click on the sign up button to register as a transcriber.
Note: There are two ways you can sign up, either through your Facebook profile or using their website.
Once you have decided which way to sign up, enter your details as directed including the email address you’ll be using. Then the CastingWords online system will send a verification link to the email address you filled in the application form. Go to your email, verify and login back to the site at Casting Words and sign in with the details you filled in earlier.
After successfully registering to the site, you will be granted access to an account with work. They don’t give any exams to new registering workers, but work is always graded, and below a certain grade there is no pay. Therefore, workers are required to follow the CastingWords’ style guide to get good pay, that is, the higher the grade the higher the pay.
Related: The Ultimate Guide on How to Become a Transcriber Online
How Much Do They Pay?
CastingWords pays its transcription workers from $0.15 to $1, depending on the urgency and priority of the job. This amount varies in every transcription work based on the grading of the transcription, since work is graded on a range of 5 to 9, 9 being the highest grade. There is also editing jobs for newbies which pays from around $0.02 to $0.25 depending on the length and priority of work.
If your work is graded below 5, your work is rejected and you won’t be paid. If it is graded a 5, it is a poor grade and you only get the basic pay for the job. If you are graded above this number, that is from 6 to 9, your basic pay for that job will be multiplied by 1.5 to 3.5 respectively and added to your basic pay as bonus. This means if you get good grades, you get good money.
Related: How to Build a $1.2 Million Transcription Business
What is Their Mode of Payment?
CastingWords pays its workers through PayPal. They pay every Friday of the week at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. You just click the ‘REQUEST TRANSFER’ button, and your total earnings for that week will be deposited to the PayPal email address you have given
Work Completion Process at CastingWords
Once you have logged into your CastingWords account, click on the “available jobs” menu, and you will be directed to a page with several types of jobs. Casting Words has several types of jobs, which are transcription, editing, grading and others. On that top section of the jobs there is a combo box that has these types of jobs, and you’re expected to select one of the above or just all of them.
It’s transcription, so if you select transcription, transcription jobs will be loaded and displayed on that page. Now you can select the jobs you want to do by clicking on them, but before you select on jobs, select between “available jobs” and “all jobs” links just on the top right side of the page. If you click on “available jobs” the page will only display jobs that you are qualified for, and if you click on “all jobs” you get both higher ranked and lower ranked jobs.
After you select one of the jobs in the page, you’ll be taken to another page with the details, instructions and tools for that job. To your top left there will be an orange link “work on this”, and the on that top part you will be given the turnaround time for the job.
In order to be considered working on a job, you will be required to click on the “work on this” link and the turnaround time will start ticking. Read the special guidelines and instructions for that job on the tab named “Instructions” before transcribing.
Casting Words doesn’t have good tools for transcribing online, so most workers are forced to work offline. This means that a worker is required to download the audio file they’re working on in order to transcribe with their own tools. Therefore, CastingWords allows workers to download these audio files, normally a small black link in a yellow frame on the right section of the page written “Get Audio”.
To download the audio to your computer, right-click on the link above and select “Save link as” and it will be immediately downloaded to your PC. Then you can load it to the transcribing software of your choice like Express Scribe, and start working. This means that you will also be writing your transcription in a word document.
After you complete your work, assuming you did it in a word document, copy-paste it in a text box at the bottom of that job page on the CastingWords website. To see the text box titled “Transcribe”, scroll both scroll bars down and paste your transcription there. There are spelling mistake tools that will help you to see any errors in your work.
To submit the work, click on the tab named “view and submit”. View your transcription the final time and proof read any errors. Comment if any and hit the submit button and wait for approval.
This was a guest post by Bernard Kariuki. Bernard has been a transcriber at CastingWords for over a year now and is making a full-time income by transcribing. He understands the company and how it operates.
Looking to get started on your transcription journey? Hurry up and get signed up with CastingWords. Time waits for no man.
Related: Transcription Tips and Techniques from Professional Transcribers
Need more companies hiring? Feel free to check out this list of transcription jobs for beginners.
Thinking of venturing into the world of transcription but need training? Get this Free 7-Lesson Mini Course offered by Janet Shaugnessy over at Transcribe Anywhere. She will teach you what transcription entails, whether it’s a good fit for you, how much to earn and why transcription is an in-demand skill right now.
