Think back to the last time you did a blog. (Hopefully, it isn’t that long ago, like a week or few weeks!) Do you recall how long it took you to write the blog? I am talking about just writing the blog, not the graphic creation, editing or the fluffy stuff, I’m talking just about how long it took to think and type up the blog content. For me, most of the time, that is the part that takes so longggggggg because as I type, I think of other things to say or change my mind as I type or well, I type faster than my brain (which is wierd, I know). Maybe it’s just that my fingers can’t keep up so they just start plunking away and well, there goes another misspelled word, BACKSPACE!!! Then, there is the graphics to create, then resize them to fit, then the Click to Tweets, the the headers and the meta tags and such. Quite honestly I would like to see the whole process take a little less time.
How it hit me
I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and a friend of mine said that she was writing papers for school. One of her friends commented how she uses talk to text. I had used this for notes, reminders and places/things to check out but hadn’t really thought about using it for blog writing or even paper writing five years ago when I was in school. So one day I decided I would give it a try and see how it worked.
My main concern with talk to text – ERRORS
Quite honestly I expected to be cleaning up my blog post a lot more. I was expecting that the phone wouldn’t pick up the words I had intended on using. I also figured that, like with typing my blog out, that I would end up rewriting the darn thing, because I am kind of anal, but I didn’t. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t have a ton of errors, I didn’t rewrite it and that it really does dwindle down a large chunk of my time in the writing process. It takes me about 5 minutes to talk and text a blog whereas it would take me easily a half an hour or more to type the whole thing. What about you?
Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some errors, but it’s likely you! The errors I make are usually because I 
start a sentence and then stop and start again because I changed my mind. If you are a horrible speller, this might be good for you because usually the correct word (their v there) is used because you are using it in a sentence. It even knows comma, period or new paragraph, but sometimes it doesn’t actually do it but types it, however that is easily fixed when you revise the blog. End of the day, it is still saving a heck of a lot more time.
I was even worried that I would end up with shorter blogs, but I think the opposite is true. Sometimes when I’m doing my talk-to-text blog I think that it’s going to end up short but next thing I know I’m at a 700 plus word blog.
Talk to text versus typing
Consider this, if you were to explain the process of how to do something in person (verbally of course) versus typing the process, which do you think would take longer? Of course the verbal process is going to be much quicker, plus you can get out a lot more information in that small about of time.
You ready to save time on blogging?
So the question is this…. are you ready to save time on your blog writing and have time to blog more (or do other things) or do you want to waste more time by typing up the blog? Just give it a go and try it and let me know what you think. If you’ve ever tried it before let me know what you thought or any issues you may have come across because maybe I have as well. Next paragraph <<<Just kidding!
Also, if you have any questions about blogging, optimizing your blogs or how to make them look pretty, please contact me as I would be happy to help.
~Kristen
I know this really works for some folks! The thing is, it depends upon how one’s brain processes things. I know people who become paralyzed by the blank page, but can talk for two hours straight without notes. Talk to text definitely works for them! Some of us (me included) find the creative part of the brain just flows with words on the page.
Such a great point Susan and you are so right… it might not work for everyone.
Thanks for this Kristen. I have never used this feature before. I think it could be really helpful sometimes – particularly if I have an idea I want to remember. I actually quite enjoy typing, but I’m going to give this a try for the next post I write.
You don’t mind typing Tami? lol I don’t mind either… but my brain and fingers don’t always work together and I THINK I spend more time on Backspace than I should. lol
Kristen,
Smart tips to shorten the length of the blogging process without losing good content. Thanks for the important useful tips . Appreciate all your Good work.
Lori English, MSW
Thanks Lori!
Love this time hacking tip! My fingers can’t keep up with my brain, so this might work for me. However, I’m a creature of habit. If I can modify my routine, then this might save me time AND carpal tunnel syndrome! 😉
We are similar in this one Meghan, give it a go.. seriously? People are habitual, period.. but try it!
Now this is a great tip, i just had to tweet it out. Blogging and graphics are one thing that doesn’t take me too long and LOVE doing. But i do know many people struggle.
I hear you on your typing faster than your brain, i even miss out words because of it!
I don’t mind doing it and I kind of like being creative too.. but sometimes I make it take too long. Thanks Sonya
I’ve used this before for other things – bu not my blog – duh! I will give it a try and really like the idea. Thanks Kristen!
You aren’t alone Teresa, my thoughts also! lol
I love this – I’m always using this feature to text myself ideas that come to me when I’m out and about but never thought about using it for this. Although funny, last night on the way to take my son to scouts I realized I forgot my notebook (I was planning on writing while waiting for him) and did not even realize that I could have done this. I cannot wait to try this! Thank you!
Yup… that was the same thing for me… like really… why didn’t I think of this before. I’m glad you are excited too Mindy.. you will love me forever now.
I used voice to text for composing Instagram posts, but never thought of doing it for blog posts. Great productivity hack!
Thanks… I was the same way.. I use for reminders and etc.. never blogs but omg.. so glad I am now.
This is a really interesting topic. I’ve used Dragon speech recognition software in the past for this very reason. I gave up because I spent too much time correcting grammatical errors. If I could find something that might work better for me I’d definitely give it another go. The only caveat I’d get people to think about when they write a blog like this is that during normal conversation we use a lot of extraneous words. You need to be extra diligent in removing these useless filler words if you want your posts to read well.
Never heard of Dragon speech but if it is a software, it must be a big deal. My app is just a simple note taker and use the microphone on your phone. Grammar errors wasn’t an issue Clive. Great point about the extra words – I am guessing you mean the Uhs…. I think that person needs to work on their public speaking!
You’ve mentioned this before. I haven’t done it. I think it’s because I’ve written professionally my entire life and this is how I brainstorm and compose. But it’s good to know that there aren’t too many issues with it. Good deal!
Yep… no issues Jackie. So, because you’ve always done it a way, doesn’t mean that is the best way. Wink!
what a great idea. I cannot wait to try it. I finally got out of the dark ages a year ago and started talking my texts and emails.. but never even gave a thought to blogging.
Thanks for this extremely helpful tip.
Yea, you aren’t alone Alene, I had used it for other things, didn’t think about it for blogging… God send!
Excellent Idea! I do have a dumb question . . Once I have composed my information in Talk To Text, what is the most efficient way to plop the information in my blog? I will definitely use this tip.
I just email it to myself and copy and paste on my blog then clean it up. Great question Robin.
Hey Kristen
Whoa Girl! Your post has worked like the first cup of coffee in the morning. What an idea! We writers usually tend to take the long way around everything but like you said this “Talk to Text” or similar tools can actually make us more productive. However, there is a small glitch with speaking and writing process. You cannot use it if you are working full time as a writer in an office full of people. When I am working at home, this tool is going to save me, I know but we need to come up with something which will save time in offices too.
Hey there Mark, thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Love your enthusiasm! lol I wouldn’t count out the talk to text unless you are in a place like a concert. I have used it in the car or at home with the radio going and I don’t even turn it down. You are putting the phone mic to your mouth… so it hears you loud and clear… give it a go and let me know!
You know, I have never used this for my blog posts, Kristen……will have to give it a try 🙂 Thanks for sharing this awesome tip for cutting your blog writing in half 🙂
Yea, I was like you Joan.. never thought about it… so hopefully you can trim your blogging with it!
I love this Kristen. I am compulsively creative and use my phone to blog, write articles, and even chapters in my books all the time. My favorite is when I walk along the Spokane River and my mind starts blogging. I talk into my phone and email it to myself. It is so easy to make a few corrections on my computer and post to my site. I love technology! Another way to use your phone is when you have a dream and wake up. You can just transcribe the dream into your phone and mail it to yourself. You’ll be surprised when you awake in the morning and find the dream waiting for you.
Oh Candess, that is awesome… glad you work it and great tip on the middle of the night stuff.
Hi Kristen, this is an awesome post and most valuable for me. I have always wanted to find to short cut to writing these long blogs. This may be the answer. I am aware of speech writing software but have never had the urge to try any of them because of the possibilities of grammatical and other errors.
Thanks again for sharing
Vinton
Awesome, thanks Vinton for stopping by. We ALL want to find ways to trim down what we do and I started this recently, HAD to share! I was concerned about the errors as well and wasting too much time on correcting but I am just using my phone recorder on a notes app… easy peasy!
I haven’t tried it. I type 110 wpm, so I’m not sure that it would save me a lot of time. In my case, it might take more time for me to edit out the “ums” and the errors. My goodness, I get so many errors with talk to text. I have a friend named Gordon who gets changed to “hot dog” every single time. Oh well. But I can certainly see where this would be super helpful for those who type more slowly. I took piano lessons for most of my life, so speedy fingers come naturally to me.
I don’t type that fast Jennifer, maybe like half that but my problem is that my fingers and brain doesn’t always work… TOGETHER.. so I find I hit backspace more… and that’s urgh. You’d be surprised on the ums, I just pause and not say anything.
Although a lot of people really do like the idea of dictating their words into a device, personally the creative process flows much more smoothly when you actually put pen to paper. It is why so many early childhood educators are concerned about the future of today’s kids. Writing, is a very different process than speaking and accesses a different part of our brain.
I personally love writing and having new ideas flow to me as I write. Now, the editing part, that is another story. I love writing it and letting the words flow onto the page, but for me, the editing seems to be where I use the most time. Happy you found this works so well for you and is a helpful tool in creating new content too, Kristen!
Good points Bev and that would be natural for writers such as you and Susan… but for us who type more, my hands hurt writing too much. I do hand write notes and such… but this is definitely better suited for me, for sure.
This is a great reminder idea, Kristen. I’ve thought about doing this in the past but never followed through. I have a tendency to write then stop and wait for my brain to pour forth the next flow of thoughts. However, I can also see the advantage of getting things down as quickly as possible when I’m in the writing groove. I think my laptop has voice recording and I’ll have to check it out. Anything, I guess to keep the time it takes to write my blog from becoming a labor of love.
I be your laptop does also.. and maybe talk/write and leave it and come back to it Joyce.
Hmm, another thing on my long list of things to do. I am not a big phone user so to figure it out seems intimidating. I am sure it isn’t or I am sure there is a way to do it on my computer, but just have to figure it out. I think it would be a lot faster than typing. I love to talk. 🙂
I love to talk too Karen and you don’t need any elaborate devices or apps… just find a note app and then use the voice memo recorder to take it all down.
Kristen, I’ve experimented with this and it works well. I don’t know why I don’t do it all the time -lol. Another thing I’ve been doing frequently is recording a video about a topic and having it transcribed. Then, I turn it into a blog and attach the video so people have both. I think we all need as many time savers as possible!
Now, if I can get the perfect graphics to appear, we’d be in great shape!
I know, I am with you Tandy and I had the same thought when I first started doing it but NOW I DO use it all the time… and I love it.. omg! Love the idea about a video and the blog… win win.
I have previously used Speech to Text and was surprised that it did not render lots of error to correct. There are situations when it would be useful to create blog posts too.
Yea, I was surprised too Rachel, it worked out great
Had not thought of this and I was not aware that function exists on the phone, unless it’s only iphone or similar. Dragon speech is a software I used sometimes years ago for translation, but it needs a lot of fine-tuning and learning the software to recognize your voice. So, in the end, it was just easier to write. Will check it out though. 🙂
I just used the mic on the phone in the texting option Katarina.. no special tools or software, you’ll just want a note app
Smart tips to shorten the length of the blogging process without losing good content. Thanks for the important useful tips . Appreciate all your great work.
Thanks Dhaval… appreciate it! I thought it was super helpful too