The Steno Life
Issue #23

June?!?! How is that possible? It was just Christmas! We need Superman to do some fancy flying and turn back time (that was in the first Superman movie, for all you youngsters out there!). Anywho, welcome to the biggest edition of The Steno Life...ever! So many things to talk about, goodies to give away, deals to mention. As always, please don't email me about spelling or punctuation errors.  I appreciate it, but I'm writing this for content, not an English class.

Past issues of The Steno Life - Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4 Issue 5 Issue 6 Issue 7 Issue 8 Issue 9 Issue 10 Issue 11 Issue 12 Issue 13 Issue 14 Issue 15 Issue 16 Issue 17 Issue 18 Issue 19 Issue 20 Issue 21 Issue 22

Articles in this issue -

1 - "Selling Your Steno Skills - Your Website"
2 - "Go to the NCRA Convention in Chicago - FREE!"
3 - "SimplySteno Closing Enrollment July 31st!"
4 - "iSteno Brief Machine App For Your iPhone!"
5 - "Does a 2-Year Steno Program Exist? - My Search"
6 - "More FREE Dictations at SimplySteno.com!"
7 - "SpeedBuilders.com June Specials!"

Selling Your Steno Skills - Your Website (back to top)

You've graduated school - yeah! You've passed your state exams - yeah! Umm...now what? The bulk of students coming out of school will end up as deposition reporters. Some will work for a single agency, while others will freelance. Some will even start their own agencies. Whatever the case, a little self promotion never hurts - for reporters, scopists, proofers -whatever you do. And as much as I love teaching steno, website creation and promotion is what I love to do most. You could say it's my addiction. Go ahead...say it. I own about 20 websites - SimplySteno, Apology Center, Hooked In 60 Seconds, Willie Wanna Bee, StenoWatchdog, SpeedBuilders and so many more! And I've had some great success with several of them. Apology Center was named one of the top websites of 2009 by PC Magazine. StenoLife gets over 1,000 visitors a day. Traffic to StenoWatchdog has grown every month since I launched it 3 years ago.

But those things don't just happen. It's not luck. It's part of a blueprint that I now follow with most websites I make. While I'm making some complex websites (Hooked In 60 Seconds took 4 years to make!), your website will be pretty simple. Your website will focus on 3 things - appearance, content, ease of use.

Appearance - You know the saying - "You only get one chance to make a first impression." This really hits home when it comes to websites. The visitor can't always tell if there IS a reason to be there. But they can tell pretty quick if there ISN'T a reason to be there. You want to have a color scheme that is pleasing to the eye. No flashing lights or neon text. You already have the visitor's attention - they're there! No reason to blind them with strobe lights. (my exception to that is StenoFun - I wanted to make it crazy) You want balance. That doesn't mean that everything has to be centered on the pages, but you don't want things out of proportion. You want some images. We are visual by nature, so having some steno-related images will be more pleasing to the eye. Only use 2 font types at most . This is something many websites have moved away from, but studies have shown that the viewer can focus better if the font type is consistent. Spread out text. You don't want some huge block of text to read. Visitors see that and go, "Arg!" That said, I do break that rule myself on SimplySteno. I felt there was a lot of info I wanted to put out there, so I'd take my chances having a few people say, "Arg!" Try to keep your content high on the page. You don't want your visitor to have to scroll down forever to get to the good stuff. The exception would be a blog-type website, where scrolling is normal.

You do NOT have to spend a lot of money to have a good-looking website. Here are a few website examples -

Stelding Reporters - https://www.steldingreporters.com Jilleen was a student in the first school that I worked! Her website has great colors - easy on the eyes - the text is split up - good images. I don't know how much she spent, but it was obviously made by someone who knew what they were doing.

Northern California Court Reporters - https://www.norcalreporters.com/ This website's a little busier. I like the balance, but there are a lot of colors going on, and lots of different fonts. But the thing I find distracting - a few of the images used are fuzzy! The original images were probably small, and they blew them up to make them fit, losing clarity.

LNS Court Reporting - https://www.lnscourtreporting.com/ A simple website - a customized template. And that's fine! It's crisp, balanced and easy to read.

If I were an independent reporter, I'd use the last style as my guide. Nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. And as I said, it was part of a template, meaning you buy the basic layout and just change the text and images to suit your needs. This can be done on a website like Free Website Templates or Template Monster. The template will run you anywhere from FREE to $80. Then, if you really can't personalize it on your own, another $50 to get someone to do it for you. One last suggestion about appearance - don't get a Flash-only website. Flash is animation, and it can get testy at times for the visitor, depending on their computer settings. So while a little Flash is fine, don't build your whole website in Flash. An example of Flash is the top row of Stelding Reporters - the images that fade in and out. Looks cool - that's Flash!

Content - Once the visitor gets beyond the appearance, it's all about the substance. There are 2 kinds of content - front end and back end. The front-end content is what the visitor will see. The back-end content is what search engines like Google will see - how they will decide where to rank your website. This is called SEO - Search Engine Optimization. So let's break it down -

Front-end content should be to the point. Be professional. You are going to be hired to do a professional job, so your text content should come across as professional. You want to share the services you provide, contact info, info about yourself. Everything beyond that is extra. If this is going to be your first website, keep things simple. If you have an agency with other reporters logging in and scheduling, there's a little more to it. But if it's just about self promotion...KISS.

Back-end content gets you found. Everyone who has a website wants to be #1 on Google. But they can't. Type in "court reporting online" in Google and check out #1. That's me! But it didn't just happen. It took months of prepping and calculating and...luck. The first thing you want to do is figure out what people are going to type into Google to find you. And I use Google as the example, since more than 60% of users use Google, as compared to Yahoo in second place with about 17%. So Google is how you measure. If you are a new court reporter in Boston, I'd say your "keywords" would be "court reporter" and "Boston." See how that works! :) So you want to make sure you submit to all the search engines using those words. You also want your meta-tags/keywords to be relevant. You want your page name to contain those words. And you want your website description to contain those words. "Mary Sunshine is the premiere court reporter in the Boston area." Again, these are all things that are done on the back end by the person who works on the website. The description will appear on the front end, but it's created on the back end for Google to find.

Front/Back End - Then there's the hybrid. Google places a website higher in the rankings based on several factors - popularity, content, trends, functionality. There's probably more to the equation, but those are the basics. So while your meta-tags will tell Google the words you want to target on the back end, you still need the front-end content to target those words as well. So let's say "steno" is the word you want to target. The first sentence on your home page should contain that word at least once. If you have a bunch of text, the word "steno" should appear a few times. It's a delicate balance that only Google knows for sure. But one thing is certain - you MUST mention your keywords in your text.

There is more to SEO than these things - like linking, articles, adwords - but begin with the basics above and you're off to a good start!

Ease of Use - This is the easiest part. All three of the websites I mentioned above are pretty easy to navigate. The buttons and links are clean...and work. Nothing worse than links that don't work. Second would be getting lost in a website maze where you can't find the info you want.

Like I said, I'm addicted to websites. So in my mind, everyone should have 1...or 12. But seriously, a website is a great opportunity to represent yourself. Just make sure you do it in the best possible way. Make your first impression count!

Go to the NCRA Convention in Chicago - FREE ! (back to top)

In case you haven't heard, the NCRA Annual Convention is in August - in Chicago (humid much?)! Here are the details - https://ncraonline.org/Meetings/Annual/default.htm This will be the first time I've ever attended an NCRA convention, so I'm really excited to mingle and meet a bunch of people. And ...I'm going to pay for one lucky student to attend! I will pay for the Student Package. That covers Friday, August 6 and Saturday, August 7 - Includes student seminars, social events, 3-day exposition pass, and all Fri/Sat convention seminars. That's a $125 value. How can you qualify - what are the rules?

1 - You must be able to attend :) You need to be able to be in Chicago on the required dates. I am paying for the convention registration - not your flight there or your stay there.

2 - If you are the winner, you must first pay for your Student Package, then I will reimburse you.

3 - If you are the winner, you must do a written summary of your experience at the convention that I can share with students. It doesn't have to be a novel - just something that describes what you learned and such. We're trying to help others.

4 - To enter, you must review ANY item or service on www.StenoWatchdog.com. It's free. Just sign up (if you're not already a member) and leave a review for something you've used. Then email me at Marc@StenoLife.com - tell me the item you reviewed - you're entered in a drawing to win!

5 - The deadline to enter is July 15th. The winner will be announced on the 17th. Good luck!

SimplySteno Closing Enrollment on July 31st! Enroll Now! (back to top)

Thinking of joining the SimplySteno online program? Make sure you sign up before 7/31/10. At that point open enrollment will be closing for at least a few months. Our student capacity is 130, and we're getting close to that! You DO NOT have to start right away. Once you join you have 3 months to actually start, so if you're sure you want to start within the next few months, now's the time to get in. This special may not be used in conjunction with any other offer. I invite you to read my testimonials.

Brief Machine App For Your iPhone! (back to top)

Of all the steno gizmos and gadgets I've created over the years, The Brief Machine has always been the most successful. Hundreds of students and reporters use it daily. Makes me so happy! And now I'm happy to say that we have the iSteno Brief Machine app for the iPhone! If you have an iPhone, iPad or iTouch, you MUST have this app. Check it out!

I've already been asked about creating versions for the Blackberry and Android and such. Let's see how this one does first :)

.....

Does a 2-Year Steno Program Exist? - My Search (back to top)

The Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and the 2-year steno program. Fact or fiction? Well, I can't vouch for the first two, even though I'm in the heart of Oregon where Bigfoot is supposedly running around. He's yet to knock on my door and ask to borrow a cup of sugar, so... As for the 2-year steno program, let me first give some background info. Since I run an online program that ONLY takes transfer students, I get mostly disgruntled students. And the #1 complaint I get from students is that the school they came from said they would be out of school and working in a certain amount of time, only to fall far short of that promise.

Now let me first state that enrolling students is HARD!!! It's a tough program - a tough sell to prospective students - so I understand why schools may be "creative" with the facts and figures when courting a prospective student. But telling students they'll be out and working as a reporter in 2 years?

So let me say here - without doubt - without hesitation - there's NO SUCH THING. This is steno, not math. It's not a 2-year program - it's an open-ended program. You MAY graduate in 2 years, but it's not a 2-year program. If any school can show me they have an average graduation rate of 2 years, I will give them a lifetime of free advertisement. In fact, if any program can show me they have an average graduation time of 3 years, I'll do it too. I've made this offer before - still waiting for those emails :)

I called 5 popular schools and played undercover reporter for a day. I asked 3 questions -

1 - How long does this program take?
2 - How much does it cost?
3 - Can I speak with any current students?

All 5 schools were very helpful, yet kinda fuzzy in their responses. According to these schools, it takes 26 months to graduate (that was an average of the 5 answers). The longest time given was 36 months. The shortest time...18 months! The costs were hard to nail down, since not every program was exactly the same. I'll give that one a pass. As for speaking with current students, only one of them was willing to put me in touch with anyone currently in the program. What's up with that?!?

So what is my point in all this? Nothing new. It upsets me that students have been signed up under misleading info. I think schools will eventually be the downfall of court reporting - not lack of jobs. And remember - you're the customer. Make your school work for YOU!

More Free Practice Dictations! (back to top)

Happy to say that we've uploaded 2 new sets of free dictations! www.SimplySteno.com! These are NOT the dictations you would hear if you were enrolled in the SimplySteno program. The SimplySteno program dictations are much, much better - I think the best around. The freebie dictations are pretty good - good enough to practice with. The speeds range from 60 to 180, but the speeds are not marked. The durations are from 1 minute to 5 minutes, but again, are not marked.

To access the free practice dictations, just head over to SimplySteno and click on the Free Dictations link. There are now 5categories of dictations - Restaurant Chats, At Work, Daily Living, Jobs and Random.. I have 10 other categories that I will be uploading over the next few months, so check back often.

I do ask one favor...if you use these dictations, please visit www.StenoWatchdog.com and leave a review for ANY item you may have used in your steno experience. StenoWatchdog really helps students and reporters, so every review you leave makes a difference.

SpeedBuilders.com June Specials! (back to top)

Place an order for any 12-week Special of audio dictation, or any 8-week Special of Animation Dictation, and we'll throw in 2 extra weeks and Medical Minutes for free! Check out the goodies here - https://speedbuilders.com/ Make sure to place your order before the end of the month to take advantage.

Thanks!
Marc Greenberg

SimplySteno.com
SpeedBuilders.com
RPRPrep.com
CSRPrep.com
RMRPrep.com
StenoFun.com
StenoWatchdog.com