Adding subtitles to videos is not something that many bloggers care about. They concentrate on the content and don’t think about reaching the audience or making their visit more convenient. However, such a simple step as adding subtitles to a video may significantly boost the performance and multiple the number of video’s views by thousands.
So what are they used for? Subtitles are used by those who have problems with hearing, speak foreign languages, don’t want to miss anything, or simply don’t have access to their earbuds. As you see, there are lots of situations when subscriptions rock, so learning how to transcribe YouTube video is a great skill. Just imagine: by adding subtitles, you can reach people in all corners of the world, and there’s even no need to re-record the video in foreign languages!
Moreover, there’s no need to translate the subscription into several languages because the file is automatically sent to Google Translate, and viewers can understand what you are talking about! When the subtitles are verified, they become metadata, are indexed, and can be found through searches much easier. This, in turn, may boost your channel’s ranking positions. Make one step further, translate titles and descriptions, and your outreach will increase.
Fortunately, the process of subscribing to a video is quite simple, and you can do it on your own. There are several approaches, and we are going to discuss two of them in the sections below.
First method – YouTube Subtitle Tool
If you are not a fan of transcription services, the step-by-step manual guide below is exactly what you need. With its help, you can use the YouTube Subtitle Tool even without any prior skills and knowledge.
- Log in to the account on YouTube.
- Select the My Channel button, which is situated at the sidebar’s top. By pressing it, you’ll end up on your personal page.
- Choose Video Manager. It’s located at the left upper corner of the channel. There, you’ll see the list of uploaded videos. Another way to reach this section is by pressing the account’s icon and choosing Creator Studio.
- Pick Edit and then Subtitles and CC. This section of the online transcriber is situated right next to the video which you want to alter. Then, you’ll be sent to the page with subtitles. Don’t worry if it seems too complicated at first!
- Choose Add Subtitles and then Create new subtitles. The button is on the right from the video. Once choosing the feature, you’ll see an area where the text should be included.
- Choose the preferred language of the future subtitles. Pick foreign languages if you want to target foreigners. But don’t forget about transcribing YouTube videos into English as well because there are many situations when English-speaking viewers might need them. For example, deaf ones or those who find it hard to process audio.
- Play the file and press pause when you are willing to insert the subtitle.
- Enter the text into the subtitle area by pressing the + button. You’ll then see the text in the timeline right after the video.
- Alter the subtitle’s length. You can drag the video bar in both ways to change the beginning or end of the subtitles.
We recommend not to add too much content at once. It is better to divide the text into segments and always re-read what you have inserted. Remember, it’s not enough to add subscriptions: they should be interesting to read and informative.
Second method – Upload from a file
If you don’t want to install subtitling software or turn to professionals, no problem. There is another way of turning a video into text without a need for any specific instruments. Moreover, you can learn how to do it yourself quickly and trouble-free.
Here’s how bloggers create subtitles using uploaded files:
- Pick a convenient text editor—for example, Notepad or TextEdit.
- Create video transcription following the accepted format. Every subtitle should contain a number, timestamp, and the text itself (each starting with a new line).
- Open File and Save As. Here, you need to choose a format for subtitling. The most common is SubRip.
- Insert the name with a .srt extension. For example, Youtubesubs.srt.
- Press Save As Type and then All Files. You can find the menu below the name of the file.
- Choose UTF-8 in the encoding menu. Without this setting, the file won’t work the way it should.
- Head to your channel’s video manager by logging into the account and choosing My Channel. Another way is to access the Video Manager through Creator Studio.
- Press Edit and choose Subtitles and CC. We have discussed this step in the first method, so you already know what to do.
- Pick Add New Subtitles and choose the uploading function. It pop-ups on the screen to select the required file.
- Search for the file with subscriptions you have previously created. Then choose Upload, and the text will be then placed into the transcript.
- Fix the subtitles. If you notice any imperfections, you can drag the bar and edit timestamps.
- Publish the video with subtitles. Once pressing the Publish button, the text will be uploaded!
As you see, this method is very simple, although it may take you some time to type the subtitles. If you feel tired, take breaks. This will help to remain motivated and encouraged to finish the job.
Wrap-up
Even though the subtitling process is quite simple, for many users, it may become a real challenge. If you also don’t have the necessary skills or don’t want to waste time on subtitling, we recommend turning for professional help.
There are many secure and reliable transcription companies that can do everything easily and quickly. Just provide the details and indicate the deadline. The rest will be completed by specialists who know how to deal with such tasks. And in no time, you’ll get subtitles for your videos which will help to reach more people across the world.
Hopefully, our tips helped, and you will be able to turn YouTube videos in the text quickly and without much effort.
