Marketing tips for translators - podcast

In this episode we talk about how to write super effective emails when we reach out to potential clients. This is still one of the most […]

I love reading and, for non-fiction books, I love to read about marketing. In this episode I will give you some tips from the book “Book […]

Over the past 8 years, I have mentored and coached other freelance translators with their marketing. One of the most frequent tasks has been to help […]

In this episode I interview another translator on getting started as a legal translator and interpreter, and building your business. We can always learn from each […]

We all know what people think of translation, especially those who do not know much about it. The profession of a translator is often perceived as […]

You know how important a good website is for every freelance translator. I have given trainings on how to create your website, and I also have […]

Some people say you don’t have to specialize if you are working in a small language pair. I believe you can benefit a lot from specializing, […]

Are you ever concerned that all this new technology will make us jobless in the future? If so, you’re not alone. The standard solution is to […]

In this episode, we discuss collaboration with other freelance translators in order to create a new specialized offer. Translation projects are often labeled medical, legal or […]

Have you ever felt like your business is stagnant, or you feel in a slump? I know I have. This is why I want to share 4 steps and 8 ideas with you today on how to revitalize your freelance career and business next time you feel like you are in a slump or in a famine period. Important things mentioned in this episode: * How to maximize your business based on your current situation * Tips to increase productivity and profitability by increasing your costs * How to increase your profitability with self-care * 8 strategies to plan something new for your business and increase work satisfaction and income Important links mentioned in this episode: * 11 Turnaround Strategies to Revitalize your Solo Business * Episode 42: How to Smooth Out the Feast and Famine Cycle for Freelance Translators * Episode 95: How to Best Manage Fluctuating Workloads and Rates - Interview with Marek Buchtel Part of these tips come from a free handout from the international freelancer’s academy. The e-book is “11 Turnaround Ways to Revitalize Your Solo Business". These activities are great to implement when you feel like you are in a slump, or even when you are in a famine cycle. Pick one or two and go from there, and make sure you carve out time to take care of yourself. I know how important this is and I know I am more productive and creative when I take care of myself. Collaboration between companies and translators made simple Smartcat makes it easy for companies and translators to connect and collaborate. Check it out at smartcat.ai. It's free! Protemos is an easy-to-use Translation Business Management System for freelance translators and translation companies. It lets you keep the database of clients and vendors with prices and contacts, manage the projects and files, control the deadlines, coordinate the tasks to translators, generate invoices, keep track of payments, and generate business reports. Freelance version is free of charge, so you may create an account and start using it right now!

In this episode I am responding to one of your requests. You wanted to know more about working with direct clients in the medical field. Many freelance translators specialize in medical translations and work for agencies. They want to know how to find direct clients in this industry. I was recommended to contact Sarah Henter about this subject. She is working with direct clients in the medical field and had a very strategic way of going about it. Important things mentioned in this episode: * Sarah’s process going from translating for agencies to translating for direct clients * How to position yourself as an expert in your field * How to get in front of direct clients in the medical field Useful links mentioned in this episode: * Presentation on Linguistic Work on Clinical Trials During TLC 2017 * Sarah’s Website: www.henter.co * Sarah’s LinkedIn Profile * Company Profile on Twitter Sarah gave us some great tips. I love how strategic she is about it, setting goals, breaking them down and working hard to achieve them. I think other freelance translators will be inspired to go out and find more direct clients in their area of specialization after this. There will always be a demand for translations of clinical trials and medical documentation, so it’s a good area to specialize in. Bio: Sarah Henter is originally from Germany, where she has studied Spanish, German and Italian Linguistics. She holds Master’s degrees in Advanced Linguistic, Legal and Administrative Translation, and Digital Marketing and Social Media. She also is a certified medical writer. She has held talks at different conferences on the Education of Professional Translators and Linguistic Work on Clinical Trials. Her linguistic work mainly focuses on subjects related to marketing and clinical trials, and she has worked on projects for 17 of the 25 most important pharmaceutical enterprises currently operating. Payment Practices , the oldest dataset providing objective information on the payment behavior of translation agencies. Get a free 7 day trial at paymentpractices.net. Collaboration between companies and translators made simple Smartcat makes it easy for companies and translators to connect and collaborate. Check it out at smartcat.ai. It's free!

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could significantly increase your revenue in 30 days? The reality is that we all can overlook some of the most basic things when it comes to increasing sales. I found this e-book online by Susan Doyle, called “5 Ways to Increase Your Sales in 30 Days”. I agree with all her strategies and wanted to share them with you. They are all fairly easy to implement. Important things covered in this episode: * 5 strategies to increase sales * How to provide excellent customer service * How to upsell * How to add value * How to increase sales frequency * How to get referrals Useful links mentioned in this episode: * Blog Post: 7 Ways to Grow Your Freelance Business with Client Referrals * Episode 123: Growing your Freelance Business Through Referral Selling – Maryam Abdi * Suzanne Doyle: www.suzannedoyleingram.com – unfortunately it looks like she has changed her business and is now focusing on book writing and book writing courses. Try one of these strategies, work on it until you have perfected it and then move on to another. In time you will have increased your revenue significantly. Remember that our current customers are our best source of revenue. Take good care of them, both by providing excellent service and continuous business, but also because they are a source for referrals. If you have any other tips, or any comments or questions on these tips, please share them in the comment section below.   Payment Practices , the oldest dataset providing objective information on the payment behavior of translation agencies. Get a free 7 day trial at paymentpractices.net. CommGap International Language Services is built on these three pillars: Quality, Technology and Superior Customer Service. We seek likeminded interpreters and translators. Contact us at sourcing@commgap.com. The world is speaking … do you understand?

Fear dominates the world of freelance translation. There’s always someone willing to do it cheaper. How do we step away from this? In this episode we’re talking about how to charge based on our value, not on price. I'm interviewing Vanessa Ugatti, coach, motivational speaker and author of the Amazon best seller – True Worth. If you’ve ever thought: They’ll think it’s too expensive, they’ll say no or I’ll lose the client, this episode is for you. Important things covered in this episode: * 5 steps or questions that can help us get over our negative beliefs about charging more. Important links for this episode: * www.thetrueworthexpert.com (main website) * https://www.thetrueworthexpert.com/trueworthbook/ (free pdf of book) * https://karenrueckert.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/value/ (article I wrote for Karen Rueckert’s website) * https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/vanessa-bares-all-holds-barred-vanessa-ugatti/ (autobiographical article) We need to take ourselves and our business seriously. We need to charge what we are worth and focus on working with our ideal clients. Why? We'll be happier in our business, we'll increase our revenue, and have more time for other things in life. It’s all about cultivating the right mindset. I encourage you to check out her free e-book and the article on Karen Rueckert’s website. Lastly, get the help you need to grow your business and mindset, you’re worth the investment. Here’s a testimonial from Karen that I want to share: “Vanessa has coached me not only to see but also to believe in my own true worth and the value I provide to my clients. Consequently, I am now able to consistently charge what I’m worth and only work with my ideal clients. Result: increased revenue, more quality time to spend with my family and an increased level of well-being. Vanessa is an amazing coach; she has quite literally helped me transform my life.” Bio: Meet Vanessa Ugatti: Transformational Coach, Inspirational Speaker and Author of Amazon Best Seller, True Worth: How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It. Using her own unique formula, she dramatically shifts people’s thinking, enabling them to generate more revenue, without having to get more clients, do more work or compromise value or values! Result: more money, more time and more freedom. This unique ability, to bring out the best in people, has evolved for her over many years of facing similar challenges, even questioning her own value in business. For a free consultation call 01202 743961 or 07957 672335 or email: vanessa@thetrueworthexpert.com, website: www.thetrueworthexpert.com   Payment Practices , the oldest dataset providing objective information on the payment behavior of translation agencies. Get a free 7 day trial at paymentpractices.net. CommGap International Language Services is built on these three pillars: Quality, Technology and Superior Customer Service. We seek likeminded interpreters and translators. Contact us at sourcing@commgap.com. The world is speaking … do you understand?

What can we expect when working with direct clients? That’s one thing you listeners have indicated you want to hear more about. Working with direct clients is different from working with agencies. We have to do a lot more work to find them and to service them. But it is also very rewarding, both financially and professionally. Based on a recommendation, I ‘m interviewing a Belgian translator about this topic, Herman Boel. We discuss what to expect when working with direct clients. (For example file formats, marketing, communication, deadlines, price negotiation etc.) . Important things mentioned in this episode: * We are the language expert and responsible for all aspects of the project * We need to be proactive and educate the client to provide value * How and if to negotiate prices and deadlines * What file formats we can expect to receive and deliver * Tips for marketing to direct clients and provide value Links mentioned in this episode: * Business website: www.altaverba.be (will be overhauled in the coming months) * Personal website: www.hermanboel.eu * Language blog (in Dutch): www.taalfluisteraar.be * Book site: www.weetjesboeken.be * Why getting direct clients is difficult for translators * An experienced freelancers guide to finding clients * Direct client contact ideas Working with direct clients can be very rewarding, if you're prepared to do the work. It can also be intimidating if you don’t know what to expect. We have to see ourselves as business owners and want to serve, if we will succeed with direct clients. I’ve found some good reading for you too. One is “Why getting direct clients is difficult for translators”, by Robert Rogge. Another is “An experienced freelancer’s guide to finding clients” by Paul Jarvis. The last one I want to mention is “Direct client contact ideas” by Jesse Tomlinson in the ATA chronicle. I hope all these tips will encourage you to go out and contact direct clients. Now you will be more prepared for it too. Bio: Herman is a Dutch Language professional who lives in Aalst, Belgium, 25 km west of Brussels. He graduated in 1995 as Master in Translation at the Ghent University. After one year in the newsroom of a commercial television station, he was project manager for 15 years in Belgian translation agencies. In April 2011 he settled as freelance translator (Alta Verba). He is author of seven non-fiction books, one of which was translated into Chinese. He has been guest lecturer at the Shanghai SISU University, and a few times gives lectures at the universities of Ghent and Antwerp. He has a succesful language blog with accompanying Facebook page. Last year, he started coaching beginning and experienced translators for them to become even better entrepreneurs.   Payment Practices , the oldest dataset providing objective information on the payment behavior of translation agencies. Get a free 7 day trial at paymentpractices.net.

In this episode we talk about websites for translators, in particular how to create them with Wordpress, fast and easy. I am a firm believer that every freelance translator should have a website, a hub to direct all potential clients to for more information. A website also gives a very professional impression. I am interviewing Tanya Quintieri about her experience with creating Wordpress websites, and her course for translators on how to do just that. Important things mentioned in this episode: * Information about the course Wordpress for Translators * How to get our website noticed and rank higher in search engines * How to prepare our copy for the website * Legal implication we must consider when we develop our website Useful links for this episode: * Episode 124: Ask Me Anything – Websites and Social Media * Episode 115: SEO and Website Optimization for Freelancers – Interview with Melanie Di-Costanzo * Episode 104: Ask Me Anything – About Websites and Analytics as Marketing Tools * Episode 10: Tips for Optimizing Your Website for Marketing Translation Services * Quick Start Guide – 10 Steps to an Optimized Website * GDPR * WordPress for Translators * Discount code (25%): TESSCOUPON (available for all courses) A website is your own space on the internet, where you decide the content and you own the space. When someone performs a search for your services, a website can “prove your existence” as a freelancer. As soon as the customer visits your website, he or she will be convinced of the consistency and legitimacy of your services. Go create one if you do not have one and make sure your website is optimized. Wishing you all the best! Bio: Tanya Quintieri is the Lead Translator and Talent Manager at The Translators. She also is a web designer and in that capacity, she has launched a course: WordPress for Translators. Her aim is to support fellow translators in creating and maintaining their own online presence. As a very active member of the translators community, Tanya has launched numerous incentives and carried out multiple events specifically for freelance translators. For an overview of past, current and future projects, visit her website xl8ors.com. Payment Practices , the oldest dataset providing objective information on the payment behavior of translation agencies. Get a free 7 day trial at paymentpractices.net. CommGap International Language Services is built on these three pillars: Quality, Technology and Superior Customer Service. We seek likeminded interpreters and translators. Contact us at sourcing@commgap.com. The world is speaking … do you understand?