In today’s modern age there’s a never ending need for multilingual communication, and good translators should be feeling very optimistic about their future. In fact, regardless of whether you’re a freelance translator, or you work for translationagencies, the translation industry is a great industry to be involved in. However, most freelance translators would still love to see their business grow, and one way of doing this is to win more direct clients.
See below for our advice on how you may be able to win more translation clients –
Stay Connected
Look for ways to connect with people involved in your target industry. It doesn’t matter how much expertise you have in a certain area if the right people don’t even know that you exist! Make sure you attend conferences and other events that will be attended by people involved in the industry you’re interested in. The bonus of attending these types of events is that you’ll also become more familiar with the latest industry developments. It’s in these types of settings that you’ll find the opportunities you’re looking for. Of course, you wouldn’t attend any of these events without your professional business cards!
Become an Expert
When you first start out as a translator, you may find that some people expect you to be able to translate anything and at any time. Of course, this is unrealistic, but what can be very helpful for a translator is to become an expert in one specific area, and by ‘helpful’ we mean not only financially, but in achieving good quality clients and good quality work. Many direct clients are looking for people who have expertise in their industry, and of course, the more you specialize in a certain area, the more knowledgeable and in-demand you’ll become.
Strategic Marketing
With your marketing strategy, consider placing advertisements highlighting your translation knowledge and skills in dedicated industry magazines. Work out which publications professionals in your industry are reading, then prepare your budget for some advertising. This will be a very valuable investment for you, because you already know the audience for this type of magazine, meaning that your advertisements will be noticed by the very people you’re marketing to.
Use AdWords and Google AdSense
Try getting exposure with an effective AdWords/Google AdSense campaign. Obviously, this will be not as targeted as placing advertisements in an industry-specific magazine, but you will get great exposure. If you’re not entirely sure about this process, do a search for Google AdSense Tutorial, and it won’t be long before you have all the knowledge you need.
Take a Course in the Field You’re Targeting
If you’ve only recently made the decision to specialize in a certain area, it’s not going to be easy to win translation clients without any experience. By taking a course, or seminar, you could prove your competence by achieving professional certificates. Let’s say, for example, that you’re thinking of becoming an automotive translator: so, why not start off with an introductory mechanics’ course? It’s the ideal way of learning the terminology and gaining a general understanding of mechanical systems. Alternatively, or even, in addition, you might want to consider attending a specialized translation seminar or course in your field of expertise, and by this, we mean learning from experienced translators how to translate in a certain field.
