Marketing yourself as a freelance translator/interpreter

SWATI University of Westminster

31 May 2014

© ADF Translate 2014

A little bit of intro

Marketing yourself as a freelance translator/interpreter

• 25 years ago • First things first: what are you selling & who

to? • How will you sell it? • How will you keep selling it? • Where do you get support? • Further reading

25 years ago

So, you’ve decided to go freelance

Great, but first things first

• What are you selling? • Translator, interpreter, both, anything else? • What specialist areas? • What are your Unique Selling Points?

• Who do you want to sell it to? • Agencies, direct clients, both? • You are a business selling a service, not someone looking for employment

from various sources

How?

• Creating yourself • Writing a compelling CV • Having a website/blog • Having a profile in all the right places • Branding

• Telling potential customers about you • Direct mail • Cold calling

• Networking, networking, networking • With peers • With prospects

• Social media

Creating yourself

Writing a compelling cv… • Be succinct • Tell the truth • Highlight what really matters to your client

…and keeping it up to date!

Creating yourself

Having a website/blog… A simple webpage is enough to start with Makes you more accessible (from a directory) Enables you to let your personality shine A blog drives traffic to your website & can enhance your profile and your standing as a specialist http://websitesfortranslators.co.uk/webdesign/portfolio/

… and keeping it up to date!

Creating yourself

Having a profile in all the right places…

• Your professional association(s)’ directory(ies)

• Translators’ portals (Proz, Translators Cafe)

• Your chosen social media platforms

… and keeping it up to date!

Creating yourself

Branding

• Some of the most successful translators in the industry ARE their brand > the ultimate objective

• Consistent business image • Visual recognition • There is more to branding than logos & clever taglines • Fun & confidence/image-building when starting out

Telling potential customers about you

• Direct mail – Take care with your approach letter/email – Target your mailshots – Protect yourself against bad payers – Beware of the spam syndrome – Follow up

• Cold-calling – Is it for you? – Prepare

Networking, networking, networking

• Network with your peers – Combine CPD with networking – Combine fun with networking – Attend conferences, workshops, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHsDnnMAoQU – Get involved! – Network on social media

• Network with your potential clients – Attend trade events – Use every party/wedding/gathering as a networking

opportunity

Social media

Probably the best thing to happen to freelancers in more than one way

• Marketing Social media marketing: an emerging science. It’s all about driving traffic to your website and being found. Very powerful but very time-consuming

• Networking Social media create communities of translators/interpreters & are proving extremely popular networking tools.

• A ‘live’ and interactive CV/webpage/blog • Helps you look for potential clients through

groups • Useful CPD tool

• Best for networking • Immediate but transient • More and more popular • Useful CPD tool

• Many freelancers have a professional FB page but not many use it as a marketing tool

• A networking tool, useful to keep your private

and your professional accounts separate • More effective in B2C than B2B

Where do you get support?

• Your professional association(s) ITI, CIoL, ATA, SFT etc.

• Training organisations

eCPD Webinars, Alexandria Project, Proz

• The online community

Blogs, Twitter, etc.

It’s all very well, but…

Your work will always be your best marketing tool, because you want repeat business Poor customer service can destroy months of marketing work in one phone call Whatever you invest in your marketing, invest twice, or three times as much in your professional development.

Further reading

WLF Think Tank, 101 Things a Translator Needs to Know Durban, Chris, The Prosperous Translator Jenner, Judy & Jenner, Dagmar, The Entrepreneurial Linguist: The Business School Approach to Freelance Translation McKay, Corinne, How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator Andrew Morris’s Standing Out Facebook blog