When you’re inquiring about a professional service, let’s say taxes, computer help or marketing consulting, which is more attractive to you: a service provider who seems ultra-competent and gives the impression that the process will be easy for you, or a service provider who charges low rates and gives the impression that the process will [...]
Archive for the ‘Clients’ Category
Making translation easy versus making translation cheap
Posted in Clients, Marketing, Money on October 11, 2010 | 21 Comments »
Projects large and small
Posted in Clients, Freelancing, Productivity on September 10, 2010 | 12 Comments »
At the moment I’m working on one of the larger projects I’ve ever taken on; a bit over 40,000 words. This has gotten me thinking about the pros and cons of large projects versus small projects, as well as which type of projects I prefer working on. I’m interested to hear what other translators think [...]
Ensuring payment from direct clients
Posted in Clients, Money on July 9, 2010 | 1 Comment »
In the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with a few freelancers who would like to work with direct clients but are afraid that they won’t get paid. One commented that she really enjoys working with agencies because of being able to check Payment Practices or a similar resource in order to determine the client’s creditworthiness. [...]
Responding to a request for quote
Posted in Clients, Marketing, Money, Rates on May 24, 2010 | 7 Comments »
When you receive an “out of the blue” request for a quote from a potential translation client, what’s the best next step? Is it more advantageous to call the client, e-mail them, ask for more information or send them a rate sheet…or something else entirely? The beauty of impromptu inquiries from potential clients is that [...]
Theories about direct clients
Posted in Clients, Marketing, tagged direct clients, finding direct clients, Marketing on January 14, 2010 | 13 Comments »
Recently, a reader posted this comment on my Wrapping up 2009 post: “I just wonder how one goes about getting direct clients. It seems ideal, but it also seems like a hurdle to get over, that many of us have not learned how to do.” I think that a lot of translators feel this way: [...]
End of year gifts for clients and colleagues
Posted in Clients, Marketing, tagged client gifts, colleague gifts, end of year on December 2, 2009 | 4 Comments »
It’s that time again… the gift basket catalogs are arriving by the armload, reminding us that it’s time to thank our clients and colleagues for their business and support over the past year. What’s the best way to do this? Better to go traditional or creative? High-end or fairly basic? The answer depends on your [...]
Keeping track of client preferences
Posted in Clients on September 14, 2009 | 6 Comments »
If you’ve ever found yourself struggling to avoid asking a client “How much did I say I was going to charge you?”, you need a client preferences file. The client preferences file (which could take the form of a spreadsheet, a text file, index cards, a notebook, just as long as you keep the records!) [...]
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Corinne McKay is an ATA-certified French to English translator specializing in international development, law and non-fiction books. She launched Thoughts on Translation in February, 2008 as a way to connect and share ideas with freelance translators around the world.
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