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5 Pitfalls to Avoid in Your Freelance Translator Web Copy

August 23, 2016 | The Savvy Newcomer | 6 Comments | Business Strategies

by David Friedman

5 pitfalls to avoid in your freelance translator web copyImagine you are your own ideal client and you stumble across your translation website. Would you be able to find out everything you need to know from the website quickly and easily? Are the benefits clear enough to answer questions like, “What’s in it for me?” or, “What makes this translator different from all the other translators out there?” I’d like to share some thoughts and insights about pitfalls I have sought to avoid while working on my own website which I hope can help you attract the interest of more clients with your website.

Please bear in mind that this advice may not be universally applicable depending on your language combination and market. My new website is still under construction, I am not a copywriter and I do not offer services to fellow translators.

Unclear specialization

Don’t: List 15 different fields in no particular order and don’t mix up text types (corporate communications, technical documentation, legal documents, etc.) and industries (real estate, IT, construction etc.)
Do: Pick something clear and concise people will remember you by. It should be short enough to fit into a tagline and clear enough for people to instantly know what you are good at. Combine text types and industries as well instead of one or the other, e.g. “I translate technical documentation for the automotive industry,” or, “I translate corporate communications for the IT industry.”
Get over: Being afraid you will miss out on work that does not fit 100% perfectly into the way you have formulated your specialization or for an industry you have not listed. If anything, you appear more credible, because people are more likely to believe you are among the best at one or two things than 15. This credibility also builds trust, making it more likely people will ask for your honest opinion on whether you can do a good job on another kind of text or make a referral. (In that case, it is important that you are honest and realistic about what you would in fact be well suited for and when the client would be better served by a referral!) Honing in on a specific industry also helps you decide which conferences to attend, which associations to join, which CPD activities to participate in and where to focus your marketing.

Failing to mention the benefits of your location

Don’t: Put yourself in competition with the whole world unnecessarily.
Do: Tell clients how your location benefits them, such as allowing overnight delivery from New Zealand, or availability to meet in person for a free consultation. It’s hard to be the first choice for your language combination and specialization in the whole world, but it’s not hard to be among the best locally, or use your location to stand out from the competition in other ways.
Get over: Assuming your location is a handicap if you don’t live in a big city in your source language country. Find benefits such as leveraging different time zones or being perfectly positioned for adaptation to the target market.

Failing to leverage your native variety of your target language

Don’t: Compete with everyone else in the world who translates into your language.
Do: Offer translations into your native language variety and texts adapted for international audiences. For example, you could offer translations into Argentine Spanish and into international Spanish. You have just positioned yourself ahead of and distinguished yourself from all the other Spanish translators in the world who translate into a different variety of Spanish for clients targeting the Argentine market, while simultaneously catering to clients who are more interested in a neutral variety not targeting one specific market.
Get over: Assuming you will lose out on projects that aren’t in your variety of your target language.
Hint: Don’t presume to master other varieties of your target language on your own! If you are American, collaborate with an editor from the UK if your clients want international English so you can work together to avoid both Americanisms and Briticisms and make the text as accessible as possible to a wide audience.

False assumptions about what clients care about

Don’t: Assume they care a whole a lot about your life story.
Do: Focus on how your services benefit them.
Get over: Yourself! You aren’t applying for a job. You’re showing clients how they can benefit from your services. Focus on benefits as opposed to features. People are naturally self-centered and want to know what’s in it for them.

Relying too little or too much on others for your website

Don’t: Write, translate and design your website all by yourself without any help whatsoever. And don’t hire professionals to do these things with too little input from you.
Do: Decide what you want to say, use your own voice and style. Then bring in as much professional help as is necessary depending on your own strengths and weaknesses.
Get over: Assuming the wording on your website is not important. People looking for translators are inclined to judge them by the quality of the writing and translations on their websites. After all, our way with words is our calling card.

I’m currently reading Ca$hvertising by Drew Eric Whitman, which has given me a lot of great ideas and inspiration. I especially enjoy his no-nonsense approach to advertising. He basically says that, if you have a truly useful product or service that benefits people, you should feel no shame in pulling out every trick in the consumer psychology book to sell it. It’s a whole different story if you are a fraud using tricks to peddle snake oil. Check it out for yourself if you are interested in getting better at advertising your translation services or translating marketing materials for clients.

Let me know in the comments if you found anything useful, have anything to add, or have a different opinion.

Header image credit: kaboompics

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6 Comments

  1. K International on August 24, 2016 at 6:19 am

    Great advice for producing effective website copy! We produced an infographic for freelance translators that I think supports a lot of what you are suggesting here. http://www.k-international.com/blog/infographic-how-translators-can-market-themselves-online/

    Reply
    • David Friedman (@LTTDave) on August 27, 2016 at 6:45 am

      Thanks! Great infographic. That’s really why I wrote this post – to inspire and empower freelance translators. I’ve noticed recently from discussions with colleagues and my own experimentation that a clearer and stronger specialization combined with a more effective website are great tools for translators to bring in better paid work, especially their own clients.

      Reply
  2. Christelle Maignan - Personal and Business Coach on August 25, 2016 at 7:08 am

    Very interesting post. I really like what you said at the end: “if you have a truly useful product or service that benefits people, you should feel no shame in pulling out every trick in the consumer psychology book to sell it. It’s a whole different story if you are a fraud using tricks to peddle snake oil.” Translators tend to find it difficult to sell their services. They often need to hear that it’s OK to sell.

    Reply
    • David Friedman (@LTTDave) on August 27, 2016 at 6:58 am

      Thanks for commenting! Yes, certainly OK to sell if they are really good at what they do and highly specialized so they can deliver on what they promise in their sales pitches. High-level translation skills and specializations verified by feedback from discerning clients and experienced colleagues should give translators confidence that they have a service that is truly useful and separate them from snake oil peddlers.

      Reply
  3. David Friedman (@LTTDave) on August 27, 2016 at 11:31 am

    I wanted to give a shout-out to the colleagues I regularly exchange ideas with, especially Rose Newell, who recommended Cashvertising. I’ve had some great discussions with colleagues recently that have given me loads of ideas and inspiration as I seek to continue growing my translation business and build my direct client base. I’m finding that sharing translation business and skills development tips and ideas with other translators is a great way to get better at them myself. That and the fact that I like to see other people succeed is my sole motivation in writing posts like this.

    As mentioned in the post, I have no intention to sell services to fellow translators and I do not want to offer coaching services or strive for guru status. I love translating and intend to continue supporting myself through translation for the next 35 years or so until I retire. So I look forward to continuing to exchange ideas with colleagues for mutual benefit and hope you will take what I write in that spirit and pass on anything you find useful to other colleagues.

    Reply
  4. Weekly translation favorites (Sep 9-15) on September 16, 2016 at 2:38 pm

    […] Language Events to keep an eye on Feck! A history of swearing from the very first F to the 21st C 5 pitfalls to avoid in your freelance translator web copy The Benefits of Giving Your Clients Multiple Options TED talks about language, words, and […]

    Reply

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