Working with Direct Clients

So you’ve been translating for a few years and you’ve decided to make this the year you up your game-move into the direct-client market, reputed to be more satisfying than the agency scene, but requiring more marketing and client relations efforts to win and retain business.

Take time to plan your strategy!

Join presenters Chris Durban and Corinne McKay to examine what it takes to be successful without the middleman.

What Will You Learn?

• Issues to consider before you begin working with direct clients
• How to find your first direct clients
• How to set priorities for a successful direct client relationship
• Advantages and disadvantages of different types of direct clients

About the Presenters

Chris Durban is a freelance French>English translator specializing in business and finance. Based in Paris, she has over 30 years of experience working primarily in the private sector. She has written many client education materials, including “The Onionskin” column in The ATA Chronicle, Translation: Getting it Right, and Interpreting: Getting it Right. She is the co-author of Translation: Buying a Non-Commodity and a regular speaker on business-related topics. Chris writes the “Fire Ant & Worker Bee” advice column for the Translation Journal and, in October 2010, published a revised compilation of the column in book form as The Prosperous Translator.

Corinne McKay is an ATA-certified French>English translator specializing in international development and legal translation. She is the author of How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator. Her blog, Thoughts on Translation, serves as a discussion forum for freelance translators worldwide.

Corinne is the current President-Elect of the American Translators Association. Her past volunteer positions include serving as the president of the Colorado Translators Association, Chair of ATA’s Public Relations Committee, and Administrator of ATA’s French Language Division