Polyglot blog

One of the most important questions asked by freelance translators, and above all by newcomers to the profession, is: where do I find clients?
The fact is that clients won’t start knocking on your door out of the blue on your first day. You can’t just sit in front of your computer and hope that miraculously they will find you and swamp you with lucrative contracts. Getting clients and most importantly, getting regular clients that are pleasant to work with and willing to pay good rates, is not an easy task. For most freelance translators, it takes between six months and a year, sometimes more, to get established and build a reliable clientèle. Even experienced translators with a steady work-flow have to continue working on their marketing, because they might lose clients for a variety of reasons (companies go out of business, agencies might hire an in-house translator in their language pair, they found somebody else to do it cheaper, etc.). It is therefore important to constantly market your professional services to attract prospective clients. Here are some tips to help you get started:

- Get listed in the Yellow Pages or other local business directories in the “translator” category. Even in the Internet age, a lot of people (and local businesses) first turn to the Yellow Pages if they need to find a translator and they often prefer to work with somebody in their area rather than somebody on the other side of the planet. Over 90% of my direct clients (businesses or private clients as opposed to translation agencies) are located within 50 km of where I live.

- Print professional business cards and hand them out to everybody you know and meet. Make sure everyone in your family, your friends, acquaintances, neighbors, etc. know that you are offering freelance translation services. They might need your services one day or refer you to people who do.

- Network with other translators. Getting to know other freelance translators is always a good idea. You will certainly make new friends and they might also refer clients or potential clients to you, either when they are on holiday or too busy to take on any new work or when they are offered work in language pairs or specializations they don’t work in. You can even build a network or a team with other freelance translators you know and trust.

- Register on online translator directories. The most well-known sites are ProZ and TranslatorsCafe, but there are many other translator directories on the Internet. (Click here for a list of online translator directories). While the jobs that are posted on such sites tend to be rather low-paying (with some exceptions), it is the fact that these websites allow you to have an online profile to showcase your skills that makes them interesting. Many translation agencies and also some companies browse those directories to find translators. The more solid your profile, the higher your chances of getting contacted directly by prospective clients. Make sure you list all relevant details, such as your language pairs, specializations, your educational background and previous experience, etc. to make you stand out from your competition.

- Get a professional website. It doesn’t have to be expensive and very fancy, a simple, well-built website with the most important information (who you are, what you are offering, your language pairs and specializations, your qualifications, contact information, etc.) will do. You might not get a lot of clients directly via your website (unless your website gets top results in Google and other search engines), but you can include it on your business card, link to it from other online profiles and refer potential clients to it. A well-designed website conveys an image of professionalism and makes you look more trustworthy in the eyes of potential clients. Be sure to get your own domain name instead of a free website and use a professional email associated with your domain. Tip: I have found that a website is especially useful if you work with a rare language or a very specific and rare specialization, as there are much less websites with those keywords and you can stand out more easily. My professional website is currently ranked by Google on page 1 for the keywords Luxembourgish translation. I couldn’t achieve such visibility for French translation for example, as there is much more competition and many more websites with those keywords.

- Become a member of a translators’ association. One of the many benefits of being a member of a translators’ association is that most associations have an online member directory where prospective clients can search for freelance translators suited for their projects. Being a member of a recognized association also adds to your credibility and image of professionalism. (Click here for lists of translators’ associations around the world).

- If you are a sworn or certified translator (a translator who has the authority to translate and certify official documents), get in touch with embassies and consulates of countries where your source or target language is spoken and let them know that you are offering your services as a sworn translator. Most embassies and consulates have lists of sworn translators that they will distribute to people who need a certified translation for immigration or visa purposes.

- Offer your services to translation agencies. You can easily find the addresses or websites of translation agencies in the yellow pages or on the Internet. Make sure that the agency works with the language pairs and specializations you offer and that they accept to receive applications from freelance translators. Many have online forms to fill out or indicate an email address to send your application to. Before contacting an agency, make sure that they have a good reputation and won’t suddenly disappear without paying you (see also my post on how to avoid non-paying clients).

- Offer your services to companies in your area. Make sure that the particular company you are targeting actually needs translation services in your language pairs and specializations (for example a company that does business with a country where your source or target language is spoken or a subsidiary of a foreign company). Bear in mind that many companies probably already have their regular translators or prefer to work with translation agencies, so you might not be immediately successful with this approach. However, if you are a recognized expert with experience in the field the company you are targeting is active in, it is certainly worth a try and you might win an interesting client.

The most important tip and the one that summarizes all of the above is: BE VISIBLE! If you want to attract clients, let them know where they can find you and what you can offer them.

In most countries, translation is not a regulated profession. Anybody who knows two languages (or thinks he knows two languages) can work as a translator. And this is precisely why there are so many bad translators and bad translations around. A translator is much more than a bilingual secretary and having some knowledge of a foreign language is by no means enough to start a successful career in translation. So what exactly does it take to become a freelance translator?

- Excellent command of your native language and excellent writing skills, as well as ability to use various styles and registers and adapt to different types of texts. A translator is also a writer, whether he translates literature or technical documentation. Your translation has to be flawless in terms of grammar, spelling, vocabulary and style. A good translation is one that faithfully reflects the original text, but also one that reads well in the target language and sounds natural to the target language reader.

- Excellent command of your foreign languages (source languages or languages you translate from). Two years of French at school or university do not make you an expert in the French language. You have to be able to understand nuances, jokes, wordplays, slang, cultural references and idiomatic expressions. Knowing a language also implies knowing the culture. Ideally, a translator should have spent a considerable amount of time in a country where his source language is spoken and be completely immersed in the language and culture.

- Broad general knowledge. In order to translate a text, you have to understand it first. Understanding the words is not enough, because we don’t translate the words in a sentence, we translate the meaning of the sentence. So, in order to produce a good translation, you have to understand what you are translating. Most translators translate a variety of different texts. One day, you can be translating the website of a hotel, the next a business letter, then a lease contract, followed by a recipe book. You obviously can’t be an expert in everything, but it is extremely helpful to have at least some general knowledge in a large variety of fields. If you translate a text on gardening tools for example, you are highly unlikely to produce an acceptable translation if you don’t have a clue about gardening.

- Specialist knowledge of one or more fields. There may be translators who only translate general texts, but most prefer to specialize in one or more areas they know very well. You simply can’t be an expert in everything. I would find it hard to trust a translator who claims to be a specialist in medicine, law, literature, engineering, IT, nuclear physics and knitting at the same time. Most translators concentrate on a few areas they have work experience in (i.e. an engineer turned translator who specializes in technical translation), have degrees in (I got a law degree after my translation degree in order to specialize in legal translation) or know extremely well due to other circumstances. It can simply be an area that they like, have taken courses in or have read extensively about. The important thing is that you have to know the field inside out and you have to master the specialist vocabulary. If you want to translate legal texts, you have to understand the legal systems involved and know how legal documents are written. Subject matter + specialist terminology is the key.

- Good research skills. If you don’t know it, you have to know where to find it. A good reference library with specialized dictionaries is still useful, even in the Internet age when much information can be found online. Good research skills also mean knowing which sources to trust and how to double-check.

- Good IT skills. The days when translations were written on a typewriter and sent by mail are long gone. Today, it is necessary to know how to use email, the Internet, various software programs (MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint as a minimum), translation memory programs and electronic dictionaries, FTP, file encryption, file compression and decompression, backing up files, antivirus, and many more.

- Good business and marketing skills. As a freelance translator, you are a small business. You have to find clients, market your services, advertise, know how to negotiate rates and payment terms, sound professional on the phone and write professional emails. You also need to know how to write an invoice, how to handle your business expenses, how to chase payments, how to file your taxes (or hire a good accountant), how to plan for your retirement, among many other things.

These are the skills that I consider the most important for a freelance translator, but this list is certainly not exhaustive. Feel free to share your thoughts.

One of the main worries for any freelance translator (or any freelancer in general) is not getting paid after having delivered the work. The vast majority of clients (translation agencies and direct clients) are of course honest and will pay the translator’s invoice on time. Unfortunately, some clients are not so honest and won’t pay. If this happens, the translator can only resort to contracting a collection agency or taking the client to court to get his money. A long and costly process which is often not worth the trouble.
How can you know in advance whether you can trust a potential client or not?
Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing for sure whether a client will pay you or not. There is always a risk of non-payment, but if you follow a few simple rules, you can make sure that this risk is as small as possible:
- Do not work for a client if you do not have his full contact details. Always ask for a physical address and a phone number and double-check the information if possible (company website, business registry, Yellow Pages, directories of translation agencies, etc.). Always check the IP address of the emails a potential client sends you. If they claim to be located in country X, but the IP address tells you that the email was sent from another country, you should be careful. I would also be suspicious of translation agencies or companies that use free email addresses, such as Yahoo or Hotmail. This is ok for a private client, but I would be surprised to see a large corporation or translation agency use a Hotmail address.
- Do not accept large jobs from first-time clients or ask for (partial) payment in advance if you don’t know anything about the client in order to minimize your monetary loss should the client not pay.
- Make sure you have a clear written agreement stating your obligations (translation from language X into language Y, volume, delivery deadline, etc.) and the client’s obligations (rate agreed, payment terms, etc.) which can serve as proof in court if necessary.
- There are a number of websites and mailing lists where translators can rate translation agencies and direct clients they have worked for and warn their colleagues about slow payers and non-payers. A good rating is not a guarantee, of course, as an agency’s payment practices can change over time and their financial situation can change. Many negative comments, however, are a rather clear indication that one should better stay away from this client. Before working for a new translation agency, be sure to check their rating on the following websites and request information on them from your colleagues through the mailing lists.

Websites
Payment practices
ProZ – Blue Board
Translatorscafe – Hall of Fame and Shame
Globtra ratings
Translationdirectory – List of untrustworthy translation agencies
Translator Client Review List
GoTranslators – Black and white list
Translation Agency Payment Practices Reputation Rating Form
Brotherhood of translators

Mailing lists
Translation agency payment
Business practices discussion
Betaalmoraal (in Dutch)
World payment practices free
Translation agencies payment practices
Zahlungspraxis (in German)
The checklist (in Italian)
Tradpayeur (in French)
Translation payments who when what

The best way of avoiding non-payment is using common sense and trusting your gut feeling. If you don’t trust a potential client or think that there is something fishy about a job offer, better stay away or request upfront payment. Better safe than sorry.
If you do have problems with a non-paying client, send payment reminders regularly, contact a collection agency or a lawyer and warn your colleagues.