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Is the market slow?
Thread poster: RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
For Ruth Elizabeth Apr 2, 2017

Other professions experience cycles of feast and famine. Even multinationals. The difference lies in several areas:

a) Large companies can go through the famine times by using credit lines given them by banks, or by getting into debt, hoping that the future incoming sales will help them pay off debt and make some gains
b) Local shops, supermarkets, restaurants, etc., experience cycles as well. Why do you think you see those coupons or freebies to entice you to buy more?
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Other professions experience cycles of feast and famine. Even multinationals. The difference lies in several areas:

a) Large companies can go through the famine times by using credit lines given them by banks, or by getting into debt, hoping that the future incoming sales will help them pay off debt and make some gains
b) Local shops, supermarkets, restaurants, etc., experience cycles as well. Why do you think you see those coupons or freebies to entice you to buy more?

I think paying a business coach or paying for a website done by someone who apparently doesn't understand or know much about the translation profession are money wasters. Now, I don't now how long you've been translating professionally, but it seems to me that you are grasping at straws and grabbing any good-sounding advice there is, even if it is some silly slogan.

Now, doing something else while waiting for the market in your particular language pair/expertise pick up is always a good idea. Occupying your mind and hands on another fruitful endeavor is never a waste of time.

Here's my two cents: meet with other more experienced translators in your local area, who work in your language pair and in your areas of specialization. They will be more familiar with your circumstances than any of us here. Prime your ears for some hard truths. Have a backup plan to earn money. It's not the Brexit or elections; businesses still have to run and government agencies still have to operate regardless of the political climate.
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:44
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Good point Apr 2, 2017

Helena Chavarria wrote:
Although you specialise in a number of different fields, you don't mention them in the 'About me' section. If I was looking for a person to translate my travel and tourism-related website I think I would choose somebody who specifically referred to their experience translating for the tourist industry.

If I were an outsourcer, which I admit I'm not, and I were looking for someone to translate a text about my hotel or restaurant (just to give an example) I think I would be a teeny-weeny put off by 'international diplomacy', 'OECD' 'UNESCO', 'ministries', 'consultancies', 'think tanks' and 'international institutions'.

What I would suggest though is including a number of keywords related to your other fields of expertise: tourist industry, restaurants, cooking, gastronomy, cosmetics, etc. Unless you really prefer translating for international institutions.

Your text is fine from your point of view, Ruth - and it sounds interesting to me too. But a potential client won't be looking for the things you find most interesting and important in your background. That client has only one thought in mind: "Is this person the right one to translate MY text?". So you do need to get those keywords out there, and to highlight them for the human beings who are reading the text, as well as listing them for the filters.

As for demand, I was frantically busy in November and December and on holiday for most of January. Both February and March were quieter than I'd like, with too much dependence on a few regulars, but after 20 years as a freelancer I know that in itself that's nothing to worry about. If it's still the same by August I'll be panicking, but not for now .


 
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you everyone Apr 2, 2017

Just wanted to thank everyone for the very welcome advice and insights. I am struggling to respond to everything individually but I have taken everything onboard and you have all given me a lot of food for thought. Thank you for taking the time to post.

 
Andrea Halbritter
Andrea Halbritter  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 15:44
French to German
+ ...
Contracts Apr 3, 2017

Concerning contracts I do e. g. have one customer who signed for sending between 2400 and 3000 words on every Monday during one year on a Word file. I guaranteed him he gets these texts back translated every Friday at the latest (except in my four weeks holiday in the summer and around Xmas).

 
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
That's great! Apr 3, 2017

That's fantastic, Andrea. Sounds like the way to go!

Andrea Halbritter wrote:

Concerning contracts I do e. g. have one customer who signed for sending between 2400 and 3000 words on every Monday during one year on a Word file. I guaranteed him he gets these texts back translated every Friday at the latest (except in my four weeks holiday in the summer and around Xmas).


 
Marjolein Snippe
Marjolein Snippe  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:44
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
agencies vs direct clients Apr 3, 2017

RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT wrote:

In terms of developing my niche, I would love to do that but it's hard to know where to start. I worry about investing a lot of time and energy in something only to discover it isn't the right thing and there is no work.

I have started taking an interest in smart cities so perhaps that's something I could find out more about. I guess I need to pick one thing and stick to it. I have a lot of experience in government but this isn't necessarily that helpful because most of these translations are put out to tender or handled by agencies I think.



It looks like you are trying to work only (or mainly) with direct clients, while acknowledging that an important field (government/diplomacy) which you have a lot of experience in, is mainly handled by agencies. So why not market yourself more to agencies? True, they may pay less per word than direct clients but especially if they turn into return customers, they may provide you with more work. Also, a good agency will take a lot of work out of your hands (negotiations with end clients, preparing the text to be translated, working out what the end client wants in terms of terminology etc.) I reckon many agencies would be thrilled to have an ex-British Embassy worker they could send their government-related jobs to!
Pretty much all my work comes through agencies because in medicine/pharmacy, like in government, that is just how it works.

Also, I think Mario's suggestion of meeting colleagues is a good one; maybe you could go to a powwow or organise one near where you live? If you have never been to one, the format is completely flexible so you could choose to meet in a pub over a drink, or meet outside and go for a walk together, or make it a themed meeting - anything you like.

Good luck, I hope things will pick up for you soon!


 
liz green (X)
liz green (X)
Local time: 14:44
French to English
marketing success? Nov 1, 2017

Hi Ruth
I stumbled across this thread when searching the forum to see if other people have been experiencing a dry spell like me. I'm interested to know whether things picked up for you and, if so, how quickly? I'm actually job hunting because my dry spell has lasted for two months now and I need an income fast! But I don't want to give up translating completely (because I love it) so am thinking maybe a part-time job is the way to go. How are things with you now? Did you find any strategi
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Hi Ruth
I stumbled across this thread when searching the forum to see if other people have been experiencing a dry spell like me. I'm interested to know whether things picked up for you and, if so, how quickly? I'm actually job hunting because my dry spell has lasted for two months now and I need an income fast! But I don't want to give up translating completely (because I love it) so am thinking maybe a part-time job is the way to go. How are things with you now? Did you find any strategies particularly successful? I'm the same language pair as you but work with agencies rather than direct clients so I guess that will make a difference to our respective approaches.
Liz
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RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Alas not much change Nov 1, 2017

Hi Liz
I'm afraid things haven't improved much but I haven't been making huge efforts either. I felt quite frustrated at having put a lot of time, money and effort in last year and I lost my mojo. I work with both direct clients and agencies and it seems slow on all fronts. Having said that, this may be as much a result of my apathy as anything else. I am doing a lot of community work which is unpaid but very satisfying so I've taken my eye off the ball really. I'm basically scraping
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Hi Liz
I'm afraid things haven't improved much but I haven't been making huge efforts either. I felt quite frustrated at having put a lot of time, money and effort in last year and I lost my mojo. I work with both direct clients and agencies and it seems slow on all fronts. Having said that, this may be as much a result of my apathy as anything else. I am doing a lot of community work which is unpaid but very satisfying so I've taken my eye off the ball really. I'm basically scraping a hand-to-mouth existence but hoping to get my mojo back soon and have another stab at it. It's just frustrating that when I made the least effort and was less qualified and experienced I got work without even trying. I feel like the results are indirectly proportionate to the effort I have put in. It's interesting to hear it's not just me with the experience though. I do wonder if Brexit has had an impact.
I have a lodger which really helps. Not sure where you're based but it's tax free in the UK. Is that something you would consider?
Ruth
liz green wrote:

Hi Ruth
I stumbled across this thread when searching the forum to see if other people have been experiencing a dry spell like me. I'm interested to know whether things picked up for you and, if so, how quickly? I'm actually job hunting because my dry spell has lasted for two months now and I need an income fast! But I don't want to give up translating completely (because I love it) so am thinking maybe a part-time job is the way to go. How are things with you now? Did you find any strategies particularly successful? I'm the same language pair as you but work with agencies rather than direct clients so I guess that will make a difference to our respective approaches.
Liz
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Kevin Fulton
Kevin Fulton  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 10:44
German to English
Very slow month October 2017 Nov 1, 2017

Regular agency and direct clients alike have been ominously quiet for the past several weeks. My October invoices were down by two-thirds compared to the previous month. Even the random, non-client, low-price inquiries have been few in number.

 
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Interesting but depressing Nov 1, 2017

I'm sorry to hear that, Kevin. Do you have any thoughts on why and whether this is temporary or a sign of things to come?

Kevin Fulton wrote:

Regular agency and direct clients alike have been ominously quiet for the past several weeks. My October invoices were down by two-thirds compared to the previous month. Even the random, non-client, low-price inquiries have been few in number.



 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Suggestions Nov 1, 2017

Suggestions:

Work on your profile until it's 100% complete. For instance: there's nothing in your portfolio section (sample translations you've done) and nothing in your "what I'm working on" section. And your calendar isn't showing.

I don't quite know how the Proz algorhythms work, but I've often found that tweaking my profile or adding something seems to make me more visible. It's also very important to make sure the keywords (at the bottom of your profile) are as com
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Suggestions:

Work on your profile until it's 100% complete. For instance: there's nothing in your portfolio section (sample translations you've done) and nothing in your "what I'm working on" section. And your calendar isn't showing.

I don't quite know how the Proz algorhythms work, but I've often found that tweaking my profile or adding something seems to make me more visible. It's also very important to make sure the keywords (at the bottom of your profile) are as comprehensive as you can make them (in both languages). The keywords are what potential clients might type into Google, and that Google will then search for.

However, even after you've done all that, and as others have said, our industry does have lulls, which can be different depending on your language pair/specialism. Sometimes it reminds me of shop-owners I often see standing at their doors, not having had a single customer all day....
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RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Good tip Nov 1, 2017

Thank you Tom. I'l add it to my Mojo list. I have a list of things to do when my community work calms down and I get my marketing mojo back. In the meantime, baked beans for me

Tom in London wrote:

Suggestions:

Work on your profile until it's 100% complete. For instance: there's nothing in your portfolio section (sample translations you've done) and nothing in your "what I'm working on" section. And your calendar isn't showing.

I don't quite know how the Proz algorhythms work, but I've often found that tweaking my profile or adding something seems to make me more visible. It's also very important to make sure the keywords (at the bottom of your profile) are as comprehensive as you can make them (in both languages). The keywords are what potential clients might type into Google, and that Google will then search for.

However, even after you've done all that, and as others have said, our industry does have lulls, which can be different depending on your language pair/specialism. Sometimes it reminds me of shop-owners I often see standing at their doors, not having had a single customer all day....


 
liz green (X)
liz green (X)
Local time: 14:44
French to English
feast and then a very long famine indeed Nov 1, 2017

Thanks for your reply, Ruth.
It's interesting as your experiences appear to mirror mine. I get the impression from various other forums I'm on that other translators have a steady stream of work most of the time, but I wonder if people don't always tell it how it is. Or maybe they're just super good at marketing. Personally, I've lost the enthusiasm to keep hammering on doors (metaphorically), having done lots and lots of marketing at the beginning of the year, picked up a few new clients,
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Thanks for your reply, Ruth.
It's interesting as your experiences appear to mirror mine. I get the impression from various other forums I'm on that other translators have a steady stream of work most of the time, but I wonder if people don't always tell it how it is. Or maybe they're just super good at marketing. Personally, I've lost the enthusiasm to keep hammering on doors (metaphorically), having done lots and lots of marketing at the beginning of the year, picked up a few new clients, had the busiest summer ever, only to end up with the horriblest drought you can imagine!
Lodger not really feasible for me at the moment as the only spare room is my daughter's and she seems to want somewhere to sleep when she comes home But it's certainly an idea for the future.
In your case at least, the translation industry's loss is your community's gain!
Good luck.
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:44
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Make things work for you Nov 1, 2017

liz green wrote:
Did you find any strategies particularly successful? I'm the same language pair as you but work with agencies rather than direct clients

I know that remark was addressed specifically to Ruth, Liz, but I'm wondering if you're open to suggestions from others? (I also work in the same pair and have had a very up-and-down year, with a too-quiet first quarter, hectic July and August, and some just-right months.) I would imagine that the UK is indeed suffering a little from Brexit at the moment, or rather the effect that's having on the pound, but I'm sure it's still possible to make a living. Even if you choose not to invest in paid ProZ.com membership, I imagine you still hope to find clients here? If that's the case, there's a lot more you could do to increase your chances, even without spending a penny. And if you're thinking of using the site as your major shop window, then you really need to invest in it. The ROI of this site can be good if you do everything right, but without the investment it's hard to imagine that you'd make many new clients here.

First, research what you need to do to make ProZ.com work as best it can for you. I know you've been here for ages, but your profile isn't at all strong. Learn how to improve your directory position, appear in filtered searches, and qualify to quote for more jobs. Obviously, paid membership is the single most powerful remedy, but KudoZ points are vital here too, and even just setting your country would qualify you for jobs/searches that specify that translators must be based in their target-language country. Some of the information you'll find in the Site Guidance Centre here and in the free Meeting Clients webinar will apply only to this site, but most will be helpful in a far wider way. The site's forums, Wikis and other articles are all potentially helpful.

It doesn't seem as though clients are getting the same clear message about you regardless of where they look. I'd advise you to arrange things - ProZ profile, ProZ about me text, CV, website, and everything else (e.g. LinkedIn?) - so that everywhere a potential client goes, they'll be getting the same simple and clear message. That means getting rid of all the dead wood (there's a lot of that in the CV, which as a freelancer should NOT be the history of your life), and organising what's left so the oh-so-busy potential client doesn't have to hunt around to find out whether you'll be a good fit for their needs. You've got many years of experience and a great background, but it's really getting lost in translation into marketing copy.

One last point that comes to mind: you say you work with agencies rather than direct clients - as though it's set in stone. Are you not actively targeting direct clients? You have so much experience, plus credentials of all sorts - surely you'd be an ideal candidate as a business partner for direct clients, wouldn't you? But of course they won't come to you unless they know you exist.


 
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
RUTH ELIZABETH BARTLETT
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:44
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
It'll be reet Nov 1, 2017

Well if you had a busy Summer it sounds like quite a short drought. They often feel longer than they are. I wouldn't be thinking of doing anything drastic like getting a job and would focus on cost-cutting if you can. Here in Yorkshire, even when the translation business is slow the pay is still a lot better than in many other jobs.

Best of luck with it all and thank you for your kind words. I'll check out your website for future reference.


liz green wrote:

Thanks for your reply, Ruth.
It's interesting as your experiences appear to mirror mine. I get the impression from various other forums I'm on that other translators have a steady stream of work most of the time, but I wonder if people don't always tell it how it is. Or maybe they're just super good at marketing. Personally, I've lost the enthusiasm to keep hammering on doors (metaphorically), having done lots and lots of marketing at the beginning of the year, picked up a few new clients, had the busiest summer ever, only to end up with the horriblest drought you can imagine!
Lodger not really feasible for me at the moment as the only spare room is my daughter's and she seems to want somewhere to sleep when she comes home But it's certainly an idea for the future.
In your case at least, the translation industry's loss is your community's gain!
Good luck.


 
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