…and remove:
- Vague blah blah that applies to 10,000 other translators (possibly even 11,000). “I help clients communicate across cultures” (let’s hope so…), “Accurate and efficient,” “Detail-oriented,” “Committed to meeting deadlines.” Instead, get specific: “In 12+ years of freelancing, I have never missed a deadline.” “More than just a word-replacer, I’m a key member of my clients’ communications teams.” “I regularly decline assignments that aren’t within my scope of expertise; instead I concentrate on what I do extremely well.” “In addition to working with words, I’m committed to working well with people, and my goal is for the translation process to be as painless as possible for my clients.” I just made those up, and they may not apply to you, and you may not like the style (but if you do, you can steal them). But they’re examples of statements that get your specific story out there.
- “References available upon request.” Either include testimonials from clients directly on your marketing materials, or get this sentence out of there. It goes without saying that the client will ask for references if they want them.
- “Objective: freelance translation projects using demonstrated expertise in Japanese to English translation.” Again: a message from the department of redundancy department. Clearly, the objective of marketing materials is to find work, and hopefully you have some demonstrated expertise, or you’d be doing something else.
- Any reference to “the best.” Translation is very subjective: Usain Bolt can safely say that he’s “the best” at the 100 meter dash, but you can’t measure translation skill with a clock or a meter stick. Plus, every client’s preference varies. If you want to look at every word in the French document and see a direct equivalent in the English document, I’m not your woman, because I like to rewrite more than I like to replace words. Some clients disagree, and that’s OK.
- Photos of you with animals (unless you’re a vet), or anything that looks like a selfie. It’s surprising how many people’s “professional photos” are anything but. Translator next to a horse? Snuggling a puppy? Cruise LinkedIn and you’ll find these and more, plus lots of photos that are clearly selfies. To me, a crummy headshot photo is sort of like business cards with the “Get your free business cards at…” logo on the back. It shows that the person isn’t willing to put forth even the small amount of effort required to do better. For example, my current headshot was taken by a friend with a nice camera; our local translators association offers discount group headshot sessions every few years. A professional session is absolutely worth it, but there are also alternatives that still look good. Again, people’s preferences will vary: for my own photos, I lean toward a more natural, less posed look. I wouldn’t cuddle my cat in the photo, but a little wind in the hair doesn’t bother me, whereas other people prefer a more posed, studio look.
Readers, anything else that needs to get the ax?
A good thing to remember is that your marketing materials are not about you, they’re about your potential clients and what you can do for them. Definitely delete “I have a passion for language” and replace it with “I will treat your message as my #1 priority”.
And be sure your resume is culturally appropriate: while it’s common to list marital status, children, and hobbies on a CV in Russia, it’s inappropriate in the United States.
Colours, silly fonts and consistency! I am currently working on my own brochure as part of a letter campaign. And I collected a bunch of brochures and divided them into two piles – good and bad ones. Then sat down and analysed why they were either good or bad.
Most of the bad ones were similar to what you wrote – redundancy issues and predictably bad language. But I also found a huge amount of bad ones that had strange fonts that were hard to read or childish for serious businesses (comic sans for a solicitor, doesn’t really inspire confidence).
I’ve seen different fonts and colours (that don’t match) used in the same brochure without thought for consistency or if they match. Stick to a font or two and a few colours. Don’t go all over the place like a rainbow.
I’m connection to what Amy wrote, make sure you material is targeted at your audience. Danes don’t like people flaunting how many awards they have won, however that might work in the United States. So not just the resume, but your entire content should be aimed at that specific culture.
Reblogged this on ATIF News – A voice for Florida T&I professionals and commented:
Are your marketing materials ready, I mean READY to be shown to potential clients? Not sure? Read on…
Reinforce your brand: use the same colors, fonts, talking points in all your materials.
I think part of the problem is that translators tend to approach marketing as translators rather than as marketers. Most clients don’t care about a passion for language or translation tools because they’re not translators and that information is not relevant. If we, as translators, are going to be successful entrepreneurs (and I think this is the mindset we need to have), then we need to approach marketing our business with this mindset. I think this post is a great first step toward this goal.
The # 1 error that almost all translators that try to contact us make: addressing their message to “Dear Sir or Madam” (or “Dear Project Manager”, “Dear Human Resource Department”, “To Whom it May Concern”, etc.)
Addressing your message that way is the equivalent of saying “I cannot be bothered to find any information about you, so instead I’m going to spam a bunch of random translation companies, or people that I think might be translation companies (though I haven’t made any effort to find out if they actually are). Then, when nobody answers, I’m going to ProZ and complain that nobody wants to send me any work”.
# 2: Not indicating in the header of your résumé what your language combination is
# 3 (closely related to #2), and another item from the department of redundant redundancy: Using “Résumé” or “Curriculum Vitae” as the header of your résumé or curriculum
Ouch – the copy on my LinkedIn page and on the revamp of my website starts off talking about my passion for, among other things, languages! Right – I’ll have to redo that…
Great article, Corinne, and just in time for me!
Great advice, thank you Corinne!
Anyone who lists ‘internet connection’ or ‘MS Office’ or even ‘full driving licence’ as a tool / skill…
Rebecca, I have to say that this made me laugh out loud; I’ve also seen “laser printer.” Yes: anything that is a basic requirement of the job doesn’t need to be listed.
Thank you for this–it echoes perfectly what I try to emphasize to my students!
And can I add: listing EVERY T&I workshop or seminar they’ve attended under “Education”? Unfortunately, when folks do that, it’s because they’ve only gone to three. Better to omit that section than populate it with weak items.