Many freelance translators are overthinkers. Wanting to get it just right turns into lots of obsessing over 37 ways the idea could go wrong, soliciting the opinions of 93 colleagues, burning the project to the ground and starting from scratch, etc. Overthinking gets in the way of lots of things, but most of all it hinders effective marketing. Why? Because one of the keys to effective marketing is simply to market. Many freelancers are failing at marketing. Not (not) because they market in ineffective ways, but because they don’t market at all.
Here’s one way around the overthinking trap. Note that I said “one way.” Not “the best way” or “the only way,” but one way. Write really short marketing e-mails that leave very little room for overthinking. Like this:
“Dear Mr. Lewis, I am a German to English medical translator and recently came across your website while researching medical device companies. Would you be the right person to speak to about offering my translation services?”
“Dear Ms. Thomas, I am an Italian to English medical translator and recently came across your agency’s website. I live in the San Diego area and enjoy working with local agencies. Are you currently recruiting translators in my language and specialization?”
“Dear Ms. Phillips, I am an English to Spanish translator specializing in education. I’m interested in offering my translation services to your textbook company. Would you be the right person to speak to about that?”
These e-mails are not:
- warm
- intended to create a connection with the recipient
- intended to show that you researched the potential client, other than their basic line of business
However, they have a few advantages:
- They’re short, to the point, and they respect the recipient’s time. When you write a) a long e-mail, to b) someone you don’t know, and you’re c) trying to sell something, the chances of the recipient reading to the end are near zero. This kind of e-mail avoids that problem.
- They take very little time to write, but they show that you know something about the potential client; they’re much better than a “Dear Sir or Madam” e-mail.
- They don’t demand an extensive response from the recipient. Again, a “can you please give me your take on my life story” e-mail will almost certainly be deleted by anyone who doesn’t know you. But this type of e-mail invites the recipient to respond in a similarly concise way. “Sure!” “Try contacting the marketing department at…” or “We have someone right now, but I’ll save your contact info” would all be acceptable responses, and all take about 30 seconds to write.
So again, this is not an artisanal approach to marketing. It’s kind of the antithesis of the free sample translation pitch, where you’re investing a lot of time before you even contact the client. But if you just need to do something to avoid overthinking your marketing efforts, you could try this.
Hi,
I think this content here: https://www.onehourtranslation.com/translation/blog/translators-how-choose-your-area-specialization is directly copied from your blog.
Kind regards,
Fernando
Hmm. How interesting. Thanks for letting me know.
I agree on writing short mails – everyone is busy, after all. However, why not focus a bit more on the recipient? Not “I am interested in …” but “Are you interested in …” would make a difference. Or “Do you outsource translations? If so: are you satisfied with the result? Feel free to discuss your translation needs with me.” etc.
Thanks, Edith! Those are great suggestions; focusing more on the client nearly always yield better results. My only caveat would be that you don’t want to look as if you’re wanting/expecting an extensive response from the client. I do like the “are you happy with your current translation provider” angle, but that takes much longer to respond to, and the client may think, “it’s none of your business.” But in general, I agree: focus on the client as much as possible.
Thank you for this refreshing and practical post, Corinne. Overthinking can be a real handicap, getting in the way of opportunities. Sometimes you have to surprise yourself and others.
Thanks, Danielle! Glad you enjoyed it!
Very good points Corinne! It is important to just do something, instead of waiting for things to be perfect. I also encourage experimenting with marketing strategies to see what works, and this can be one of them. However, the “warmer” you can make the email, the better of course. Your first examples would almost qualify as warm to me. Thanks for all your practical tips.
Thanks, Tess! Great point: “waiting for things to be perfect” is a pretty long waiting game!
Great post as usual, Corinne!
I would add one tip: follow-up with an equally short email a week or two later! It doesn’t need to be long. The body can be something like “Just checking if you received my email from [date]. Do you have any questions? Let me know, I’d be happy to help.”
It works well. I even just got an answer to a follow-up email I sent a couple of hours ago.
Aurelie
Thanks so much for your comment! I really like the follow-up idea. My only caveat would be don’t make the person feel guilty about not responding the first time. I get a lot of follow-up e-mails from unsolicited sales pitches that start like this: “I e-mailed you last week and haven’t heard back yet. Either way, I’d really appreciate a response.” To me, that’s a no-go because a) I didn’t ask for the sales pitch, and b) if I didn’t respond, presumably I’m not interested. But I like your “Just checking…” wording.
True! At first, I wasn’t following-up with emails because I didn’t want to make them feeling guilty, and I was the one feeling bad!
Now, I just send a message very similar to the one I gave. Sometimes I add a link to some content they may find useful. I must admit that’s a quite a new thing for me, and it still needs some tweaking.
I overthink too much so this is some great advice! Thank you for the short and sweet article.
Thanks, Jennifer! Glad you found it helpful!
What about ‘How are you’? In Dutch, it’s considered extremely rude to start a letter or an email with ‘I’ (at least when it’s not very informal), and I’m always afraid to make the same terrible mistake in English (and Swedish, for that matter), but perhaps it’s not that bad after all … What’s your take on this, Corinne and other people over here?
Edith, that’s an interesting question. I guess I usually go with “I hope that all is well with you,” because you definitely don’t want to provoke a “none of your business” reaction from the client. And the client is really not going to respond and tell you how their day is going, if you ask, “How are you?” That’s my hesitation with, “I wonder if I could ask what translation provider you’re using now?” It’s an interesting question, but many/most clients won’t want to say. So in terms of a greeting, I think I’d go with “Hello Ms. X, I hope that all is well with you,” or “I hope that your 2017 is off to an excellent start,” if you want something less abrupt.
Well, that answers the question I asked: in English it’s not a terrible thing to start emails with ‘I’ (though it may be good to use a small introductory phrase instead of immediately getting to the point). And it answers a question that I did not ask but that I find very interesting to: ‘Is “How are you?” a good start then’. Apparently it is not, as people may think you would want them to actually answer it. In Dutch it’s the other way around: IRL you would say ‘I’m fine’ even though you weren’t (in a professional setting, that is), and in emails you usually just ignore the question all together. Nice, these little cultural differences … Enough to make one (over)think … Oh well, time for bed now 😀
Thanks Corinne! I definitely needed this reminder 🙂 More marketing, less overthinking!
Thanks, Alicia! Yes, whatever tactic you take (short e-mails, warmer e-mails, paper letters, something else), “less obsessing and more doing” is almost always a good rule.
C’est vrai!
Thanks Corinne – this is a fantastic tip.
Overthinking is a particular disease of mine! After reading your post, I sent out four short messages today, which is the most marketing I have done for a very long while.
Thanks, Melanie! That is a great testimonial!!
What do you think is more important, though? Should freelance translators be taking the time to write warmer, more meaningful emails? Will the time invested have a higher return? http://samedaytranslations.com/blog/
Thanks, Lauren! Yes, definitely, warmer and more meaningful e-mails are likely to be more effective. But the problem for a lot of people is when the perfect becomes the enemy of the good (or the enemy of doing anything at all). This can help with that problem.
This post appeared in my life at the exact moment I needed it. Thank you so much!
Well, that’s always good!