Here’s a video introduction to my new book, Getting Started as a Freelance Interpreter: Essential strategies for launching and growing your business as a spoken-language interpreter. It’s now available wherever books are sold (Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Apple bookstore), but the best way to support any independent author is to buy directly from us! You can do that right here.

Greetings, Training for Translators readers, I hope you’re all doing well! A quick tip for this week: When you’re thinking of potential clients, don’t discount professional associations for your specializations (and I mean having them as actual clients, not just research and networking resources). 

I’ve been having fun researching potential clients for the students in my Direct client research lab course (seven spots left in the October session!). As part of my work with the participants in that class, I look for professional associations related to their specializations. At the outset, my thought was for them to use these associations mostly for research and networking purposes:

• Join their mailing list
• Read their blog
• Look at their professional development offerings
• Attend their networking events 
• Find out who their key members are, and connect with them on LinkedIn or in other places

And I still think that these are very worthy goals. But I’ve also noticed an interesting phenomenon: a lot of these associations’ own publications (their blog, their newsletter, their website copy) need a lot of work. As in:

• They direct you to their blog as a resource, but they’re posting to it once every six months
• “Read our newsletter archive” (last published in 2024)
• A lot of European associations have English text on their website, but it’s not always great 

This represents an opportunity for you! You’re a word person, and you’re familiar with their sector. In fact, you’d love to deepen your own network in their sector. I have a soft spot for this kind of work, because my own connection to the Colorado Translators Association (now Colorado Interpreters and Translators Association) started with administering the association newsletter back in the analog age (literally licking stamps!). I did that job for two or three years, and by the end, I knew almost everyone in the association: I had interviewed them, written about them, changed their address, whatever. Here’s how you can replicate that:

• Identify professional associations for your specialization(s) in your source and target language countries. Use Google or ChatGPT for this. 
• Spend around 30 minutes looking through their websites. Look for the kinds of things I mentioned above. Particularly look for irregular publishing schedules and poorly written stuff. 
• Even if things look good (but especially if they don’t), send them a pitch. Lots of associations list their staff on their website; maybe you can find the communications director there. Or again, ask Google or ChatGPT. 
• Write a brief, upbeat, and friendly e-mail to that person, or send a LinkedIn connection request with the 200-character note, then follow up with a longer message. “Hello Melissa, I recently came across your website while researching associations for the poodle breeding sector. As a translator and writer specializing in all things related to poodles, I immediately subscribed to your newsletter and then jumped over to your blog. I loved the article about the care of aging poodles (my own fur baby Lucinda is going strong at age 15!), and I couldn’t help noticing that your most recent post is from around six months ago. Have you ever thought about using a freelancer to help you keep your members engaged with more regular articles? I thought of a few topics that might interest you: feel free to use these, whether or not you’d like to talk about working together. [Give two or three topic ideas]. If a freelance content writer might be a good addition to your team, I’d love to talk further; would you be the correct person to speak with?” 

Remember, the name of the game with cold e-mail is personalization and targeting. Obviously my example is totally made up, but I’m serious that I would mention your personal connections to this association’s focus, an article on their site that you particularly liked, and so on. According to Hunter.io (the authority on cold e-mail), the main success factors when you’re e-mailing someone you don’t know are relevance and trust. Here, you’re already making a connection by showing you’ve looked at their website; and what fellow poodle enthusiast could resist a mention of your sweet Lucinda?? 

Try this! Try it today. “Get caught trying” is my new guiding principle. Then, let me know how it goes. 

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Happy September, Training for Translators subscribers! For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s back-to-school/rentrée time, with all the new beginnings that this time of year entails!

Write a book review?

If you’ve read my new book, Getting Started as a Freelance Interpreter, I’d love a review of it, to help other people find and learn about the book! You can do that on my website (link above; download a free sample there if you’re curious!) or on Amazon.

September classes

Speaking of back-to-school! Join us on September 24 for a two-hour master class with guest instructor Ana Sofia Correia, Marketing with purpose: How medical translators and interpreters can attract the right clients ($75 including the recording), or sign up for my Direct client research lab, combining personalized direct client marketing recommendations with a group session to learn my research techniques ($160, registration limited to 20 people, 12 spots left right now).

This week’s topic: Before you blow it all up, try these strategies

Last week, I wrote a post on LinkedIn that then sparked a podcast episode, focusing on the (large) number of freelancers who’ve been working for a small number of agencies and calling it a freelance business. No shame in this; “two agencies and an e-mail address” once described my business too. But here’s what I found more surprising: the number of freelancers saying (explicitly or implicitly), “…and I really have no desire to market, network, or be more visible, I just want to translate, which no longer seems viable, so I’m looking for another career.”

If that’s you, and you really want to move on, do it. Not that you need my approval (you definitely don’t), but I’m a big fan of evolving. Given the choice between stagnation and a major change, I’d pick the major change any day. But if you’re considering “blowing it all up” because you believe:

• “Pure” translation work no longer exists
• Running a “real” business isn’t for you
• There’s no way forward

…then I have a few other suggestions for you.

Unless Esperanto really takes off…

My take? Unless Esperanto really makes a run for it, in a way that Esperanto historically has not, the world will always need multilingual communicators. The need for our services isn’t going anywhere. And what the job looks like is changing, and in some cases (translating for agencies) changing fast, in ways that you may not agree with. And I personally think that the real shift isn’t so much AI, it’s the end of the “two agencies and an e-mail address” business model, where many people who called themselves freelancers were actually more like fractional employees. I know; it’s a lot to absorb and a lot to deal with. And yet, I firmly believe that there’s a solid future for us.

If you’re considering “blowing it all up,” here’s what I’d recommend trying. Let’s say that right now, you have some regular agency clients but the work isn’t that great: MTPE (machine translation post-editing, such an unfortunate name, kind of like post-consumer waste, but we’re stuck with it now) at low rates, minimum charge jobs (25 words that their MT system can’t read) and similar work. Here’s what I’d do:

• For the moment, stick with the agency work that you’ve got, even if it’s not great. Let that keep you afloat while you look for better stuff.
• Right this red-hot second, start a full-on marketing sprint to agencies (yes, you read that correctly, agencies). Why? Because marketing to agencies is simple, and you’re less likely to get stuck in a doom loop (“But first, I have to create/update my website, then I have to pick some more targeted specializations, then I have to figure out who needs me, then I have to figure out who to contact within those companies, then I have to have a panic attack”). By the time you get to step 1.5, you’ve likely given up. Instead, push the easy button: look for some better or different agency work so that at least, you’re not clinging to your same two agency clients. Set a goal of applying to 50 agencies in the next month, and just start cranking out the applications. I honestly think that James Clear’s mantra, Action Relieves Anxiety, will prove to be true for you pretty quickly. Maybe these agencies don’t have better work, or different kinds of work than what you’re doing now (but maybe they do!); the point is to make you less dependent on the handful of agencies you work with, and to get the marketing mojo flowing.
• Then, think of the least intimidating way to start marketing to direct clients. Something like: marketing to agencies that aren’t translation agencies. Why? Because they definitely need you. You’re not convincing them that an Esperanto website could really pump their business. You’re an English to Spanish translator, sending a simple e-mail (“Came across your website while researching international marketing agencies in Madrid; I can imagine that there might be a need for an English to Spanish translator with marketing expertise”) to international marketing agencies in Spanish-speaking countries. You’re a court interpreter, sending your CV to legal services agencies. You’re an official document translator, asking credentials evaluation agencies how to get on the list of translators they give referrals to. Start there. Set the goal of finding one new direct client before the end of the year, and start with “entry-level” clients who definitely need translation or interpreting services. Only then do you think about “scaling up,” and I’m guessing you’ll be feeling a lot more positive about your prospects.
• Let me know how it goes! For all the negativity about the future of the language professions, I’ve been hearing from a good number of freelancers who are trying new things and succeeding!

I hope these tips are helpful! Have a great week!

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This episode is based on a LinkedIn post I wrote this week, that generated a lively discussion. If you’re finding the current freelance environment hard, you’re not the crazy one: perhaps, all these years (or decades, or since the 1980s) you’ve been more of a fractional employee than a freelancer? 

Greetings, Training for Translators readers! I hope you’re all doing well. Here’s the T4T news this week:

Medical marketing master class

Guest instructor Ana Sofia Correia kicks off the T4T “school year” with a two-hour master class exclusively for medical translators and interpreters on September 24. Join us for Marketing with purpose: how medical translators and interpreters can attract the right clients. Registration is $75 and includes the recording. We have a good group already signed up, and there’s room for everyone who wants to participate. 

Direct client research lab: October session

My experimental session of Direct client research lab (personalized direct client marketing advice based on your goals) went well; the August session sold out in one day, the reviews were very positive, and the September session sold out from the waitlist. So now we’re on to October, and there are 20 spots up for grabs; $160 includes a personalized video of marketing recommendations just for you, then we meet for a live session where I demonstrate my research methods so that you can use them yourself. Here’s the October link. 

This week’s topic: The first rule of marketing is, “Do no harm” (to yourself!) 

A quick mindset tip: If you’re actively looking for new clients in your freelance business, the most important thing to avoid is self-sabotage and self-inflicted pain. That sounds kind of dumb, but here’s what I mean. We all do this! You see a good potential client, and you immediately tell yourself:

-“They probably already have a translator or interpreter.” You don’t know that: Maybe they’re piling this extra responsibility on one of their employees who already has another job. Maybe that person went to their boss this morning and said, “I’m not translating the website copy/interpreting for the staff meetings/subtitling the videos anymore. We have to hire an actual translator/interpreter/subtitler.”

-“They probably won’t pay my rates.” Do you know their budget? Have you sat in on their planning meetings? Maybe they’re over there, saying, “Our current freelancer does mediocre work, takes forever to respond to our e-mails, and delivered the last project late. We need to find someone new, and we may have to pay more to get someone good.”

-“I’m afraid they’ll think I’m too expensive, so I’ll quote my absolute lowest rate.” This is what Walt Kania used to call a “self-inflicted discount.” The client isn’t asking for a discount: they don’t need to, because you’re offering one before you even give them a quote. There are tons of ways to handle this. The best: just quote your regular rate and see what happens! I’m honestly surprised at how often a client I really want to work with is fine with what I charge. If you’re really having pricing anxiety, you can say something like, “For this type of project, I typically charge X. If that’s not in your budget, let me know and we can talk further.” You’re not explicitly offering to charge less: maybe the client can give you a longer deadline, or downsize the request to fit their budget.

Right now, lots of translators (more translators than interpreters, is my sense) are actively marketing for the first time. If you’ve been earning 75% of your income from three to five agencies for the past few years (or decades, or since the 1980s), it’s a scary time, but I promise you that there are ways forward. I hope these tips are helpful!

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