Ever since the current recession hit, the economy has been doing strange things. While most freelancers I know are at or above their overall income goals, I've talked to numerous people who have gone longer than usual with little or no work. In my own case, my usual holiday slowdown (normally … [Read more...] about Avoiding feast or famine by marketing consistently
When a client cold contacts you
We translators spend a lot of time strategizing about how to cold contact potential clients. But what happens when a potential client cold contacts us? Especially if you have a well-written profile in your local/national translators association directory, or you have a professional-looking website, … [Read more...] about When a client cold contacts you
What the health care debate teaches us about pricing
Until a few weeks ago, the most popular post on this blog was one that I wrote a long time ago on charging by the word versus charging by the hour (it's since been eclipsed by a recent post on using a sample translation as a sales pitch). This is a topic I think about a lot, and this morning while … [Read more...] about What the health care debate teaches us about pricing
New issue of Translation Journal
Happy 50th issue to Translation Journal, the October issue of which is now available online (free, but make a donation if you enjoy reading TJ!). … [Read more...] about New issue of Translation Journal
Keeping track of client preferences
If you've ever found yourself struggling to avoid asking a client "How much did I say I was going to charge you?", you need a client preferences file. The client preferences file (which could take the form of a spreadsheet, a text file, index cards, a notebook, just as long as you keep the records!) … [Read more...] about Keeping track of client preferences