Training for Translators

Classes for translators and interpreters

Direct clients


Corinne McKay

Four sources of potential direct clients

To get our weekly posts directly in your inbox, sign up for the Training for Translators mailing list!

If you’d like to listen to this blog post as a podcast, subscribe to the Training for Translators podcast in Apple Podcasts or on Spotify, or listen to it directly on the T4T website!


This week, let’s talk about a basic concept of direct client marketing: determining who might need your services. I started thinking about this because, when I teach direct client marketing classes, it’s not unusual for people to say, “I understand how to do this, but I get stuck before I even start, because I don’t know what types of clients might need me.”

Let’s take a look at four main sources of potential direct clients:

  1. Clients similar to your agencies’ end clients. Never, never, ever (did I mention never??) market to your agency clients’ actual end clients. That’s a complete violation of your contract with the agency, and also totally unethical, because the agency did the work to land and retain that client. But, analyzing who is buying the translations you’re doing for agencies can be a good springboard. That’s how I got started with international development translation. I had no idea that it was even its own specialization, until one of my good agency clients (back in 2005 or so) offered me some NGO work. In turn, that made me think, this can’t be the only NGO or development entity on earth with the need and budget for professional translation services. I then did a marketing campaign that resulted in a couple of excellent direct clients.
  2. Professional organizations for your specializations. These can be really valuable, both in terms of potential clients and in terms of continuing education and networking opportunities. There is literally a professional association for every industry or sector on earth. Immigration lawyers, museums, clinical trial organizations, private investigators. They all have associations! Maybe those associations have membership directories that you can use to find names of potential clients. Maybe they have a continuing education series that you could participate in, to learn more about that sector or industry. Maybe you could write an article for their journal or magazine on best practices for working with a translator or interpreter. Maybe you could attend their conference.
  3. Job search sites. Even though we’re not looking for in-house jobs, job search sites can give us a lot of direct client leads. Let’s say that you went on Devex, “the media platform for the global development community.” And on there, you clicked Jobs, and let’s say you found a posting for an NGO that’s hiring a financial analyst who has to speak French. If you’re a French-English or English-French translator, that tells you that this NGO may need your services, because they work in English and French. You could then find some of their employees on LinkedIn and reference this ad: “I noticed that you’re hiring for a French-speaking financial analyst, and I can imagine that you might need a French to English translator as part of this project.” You can also do this with mainstream job search sites like LinkedIn or Indeed, it’s just easier if you find a job search site for your specialization.
  4. Agencies for your specializations, but not translation agencies. When we say, “agency,” we tend to think exclusively of translation and interpreting agencies. But lots of industries have agencies. There are legal services agencies that provide freelance professionals for depositions: mainly court reporters, but they are often asked to secure an interpreter if one is needed. There are content marketing agencies that help companies create marketing-optimized blog posts and newsletters; maybe some of their clients work in multiple languages, or should be working in multiple languages? There are credentials evaluation agencies that help international professionals transfer their credentials to another country…and all of that has to be translated! There are international relocation agencies, who are often asked for referrals to translators: “We’re moving to Brazil, now we need our kids’ school records translated into Portuguese.”

Particularly if you’ve never worked with direct clients, it can be intimidating to think about who might need you, but I hope these quick ideas are helpful!

Corinne McKay (classes@trainingfortranslators.com) is the founder of Training for Translators, and has been a full-time freelancer since 2002. An ATA-certified French to English translator and Colorado court-certified interpreter, she also holds a Master of Conference Interpreting from Glendon College. For more tips and insights, join the Training for Translators mailing list!


Corinne McKay

Batch processing: a simple trick to make direct client marketing easier

What’s your current direct client research process?

Direct client marketing can feel like pushing a cement mixer up a hill, in the dark. Stop me if this sounds familiar:

  • “I need some new direct clients”
  • “What kind of clients might need me?”
  • “Where would I find those clients?”
  • “Who would I contact?”
  • “How would I contact them?”
  • “What would I say?”
  • “What if they never respond?”
  • “What if I sound dumb or unqualified?
  • …and then rinse and repeat, until you’ve completely talked yourself out of the whole idea, and gone back to translating whatever lands in the inbox…as I said, stop me if this sounds familiar

What’s a better way?

To avoid this cycle of discouragement, make a simple change: instead of re-inventing the direct client prospecting and acquisition process from scratch each time, group these tasks into batches to make them less painful. Like this:

Day 1: Let’s say Monday. Maybe even today. Write a very precise description of the type of direct clients you’d like to reach out to. Such as:

  • Content marketing companies in Germany that seem to work with clients who need content marketing materials in English.
  • US-based human resources consulting firms that seem to work with clients with large numbers of Spanish-speaking employees, by offering HR and training materials in Spanish.
  • E-learning companies that seem to be offering their courses in multiple languages

You get the picture: describe your target client as specifically as possible: industry/sector, geographic location, and why they might need a translator.

Day 2: By researching online or on LinkedIn, identify five to ten potential clients that fit your description. Enter their basic information (company name, website, geographic location, some notes on why they might need you) into a spreadsheet.

Day 3: Follow or connect with those potential clients on an online platform: follow them on Twitter, subscribe to their blog or newsletter, etc.

Day 4: Make a direct contact. Send a warm e-mail; send a paper letter; send a LinkedIn InMail. For most of us, this is the hardest part. A few suggestions:

  • If it’s your lucky day, the prospective client might have a company directory online, or might have bios of their key staff. I try to identify a job title (i.e. “West Africa Program Manager” for my international development clients) of a good potential contact. When in doubt, I tend to contact someone in marketing or communications, because I find they’re the most likely to at least respond. In my experience, HR is the least likely to respond: they don’t seem to know what to do with freelancers.
  • In the US, I think it’s acceptable to search for a company’s employees on LinkedIn, then search for their e-mail addresses on Hunter.io or a similar tool. I’ve done this hundreds of times and no one has ever even asked where I found their contact information, much less asked me not to contact them again. If your prospective clients are subject to the GDPR, use this approach with caution.
  • I also think it’s acceptable to call on the phone, especially if the entity you’re calling is likely to have an employee who answers the phone all day. Just keep it quick: “I’m a freelance German to English translator and I’m wondering who would be the appropriate person to contact to offer you my services?”

Log those contacts in your spreadsheet, along with any outcome or response that you receive.

What does this look like in practice?

If I were prospecting for direct clients–let’s say content marketing companies in Switzerland that seem to need services in English–here’s what I would do.
Monday: Write a description of what I’m looking for (see above)
Tuesday: Find at least five companies that fit that description
Wednesday: Go to those companies’ websites and find any opportunities to connect with them. If they’re active on Twitter, follow them there. If they have a blog or newsletter, subscribe to it
Thursday: Send a highly-targeted e-mail (I find that Swiss clients are relatively receptive to this, if it’s highly targeted) to a contact person at the company, or send a LinkedIn contact request with a personalized message

Simply by going through this process, you will be gathering good data. You’ll be seeing what these clients are up to (because you’re following them on social media or subscribing to their stuff). You’ll be getting a better sense of who the major players in your target industries are. You’ll be figuring out what these clients need and what they respond to. This is all good, whether or not it results in work right away.

What next?

Once you’ve done that four-step process once, add in some followup. Maybe try to follow up using a different method: first, connect on social media; then, a warm e-mail; then, a postcard or handwritten note. This can mix things up a bit (in a good way), and can help avoid the feeling that you’re pestering, while accepting that most clients will need more than one contact before they work with you.

For most of us, direct client marketing is a prescription for analysis paralysis: the whole thing seems so daunting that we end up talking ourselves out of doing anything at all. If that’s your situation, try this batch process method and see if that helps ease some of the pain.


Corinne McKay

New podcast: the basics of direct client marketing

In this episode of Speaking of Translation, Eve and Corinne discuss the basics of marketing your freelance translation services to direct clients. We offer tips on deciding who to market to, beginner-friendly direct client marketing techniques, and what factors to consider before you start marketing to direct clients. Links mentioned in this episode:

And if you enjoy Speaking of Translation, you can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (or even leave us a review!)

Click the audio player link to listen online

Right-click the link below to download the MP3.
Chrome/Firefox: Choose “Save Link As”
Internet Explorer: Choose “Save target as”
Safari: Choose “Download Linked File”
The basics of direct client marketing


Corinne McKay

How to move up in the translation market

This post originally appeared as a newsletter to my mailing list; I’m reprinting it here while taking some time off from blogging this summer!

Lots of us have heard the advice that “it’s time to move up in the translation market,” in response to changes in our industry brought about by–among other factors–technology and globalization.

“Move up in the market” is great advice, but what does “moving on up” entail? You’re unlikely to double your rates with your current clients, so you need a new strategy. Let’s take a look.

Tip 1: See and believe that it’s possible. This sounds a bit new age-y, but mindset makes a huge difference when you’re trying to up your game. Think of it this way: behaviors, just like illnesses, are contagious. If you’re surrounded exclusively by translators who are struggling to make ends meet, it’s not surprising that you see that as the norm. If you’re surrounded by translators who have a full stable of high-paying clients, and who have a similar level of financial security to people with salaried jobs, you start to see that as the norm too. And there are clients out there who will pay high enough rates for you to earn a six-figure income, but you need to be actively looking for them, not waiting for them to find you.

Tip 2: Attend professional development events for successful translators. In about 2008, I decided that it was my time to “move on up” and start working exclusively with high-end agencies and direct clients. In 2009, Chris Durban and other premium-market translators launched the Translate In… series (that year, we translated in the Catskills), which has continued and expanded, with summer master classes in France and Quebec. That first session was such an eye-opener to me; to see the changes that I needed to make in my translation skills, workflow, and business model in order to move up. Whatever your language pair, you need to start attending those types of events: being a better translator is an often-overlooked element of moving up in the market.

Tip 3: Set a red zone rate and don’t budge. Because we generally price our work in cents per word, discounts can seem inconsequential. It feels petty to argue over a cent, or half a cent. But…those cents add up when you translate hundreds of thousands of words a year. Those cents show clients what you think your work is worth. Those cents make you feel devalued and demoralized before you even start the project. Rather than negotiating on a case-by-case basis, you need a rate below which you never go. I recently heard a colleague say, “I don’t turn on the computer for less than…” That type of policy can help you avoid making those small concessions that add up over time.

Tip 4: Fish in smaller ponds. For lots of translators, aiming higher means targeting huge companies. But the Microsofts and Sanofis and Deutsche Banks of this world aren’t usually the best place to start. It’s difficult to know who to contact. Some–although certainly not all–large companies aren’t willing to work directly with freelancers. You’re often better off targeting smaller companies in your specializations, where you can find the name of the appropriate person to contact, and send them a personalized e-mail, paper letter, or LinkedIn InMail.

Tip 5: Watch for new trends. One key to moving up in the market is to look for hidden gold mines; types of clients who are–perhaps suddenly and urgently–in need of a good translator. As an example, I enjoy translating content marketing materials like blog posts and e-newsletters. I’ve recently started working with two environmental foundations that feel–perhaps correctly–that in order to broaden their base of fans, supporters, and donors, they must be on social media in English. These clients generate a steady flow of work; each project may be small, with a 500-word blog post here and a 750-word e-newsletter there, but I hear from them at least twice a week. I’d call this a micro-trend, but it’s prompted me to consider actively looking for more of these types of clients.

Tip 6: Thicken your skin. Again, another mindset shift, but an important one. It’s hard to up your game if you feel broken and demoralized after every interaction with a client who won’t pay your rates, or every marketing contact that goes un-returned. You simply have to keep plowing forward until you have the base of clients that you want, and you have to adopt the mindset that it’s better to find out up front that a client won’t pay what you want or need to earn.

Bonus tip: be realistic about what you need or want to earn. This is a real struggle for a lot of freelancers. When you add up the amount of money you want in your bank account every month, plus taxes, health insurance, vacation time, professional development, computer hardware and software, retirement account contributions, etc. etc., it’s a big number. But in order to make freelancing sustainable, you need to earn an income where you have a similar level of financial security to someone with a salaried job.

Readers, over to you! Tell us your best tips for moving up in the translation market!


Corinne McKay

Finding your first translation clients: three ideas

“I know I can do this job, but clients don’t want to hire me without experience. So how do I get experience without experience?” This chicken/egg dilemma stymies many beginning freelancers, and it’s admittedly hard to find a way out. High-quality agencies often require at least three years of experience, and they’re the clients that many translators prefer to work for, so they receive lots of applications and can afford to be choosy. However, there *are* lots of other options, most involving excellent language skills, creativity, perseverance, and being able/willing to outlast the competition. Based on my own experience, and on advice that I’ve given to students over the years, here are three potential strategies:

  • Work the local market
  • Work for big agencies that base their hiring mainly on their own tests and are always looking for new translators
  • Develop a micro-niche and market yourself as *the translator* for that niche

With the caveat that all of these have their pluses and minuses, let’s take a closer look at each one.

Working the local market

Even in the online age, many clients are still more likely to take a chance on someone they’ve met in person. When I started freelancing in 2002, I knew I could do this job. I already had a Bachelor’s and a Master’s in French and had done a translation course and a translation internship during my study abroad year in France, plus some small translation jobs for friends. But I had pretty much zero real client experience. When you’re a beginner and you don’t have tons of work, one thing you do have a surplus of is time. So, I contacted every translation agency or other potential client (i.e. the local chapter of the Alliance Française) within an hour’s drive of my house and asked for an informational interview. I pitched it as, “I’m a new translator in the area and I’d love to learn a little more about your business and how I might fit in.”

Be prepared: the majority of your contacts may respond in a noncommittal or lukewarm way. “We’re not looking for additional translators in your language pair right now.” “We don’t have much work into English.” “We only use people with three years’ experience.” No problem; show up anyway if they’ll meet with you. I did this, arriving with business cards, a small gift (perhaps chocolate…now I can’t really remember) and a prop, in the form of a binder that I had loaded with printed copies of the few translations I had already done. I had a list of questions prepared, about the agency’s primary specializations, biggest growth areas, the best way to break in as a newbie, and so on. And, either surprisingly or not surprisingly, I ended up receiving work from nearly every agency I went to meet with. At some point, they landed a large project for French to English and needed to quickly add more translators. Or one of their stalwart French to English people wasn’t available, or raised their rates, or took an in-house job. Or they had a rush project on a Friday afternoon and their other regulars didn’t want it, and I was motivated (and hungry). Whatever the case, I probably visited six potential clients and ended up getting work from five of them.

If you’d like to pursue this route, look for agencies through the ATA corporate members directory, your local association directory, local cultural associations for your languages, etc.

Apply to large agencies

We all know the downsides of this one: large agencies tend to pay lower rates than smaller agencies do, they often require high-volume work with a fast turnaround, and they are often impersonal to work with. But large agencies have a few major pluses if you’re a beginner.

First, many large agencies base their hiring primarily or even exclusively on their own tests. The three years of experience, certification, Master’s in translation-type requirements are less likely to be a factor for big agencies, depending on your languages and specializations. Second, big agencies are always looking for new translators because people tend to work for theses types of agencies for a while and then move on. Third, big agencies are good “filler” clients because you can take work from them when you’re available and decline when you’re not available. A few recent students have told me that some of their large agency clients have even moved to assigning jobs through an online portal that you log in to and browse the available projects (even less personal than the old mass e-mails!). But these factors can make large agencies a good starter client or fill-in client for someone in their first few years of freelancing, or someone who combines freelancing with another job or with going to school.

If you’d like to pursue this route, Common Sense Advisory produces a yearly report on the 100 largest language services providers (their term: I prefer “agency”). The current year’s report is available only to their paying subscribers, but you can access the 2012 report for free.

Cultivate a micro-niche and look for direct clients

The direct-to-direct client route can work. I wrote about it here, and the comments were really interesting. It’s worth noting that one of the most common comments from experienced translators was, “I started that way, and I wouldn’t do it again, but it worked” (kind of how I feel about our fixer-upper house: never again, but it worked!).

But here’s my suggestion: if you’re a beginner, you can increase your chances of success and decrease your learning curve by targeting the direct client market in a micro-niche. Pick a topic you know a lot about, and/or that you love to research. Then, instead of “translator with minimal experience, now serving Fortune 500 clients with an enormous risk of failure,” you’re:

  • “Helping German companies craft outstanding press releases in English”
  • “Helping ski resorts welcome Latin American tourists with outstanding Spanish web copy”
  • “Helping US-based Airbnb hosts appeal to Japanese guests with engaging property descriptions in Japanese”
  • “Helping French universities expand their international programs with marketing materials in English”
  • “Helping Italian cooking schools attract English-speaking participants with YouTube videos in English”

By targeting a micro-niche, you do a few things. First, you cut down on analysis paralysis because you know who to market to. Rather than wondering where to start with companies that need pharmaceutical translation, you make a list of cooking schools in Italy, or hot spring resorts in Japan, or horse breeders in Kentucky, or whatever your niche is, and you contact them directly. Second, your translations will be better because you’re working in a small niche in which you can become an expert (and don’t forget to work with an editor for direct client work!). Third, it’s easier to market a niche business through techniques that pull clients to you, such as an SEO-optimized website, Google or Facebook ads, attending trade fairs for that industry, and so on. It’s almost impossible for a freelancer to budget for keywords like “German translator,” but niche keywords are a lot more affordable.

I’ve been thinking a lot about micro-niches lately, because one of my own micro-niches is helping French universities market their international programs in English. At the ATA conference, I was interested to see a few presentations on micro-niches (I went to an excellent one on translating for the cruise industry by Jeana Clark and Esma Gregor). Micro-niches can work well for experienced translators too, but I think that they are an especially appealing option for beginners who have some knowledge of, or interest in, a specific subject area.

I used all of these techniques (to a greater or lesser extent) when I launched my freelance business in 2002. But I’m also interested to hear from readers who have tried these techniques, or who have other creative suggestions for getting around the chicken/egg issue.