Poll: When did you start marketing your business as a freelancer?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Aug 19, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When did you start marketing your business as a freelancer?".

This poll was originally submitted by Elif Baykara Narbay. View the poll results »



 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 17:23
Spanish to English
+ ...
Didn't/don't Aug 19, 2018

I've never really "marketed my business" per se; I just sort of ended up drifting into translation through working in TEFL and gradually acquired some regular clients, who are still with me. Most of the others come to me by word of mouth recommendation.

[Edited at 2018-08-19 08:39 GMT]

PS: I'm referring to non-agency, direct clients. I only really work with one agency nowadays, and only occasionally.

[Edited at 2018-08-19 08:40 GMT]


Amir Arzani
Selene Desiré Bovo
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 16:23
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other (did/don't) Aug 19, 2018

I did engage in active marketing during my first year in 1985 and when a few years after, through no fault of mine, I lost my main client. I haven’t marketed my services for some time now as I’ve been doing quite well: most of my new clients have come via word of mouth, my Proz profile and my website...

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:23
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Never did marketing Aug 19, 2018

When I quit my full-time job as a translator with an international organization, I already had clients waiting, including my former employer. I still work for my former employer 26 years later, as well as others, of course.

How did I get my job as a translator? I was initially hired as an editor and found my way within the system to a job in translation, which is what I had wanted from the beginning (a long story, which I wrote about in my memoir).


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 17:23
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
I don't do marketing as such Aug 19, 2018

I have rarely had time!

In practice I try to make myself visible - I used to work really hard at KudoZ, and went to one-day courses and seminars. I actually worked for/with a couple of the lecturers! And of course, let clients know I have just heard all the latest on legal terminology or whatever it was.

I talked to colleagues at powwows, and I have written reams in the forums here... Colleagues send jobs when they need someone who works in a different language pair, or
... See more
I have rarely had time!

In practice I try to make myself visible - I used to work really hard at KudoZ, and went to one-day courses and seminars. I actually worked for/with a couple of the lecturers! And of course, let clients know I have just heard all the latest on legal terminology or whatever it was.

I talked to colleagues at powwows, and I have written reams in the forums here... Colleagues send jobs when they need someone who works in a different language pair, or when they just don't have time.

I send mails to clients when I am going to be away and let them know when I am back.

Tell clients, positive or negative, what you think of how they work. Complaining is easy, but don't forget to thank that helpful PM who extended the deadline and found the answer to a query for you. Or whenever else they go the extra mile. Apart from the fact that it is just good manners, they remember, and send more work!
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Lucien Rousseau
 
Amir Arzani
Amir Arzani
Iran
Local time: 19:53
English to Persian (Farsi)
+ ...
I don't actively participate in marketing my business Aug 19, 2018

*Keep in mind this might be the case only in Iran*
Around 4 years ago I printed a bunch of business cards thinking it was the bests way to find new clients but I soon found that the only clients who ended up contacting me that were people who wanted "cheap and fast" translation, the box of leftover business cards still rests deep within one of my closets.
The clients I currently have, were recommended to by other translators. Aside from economic problems freelancers face here, there
... See more
*Keep in mind this might be the case only in Iran*
Around 4 years ago I printed a bunch of business cards thinking it was the bests way to find new clients but I soon found that the only clients who ended up contacting me that were people who wanted "cheap and fast" translation, the box of leftover business cards still rests deep within one of my closets.
The clients I currently have, were recommended to by other translators. Aside from economic problems freelancers face here, there are payment option restrictions as well (such as not having access to paypal); competition in my language pair is also quite tough mainly due to the fact that the number of jobs available (globally and locally) don't match the number of people working as translators. Recently I was wondering whether I should make a website as hub to offer my services but not sure if it's worth all the effort to get the SEO right and other maintenance.
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Ricki Farn
Ricki Farn
Germany
Local time: 17:23
English to German
Define "marketing" Aug 19, 2018

When quitting my inhouse job, I told my freelancer buddies I was now one of them, and they told their clients there was now one more, but is that marketing? Then I registered on ProZ and made a website, but is that marketing? I guess it must have been, as I've worked from day one.

But what is "marketing" marketing? LinkedIn? Cold calls? Standing in the center of town with a superhero cape that says "will translate for riches and fame"?


Anne Schulz
Lucien Rousseau
Angie Garbarino
 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:23
German to English
+ ...
before starting Aug 20, 2018

And that's how I started. (How do you get customers when starting out, if you don't let peopl know you're starting out?)

Mario Freitas
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 13:23
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
First thing Aug 20, 2018

This is actually how I started freelancing.
At the time (1987), there was no Internet in Brazil. I had to print my ads, make photocopies, and distribute it manually. I had small announcements (6 per page) that I placed in mail boxes and counters in several places, and big announcements (one page) that I placed in several bulletin boards in schools, universities, and other places I thought could result in clients. I got a few good clients that way, and it was a pretty good start.


 


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Poll: When did you start marketing your business as a freelancer?






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