Episode 33: How to make your translation business stand out – Interview with Andrew Morris
11/17/2014Episode 34: Simple time management tips for translators – Interview with David Rumsey
11/24/2014This is a guest post by Ed Garcia from worktranslating.com
Photo by Farrel Nobel on Unsplash
I get many emails every day from translators offering their services. Some emails get my attention, while some don’t. What is the difference? What can you do to make your emails a “must open” email?
Before we get started, just a few quick things. First, I want to clarify that I am not an expert on preparing CV’s/Resumes. I just want to share what kind of email offers get my attention, which don’t, and why. Second, since each translation service may have a different way of processing translator applications, for simplicity, I will use the term “reader” to refer to the reader of your email offering your services. OK, now let’s get to what you can do to get the attention of the decision maker. Lastly, since some US readers may not be familiar with the term CV, in each instance, I will put CV/Resume.
Make it easy for the reader of your email
In many cases, the reader of your email will have many, many emails waiting for them in their inbox. In my case, I get emails from service vendors, potential customers, customers with open orders and our current translators, and of course from translators looking for work. I can’t speak for others, by my solution to getting through tons of emails is to quickly scan for the information I need. So my recommendation is that you make your emails as simple and direct as possible. How?
Subject line: Include as many useful details as possible
The subject line of your email is the first opportunity you have to get the reader’s attention. Many translators put something like “Translator Application”, which only let’s me know it’s a translator looking for work. Others put English<>Spanish Translation Service. That is a little better because it tells me the source & target languages. However, what if you could include even more useful information in the subject line that will help the reader quickly know if you have what they need? Let me show you a sample subject line that I think is very informative and then we’ll examine each element.
Sample Subject Line:
Medical Spanish>English Native Translator-Rates from xx/cents/word
1. Specialization or other differentiations
You want to stand out, right? The first thing you can do is include your specialty. If you are a Medical, Legal, or Technical translator, that would be a great thing to include in the subject line. If you are Certified by ATA, you can put ATA Certified. If you have documented work experience for a considerable number of years can put “Experienced”. If you have references that confirm you are a reliable, high quality translator, etc., you can use those phrases. However keep in mind it carries more weight if you can back it up with references.
2. Language Combination
Your language combination is vital. The reality is simple. Your language combination is either needed by the reader or it isn’t. By including your language combination, you immediately make yourself stand out to those that need your combination. It’s not really complicated, but it may surprise you that many translators send vague subject lines that don’t mention their language combination nor their specialties.
3. Native Language
Confirm you are a native speaker of the target language ASAP. You will be surprised how many emails we get from folks that say they can translate to multiple targets, some of which are not their native languages. By including that you are a native of the target immediately, you quickly communicate that you are an experienced translator and know our industry. If you have in another country for a long time and can now provide translation in both directions, clarify that in the body of your email. For services in the US, this is very helpful with language combinations where an English native is hard to find.
4. Rates:
I know some or even many will disagree, and I completely understand both sides of the argument, as to whether or not it is wise to include rates in the initial contact email. You may feel that if you give rates, you may get automatically disqualified by folks looking for cheaper rates. However, my personal recommendation is to consider giving a range of your rates. For example, why not give a range.. your lowest available rate for non-technical editable text, and a premium rate for technical texts, or documents requiring extra formatting work etc. Using this method you give the potential client an idea of cost, but you maintain control of your rate if things progress to a concrete estimate.
If you decide to share your rate in this first email, here is how I would recommend doing it in the subject line:
Sample Subject Line: Medical Spanish>English Translator-Native-Rates from xx/cents/word
Notice that the rate says “from”. In English language marketing, rates “from” communicates that those are your lowest available rates for the basic products or services, but it also implies there are higher rates for more complicated products. Marketers use this technique all the time, and so can you. Remember this is just the subject line to get the reader’s attention. You will be able to clarify in the body of the email. Now let’s look at the body.
Body of Email
Let’s remember that since your email will likely arrive in the middle of many others, the goal is for your email to stand out in a simple and direct manner. While the body of your email will allow you to expand on your strengths it should still be simple and to the point.
Use bullet point list & avoid attachments
Again,we know it is highly likely your reader is very busy and will only scan your email. So, I have two suggestions that will make life much easier on your reader.
- Instead of wordy paragraphs, use bullet point lists to share your strengths
- Instead of an attachment, paste your CV/Resume below your signature
Let’s get this down to an example:
Subject: Medical Spanish>English Native Translator-Rates from xx/word
Hello,
My name is Ed. I am an experienced medical Spanish to English translator. I understand that you may be very busy helping customers, so I wanted to briefly introduce myself and let you know that I currently available to help additional clients. A little about me, I can offer:
Expertise: Medical Terminology
- English Native
- 20 Years of Experience
- Can translate xxx words per day
- Rates from xx/cents/word
- References Available on CV/Resume
For your convenience, my CV/Resume is pasted below my signature. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if I can help you with a project.
Ed Garcia
Tel. XXX-XXX-XXXX
Email: ed@edtranslates.com
So, those are my recommendations on how to get the attention of busy agency owners/hiring managers. I hope the sample email format which is simple and to the point, is helpful. The reader, whether a sole owner, project coordinator or HR person, will appreciate getting the key points quickly. By pasting your CV/Resume below your signature, you give the reader the chance to review your resume either at that moment, or later without having to deal with attachments. This may result in a quicker response to your offers and, hopefully, more translation work.
27 Comments
Thanks Tess. Nice to work with you on the post. Ed
Good advice. Thank you Ed for taking the time to prepare this sample email.
Zaneta, Thanks for taking the time to read and comment on the article. I hope it is helps translators get more job opportunities. Ed
(I work as a copywriter in the industry but also do translation project management. The following is my typed-out-on-an-iphone two cents.)
These tips presume that you first make it through the filtering setups that some of us have resorted to using because of the spammers and scammers! Translators who are on Proz can attest that translator CVs that have been posted online have been harvested and repurposed to direct legitimate queries to fake email addresses for scammers. I personally filter all Hotmail inquiries away from my inbox.
So additional tips:
– Stop using free email addresses like @yahoo, @gmail, and @hotmail for your business account. Register a domain name for just $10-15 annually, and start using your own email address at your own brand name. Don’t worry, most email services like Gmail allow you to send and retrieve such emails via their services — all the benefits plus a professional edge.
– Address contacts by name. The spammers all write to me with “to whom it may concern” and “dear sir or madam.” Yes, it will take you longer to find my name if you’ve just bought some translation vendors list, but if you can’t be bothered to address me by name, don’t expect me to take too much time acknowledging you as an individual either.
Again, just my additional two cents here! Apologies for iPhone typos!
Thanks Tammi for the additional tips. So true, we have to take extra steps these days to make sure we look like a genuine applicant. I personally delete emails that start with Dear Sir/Madam too.
Tammi, thank you for the additional tips. I was wondering if customization in direct mail would be really important. Good to know that it makes difference.
Tammi,
This is Ed @worktranslating . Thank you for your input. I must admit that because I am the owner and sole operator of a home based translation service, I had not considered the spam filters translators have to deal with. I have not automated spam filters set up (though I may need to consider it), so I see every email translators send.
You additional tips are dead on. I have written a few posts encouraging translators to get their own domain names so they can set up free personalized business email. Here they are in case anyone needs them.
How to buy a domain name
How to set up free business email
Thanks again for your time and input.
Ed
[…] @marketingtipsfortranslators.com […]
Good Information to prepare to the e-mail and this is best for translator opportunities. I will also use it.
Hello Tess and Ed, Thank you for the post, it will help me a lot to write my email. I actually have already written some emails based on general tips in direct mail but here I could find specific ones for translators!
very informative article, many thanks:)
Great tips, thanks for sharing them!
Hi Tess and Ed,
Thanks for a great article (which I somehow only discovered now…). Your tips are very helpful, and as I am planning to ramp up my marketing to agencies I will for sure find them very useful.
I totally agree with Tammi about addressing people by name. This really is important. When I receive emails just saying ‘Dear translator’ or ‘Hi there’ or something on those lines, already they have lost my respect and end up in the trash. It gives me the feeling that they have many other contacts who can do the job just as well and don’t really care about my reply anyway. I am also a solo freelancer, so wherever those people find my email address, they will also see my full name (it is also my domain name to which the email will be sent and thus part of my email address). This is a huge advantage compared to sending emails to agencies, as the name of the addressee is sometimes not easy to find out. But as Tammi said, if they don’t make the effort to write out my name, appreciate my value and see me as a person, why should I (even spend the time to reply)?
Thanks Berit!
Hello there
I am so glad today by reading your blog , you have published such a great info that might be useful for every reader.
Thank you so much for sharing with us.
Keep updating..
At Transpiral we receive a few application e-mails per day via our info@ e-mail address. In the past they were less frequent and mostly legit, in the sense that they were sent by a real translator. These days they are almost always fake.
The way we know they are fake is that they do not include a phone number or Skype handle. For that reason the number one tip I would add to this is to include some voice channel contact information early in the mail or prominently in the C.V.
Thanks John! Good points.
Hello everyone,
Thank you for sharing your experiences on email marketing.
I have a quick question, to whom do you generally address your email for direct client?
Best,
Ary
Good question Ary! That is the hard part, doing thorough research beforehand so that you can find a person to target. This varies with specialization and industry. It can be everything from the CEO to the marketing manager, lawyer or product developer.
Hi there,
Thank you all for your tips I am sure they will help me a lot.
I just have a quick question. As an agency, would you like the translator to send a sample of his translation attached to the email ?
Thanks,
Abanoub
Hi Abanoub,
Thank you for your comment. Now, I am not an agency, but I assume you can wait with sending that until they ask for it. I have samples available on my website but usually, agencies do not ask for them. It is more common that they ask for a test translation.
Such an Informative and interesting stuff. Thank you for sharing this blog with us.
This is some solid advice for us translators. I work for UAE Translations and we provide attestation and legalization services. I will forward this to my co-workers to read, It will certainly be of their help. Thank You.
Great article, Ed! Bullets and brief “About Me” section – I have been using these elements too. I wonder if an e-mail written with a non-standard color (for example, blue rather than black) and large font stands out among others?
Thank you Tess and Ed! I’ll keep in mind these tips.
Thank you for the great article. It was very helpful. Wish you all the best in the future. 🙂
Very informative. Thank you for sharing such a marvelous article. I truly liked it.