Episode 223: The Importance of Specializing & How to Do It Right
11/04/2019
Episode 225: A New Translation Platform That Connects Translators with Customers – Interview with Jurgen Goens
11/18/2019
As the fourth installment on our series geared towards helping new and aspiring freelance linguists, today we’re going to discuss how to find, get in contact, and develop a great working relationship with quality agencies. While this series is tailored for beginners, seasoned translators could also benefit greatly from this advice if they don’t yet have solid working relationships with any agencies.
This episode was created using featured content from my new course for beginning translators.– – The Marketing Academy for Beginning Translators, A Guide to Getting A Steady Stream of Translation Work and Clients. It is now open for registration – this week only! Be sure to check it out by clicking the link below!
Important tips mentioned in this episode:
- Benefits of Working with an Agency
- A constant stream of work, no extensive marketing needed
- Small vs. Large Agencies
- Bigger agencies have more automated tools and systems, you are one in the masses, but they can provide more work
- Smaller agencies have that personal touch, are usually translators themselves, but might not be able to provide as much work
- What to Look For
- Great ratings, especially for payment practices
- Previous experience with your specialties
- Solid websites, easy to contact
- How to Look
- Translation association directories, portals, or simple online search
- Contacting the Agency
- Agencies often direct where freelancers can contact them for work
- Pro Tip: Develop a solid email template and resume for contacting agencies (I feature an agency email template and resume in my upcoming course!)
- Keep Track & Follow Up
- Be strategic and professional, use atemplate
- Protect Yourself & Your Company
- Read all contracts carefully and don’t sign things you don’t agree with (more contract tips in the course)
- Be strict about your payment terms
Closing Remarks
Working with an agency can be extremely lucrative and exciting for your business, but it is not all a dance on roses. In the course I’ll be launching soon, I go into more depth on how to handle working with agencies, and everything you’ll need to watch out for To make things even easier for you, I’m attaching a worksheet straight from my course. It includes the 7 Steps to Successfully Finding & Working with Agencies. Click the link and sign up for free to get access!
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1 Comment
I have been doing most if not all of the steps outlined in this podcast and am STILL not getting work. I don’t disagree with what you are saying, and maybe I need to persist and do more of the above, but I have definitely tried this and am still not getting work, despite the few agencies I have worked for saying they like the quality of my work.