How to Expand Your Client Base – Three Practical Tips for Interpreters and Translators
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1. First, consider your target audience
Are you a language service freelancer or do you have your own translation agency? You probably already have customers. The basis of all marketing is knowing what you want to do and who you want to do it for. Especially for budding entrepreneurs, it’s important to carefully consider the services offered and the target audience. Who are the new customers you are targeting? Once you have identified them, design marketing materials to promote these goals. The material can be as simple as a business card or a printed brochure.

It’s important that the material is suitable for your chosen target audience both visually and textually. So, if your target audience consists of officials, keep your brochures relatively formal. If, on the other hand, your goal is to attract new customers from creative industries, then you can be more creative with the appearance of your brochures.


2. Network actively
Events are good places to network. There, you become acquainted with people personally, and you can personally hand out your business cards to potential customers. Good places for networking also include various internet networks. These networks can be free social media sites. For example, create a business-specific page on Facebook and direct traffic from there to your service. Websites are also a good marketing channel, but simply having a website is not enough – the site needs to be marketed, search engine optimized, and linked forward to attract traffic and make your service known.

3. Be present on different platforms
There are various platform economy digital networks to promote marketing in different professional fields, where customers meet workers.

In the translation industry, perhaps the most internationally recognized is Proz.com. Another is TranslatorsCafé.com. In Finland and other counties, TranslatorMarket.com is a similar platform. It brings together interpreters and translators. The Finnish-language site particularly reaches Finnish customers who need interpretation and translation services.

Both private individuals and companies use TranslatorMarket. Translation agencies also find new translators through the site. You never know what kind of and how long a customer relationship you can get through TranslatorMarket. In the best case, a very long-term customer relationship.

TranslatorMarket.com