As a Translator Empowerment Coach, one of the main concerns of my coachees is, “Patient, how to get [more] international translation clients?” But in turn, I usually ask them, “What do you think is the best way for you to reach out to clients that are located in countries or continents at thousand miles of distance from you?” And most of them get the right answer, saying, “We can reach out to them through the Internet.” And now comes the killer question, “How do you think you can let them know that you actually do exist as a Human –and not as a Machine – and that you are a genuine translator and not a scammer?” Many coachees do not really know how to answer to this question, which inspired me to write this very article.

In fact, many translators out there are aware of the fact that the best place to look for international clients nowadays is on the Internet. Many of them are also conscious that checking a translation company’s website or LWA Score on ProZ.com’s Blue Board is a safe step to avoid bad surprises, such as translating for a company that will not pay you at the end of the day, or a company that does not exist at all. But a lot of translators starting out in the translation/localization industry do not ponder enough on this question: If I am to look for serious translation clients on the Internet, how can I position myself as a credible and genuine professional in the translation industry?

Noteworthy, when you look for clients on the Internet, You and the Vendor Manager at the other end are perfect strangers to each other. Thus, after checking that the translation company you wish to reach out to is trustworthy, how can you help the Vendor Manager to trust you as being a human translator without knowing you in person? Below are three (3) tips that will undoubtedly help you position yourself as a genuine and trustworthy professional translator.

Tip #1
BUILD A VERY STRONG #LINKEDIN PROFILE

Why is it essential for a professional translator to build not just a LinkedIn profile, but a strong LinkedIn profile? Because LinkedIn is the world’s largest online professional network, with 610+ million users worldwide, including executives from every Fortune 500 company. As a result, you never know WHO will check your profile and WHEN they decide to help your career get to its greatest success by offering your life-changing project or job. For more insights about how to build a very strong LinkedIn profile, I would recommend you read this article by Genevieve Shaw. I would also recommend you go through great LinkedIn profiles of fellow translators and inspiring #transentrepreneurs such as Jenae Spry, Tess Whitty, Carlos Djomo, Yvan Amatagana, and many more.

Tip #2
USE RELEVANT PROFESSIONAL #HASHTAGS IN YOUR POSTS

In another article, I emphasized the necessity for a freelance translator who wants to succeed in our industry to “share relevant information about the translation industry.” Indeed, that is a great step towards positioning yourself as an authentic professional translator. But do you think ONLY an authentic professional translator can share posts relating to the translation industry? If not, how can you stand out as a genuine professional, someone who is perfectly aware of the industry’s trends?

Well, one thing that can effectively help you stand out when posting relevant content pertaining to the translation or localization industry is by using relevant Hashtags. Now, you may wonder: how many hashtags relating to the translation or localization industry currently exist? Amongst them, what are the most popular? And, how can I harness them to make my presence on the Internet even more visible?

Below is a list of some Hashtags for Translation and Localization industry with their definitions. Go through them, see which of them are easier remembering for you, and think about how to leverage them in your blog posts or shares while interacting on various social media.

More hashtags for the Translation and Localization industry can be found here. And if you want to see in practice how to properly use hashtags in order to stand out as a great professional by your posts on social media, I would recommend you check Uwe Muegge’s Twitter profile. Do your homework, and start thriving!

Tip #3
ASK FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations, where applicable, are very advisable not only to confirm you are a living Human being somewhere, but also you are a great professional offering best-in-class linguistic services out there. And what is the prerequisite to someone’s eligibility to a great and career-boosting recommendation? The answer is obviously QUALITY. Yes, if you do not provide high quality translations when you are entrusted a job, maybe because you have no mastery over the subject-field, or just because your translation skills are not honed enough, you will barely find a client, partner or fellow colleague who will be ready to recommend your services.

On LinkedIn, you have the possibility to ask for a recommendation from a former or current line supervisor, colleague, client, partner, and this is a wonderful tool you can harness to help people clearly know how present you are on the Internet, and how well you perform when you are entrusted a project or a job. As French Philosopher Blaise Pascal rightly puts it, “Le moi est haïssable” (The Ego is hateful), which means it is always better to let other people talk positively about our strengths and skills than to do it ourselves. Therefore, always do a great job when a client puts their trust in you, and when you are PROPERLY and PROFESSIONALLY done with their job, work on the right wording to ask for a recommendation that will surely help you take your career to the next level, in terms of both visibility and credibility!

As you may guess, the tips above are just a sample of all the necessary tips and tricks a freelance professional translator who wants to succeed in our industry is supposed to get acquainted with. Do you think the time has come to take your career to the next level, and you do not know how to achieve that? I have a good news for you: I am here to help you grow and enhance your freelance translator business! Click here to register for a One-on-One Translator Empowerment Coaching session.

Good luck to all of us!