| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you keep marketing your services even when you are fully booked? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you keep marketing your services even when you are fully booked?".
This poll was originally submitted by Mariam Osmane. View the poll results »
| | | | Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 14:37
Member (2006)
German to English
| Yes, with a but. | Feb 23, 2011 |
All depends on how flexible my current deadlines are.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 14:37
English to French
+ ...
I've never marketed my services. My agency customers do it for me! I take care of the relation I have with my clients (agencies AND direct).
IMHO, word of mouth is the best type of advertising.
As a German colleague used to print on his invoices "If you are not satisfied with my services, tell me; if you are, tell others!"
[Modifié le 2011-02-23 08:42 GMT]
[Modifié le 2011-02-23 13:34 GMT]
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 14:37
Spanish to English
+ ...
Marketing my services? More likely telling prospects to look elsewhere...
Plus ditto what Mary and Victoria said:)
[Edited at 2011-02-23 10:35 GMT]
[Edited at 2011-02-23 10:36 GMT]
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Mary Worby
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:37
German to English
+ ...
But I don't market my services anyway. Unless having a profile here counts as marketing.
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Partly because I hate marketing in general, partly because I hate having to turn work down and partly because I don't market my services anyway - I'd rather spend the time actually working - and haven't needed to since my first couple of months in business. I've found over the years that if people are looking for a certain type of translator with specific specialisations/qualifications, etc. they'll soon find you.
| | | | | No, but I probably should! | Feb 23, 2011 |
Victoria Burns wrote:
Partly because I hate marketing in general, partly because I hate having to turn work down and partly because I don't market my services anyway - I'd rather spend the time actually working ...
I've found over the years that if people are looking for a certain type of translator with specific specialisations/qualifications, etc. they'll soon find you.
Same here, more or less!
However, since one of my major clients went out of business last year, I have been giving some thought to marketing.
Having enough to do is one thing, but at some stage it is worth the effort to go specifically for attractive clients, and draw attention to yourself in strategic areas. Otherwise you have to take what you can get instead of being able to concentrate on what you do best (not to mention the clients who pay best).
Marketing, even when you have enough to do, is a way of keeping on course instead of drifting.
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DianeGM
Local time: 15:37
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
I do not and have never done any active marketing myself .
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Even though I know I should
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When I am fully booked, I may do a small translation for a new agency, which I consider to be a type of marketing.
Other than that, when I have free time I tend to spend it reading up on new topics, training or doing bookkeeping.
| | | | vixen
Greece
Local time: 15:37
English to Dutch
+ ...
Apart from creating a profile at ProZ and answering a lot of questions when I was starting out as a fulltime freelance translator, I have never done any active marketing. My clients have found me, through ProZ.
Furthermore, I don't intend to start marketing my services now, since I already have to say no to my most valued clients on a regular basis. My best marketing strategy, if you can call it that, is to deliver quality translations, so that clients come back for more. ... See more Apart from creating a profile at ProZ and answering a lot of questions when I was starting out as a fulltime freelance translator, I have never done any active marketing. My clients have found me, through ProZ.
Furthermore, I don't intend to start marketing my services now, since I already have to say no to my most valued clients on a regular basis. My best marketing strategy, if you can call it that, is to deliver quality translations, so that clients come back for more. ▲ Collapse
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Steven Capsuto
United States
Local time: 08:37
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Not active marketing | Feb 23, 2011 |
Obviously my passive marketing tools (profiles on ProZ.com, atanet.org and LinkedIn.com) remain in place, but I don't do active marketing when I'm busy with work... which is most of the time these days.
| | | | | Passive marketing continues | Feb 23, 2011 |
I don't do much in the way of active marketing, and certainly not during busy periods. My Proz profile and word of mouth have proven to be two of the most effective ways of finding (or being found by) new customers. These naturally continue whether I am fully booked or not.
| | | | Theo Bernards (X)
France
Local time: 14:37
English to Dutch
+ ...
Because I remember the lean period after starting out all too well and to avoid having to loot from the vegetable gardens of my neighbors, I will go to great lengths to avoid such lean periods in the future. Besides, my approach towards marketing is pretty much an ongoing and targeted effort that I cannot simply put on hold.
Not that I have a very active marketing approach, but tailored responses to requests for prici... See more Because I remember the lean period after starting out all too well and to avoid having to loot from the vegetable gardens of my neighbors, I will go to great lengths to avoid such lean periods in the future. Besides, my approach towards marketing is pretty much an ongoing and targeted effort that I cannot simply put on hold.
Not that I have a very active marketing approach, but tailored responses to requests for pricing and other information are time-consuming. You can also ask yourself what falls under the marketing umbrella and what doesn't. I consider keeping my profiles here and elsewhere updated, participating in translation fora (or should that be forums), maintaining my website and asking clients about their satisfaction rate all as marketing activities and allocate time (few hours per week) and budget (if necessary) to them.
During my time as telesales executive there is one thing I have grown to dislike, the hard sell, and I am very pleased to have ended up in an industry where the hard sell doesn't work. ▲ Collapse
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