Article for translators: Creating your business information material

Creating your business information material – your own brochure

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Creating your business information material – your own brochure

By Inka-Maria Kunz

Founder of LinguaTransl

sales@linguatransl.com
Website: http://www.linguatransl.com
Blog: http://www.linguatransl.blogspot.com

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To succeed as a freelance translator you need to advertise and present some information about yourself and the services you are offering. Imagine some client emails you and asks about your qualifications. What an advantage if you have a precompiled document with this information ready to send out.
First this is great time saver, secondly your impact on the potential client (given the fact you are presenting a professional profile) is much greater and thus increasing the chance of you getting that assignment. So take a moment, sit down and think about what you can offer and at what price. This way you are prepared when prospective clients contact you.

Putting together your information brochure

You probably have seen these before and might even have one or two hidden in your drawer somewhere. Here it might be a good idea to check up on the competition and see how they are presenting themselves in public. Don’t be intimidated by any fancy graphics and layouts – concentrate on the actual information given.

What information to present

- describe what services and languages you provide
- do you just translate or are you available for proofreading, editing and interpreting
- add a price list for any service stated (consider what to charge in case of a rush or high volume job)
- list your equipments (what software are you using, what hardware do you have, what dictionaries do you work with)
- include a brief overview of your translations experiences (what kind of documents have you translated so far, what topics are you familiar with)
- write a little bit about your education, qualifications and professional background

Now how to present this material? In today’s high-tech world there are many options. You can either opt for MS Word, MS PowerPoint or if you really like the professional touch, for MS Publisher. All programs offer templates to choose from – the only difficulty here will be to decide which template to choose.

The most obvious piece of information you need to put together is your curriculum vitae which has to be attached to the brochure. Print it out and have a good look at it. Would you hire yourself based on this piece of information? Make sure that all needed information is included and that your CV is the best to get the job. Today’s market is highly competitive and there are a lot of good translators out there – so make sure that you stand out in the crowd. Personalize your CV by adding your logo, your slogan and a new picture of yourself. Compile your CV in different formats – many agencies have their own preferences and guidelines, so it is a good thing if you can react immediately upon their various requests. Also compile your CV and brochure in the various languages you are offering – it is always a plus when you receive an offer in one particular language to respond in the same language. Don’t forget to update your CV and brochure regularly – add new qualifications, experiences and references by happy customers you have worked before.