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Poll: Has adding sample translations to your profile helped you to get new clients?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 22, 2010

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has adding sample translations to your profile helped you to get new clients?".

This poll was originally submitted by perry. View the poll results »



 
m_temmer
m_temmer  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:07
English to Dutch
+ ...
haven't added any Apr 22, 2010

What's the use? How can (potential) clients know that it's the translator in question who actually made the translation?

 
Michael Harris
Michael Harris  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:07
Member (2006)
German to English
With Michael Apr 22, 2010

how can having a sample translation make you interesting? I only do such sample / test translations when these are (rarley) requested and after checking the "new" customer


[Edited at 2010-04-22 11:36 GMT]


 
Mary Worby
Mary Worby  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:07
German to English
+ ...
Haven't included any Apr 22, 2010

My profile has a 'blank' sample translation on it, as it was the only way I could have a complete profile and not be nagged to update it!

 
Simon Bruni
Simon Bruni  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:07
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
You never know... Apr 22, 2010

And all it takes is a copy-and-paste from a translation you've already done; probably less time/effort than posting on this forum!

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:07
Spanish to English
+ ...
No Apr 22, 2010

At least, not so far as I remember. I dont think so.
It wouldn't be like me.
I hate doing sample translations, even more so because I got stiffed twice last year by contacts coming through proz, which I am apparently not allowed to bitch about here.


 
Interlangue (X)
Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 11:07
English to French
+ ...
Have not included any Apr 22, 2010

I am not looking for new customers.

 
Rebekka Groß (X)
Rebekka Groß (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:07
English to German
the project history is a lot more effective IMO Apr 22, 2010

.

 
Suzan Hamer
Suzan Hamer  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 11:07
English
+ ...
I don't know . . . Apr 22, 2010

None of the clients I've gained through my ProZ profile has ever mentioned the samples, so I have no way of knowing whether they were a factor in getting the job.

When a potential client emails me asking if I'm interested in taking on a job, I will ask them to send a sample of the text to be translated (or edited or proofread). If the job looks interesting, I offer to do a sample translation (or edit/proofreading) of this text. This shows me what is involved in working on the text
... See more
None of the clients I've gained through my ProZ profile has ever mentioned the samples, so I have no way of knowing whether they were a factor in getting the job.

When a potential client emails me asking if I'm interested in taking on a job, I will ask them to send a sample of the text to be translated (or edited or proofread). If the job looks interesting, I offer to do a sample translation (or edit/proofreading) of this text. This shows me what is involved in working on the text and gives me an idea of the time I'll need to do it. It also gives the potential client an idea of my work. It lets them see how their text will look when I'm finished with it. This must work, because every time I've offered to do a sample translation or edit, I've always received the job.

[Edited at 2010-04-22 12:02 GMT]
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Cristina Heraud-van Tol
Cristina Heraud-van Tol  Identity Verified
Peru
Local time: 05:07
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I didn't notice Apr 22, 2010

I really don't know if they have read my samples, liked them and contacted me based on that. They have never told me anything about my samples, so who knows??

 
Wolfgang Jörissen
Wolfgang Jörissen  Identity Verified
Belize
Dutch to German
+ ...
It sure got me more visitors Apr 22, 2010

... on my profile page, since each and every word of the sample is being indexed by search robots. I also direct potential clients to the one sample I included. Some seem to have liked it.

 
Wolfgang Jörissen
Wolfgang Jörissen  Identity Verified
Belize
Dutch to German
+ ...
Truth and lies Apr 22, 2010

Michaël Temmerman wrote:

What's the use? How can (potential) clients know that it's the translator in question who actually made the translation?


You have got a point, but then again, your whole profile could be one big identity fake. And even if you do include a translation that does not come from your own hand, then you obviously at least know how to tell a good translation from a bad one. Living up to your client's expectations, that is what it is all about. If the sample helps you with that, then that's fine. If not, no problem.


 
Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Local time: 11:07
Spanish to English
+ ...
Would be interested to hear from those of us who outsource... Apr 22, 2010

Do you look at the sample translations on our pages? It's one thing the search robots indexing them, another actually to be read and assessed.

But, as Simon says, it was only a question of cutting and pasting (having asked the orginal clients for their permission - I chose to use bona fide texts)...

Noni


 
Catherine GUILLIAUMET
Catherine GUILLIAUMET  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:07
English to French
+ ...
In memoriam
Too strict confidentiality obligations in my specialty Apr 22, 2010

Suzan Hamer wrote:

None of the clients I've gained through my ProZ profile has ever mentioned the samples,



The same with me. I mean they never asked me why there is no sample in my profile

I only put a bilingual warning on the "sample" page, stating that because of the strict confidentiality agreements signed with my clients (which is common practice in the medical and pharmaceutical domain), I am unable to publish here any sample.

Not sure that even a single client has ever peeked in this item of our profiles.

Catherine


 
Paul Dixon
Paul Dixon  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 07:07
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Never got clients through ProZ Apr 22, 2010

It's very difficult, well-nigh impossible, to get clients through ProZ unless you are a member, so no change. Most of my clients are either agencies or private companies recommended by word of mouth. I would very much like to get at least a few clients through ProZ but chances look slim.

 
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Poll: Has adding sample translations to your profile helped you to get new clients?






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