Poll: How has using ProZ.com affected your income? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How has using ProZ.com affected your income?".
View the poll here
A forum topic will appear each time a new poll is run. For more information, see: http://proz.com/topic/33629
| | | | | Platinum vs. non-platinum... | Oct 17, 2005 |
For the purpose of this survey, it might be more useful to differentiate between platinum and non-platinum members. I think the difference could be quite interesting (and perhaps surprising) and would be a useful statistic for those colleagues considering going platinum.
Just an idea!
Aisha
| | | | | Platinum: Does it help? | Oct 17, 2005 |
Aisha Maniar wrote:
For the purpose of this survey, it might be more useful to differentiate between platinum and non-platinum members. Aisha
I, too, would be interested in this same poll, differentiated between platinum members and the base metal variety (like me). For the record, I have gotten new clients through ProZ, so my income has gone up. Will it go up more when I go platinum? We shall see.
| | | | | OK - I'll run a platinum-only survey on that. | Oct 17, 2005 |
Aisha Maniar wrote:
For the purpose of this survey, it might be more useful to differentiate between platinum and non-platinum members. I think the difference could be quite interesting (and perhaps surprising) and would be a useful statistic for those colleagues considering going platinum.
Good idea, Ailish. I'll run a platinum-only quick poll on that.
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| My client base has expanded, but not my income | Oct 17, 2005 |
ProZ has given me a gaggle of small clients that I didn't have before, but I have had to lower my rates to compete. ProZ does have the effect of forcing people to lower their rates if they want the work. Before ProZ, I was routinely making $145/K words from a client that is no longer in business. I think the market is changing. I have been getting less and less work from well-paying clients, even though they say they love my work. So the net result is the same: I have to work harder, but there a... See more ProZ has given me a gaggle of small clients that I didn't have before, but I have had to lower my rates to compete. ProZ does have the effect of forcing people to lower their rates if they want the work. Before ProZ, I was routinely making $145/K words from a client that is no longer in business. I think the market is changing. I have been getting less and less work from well-paying clients, even though they say they love my work. So the net result is the same: I have to work harder, but there are more opportunities to make money. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | How will that help, Henry? | Oct 18, 2005 |
Henry wrote: Aisha Maniar wrote:
For the purpose of this survey, it might be more useful to differentiate between platinum and non-platinum members. I think the difference could be quite interesting (and perhaps surprising) and would be a useful statistic for those colleagues considering going platinum. Good idea, Ailish. I'll run a platinum-only quick poll on that.
Henry, I appreciate your response to user interests, but I don't see how a platinum-only quick poll will help--unless you follow it up with a non-platinum-only one. I don't know about Aisha, but what I want to know is twofold: Do most ProZ users have increased income after joining, AND does going Platinum make a difference? I have plans to go platinum in December, when I expect a large payment to come through. I will do so regardless of the results of any poll. But I'm curious about my colleagues' experiences; that's the point of the polls, isn't it?
I assume that since all the quick polls I've seen have had a very simple basic format, it must be that more complex polls require more sophisticated software and more work. ProZers often ask for opportunity to mark more than one option (as in yesterday's, about our reasons for becoming translators); in this case, differentiated results according to Platinum membership would be nice. But if that can't be done, can you run two consecutive limited polls? And then post the results of all 3 together so they can be compared?
Sorry to be a pain, but you know what they say about squeaky wheels...
| | | | Сергей Лузан
Russian Federation
Local time: 02:35
German to Russian
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| Proz.com profile helps a lot | Oct 18, 2005 |
Proz.com profile helps a lot to establish connections with new clients. There is no need either to visit them personally or to introduce myself. I also can manage without test translations - I suggest to have a look at my profile. It saves a lot of time by the way and as you know 'time is money'. They are not so heavy-paying ones in fact, but in general using Proz.com means profits and not losses to me.
| | | | Cecilia Civetta 
Italy
Local time: 01:35
Member (2003)
Italian to Spanish
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| For the new poll... | Oct 18, 2005 |
I suggest something like:
How has using ProZ.com affected your income? Are you a Platinum Member?
My income is up - I’m a Platinum member.
My income is up - I’m not a Platinum member.
My income is unaffected - I’m a Platinum member.
My income is unaffected - I’m not a Platinum member.
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| income unaffected BUT | Oct 18, 2005 |
my working conditions are SO much better. I have met reliable people I can network with and outsource to when the workload is too high - something I suffered the disastrous consequences of in the past and thus stopped doing. This meant I had to turn down jobs and risk losing clients. Now, I have people I feel confident working with and I no longer have to turn clients away as often - so while my income hasn't changed much (for I still have to pay the subcontracter), I have retained and gained ne... See more my working conditions are SO much better. I have met reliable people I can network with and outsource to when the workload is too high - something I suffered the disastrous consequences of in the past and thus stopped doing. This meant I had to turn down jobs and risk losing clients. Now, I have people I feel confident working with and I no longer have to turn clients away as often - so while my income hasn't changed much (for I still have to pay the subcontracter), I have retained and gained new faithful clients.
Also, Kudoz has been a lifesaver and an excellent learning forum.
While income is important, it isn't everything. Proz means a lot more to me than earning some extra bucks. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Originally increased BUT | Oct 18, 2005 |
as I have become increasinlgy busier, then it was eating into work and family time a fair bit. An in the early days (I'm N° 9126) I did not have a broadband connection nor an all-in telephone deal so the tiem spent browsing cost me a fortune in telephone bills !
Of course the exposure you get and the contacts you establish are in the long term what will bring you more work. And then there's the benefit of fine-tuning your search skills and knowledge, much more difficult to quantify... See more as I have become increasinlgy busier, then it was eating into work and family time a fair bit. An in the early days (I'm N° 9126) I did not have a broadband connection nor an all-in telephone deal so the tiem spent browsing cost me a fortune in telephone bills !
Of course the exposure you get and the contacts you establish are in the long term what will bring you more work. And then there's the benefit of fine-tuning your search skills and knowledge, much more difficult to quantify of course. Never the less, when you work alone, keeping up to date and honing your skills has to be done more consciously than might otherwise be the case. May not appear to be cost-effective, but like anything else, managed correctly, active membership is a definite bonus ! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Anabel Martínez
Spain
Local time: 01:35
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
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| My own experience is... | Oct 18, 2005 |
that being a proz member made me understand how this business works when I was a newbie, and that going Platinum has improved my income. It is a great help to be noticed by potential outsourcers. In any case, I waited till I believed I was ready, and that took several years
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