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December 30, 2007 - #013

Table of Contents

1. Happy Holidays!
2. Is ATA membership worth it?
3. Tired of cold calling? Passively increase your client base.
4. Quote: What is translation like?

1.Happy Holidays!

It's been a great year for me and my family and I want to thank all of you that take the time to read Translator Techniques. I love writing it every month (or so) and I hope you find it useful in your own translation business.

I hope each one of you have a very prosperous 2008 and that you have a wonderful holiday season.

====Translator's Ebook====
Don't forget to get your copy of The Freelance Translator's Ultimate List of Translation Agencies today! To celebrate how well sales have gone so far, I've just lowered the price to an unbelievable amount of $7 so that more people can get the book. It's a great way to increase your number of clients for a very cheap price. ==========================

2. ATA membership - Is it really worth it?

I often get emails from people interested in starting freelance careers and a question that gets asked pretty frequently by translators in the U.S. is whether or not ATA membership is worth the cost.

Some people feel frustrated with ATA because they don't feel like membership helps them. Others feel pressured to join, especially when they're just starting out as freelancers.

Well, I randomly contacted some members of ATA and asked them point blank if membership has helped them. Here's some of the conclusions...

And please let us know what you think by submitting your opinion on the same page.

3. Passively increase your client base.

I've said it before and no matter how you slice and dice it, finding clients can be a huge headache, especially for those just starting out who don't have any regular clientele. One of the best methods that has worked for me in getting clients has been through the website, www.spanish-translation-help.com. If you're a translator and don't have a real website, or you do have one and nobody can find it through the search engines, you're losing hundreds (if not thousands) of potential leads.

In my mind, there is one solution for translators interested in taking their businesses to the next level and that solution is SiteBuildIt. Read about my experience in drastically improving my business and if I can do it, you most certainly can as well.

And right now (until Jan. 4), you can get a great deal on SiteBuildIt with their buy one get one free promotion. Get one for you and one for your spouse, or teenager, or co-worker. No matter who you get it for, it will be the only gift that will give back year after year. Check out their homepage.

3. Quote - Natasha Randall

"Translating is like mathematical division. One language just doesn't always fit neatly into another, and you always have remainders."

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Anything you want to say? Let me know. I'd love to hear anything you've got to say, from suggestions to comments to your translation experiences. Just reply to this zine and tell me what you think!