Comments on: 14 Go-to Sources for Clients

By: Translation favorites (Sep 4-10)

Translation favorites (Sep 4-10) — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 20:18:34 +0000

[…] The Proofreader’s Corner: Editorial-Business Marketing — The 4 Ps of Persuasion The Savvy Translation Blogger—Blogging Frequency, Blog Content, and Reblogs Compound Words—Using This Cheat Sheet is Not Cheating The 120 Most Helpful Websites For Writers in 2015 How to attract clients with your blog 14 Go-to Sources for Clients […]

By: Weekly translation favorites (Sep 4-10)

Weekly translation favorites (Sep 4-10) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 16:07:07 +0000

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 15:19:46 +0000

Eileen, this is great advice! I agree -- taking the time to locate quality prospects is the best way to increase your earnings.

Serendipity works, too. :) I've worked with one client who found me through a magazine editor. We've been working together for ten years.

By: Eileen

Eileen — Mon, 17 Aug 2015 15:16:36 +0000

As you know, Lori, my favorite method has been in developing carefully targeted mailing lists and doing a direct mail campaign. You mentioned exhibitor lists for trade shows, and I agree. They're usually available online without cost. Building a targeted list is time consuming, but worth it. This has been how I've gotten about 90% of my clients since I began specializing in one industry 8 years ago.

But the other thing that has worked really well for me is my website. My web designer did SEO magic on it 10 years ago and I have been reluctant to change a thing. About once per year, a potential client will find me through that and it is usually worth at least $10,000 of work to me the first year and more in subsequent years. It attracts qualified clients that I don't uncover myself and has led to some good, long-lasting client relationships.

My biggest lifetime revenue client, however, is serendipity - it was a referral from a graphic designer about 5 years ago, and has been responsible for over $200K of work in that time.

One thing that can be revealing is to do pie charts of what marketing methods attract your clients, their dollar value in the first year, their lifetime value thus far, etc. Another good number to know is your average invoice amount - you want this to steadily climb over time, and knowing what marketing methods are most profitable for you will enable you to achieve that. When I started over 12 years ago, my average invoice was a whopping $200. Now it's probably at $5,000+ (fewer better clients, bigger projects).