Strategies for finding direct clients

Paul Urwin

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For those of you working with direct clients, how did you manage to get started with them?

Here are a few of the ways in which I've found direct clients:

1. Cross-selling
   
   When I used to run an English teaching business, lots of people would ask me about translations. While it may seem clear to us that teaching English is quite different to translating, many people associate the two and I found lots of opportunities by listening to clients' general language-related needs.
   
   
   
   
2. Google Ads
   
   I've always been a big fan of Google Ads. Sure, it's a paid approach, but marketing always costs in one way or another (time or money). I love the fact that you can target specific (and in some cases long-tail) keywords and get targeted traffic to your site.
   
   
   
3. Web Content
   
   The organic partner to number 2., building up keyword-rich content can have a massive impact over time. I found that creating content on a regular basis, attracting clients to the website and inviting them to ask for a quote by filling in a contact form worked very well.
   
   
   
   
4. Research / Networking
   
   My first ever paid translation job came while I was at university in Germany. One of my research tutors needed a rather large series of reports translating to English. At the time, I was especially grateful for the work because it enabled me to leave the factory job I had taken on in order to make some extra money.
   

What about you?

I’d love to hear some of your direct client marketing stories.

What's your favourite direct client acquisition strategy?



If you’d like to find out much more about marketing to direct clients, Corinne McKay’s workshop "Fearless Direct Client Marketing" held a training event at ProZ.com earlier in March. Keep an eye out for more opportunities through ProZ.com Training. 

This post originally appeared in the facebook group Translators and Interpreters (ProZ.com). 

Topics: freelancer, translator, interpreter, training, direct clients

Written by Paul Urwin