Of the 150 blog posts written by ProZ.com site staff in 2020, it is only fitting that a blog post about the disease that defined 2020, COVID-19, topped the list of most read blog posts. Other popular posts included those about how to position yourself for jobs, ways to improve profiles, explanations of some site features and the most popular from the translation postcard series.
Here were the 10 blog posts that received the most views in 2020.
- Making a living during COVID-19
- To win jobs online—specialize!
- How to write an effective job quote
- How to create a great professional profile and why it matters
- Earn a living from subtitling
- Need help translating a word or phrase? Term search and
KudoZ™ provide answers - A ProZ.com overview: Some of the site's most popular features
- Are you receiving language job notifications via ProZ.com?
- What is SEO and what is it for?
- Translation Postcards: Joseph Kuria in Nairobi, Kenya
What made some of these posts important in 2020?
In the top post, "Making a living during COVID-19" on April 4, Lu Leszinsky described how ProZ.com had a few tricks up its sleeve to make money starting that weekend and while at home to supplement your income during these uncertain times. Many of these ideas remain applicable at the end of the year as well.
Tips on positioning yourself to get jobs online filled the next three spots.
A throwback post originally shared in December 2004 (16 years ago) by ProZ.com founder Henry Dotterer was the second most read post of 2020. "To win jobs online—specialize!" explained the idea that clients rarely go looking for good all-around translators. They almost always search for translators whose skills match perfectly with the job they have in hand.
Andrea Capuselli provided more tips on winning jobs in "How to write an effective job quote". She suggests choosing to answer in the language of the job or the company that posted, using subject lines that capture attention, tailoring your response for the job posted and more.
In "How to create a great professional profile and why it matters", Mariano Marchesini gave ideas on how to take your profile from good to great. The first thing you need to know, Marchesini writes, is that, while many agencies and end clients post public job openings on ProZ.com, the great majority (up to 80%!) of the work volume that flows through the site actually comes from job offers sent privately via profile messages.
Hayjor Roca wrote about the things to know about before getting started in subtitling for the blog post "Earn a living from subtitling". The popular blog post also includes a link to an e-book called Getting Started in AVT. 
Blog posts about how to use the site filled the next two spots. "Need help translating a word or phrase? Term search and KudoZ™ provide answers" explained a bit of the KudoZ feature at ProZ.com. Meanwhile, "A ProZ.com overview: Some of the site's most popular features" walked readers through some of the most popular areas of the site including translating tough terms, the job system, Blue Board, forums and powwows.
SEO, short for search engine optimization, settings affect not only how you show up on ProZ.com, but how (and if) you appear on search engines. Andrea Capuselli explained this in "What is SEO and what is it for?". End clients who aren’t internalized in the world of translation are likely to try search engines first, and chances are that, if your profile is correctly set, you’ll be popping up on searches! If you are looking for local clients, particularly, this is very important: research shows that 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local businesses.
The most viewed entry from the Translation Postcards series finishes out the top 10 of 2020. Andrew Morris took readers around the world to the homes of 31 different members of the ProZ.com community. His profile "Translation Postcards: Joseph Kuria in Nairobi, Kenya" attracted the most readers.
Check out this blog post and more Translation Postcards for prose like this description of Nairobi:
The city centre boasts a thicket of similar-looking high-rises, all thrumming with business activity. Out on the streets, the traffic hoots and screeches, while motorbikes rasp as they weave between the cars, barely avoiding the mikokoteni (handcarts) that ferry supplies across the city. Nairobians are always in a hurry, rushing past you like a high-velocity wind, whether on their way to work, racing home from their evening shifts or gearing up for a night out on the town in all their finery.
Thank you for reading the ProZ.com blog this year. Get blog links shared to your inbox by subscribing for daily, weekly, or monthly updates.
Got ideas for posts in 2021 or favorite posts from this year? Share in the comments or email me directly mike@proz.com.
