Should I buy Translation Directory? Thread poster: suongmai
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suongmai 
Vietnam
Local time: 21:15
English to Vietnamese
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Hi all,
I've been in this industry for quite long but before I had a desk job so i just got some small contracts time after time. Getting married, having baby, now i'm thinking about building serious career with translation.
Starting is always hard, I do not have a lot of contracts and it takes a lot of time to just look for agencies and send CV to them.
There is a website which sells database of more than 7000 translation agencies in all over the world. It is very exp... See more Hi all,
I've been in this industry for quite long but before I had a desk job so i just got some small contracts time after time. Getting married, having baby, now i'm thinking about building serious career with translation.
Starting is always hard, I do not have a lot of contracts and it takes a lot of time to just look for agencies and send CV to them.
There is a website which sells database of more than 7000 translation agencies in all over the world. It is very expensive. and I wonder if any of you bought it and how did it work to your career? Was it worth?
Thanks,
[Edited at 2013-02-16 20:20 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 14:15
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| I REALLY wouldn't recommend it | Feb 16, 2013 |
suongmai wrote:
There is a website sell kind of database of more than 7000 translation agencies in all over the world. It is very expensive. and I wonder if any of you bought it and how did it work to your career?
It's very likely that the majority of agencies on the list will have already disappeared. Most of the rest will be what we call "bottom-feeders", who will not only want you to work for very low rates, which may well be acceptable to you if you lived in Vietnam (I really don't know), but will also want you to produce 5000+ words per day, be available 7 days a week and they will deduct 10% of your earnings for every "error" which will probably be determined on a very dodgy basis, etc...... They certainly won't pay enough to provide a living in France unless you work 16 hours a day. You may find one or two good clients through this database, but you'll pay a lot for them.
Much better to approach agencies (the ones who welcome freelancer applications ) and those direct clients who you know will have at least some interest in your services. Send them a personalised email, giving a summary of your experience and qualities. All that is free!
Your current problem is common to ALL freelancers - not just freelance translators:
1) it takes time to establish a solid client base (and even then, it isn't permanent) - you just have to survive somehow, often by taking on temporary part-time salaried work doing something else ( e.g. filling supermarket shelves)
2) a freelancer's life is quite often one of feast or famine. No matter how many good clients you have, they're likely to be like buses - you wait for ages for one, then three arrive at the same time! 
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 15:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| A cheaper option | Feb 16, 2013 |
suongmai wrote:
There is a website which sells database of more than 7000 translation agencies in all over the world. It is very expensive.
Read my reply here:
http://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/144491-if_you_had_$1000_to_establish_yourself_what_would_you_spend_it_on.html#1209052
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Added: In fact, you can access ProZ.com's list of translation companies even if you're not a paying member of ProZ.com. The only downside is that you'd have to visit their profiles one by one and send them e-mails one by one, but the upside is that you can make your e-mail campaign much more targeted, because you can filter the list by several criteria. In fact, this is where you can see what a company's Blue Board rating is even if you're not a registered member of ProZ.com. Check it out:
http://www.proz.com/translation-companies/
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Added again: I'm sure I investigated one of these lists a year or two ago, but I can't find the data on my computer now. I sent messages to everyone in the list's testimonials page to ask them if they really said what the web site says they said. I think I might have posted my results here on ProZ.com's forums, but I can't find the post about it now.
[Edited at 2013-02-16 22:20 GMT]
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Maciek Drobka
Poland
Local time: 15:15
Member (2006)
English to Polish
+ ...
| My experience with a translation directory | Feb 18, 2013 |
Hi suongmai,
I briefly described my experience with buying and using a translation directory (perhaps the same as the one you are considering) here:
http://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/144491-if_you_had_$1000_to_establish_yourself_what_would_you_spend_it_on.html#1209043... See more Hi suongmai,
I briefly described my experience with buying and using a translation directory (perhaps the same as the one you are considering) here:
http://www.proz.com/forum/getting_established/144491-if_you_had_$1000_to_establish_yourself_what_would_you_spend_it_on.html#1209043
Reflecting now, I wouldn't call the results of that effort 'disastrous' any more: I did earn a reliable client (still working with that agency, my sixth year now!), and I get occasional requests from another 2 or 3. I am not sure how much I paid for the list (I only bought 'A'), but I am sure the investment has paid for itself many times.
However, about 80% of the 100+ agencies I e-mailed never replied and, having read the fantastic customer testimonials on the translation directory's website, I was obviously put off. So I switched to KudoZ, which has proven the right decision over time. I cannot tell what would have happened had I followed my original plan.
What I can tell is that I would not buy a translation directory now. If I were to take a directory-based approach, I would use the Proz.com Blue Board system, manually searching for prospective clients and contacting them with customised e-mail messages.
My PLN0.03.
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| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 15:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Even with a targeted campaign... | Feb 18, 2013 |
Maciek Drobka wrote:
However, about 80% of the 100+ agencies I e-mailed never replied...
Note that even with a customised, targeted campaign your response rate will be low. If you do a spam drop (e.g. by buying the list of addresses), you can feel satisfied if 20% of them reply, and if 20% of the ones that reply turn into at least one job. With a customised, targeted approach your success rate will be higher, but it will not be spectacularly higher.
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It seems such providers don't care where the applications end up. I have been showered with pointless applications from colleagues for some years now and suspect they stem from exactly the kind of system you describe.
When I have a job to outsource now and then, I would definitely not get back to these applicants.
| | | | suongmai
Vietnam
Local time: 21:15
English to Vietnamese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you all for your responses,
I have been thinking and yes, maybe i should spend time now for ProZ Kudo and manual send Cv to those agencies who had good Blue board from this website, too !
I'm not in a hurry and even i am, it can't do anything good so maybe it's better go more slowly but more solid, and save that 800 euro for another better thing...
Have a nice week!!!
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