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Poll: Has providing sample translations on your website/profile helped you in landing new clients? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Has providing sample translations on your website/profile helped you in landing new clients?".
View the poll results »
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Edson Oliveira 
Brazil
Local time: 03:15
Member (2020)
English to Portuguese
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| I am not sure | May 2, 2023 |
But I believe It can helps.
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Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 08:15
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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| No sample translations | May 2, 2023 |
I prefer focussing on what really matters, and I'm not convinced that providing sample translations is important or even a good idea. If clients are really looking for a good translator, then they will surely not mind "the effort" to ask for a translation test or to evaluate a first limited order.
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| No, not so far as I can tell | May 2, 2023 |
I have a few sample translations on my website and on my profile, but no potential client has ever said “I liked this or that translation you did”.
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| They've helped me not land the wrong translators | May 2, 2023 |
I've never provided sample translations but I have looked for translators (on behalf of agencies and clients, when I haven't been able to take on the job myself) and then rejected them on the basis of their sample translations. The ones I saw were not "wrong" in any way but so lacking in creativity and appeal that they clearly weren't up to the mark. For example, a tourism brochure cannot be written in a style that might be perfect for a technical text, and a sample translation can soon show if ... See more I've never provided sample translations but I have looked for translators (on behalf of agencies and clients, when I haven't been able to take on the job myself) and then rejected them on the basis of their sample translations. The ones I saw were not "wrong" in any way but so lacking in creativity and appeal that they clearly weren't up to the mark. For example, a tourism brochure cannot be written in a style that might be perfect for a technical text, and a sample translation can soon show if you have or haven't got what it takes.
Simon ▲ Collapse
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Nikolay Novitskiy
Russian Federation
Local time: 11:15
Member (2018)
English to Russian
Clients are shocked by the fact that I know Russian. They find it a clincher in favour of hiring me as Ru translator.
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| Impossible to know | May 2, 2023 |
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 08:15
French to English
I don't think so. None of the clients I found here worked in the fields covered in my samples, so they would not be all that relevant, unless they looked and liked my style. One of them did say that, but I'm pretty sure they'd asked for a sample translation, or I'd have asked where they'd seen a sample.
I don't ever direct potential clients to my profile here to show them the samples. I don't want them noticing that there are other (cheaper) translators who could do their job for them!
... See more I don't think so. None of the clients I found here worked in the fields covered in my samples, so they would not be all that relevant, unless they looked and liked my style. One of them did say that, but I'm pretty sure they'd asked for a sample translation, or I'd have asked where they'd seen a sample.
I don't ever direct potential clients to my profile here to show them the samples. I don't want them noticing that there are other (cheaper) translators who could do their job for them!
And I don't have a website at all.
I'm actually thinking of scrubbing most of my profile out since I don't have time to apply for jobs here and only ever got a few the first year I was free-lancing. All I get now is scammers (two or three to date) and the odd bottom-feeder, so it's just junk mail that goes straight to the bin. ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 08:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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I don't know. No-one has ever told me that they liked my sample translations. But that doesn't mean I don't think it's a good idea to provide sample translations.
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Because when I submit a quote, I refer clients to samples I have on my Profile page, especially when I have samples that have anything to do with a topic they posted.
[Edited at 2023-05-02 14:42 GMT]
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 08:15
Spanish to English
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| I don't do that | May 2, 2023 |
Nowadays, my clients tend to come looking for me rather than the other way round. I'm not currently looking for new clients, although I might be able to fit one in if their offer was interesting enough.
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| I'm not sure. | May 2, 2023 |
I don't really know, but it's plausible that a client or a project manager could check and make a decision based on the quality of the translation. They could even post it on machine translation tools to see if it is similar.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 02:15
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| In my language pair | May 2, 2023 |
Most sample translations I have read in my language pair contain translation mistakes or inappropriate expressions.
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 02:15
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| A fundemental question to ask | May 2, 2023 |
Is it always the case that the sample translations are the results of the translators' independent work?
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Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 00:15
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
| I'm not sure. | May 3, 2023 |
Some clients have told me that they found me in the Kudoz tables and/or the WWA entries.
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