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How To Make A Living Doing English, French and Arabic Translation Online?

"How can I find jobs to do English French and Arabic translation online?"

Q:Dear Joy, I hope this email finds you in good health. I want to find work to do English, French and Arabic translation online. Apart from the Pakistan language, I know English and I’ve learnt French and Arabic in 2002 and have a team of translators who can translate different languages.

I’ve been trying to get translation jobs for the past 6 months but I couldn’t even get one single job. Could you please kindly tell me how I can find jobs to do English, French and Arabic translation online? I can translate French to English and do English to Arabic translation.

I’m now jobless and I need work. Please help! I’m trying to get work from www.odesk.com and www.vworker.com

Maroof Awan From Pakistan

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A:Dear Maroof,

Thanks for your message. I’m sorry that you are jobless and I feel for you. Finding freelance work online can be frustrating – that is if you don’t know how.

You said that you had learnt French and Arabic in 2002. Are you still learning? As you may know learning language is an ongoing thing and one year is a very short time. I have no doubt that you are a very talented person and the fact that you have acquired so many different languages in such a short time period proves that.

To be able to translate from English to French and translate from English to Arabic takes more than just knowing the mechanics of the languages. There’re lots of underlining messages in a document you need to understand before you take on a translation project.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not suggesting that you are not capable in any way here. I’m simply pleading that you take a hard look at what you have to offer.

The translation industry is extremely competitive. If you don’t set yourself apart from the crowd, your competitors will. Based on the information given above, there are a few things you need to do:

1- Identify your niche

A big mistake many rookie translators make is that they come out as a generalist. They are eager to list all the languages they know. OK here’s the bad news:

Hiring someone who speaks 5 languages for a regular job position may be considered as a bonus for an employer. But when a client looks for someone to do English, French and Arabic translation online, they most likely want someone who is a native speaker of at least one of these languages. So more is not necessarily better.

What you can do is to emphasize your specialty – May be that’s your fast delivery? Or that you are specialized in marketing materials? Or religious messages? Or just website translations? That way you often reduce a large amount of competition.

A niche based business always attracts more clients than a non niche based business. You can get more tips on marketing niches here

A niche based translation business also means that you need to embrace who you are. We all have our strength and weakness. Being authentic is what makes us unique. When you try to be someone that you are not, you often fail.

2- Do whatever it takes to market your services

It’s a wonderful idea to make a healthy income by doing English, French and Arabic translation online from the comfort of your home. But if all you do is visiting a few websites and checking online job boards, your chance of making any decent money is pretty slim. In fact I’d be surprised if you could make a living that way.

After you’ve decided to offer your services to the world, you must spread the word out there.

What have you done to market your services so far?

Have you got a website?

Do you blog?

Did you send out a business introduction letter
to everyone you know?

Do you network regularly and tell people about your business and your work?

How many phone calls have you made in the past 6 months to sell your services?

How many business appointments have you arranged in the past month to pitch your business ideas?

Get more tips on self employment from home
here.

Just because you want to do English, French and Arabic translation online doesn’t mean all you need to do is surfing the internet. Far from it – you have to get prepared to sell anytime and anywhere.

The internet has made many things possible for businesses, but the fundamental thing hasn’t changed and will never change. People like to do business with people they like and trust.

Building your credibility starts right now and right under your nose. Get out there and connect with people in the business community. Your online reputation is often a true reflection of your reputation in real life.

3- Do not put all eggs in one basket

This is a message you might get from your financial advisor. But it also applies to your translation business. You may just want to do English, French and Arabic translation online, but if you limit your income sources, you’ll soon find it too hard to get ahead financially.

Read here for extra income ideas
and passive income opportunities.

Taking calculated risks is necessary in any business, but putting your family and loved one at financial risk is not a wise thing to do. This means you don’t quit your day job before you have to. If there’s a regular job offered to you, take it and translate French to English and Arabic to English on the side. You may be surprised at how many valuable connections you can make through a regular job.

Hope this helps!

Joy

www.translators-biz-secret.com

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