Localisation is more than a Game for some Eastern Industries…

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Here a is a guest post I just received from my friends at Lingo24, which as you know, is one of my favorite Translation Agencies. (Note that I haven’t changed the original British spelling, I hope you don’t mind, it’s still English .

Read the post and tell us what you think.

Here goes:

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Localisation is more than a Game for some Eastern Industries…

For any business seeking to globalise, it’s important to realise that there is a lot more to it than simply translating its communications verbatim.

There is a whole host of cultural and linguistic nuances that must be considered for a product or service to be accepted wholeheartedly by other societies.

Japan, for example, has always been at the forefront of the console and computer gaming industry, with the likes of Nintendo and Sega having their main headquarters in Kyoto and Tokyo respectively. But with the popularity of computer games growing exponentially over the past couple of decades, it’s only natural that serious competition would start to sprout up elsewhere in the world.

Indeed, ‘Western’ games have become increasingly sought-after in recent years, which has meant  the popularity of many Japanese games has started to wean a little.

Ultimately, this has led to some of the top Japanese games companies employing the services of dedicated localisation specialists, who not only arrange for the translation and interpretation of the text and dialogue, but also help them to consider the subtler aspects of the game; the characters, the costumes, the narrative – fundamental aspects of a computer gaming experience that have often been marginalised in many of the best-selling Japanese games.

Given there is so much money tied up in the gaming industry, Japanese companies are paying top dollar to ensure their products meet the correct criteria of the international community; and similar to the wider translation and localisation community, there are the usual horror stories of ‘when it goes wrong’.

A classic example of this was when Japanese company Tecmo’s ‘Final Frame’ game was localised for the US and European markets. They changed all the characters to be of Western appearance, but when the game ends with the main protagonist Miku being reunited with her lost brother Mafayu, they had forgotten to change his features; meaning, they didn’t appear to be related at all.

But although this is simply an ‘oversight’, it does help to illustrate the importance of localising a game for the world market. And as with anything, if something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing right.

© Lingo24 Translation Services

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(End of post)

The Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) defines localization as “the process of modifying products or services to account for differences in distinct markets… Localization is not just a linguistic process. Cultural, content and technical issues must also be taken into account.”

Also see one of Translator Power’s posts on GILT.

What is your own experience of “localization“, as opposed to “simple translation”?

A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of  “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. And did I mention I’m now working on the 2nd edition, which will be much more complete, but also with a higher price (yes, there’s going to be a price rise!). Now here is the deal: if you get the book now (at the current price), you’ll get the 2nd edition for free. So why wait any longer…!?

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“Obama’s Election Means … More Translation Work!”

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Believe it or not Barack Obama‘s election as President of the USA means more work for translators/interpreters!

This is not based on any Harvard study, or AMA research, or high-falutin’ statistics. It’s simple, commonsense, down-to-earth KLT marketing.

As we all know, (or should know) people usually prefer to buy from those they know, like and trust (KLT). And we are talking about the US selling abroad here.

The vast majority of the people in this world are “non-whites” and will find it very easy to identify with Barack Obama. Identifying wth somebody is certainly the highest form of KLT!

Look at this: VIDEO: Obama Celebrations Around World

And this: Obama Wins; The World Responds: In China “Opinion polls indicated two-thirds of Chinese people favored Obama, believing his racial background would give him a more international outlook.” But even ‘Old Europe’ has joined the chorus: “Europeans rejoiced over Obama’s election after eight years of an extremely unpopular Bush presidency.”

Finally this: Barack Obama has captivated the world

Of course Barack Obama is neither a Small Business owner nor a corporate CEO. He won’t be doing the exporting himself. But as President of the USA, his positive personal image is bound impact the whole country’s image. Awesome KLT!

So, all this will result in a huge boost to US exports, therefore to more translation work. Q.E.D.

Translators/interpreters, are you ready for a new Gold Rush?

A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. And did I mention I’m now working on the 2nd edition, which will be much more complete, but also with a higher price (yes, there’s going to be a price rise!). Now here is the deal: if you get the book now (at the current price), you’ll get the 2nd edition for free. So why wait any longer…!?

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• President Barack Obama

Marketing Your Translation Services with Ads – General Observations

As in all marketing and communication activities, the cornerstone here is: “Know Your Target Market”, which of course includes knowing WHO they are, WHERE they meet (both online and offline), WHAT media they use (newspapers, magazine, radio, TV, online social media…), ideally everything about them.

Times Square, originally uploaded by jwowens.

Then there are 4 questions you have to answer:

How to advertise,

When to advertise,

Where to advertise

How much will it be? (Can I afford it?)

The first 3 questions (variables: headlines, call to action, style, time, medium, etc.) can only be answered through testing and tracking: try different variables and test the results generated from each.

Track i.e. find out where your client saw your ad or how they heard about your business (your services): this is how you will know which medium is the best (brings you the highest response rate), learn what is working well or not working at all. Do not rely on your intuition or your gut instinct

Test: If the variable used brings in more money than what you spent, then you can repeat the ad (i.e. you get clients who pay you more than what the ad cost you). If this is not the case, just forget about the ad or change the variable and re-test, until you get what you want i.e. more money than you spent. As you can see, this requires patience and persistence.

Regarding the 4th question it can best be answered by starting small and slowly increasing your investment into the media and the messages:

Test all of your advertising materials in smaller markets before moving out full sails.

Use either print ads (classifieds in the business section of your local newspaper and magazine, newsletters, trade press, Yellow Pages, etc) or online ads (PPC, Yellow Pages, classifieds and/or solo in websites, ezines i.e. electronic newsletters, email in general), or radio, TV (cable is much cheaper), etc.

In another post, we’ll talk about how you write your ad.

Do you use ads to market your translation/interpreting services?

If so, how successful have you been?

If no, why not?

Share your advertising experiences with us!

A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. And did I mention I’m now working on the 2nd edition, which will be much more complete, but also with a higher price (yes, there’s going to be a price rise!). Now here is the deal: if you get the book now at the current price, you’ll get the 2nd edition for free. So why wait any longer…!?

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Marketing Your Translation Services – Is a Website Really a Must?

DSC01456, originally uploaded by Ars clicandi.

Is it really necessary for a translator/interpreter to have a website?

Many translators write to me to ask if a website is really necessary to market your translation services. The same question is also recurrent on translators’ forums, such as Proz, Translators’ Cafe, etc. I personally consider a website so important that a whole chapter of “The Insider Guide” is devoted to the topic. It’s called: “Part VII. Your Online Presence – Build and Market Your Website” and is subdivided into 5 sections:

1. Domain name and hosting

2. Design

3. Trust, Confidence and Credibility

4. Copywriting

5. Marketing Strategies, Promotion and Conversion.

I’ve also come across an awesome article by Marina Varouta, a German to Greek translator based in Germany. The article is titled: “The Freelance Translator’s Website: Futile Accessory or professional Tool?” Read it and tell us what you think. You can also take a look at Marina’s website (if you know German)

Here on the blog, you can also look on your left: there’s a list of translators’ websites (For example veteran Swedish translator Cecilia Falk is a person I have huge admiration for and she has been online for quite some time). Maybe you can get some inspiration from this list, in particular Cecilia‘s site, if you want to build or revamp your own website.

Now, before you go, please take a coupla minutes to tell us:

What is your personal opinion of translators’ websites?

Do you have your own website?

Do you get the majority of your clients through your website?

Or, what percentage of your clients do you get through your website?

Or do you think it’s not even necessary to have a website?

Do you prefer marketing 100% offline?

Please share your experience and opinions with us.

A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. So why wait any longer…!?

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Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

How to Write a Press Release to Market Your Translation Services – Part I

How to Write a Press Release to Market Your Translation Service – Part I

NYC, originally uploaded by cat•girl.

This is a 3-part-tutorial. Parts II and III will be published in 2 and 4 days respectively.

A. How to write a Press release (or News release)

It is obviously not possible to go into details in this short Tutorial. The most important point is to realize that a Press Release is neither an Ad nor even an Advertorial.

The 5 parts of a PR:

Headline: Grab attention and force people to read

Subhead: Short intro to expand the Headline

Lead Paragraph: Tell the major facts of the story. This paragraph should include who, what, when, where and how.

Remaining paragraphs: Briefly give more details about the story.

End: Should include a little information about the business owner and his business. Only info, no hype!

This structure is sometimes called the ‘inverted pyramid’, because the most important information must come first (on top).

IMPORTANT: Statistics help validate a story (you can get them from a variety of places, including Google searches, trade associations, research papers, and the U.S. Census Bureau)

B. News Release example

Remember Val Chen? Now take a look at the following News Release to illustrate the points above. It conforms to all good News Release requirements (except statistics, which is not really a requirement). You can find this News Release (and much more) in the “Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services” – Click here for a Free Preview

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CONTACT: Valerie Chen
Email: mailto:valchencom@gmail.com
Website: http://www.wheninchina.com
Blog: http://wheninchina.com/blog
Phone: xyz-abc df ij/mobile: xyz-klm-nopq

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“When in China Do as the Chinese Do”

For SMBs, cultural flexibility is the key to swift and everlasting success on the China marketplace Chinese American translator, Valerie Chen has just launched a website where she showcases her deep and vast knowledge of Chinese culture. The new website (http://www.wheninchina.com) targets Small and Midsize Businesses (SMB) which seem to find it a daunting task to do business in China.

Ms Chen seems to have a soft spot for SMBs. Huge companies tend to rely too much on their financial clout. They don’t seem to realize there are things money can’t buy, even in China and however “business-minded” the Chinese may be.

“Freelance translators and SMBs, especially those where you can ‘walk straight to the Boss and talk to him or her’ are cast in the same mould, and there is every reason why they should get along fine”

On the site, it is possible to listen to Chinese music, a Chinese poetry recital (There is a written translation of the lyrics), learn a lot about Chinese culture, including a bit of Mandarin Chinese language (“Not too much, though”, quips Ms Chen “otherwise you won’t need my translation or interpreting services!”)

All the Mp3′s are downloadable

There is also a “serious” side to the website: it is chock-full of information on the Chinese economy, investment opportunities, legal and institutional environment, etc.

Says Ms Chen: “We’ve done all the research for you”

Valerie Chen makes frequent trips to China, “to keep abreast of new developments and feel the pulse”

She can translate all your documents, interpret for you if you have guests from China, even escort you to China, all this at (very) short notice.

Just like anywhere else in the world, the Chinese prefer to do business with people they know, like and trust (KLT), all other things being equal, warns Ms Chen.

“However gruff you may be, we can easily turn you into a likeable person in China, that’s a promise!”

Anyone planning on selling to China should visit this website. There you can also find the dates and venues of Valerie’s Public Talks on various China topics

The website has a companion blog where it’s so much easier to “talk” to Valerie (http://wheninchina.com/blog).

Quite an experience, really.

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CONTACT: Valerie Chen
Email: mailto:val chencom@gmail.com
W ebsite: http://www.wheninchina.com
Blog: http://wheninchina.com/blog
Phone: xyz-abc df ij/mobile: xyz-klm-nopq

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End of Part I

In 2 days’ time, in Part II. You’ll learn how this News Release conforms to the above requirements and you’ll also get an Action Plan on rewriting the same News Release using different angles.

Note: This is a (slightly adapted) short excerpt from “The Insider Guide to the Strategic Marketing of Translation Services”. (Click here for Free Preview)

A.M.Sall

P.S. Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

P.P.S. I am now working on revamping TranslatorPower.com/, the companion website to your favorite blog Look out for the “LearningBase” section, with a bumper crop of resources on how to market your translation services, GILT, Social Media Marketing, Cultural Competency, Translation Agencies, Portals, Directories, and much more…

 

2 Awesome Marketing and Business Resources for You!

1. Freelance Folder is a multi-authored blog dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and freelancers. This blog is a real goldmine for anyone in the freelancing business, including freelance translators/interpreters.

Among the “gems” you’ll find in this post, aptly enough titled “Give your freelancing career a boost“, by Ritu B. Pant “a blogger who writes about blogging, technology and a lot of other things”:

• A plan is a must if you want to grow and get more business
• Build an effective strategy to target your clients.
• A startling revelation: “The customer is not always right”!

In another article (“My Top 5 Biggest Freelancing Mistakes“), Chris Garrett, the famous freelance blogger and internet marketing consultant warns us against “under-pricing, over-committing, failing to sell, always saying ‘yes’” and “not following-up”

2. MarketingProfs, a must read for anyone who’s serious about marketing. Literally 1,000′s of resources, most of which you can read without going for “Premium Membership”. Anyway for today let’s start with “18 Strategies and Tools for Naming Your Business or Product“

A comprehensive, well-researched article (like all “Marketing Profs” articles) where Scott Trimble tells us the best way to name your business (in our case your translation business, of course). It’s not as simple as you may have thought.

Go to the MarketingProfs site and look around, I’m sure you’ll like it. And don’t worry, the style is very clear, certainly not overly “professoral”, inspite of the name

Did you have any problem naming your translation business? Share your experience with us!

Enjoy!

A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. So why wait any longer…!?

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Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

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Help, The US Dollar’s Falling!

Do you invoice in US Dollars? You better think again! And I’m sure you’ll do just that after reading this eye-opening Common Sense Advisory’s Global Watchtower post.

BTW, you’ll be shocked to know that I normally used to invoice in US$ even for my European clients and even though I don’t reside in the USA and my country’s currency is pegged on the Euro! Really nonsensical! But now I know better: I only invoice in US$ for my US clients

A.M.Sall

P.S. Click here to download your copy of “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services“, the book no translator/interpreter in his/her right mind should even think of going without . Or maybe you’d rather take a look at the Free Preview first? This is the book you’ve been waiting for so impatiently: it’s here NOW. So why wait any longer…!?

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P.P.S. Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

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Translator Experience Day – Disappointment, then Relief and “WOW!”

(Translator Experience Day (TED) last week: Sheila Anderson (German/English/German translator/interpreter) and her friend Valerie Chen (Chinese/English/Chinese translator/interpreter) have decided to launched an all-out assault on the Iron and Steel industry. Their friend Ron Wilkinson, an industry insider ageed to introduce them to at least 80 people on the list …)

Sheila and Val were slightly disappointed. They had asked “Translator Power” readers to “send them suggestions on how to carry out their strategies or even new strategies they might consider as more efficient.” They found it rather depressing that not a single one of “Translator Power“‘s thousands of readers had reacted.

“These translators are such as lethargic lot!” they thought

Val was looking at the “Translator Power” site. Suddenly she said quietly: “Hey, Sheila, the book is out!”

“The book? Which book is that?”

As soon as they learned that “The Insider Guide to The Strategic Marketing of Translation Services” was out, they rushed to the publisher’s site and bought one copy each.

They didn’t even bother to look at the Free Preview.

And they were not disappointed this time

They discovered “How to Position Yourself as THE Expert People in Your Target Market will Unhesitatingly Turn to on the Very First Occasion”

They learned everything about A.M.Sall’s 3A+ System, “Amsall’s new, revolutionary, play-to-win system which brings radical transformation not just to your business life, but more importantly to your whole life in general.” (pp. 31 to 38)

How to Avoid the “Commoditization” of Your Translation Services

How to Define, Identify, Select your “Ideal Client” and Charge As Much As You Want

How to Set your Goals, Strategies and Tactics

Create and Dominate Your Own Niche

Now segmenting and niche marketing held no more secrets for them (IG. pp. 19, 20), neither did USP, Adding Value, Elevator Speeches (pp. 24, 25)

Or setting strategic marketing, communication and financial goals (pp. 26,27)

Or coordinated multi-channel marketing (pp. 33, to 37)

Or PR (pp. 44 to 48)

Or Direct Mail, GTM CTM (pp.57 to 61)

They understood Why You Should not Merely Want to be ‘the Best of the Best’, but rather ‘the Only One who Does What You Do’

How to Learn the Basics of HTML and Build Your Own Clean and Functional Website in Less than a Week (‘elegant minimalism‘ is the name of the game!) or simply use a CMS platform (pp.66 to 71)

Now, they knew how to build a database of their clients and prospects, then work their list through follow up, so that they could build better profiles representing each segment which they would then laser target and turn into a permanent income-producer for themselves.

And when they got to “The World’s TOP 100 Resources that are Definitely Indispensable for any Translator/Interpreter who is Really Serious about Starting, Growing, and Profitably Marketing His/Her Business”, (pp.76 to 82), it was the apotheosis!

Many “WOW!s” later, and after going through the book for about 2 hours the 2 friends decided to write to A.M.Sall to ask him to raise the price of the book! All this for just $18.75! That was RIDICULOUS! The man was CRAZY!

(To be continued

A.M.Sall

P.S. We have turned the free 7-Part PR ecourse into a free downloadable PDF and all you have to do is visit this link and instantly download it!

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Subscribe to Translator Power and successfully market your translation/interpreting services either by Email or if you prefer the feed, just look on your left and make your choice!

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Translators and Interpreters, Marketing is More Essential than Ever!

Here you can expect to find ANYTHING concerning translators, translation, interpreters and interpreting, in particular how best to market your services, as well as language in general

Frequent entries on the art and science of translation, new ideas, thoughts and trends on work conditions, payment practices, terminology, syntax, demand and supply, a bit less “serious” topics, etc.

This is a genuine, one-to-one conversation with an accountable, visible and honest friend

This is not a company/corporate blog. It’s written in wy own words.

I put myself upfront, honestly and completely: I make my own promises, personally, one-to-one.

And I keep them personally, one-to-one.

I have been a professional translator for well over 30 years, in fact since 1972 (Take a look at my profile one one of my websites at http://www.translationtrophy.com/about.htm)

Translation marketing

I am a wordlover and my 2 fields of expertise – translation and marketing – rely heavily on words

Of course I may throw in an occasional “tangential remark” (TR), but it will always be more or less related to these 2 topics

Words are the raw materials of my 2 “core competencies”, as they say now

Talking about words, please note that I use them quite freely. So I hope you won’t be shocked if I tell you that this blog is for translators/interpreters with brassballs, or the female equivalent of that, whatever it is.

Now, it seems you translators, in particular freelancers, are a nonchalant lot when it comes to marketing your services

For example if you type “marketing translation services” or “translation service marketing” into Overture or Wordtracker, there are no results. Does this mean translators do not search for info on how to market their services?

Don’t they search for marketing methods or ways to improve their marketing, get more clients, etc?

Strange, that!

Do you just sit and wait for potential clients to seek you out?
Don’t you realize that your services must be “marketed” just like any other service or product?

The truth is, it is a well-known fact that professional service providers are generally not overly keen on marketing (see Bob Bly, Michael McLaughlin, etc.), but translators/interpreters seem to be the most reluctant marketers of all professional service providers.

Translators hate to “sell themselves” – maybe they are too shy, too modest

And there are very few books on the marketing of translation services (Alex Eames’ for example). Don’t worry, I am personally working on how to remedy the situation with my new system, specially tailored for my fellow translators: after all I consider it as my personal duty to help you capitalize on my 30+ years in the trenches

Posting your profile and CV on a translation portal or applying for a job with a Translation Agency is fine. But it’s not enough

You have to be more aggressive, more “proactive”, that’s the word and also more creative.

Consider your translation practice as a business, and market it in a more systematic way, just like any other business, create a SYSTEM (meaning: “Save Yourself Time, Energy and Money”)

In addition to portals, directories and Translation Agencies, use ads, email marketing, article-writing, postcards, publicity, networking, forums, a powerful referral system and all the rest of it

Set up your own website, which is a full-blown medium in its own right.

Combine online and offline marketing, direct response marketing and image marketing

Marketing is essential

Believe me, being the best translator/interpreter in the world is fine, but it’s not enough.

Just listen to these wise words by an expert, who really should know what he’s talking about: “Those who make the most money in any profession or service business – from accountants and ad agencies to window washers and Web designers – are those who are the best at marketing and selling themselves… not at performing the actual function or service.” (Bob Bly)

Or maybe you don’t NEED any money