By Garima Jand

A Freelancer is often considered to be a self-employed person, offering services, generally to businesses and to multiple clients at a time. Almost every type of service a business would need is provided by freelancers; such as translation, graphic designing, article writing, web designing and lot more.
As we are in the field of translation, a freelance translator can provide translation services to any company or organization all over the world. It is always better to do a course of specialization in translation which improves our translation skills. This is useful to get work in the beginning.
Without clients, we cannot develop. So while freelancing, the most important thing is that we need to have clients

• Collaborating with translation agencies is a good way to bring in clients. Agencies often pass on the work to freelancers due to several reasons. We must provide best quality work to the client and retain them.
• As beginners, we should avoid rejecting projects and assignments. This can create a negative impression in the industry and people may not contact us next time.
• We should look for translation works online. We can use job boards such as proz, upwork, translators town, translation cafe and people per hour.
• We must make our own website. A website is a way great way to showcase your expertise and attract new clients. The website must answer all the questions that clients would ask. It should include the services we provide, why they should choose us and how are we different and better than others. We can also have a user reviews section or a list of clients and work done before. By this, they can trust us and expect a good experience of working with us. And of course, the website, its name, its look and its content – everything has to be captivating.
• We should start blogging if we have even a little interest in writing. Blogs do reach out to a wide range of people these days. This can always help if the content is impressive and leaves a mark. Also share your blog on as many social media sites as possible.     
• Since we are beginners we can spend 40-50% of our time in marketing. This includes social media marketing.
• An ad campaign can be a great way to create awareness about our work. We can post ads about our website online. Facebook ads can also be very helpful. Also place your ads in reputed industry magazines. In this way, you will be noticed by the right group of people.
• We should be an active user of social media. Increasing connections on LinkedIn, stay active in facebook groups will never go in vain.
• Along with online networking, we should also work offline. Meeting clients outdoors if they are in the city is not a bad idea. Living in big cities is like icing on the cake where a number of agencies, companies and organizations are located. We can get lots of opportunities by networking offline.
• We must provide great quality of service so that your existing clients recommend you to others. Only by good quality of work, without creating lots of issues and by being reliable, we can create a good impression of ourselves. A positive word of mouth is always beneficial.  We can connect with people who require our service.
• We should always be ready to help. A helpful person with polite nature is always chosen to work with, over an arrogant one.

 
When you are given a project by a client, we must give our best to it. It helps in retaining the clients so that they are ready to work with us in future.

• The quality of work has to be the best we can give.

• Submitting our work after proper formatting and editing of text is essential. Typing errors must be avoided. Proof reading is a must.

• The deadline should not be crossed. We must try to finish the work on time. Less time should not affect the quality of our work.
• Computer Aided Translation (CAT) tools  are  helpful for us to translate more systematically and are especially useful in translations with recurring vocabulary (legal, technical etc.). There is nothing wrong in keep up with the time. They help us deliver an efficient service.
• We should be available whenever they need us. Companies generally tend to avoid working directly with freelancers because they are not always available, whenever they need to contact. Hence, it is necessary to be available and accessible to the clients. This is really significant.
• We should be easy to work with. We should respond quickly, be helpful and solve problems. We should  always stay focused.

After our work is done, we must take their feedback and should stay in contact with them. Having good relations with clients is important to collaborate with them in future. It is really necessary to retain clients. We must always try hard to reach up to their expectations. Extraordinary service is the best way for it. Our excellence and dedication will always lead to our success.

Profile link : http://www.modlingua.com/interns/328-garimajand-german-translator.html