Blog - Integrated MarCom Translations

Translators and Social Media: Why you Should Put Yourself Out There

By Marion Rhodes A little more than a year ago, when I started working as social media coordinator for the Colorado Translators Association, I was very much a newbie to the world of xl8 and t9n. Even though I had been working as a translator for many years, I never really thought about connecting with […]

A week in the life of a busy translator

By Marion Rhodes Oh, what a week it’s been! I had hoped to ease into the new year with a light work load, but alas, no such luck. Instead of leisurely updating my various Internet presences and catching up on my session recordings from the 2013 ATA Conference, I found myself conducting interviews, publishing blog […]

Gaining Translation Clients Through Social Media Marketing

By Marion Rhodes As 2013 is nearing its end, so is my transition year as a freelancer. The past 12 months have been filled with preparations to grow my business and move up into the ranks of high-end translators. I deliberately kept my work load light to have time to focus on setting up my […]

Taking Stock of Professional Memberships

Yesterday, I posted a blog on the website of the Colorado Translators Association where CTA treasurer Mery Molenaar explained how to renew your CTA membership for the coming year. It got me thinking about my own professional memberships, which will soon be up for renewal. The time has come to decide which memberships are worth […]

Strategic Marketing for Translators: Positioning Your Brand

By Marion Rhodes There has been a lot of talk about MOOCs, or massive open online courses, lately, among others by my fellow Colorado translator Corinne McKay. I finally wanted to try one for myself, so I registered for An Introduction to Marketing on Coursera.org a few weeks ago. It has been a while since […]

Thoughts About NYU’s Certificate in Translation Program

Last week, I got an email from New York University containing a badge to promote the fact that I completed the NYU School of Continuing Professional Studies’ certificate program in German to English translation. It’s been several years since I completed this online program and I haven’t thought about it for a long time, but […]

Anatomy of a Translation Scam

If you’re a freelance translator whose email address is listed somewhere on the Internet, chances are you’re all too familiar with scammers trying to exploit your business. You may not always know right away that an offer isn’t legitimate, but it usually doesn’t take long until you can smell a rat. Here is an exchange […]

ATA practice test provides personal validation for translators

Today, I finally received the results of my practice test for the ATA certification exam, which I took earlier this year. I only completed the “A” passage, a translation of a general, usually journalistic text, which is the part of the exam that most people struggle with, according to ATA grader Jutta Diel-Dominique. I wanted […]

CTA Conference Takeaway – Part 2

During her session on time management for freelancers at the 2013 Annual Conference of the Colorado Translators Association in Boulder, Corinne McKay pointed out that one of her secrets is to stop being a “150%er” about everything. “Pick something to be mediocre at,” she said, adding that for her, having a perfect house is no […]

CTA Conference Takeaway – Part 1

This past weekend, I attended the 3rd Annual Conference of the Colorado Translators Association. As usual, I ended up leaving with a head full of ideas on how to improve my translation business, my productivity, and my work/life balance. In the past, that’s usually where it ended. But in the spirit of making 2013 a […]