Think global seems to be the buzz phrase in the global village of today. The Internet has become the information hearth of the globalized community, a place uniquely suited to thinking and acting global, and expanding and scaling up your activities accordingly. As a result, visibility becomes very important. A measure of your conspicuous presence on the World Wide Web, it ensures more exposure to prospective customers that increasingly use the Internet to source various services, including multiple varieties of translation.
This article discusses specific tips that can improve your visibility on the Internet and eventually result in having more fun and more jobs coming your way.
1. Join professional communities, such as Proz. Participate actively by contributing to forums (ask and answer meaningfully) and specialized features (for example, the KudoZ service on Proz.com, or BlueBoard), writing how-to articles and participating in different web events (such as webinars, online conferences, translation contests, training sessions etc.). Don't disappoint the visitors to your profile: include your specialisms, and provide and regularly update the about me section. And all things considered, paying members get more exposure. But that's an investment that will pay off.
2. Launch your own website and provide exciting content and discussions that will inevitably get you noticed. Mind that your website, or blog, must reflect a careful mixture of your interests and what people you are after may be looking for. Importantly, work may come from your fellow-translators, so be sure to pay a tribute to their interests, too. My observation so far has been that practical tips and tricks work the best. And last, keep it all candid, honest and sincere.
3. Engage in networking. This kind of behavior improves your access to valuable information, resources and contacts. You can achieve this goal by pursuing options 1 and 2, by writing and responding to other people's blogs, by exchanging instant messages, by joining social networks such as LinkedIn or FaceBook, or using Twitter. In one word: Circulate. Here your creativity is the limit.
4. Contribute to web-based dictionaries, such as Multitran. Sign up with this online service and share your knowledge. And get visible in the process.
5. Advertise your talents, whether your are writing a blog, or socializing or participating in high-visibility events. But do it discreetly. Or you risk crossing the fine border between reaching out to people and spamming people. Remember the old truth: your actions speak louder than words. However, plain advertising, such as Google AdSense, should not be brushed off.
6. Present yourself multidimensionally. The simplest form that I can think of is uploading your photo and greeting to your profile. However, more sophisticated varieties currently supported by widespread technology should be embraced enthusiastically. Remember the old saying 'Seeing is Believing'? Translate it into action. People love visuals. So, use YouTube to bring more people into your orbit. This will also come nearest to face-to-face interactions. For example, sing a song.
7. Lucky Seven is short -- combine the six presented strategies for maximum effect.
In conclusion, whatever you do, do it from your heart and you'll never get it wrong.
Contributed by
Arkadi Burkov, English to Russian translator.