What is to be done – The burning issues of marketing content format

 

[workers banging money into a surface*]

Recently, I had a relevant and frank discussion with a forum administrator about the format of my posts. She suggested with great logic that my posts would be more effective if they were in “bullet” form, i.e., short informational sentences. After this conversation, I carefully considered her comment but nevertheless decided to keep on writing organized paragraph-based posts I recognize the time advantages of bullet writing but prefer to take advantage of the power of formal composition to increase retention and develop complex thoughts.

Clearly, bullet posts are faster in terms of understanding and writing. To define, their form often resembles this:

3 ways to [fill in]

Intro

1.       [fill in with two sentences]

2.      [fill in with two sentences]

3.      [fill in with two sentences]

Conclusion

The beauty of such a construction is that the reader, even many non-natives, can finish the whole text within a minute or two and fully understand the points. In practice, the writer has reduced a complex issue to an easily digestible dish. Furthermore, the major challenge for the writer of such posts is identifying the main points, thus rendering the language element into simple, direct sentences whose connections are reflected in the form. Overall, bullet-style writing seems ideal for busy readers and writers alike.

However, this form often suffers from low retention and lack of depth. Specifically, many people forget most of the points, not to mention the name of the writer, within minutes of reading them. As I explain to my students when teaching writing, in order to retain ideas, the human mind requires repetition. In simple terms, once is often not enough either for remembering marketing ideas or shopping lists. Furthermore, if carefully considered, most issues have a certain degree of grey, attenuating conditions if you will. A statement may be true and appropriate 90% of the time but it is occasionally either or neither of them. Adding qualifying conditions to the bullet approach reduces its effectiveness by adding complexity. The lack of repetition and depth are some drawbacks of this form of writing.

As I write for marketing purposes, which aims for long-term retention and demonstration of expertise, I prefer formal paragraph-based writing because it sinks in better, explains more and adds the personality of the writer. The structure of a paragraph, i.e., topic sentence, details and conclusion, involves repetition. By reiterating an idea three times before continuing, paragraphs create deeper images. By writing multiple paragraphs, the author can discuss all or many of the aspects of a concept, including its limitations and drawbacks. The information provided is much three-dimensional and applicable. As a lover of language, I believe that paragraphs allow writers to reflect their human personality as compared to informational sources. Think of Cyrano de Bergerac. Readers receive a fuller picture of both the content and the writer.

Granted, paragraph writing is much more demanding both for the reader and writer. Longer posts often require five minutes or more to read and require greater attention, especially for non-native speakers. For writers, as the prose must be interesting or at least encourage the reader to continue, the writing process is much more demanding in terms of initial time and polishing. Clearly, writing bullets is much more “user-friendly” than formal composition.

Still, I prefer paragraphs even at that price. For anybody that had the particular pleasure of reading What is to be done – the burning issues of our times [shto deletz], a political pamphlet written by Lenin in 1902 (or any other writing by him for that matter), the unforgiveable aspect of his writing is the sheer amount of repetition of the same idea, like a jack hammer, such that every peasant and worker could understand what he wanted to say. I do not recommend Lenin as a stylistic model, of course. However, if the long-term goal of writing market content is to be remembered, creative repetition is necessary. In my view, at least for marketing content, formal paragraphs are more effective than bullets.

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Keeping costs down in translation – on time and money

 

[man skateboard slaloming*]

This week, one of my favorite agency customers and I negotiated a price for a complex and urgent two-certificate translation. Since the buying customer was not prepared to compromise on the amount of material, the deadline or the price, we fortunately came to a mutually beneficial agreement involving the agency preparing a proper template and I reducing my price demand. As the price should reflect the time and effort, all parties felt they received proper value, the best of all outcomes. The key to this compromise was ideal document preparation, specifically format, content and deadlines,  a step that can reduce the time and effort required by translators and allow them to minimize rates in good conscience.

The major factor complicating translation is actually formatting. The most convenient documents to translate are in Word. Unfortunately, customers send many documents, especially certificates, in pdf or jpg format. For a variety of reasons, including a lack of awareness, the quality of this images is often quite poor, sometimes preventing conversion of the PDF into a Word document and, in that case, a significant reduction of the translation speed due to the need to look back and forth from original to the translation in progress. Even when the PDF is sufficiently clear to convert it into Word. The process  takes time, with the longer the document, the more time it taking both at the initial stage before translation begins and after translation in terms of arranging the formatting. In simple terms, working with PDF adds time, which is ultimately reflected in the price. The best way to limit translation costs is to provide a Word document.

Of course, the content of the document also affects the speed of translation. Here, the buying customer has much power to influence the matter. First, if the text involves technical vocabulary, especially if it is specific to the company, the translation purchaser should provide a glossary of the terms they wish to use. It is not uncommon for even an experienced translator to spend up to 30 minutes finding the correct term in the target language, a time investment that can be avoided. Even worse, too many customers mention their preferred terminology only after the translation is delivered, creating negative feelings for everybody. Another important choice by the translation purchaser is the actual translator. No professional is knowledgeable about everything. In translation, the difference in speed and quality between a translator with knowledge and experience and one without them is quite significant. An expert can do the work quickly and proficiently while even the most diligent translators working outside their comfort zone struggle to produce an ideal text. Therefore, a customer wishing to control costs needs to hire a relevant translator and provide the required terminology.

Finally, there is a correlation between the tightness of a deadline and the quality of the result. There is the expression “There is no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting”. To a large degree, in translation, there is no such thing as good translation, only good QA. Same day service is a recipe for disaster, often leading to dissatisfaction, poor results and higher ultimate costs. Professional translators have a financial interest in delivering as soon as possible but are also aware of how long the proper translation will take. I strongly suggest planning ahead, listening to the translator and being realistic. Also, keep in mind that Friday afternoon and Monday morning are identical to the customer in terms of assessing and using the translation but, for the translator, what difference a day (or two) makes, as the song goes. If the customer has no choice but to receive it truly urgently, the result will frequently be a higher price due to the rush status and lesser quality. A bit of planning by the customers can avoid those issues.

Consumers do not control inflation and unpleasant surprises. However, at least in translation, they can eliminate the factors that add cost to the service. When they do so, translators are often willing to compromise on price, knowing that the job will be less time consuming. Personally, I will deliver the translation with the feeling that not only the customer and agency receive good value but I also will be properly paid. That is the basis for a long-term business relationship.

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Oh, say can you see – the search for the “ideal client”

 

[man with VR goggles*]

Can you describe your ideal client? Virginia Katsimpiri in a webinar on LinkedIn marketing made the following comment: “If you market to everybody, you market to no one”. In other words, all marketing activity must be directed to some ideal-type individual or group in order to be effective. I have no issue with the logic of that statement but have a personal difficulty applying that advice. Although I have been a freelance translator since 2004 or maybe because of it, I cannot define the characteristics of my target customers beyond their need for my translating and editing services and willingness and ability to pay my rates, which are not very useful in themselves in terms of marketing. In explanation, I will present my situation as a freelance translator, specifically of legal and financial material as well as official documents from Hebrew, French and Russian to English as well as an English editor, which may or may not resemble your own. I should be able to create a picture of my preferred customer but I am not.

To begin, one major purchaser of translation services from freelancers are LSP’s, a fancy acronym for “Language Service Providers”, which used to be referred to as translation agencies. Their role in the industry in rapidly changing as large conglomerates are buying up local agencies worldwide and earning money for their shareholders at the expense of their translators. In other words, to make a proper living off work from these large corporations, a translator must be technologically efficient and live in a country with low prices. Alas, I do not fit that bill and thus do not seek more work from them. I do continue to work with their subsidiaries at the previously agreed rates but I have no particular motivation to market to these megafirms.

By contrast, with the demand for language services growing, notwithstanding machine translation, small agencies specializing in legal and financial, my areas of expertise, are ideal customers. The issue is that these ‘boutique” agencies can be located anywhere in the world from Hong Kong to Prague via San Francisco. Moreover, their size and volume may range from a one-person home-based business to a company with scores of employees working in company offices. Their decision maker can  just as easily have the title of CEO or President or no title at all. In terms of education, the founders of such agencies may have summa cum laude attached to their framed degree or “some come lauded” on their LinkedIn profile if they are highly reliable. There is no country with proportionally more of such ideal agencies than any other country. I do not see a way to target them.

As a result of the market changes and expanding consumer use of the Internet in all its forms to purchase services, many translators have become active seekers of end clients. It would seem reasonable to see some pattern of my customers in the last few years. In fact, I made a list of which I will share a part of and, to quote Tom Lehrer in the song Lobachevsky, ah then begins the fun:

·         Foreign students wishing to study in Israel

·         Israeli students wishing to study abroad

·         Academic institutions

·         Freelancers

·         Startups

·         Small companies

·         Corporations

·         Charitable institutions

·         People seeking to get married in Cyprus

·         People seeking to get divorced in Cyprus

·         People trying to avoid giving a divorce and living abroad

·         Online gambling sites (only once – against my principles)

·         People in tax trouble abroad

·         People in criminal trouble abroad

·         Insurance companies

·         Medical research companies

·         People seeking mortgages

·         Employees suing employers

·         Employers firing employees

·         Restaurants targeting tourists

As I said, the only element I see in common was that they were willing and able to pay me. However, I may be missing something here.

There is one group that I would like to focus on but have yet to figure out how. As I specialize in legal and financial, I would like to work with legal firms in Israel or abroad. Working from three languages to English should give me some advantage. However, that nut is harder to crack than the shell of a macadamia nut (300 psi) without a huge budget to participate in conferences. I welcome any ideas. It is still on my “to do” marketing list but marked TBA.

The American national anthem begins and ends in a question. Likewise, I will end this confession of an aspiring marketer with a question. At least so far, I am unable to create a picture of my ideal customer. As for your ideal customer, oh, say can you see?

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Translation specialization and the wisdom of Dr. Dolittle

 

[group of geese walking*]

The mantra of translation success experts in recent years has been “specialization”, i.e., generalists have no future. As with all panaceas, there is a degree of truth to that approach. The main challenge in specializing is not identifying a profitable market niche or focusing on work in that area but actually walking the walk and talking the talk. In other words, to specialize in a field requires knowledge of that field.

Mastery of a knowledge area involves the understanding of the relevant processes, vocabulary and manner of expression. The first key to accurate translation is understand what the writer is saying, which goes way beyond the actual words. Technical translators must understand the how and why of a given process, whether it is the limitations in a commercial lease or the intricacies of a DNA process. The actual words in the text may only symbolize that process and assume professional knowledge. The translator must write the same exact idea in the target language, with literal transition often distorting the meaning. To understand and express the concept, the translator must also grasp the technical terms used in the text and clearly differentiate them from similar ones. For example, judges issue both order and judgments but under different circumstances. The use of the wrong term clearly confuses the reader and raises issues about the value of the translation. Finally, every field has its manner of expressing ideas. Referred to as legalese, medical jargon or mechanic talk, birds of the same feather squawk alike. Translators that wish to communicate with or join the flock must write the lingo. Otherwise, the translation sounds like  artificial. Without knowledge of the processes, terminology and phrasing, a technical translation sounds like a translation, at best.

One question posed by aspiring specialists is how to attain this knowledge. I would answer by changing the direction of the search and ask what specialized knowledge a person’s life experience has provided. People learn about occupational subcultures, including vocation-related worlds, through their parents, formal education, work background and life experience, to name just a few ways. We absorb how professionals speak and write, approach their tasks and solve problems by being exposed to their world either through schooling, practice, passive involvement or some combination of them. Knowledge almost functions like biological osmosis. For example, my father was involved in financial public relations. As a result, I heard stock market discussions every morning at the breakfast table. My MBA formalized that subconscious learning. Thus, exposure, preferably including some academic or professional training, provides translators with the knowledge they need to specialize.

Here, I will step on the toes of some of my peers. With some exceptions, translation experience alone does not make a proficient technical translator. Specifically, if a person’s only qualification in a specific field is the number of years in it, there is no guarantee that the translation will be appropriate. In ugly terms, some translators have been producing poor work for 10 or more years without having learned anything in that time. I am not hinting at any intention to deceive customers but instead to the fact that repetition does not make something accurate. If a person uses a phrase multiple times without any negative feedback, the phrase becomes internally labeled as correct. It sounds appropriate, at least to that person. It may be that professionals would not phrase it in that that manner. In fact, translators become increasingly certain over the years that their writing is the cat’s meow. It takes great courage to ask for objective feedback and admit to having made a mistake for some ten years.

To clarify, it is possible to attain the required knowledge through online and in-person classes and even, to a certain degree, YouTube videos. Conference presentations offer additional opportunities for assessing the accuracy of technical translation as the presenters sometimes highlight common mistakes. To update what Ibsen said so strongly in Enemy of the People, the number of Google hits does not necessarily render a translation choice correct especially with the growing volume of machine translation. Continuing education reinforces the skill of all translators, great and small.

Specialization without specific knowledge at best cheats the customers and at worst can kill people. It is far better to leverage existing knowledge and then develop it in order to build a successful translation career. To recall the words of Dr. Dolittle:

If I could walk with the animals and talk with the animals
Grunt, squeak, squawk with the animals
And they could squeak and squawk and speak and talk to me,

In the case of translators, if you can also write like them, specialize.

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