Today’s guest post is by Hanna Sles who translates from English into Russian and Ukrainian.

 

You have heard the wisdom:

“To be visible online, a translator’s website should have a blog.”

 

“Blogging will drive more traffic to a translator’s website.”

 

“Why aren’t you blogging yet?”

Blogging is becoming more and more popular in the translation and localization industry.

Think about it:

Everyone knows that blogging has gained mainstream popularity among freelance translators. But if you wish to start your own blog, it can be difficult to grasp why you should.

And today’s post will convince you to start blogging in a heartbeat.

1. Networking in the freelance translation business

After fifteen years of being a freelance translator, I’ve learned a thing or two about networking:

Social networks present amazing opportunities for freelance translators to meet colleagues and customers. With social networks translators can express themselves, share their passions and build their professional relationships.

Blogging is the best way to get started when it comes to networking as a translator.

What can you write in your blog posts?

• share some important news about your freelance translation services
• share something that’s happening in the translation and localization industry
• contribute to a conversation that already exists out in the blogosphere or social media
• answer questions that your customers mostly ask
• share ideas on how translation services can resolve issues that your customers come across
• etc.

Once your post is ready, you can share it on the networks where the target audience for your post spends most of their time. So if the target audience is your peers, share it in professional Facebook groups for translators:

• Translators and Interpreters (ProZ.com)
• Translation My Passion
• Successful Freelance Translators

2. Blogging helps establish your reputation in the translation industry

Think about it:

Customers like to do business with experts.

Solution:

A blog can be utilized as a platform to showcase your knowledge and expertise.

As a rule, blog readers are looking for credible translators and localization specialists whose experience and expertise puts them at the forefront in the translation and localization industry.

For example, in my Blog I write posts for website owners, App devs and translators. For website owners I share ideas on how they can increase sales with my Russian translator services. For App devs I write posts on how they can improve App download rates with piloting localization services. For translators I share my best practices and tips on how to become a successful freelance translator.

3. Blogging drives long-term efforts

Think about it:

Good posts have more lives than a cat.

What’s more:

Blog posts continue to provide benefits, such as traffic to your website and potential sales leads, long after the publish date.

For example, I wrote a post, “12 Freelance Translators Worth Subscribing to on Facebook”, and it got more than 500 views on the day I published it and around 98 shares. And that’s not the end of it. Every day I receive another 40 views and a few more shares. As each day passes, this post is still driving traffic.

4. Blogging drives traffic to your website and helps you find new clients

Think about it:

Keywords from every post you publish bring new customers from Google search results.

That means:

The more posts you publish with relevant keywords, the more traffic you will get to your website. Traffic is the lifeblood for a translation business.

Blog posts with high quality and up-to-date content are more likely to show up in search results. Search engines give priority to fresh content in search results. That’s why posts are often more effective than the static pages of a freelance translator’s website.

Hanna Sles is an English into Ukrainian and Russian translator & localization specialist, a WordPress website developer, and an SEO and online marketing expert. She can develop and shape your company’s voice and style in Russian & Ukrainian to ensure that it’s clear, accessible, and culturally relevant for your customers and partners throughout the Russian- and Ukrainian-speaking world. For more details, please see her website.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

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