Poll: Have you ever invested in paid advertising for your translation business? Autor da sequência: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever invested in paid advertising for your translation business?".
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Many years ago I invested some money in advertising: university publications (at the time one of the universities in Brussels was right on my doorstep), consular newsletters, migrant associations and local authorities publications. In all cases it paid off because I was a sworn translator at the time. Nowadays, I rely more on other sources…
| | | | Daryo
Reino Unido
Local time: 11:59
Sérvio para Inglês
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What is more when Yellow Pages decided on their own to include my company in their directory without asking, they did not receive any thanks for that.
| | | | Lingua 5B 
Bósnia e Herzegovina
Local time: 12:59
Membro (2009)
Inglês para Croata
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| Offline or online? | Feb 22 |
For top spots on Google or FB ads, agencies have ca. $5-15k monthly budget. It means I should have $20k/month to be ahead of them?
Offline is much cheaper, the reach is much smaller, therefore the results are lower.
My comments refer to the pre-AI and pre-MTPE era. Not sure anyone can do anything today with any ads, so AI craze will affect advertising business too as people will see no sense in ad investments, they will make no sense.
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Samuel Murray
Holanda
Local time: 12:59
Membro (2006)
Inglês para Africânder
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Yes, but this was before people used the internet (or: only nerds used it). An advert in a local paper read by my target clientele. I got no responses. It was expensive, too. I briefly experimented with Google Adwords when it came out but I ran through my budget in no-time and receiving only nonsense responses.
I assume the question does not relate to paying money to be listed in online directories, because I have several of those and some of them do pay off over time.
... See more Yes, but this was before people used the internet (or: only nerds used it). An advert in a local paper read by my target clientele. I got no responses. It was expensive, too. I briefly experimented with Google Adwords when it came out but I ran through my budget in no-time and receiving only nonsense responses.
I assume the question does not relate to paying money to be listed in online directories, because I have several of those and some of them do pay off over time.
I'm not sure if getting a premium LinkedIn account counts as paying for advertising.
In the early years of the web when banner advertising was all the rage, I exchanged banners with a couple of people, and that did result in some on-topic traffic to my website. I did not pay for it but I would have considered it, were that option available. Some niche banner farms were also definitely on-topic for my target clientele, and did drive relevant traffic to my website for a while. The same applies to web rings: I would have been willing to pay for a position in a relevant web ring... during the 2-3 years when web rings were a thing.
I've never paid for being listed in a search engine... which was actually a thing 20 years ago. (I'm not talking about paying for placement, which may be a potentially good way to advertise these days.) ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Chávez
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 06:59
Membro (2024)
Inglês para Espanhol
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| It has to be an ongoing activity, I guess | Feb 22 |
Advertising, physical, printed or online, has to be, in my view, a long-term investment (or expense, take your pick) to yield any meaningful and measurable results. Just like hiring for a newly created position.
Back when fracking was very popular as a business activity in the Ohio Valley (United States), I decided to conceive my own ad, inspired by oil fracking, to advertise my technical translation services in a local business magazine. My goal was to target oil fracking-related b... See more Advertising, physical, printed or online, has to be, in my view, a long-term investment (or expense, take your pick) to yield any meaningful and measurable results. Just like hiring for a newly created position.
Back when fracking was very popular as a business activity in the Ohio Valley (United States), I decided to conceive my own ad, inspired by oil fracking, to advertise my technical translation services in a local business magazine. My goal was to target oil fracking-related businesses, and perhaps others. The expense was a bit steep, around $500 or $600, and it didn't yield the expected results because I couldn't sustain the advertising for a period of time. It was a one-off, and that was the problem in retrospect.
Back when I started as a translator in New York City, only translation agencies bothered with advertising. We translators relied on word-of-mouth connections, which were a powerful network in these days. ▲ Collapse
| | | | JaneTranslates
Porto Rico
Local time: 07:59
Espanhol para Inglês
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| I voted "Other" because of the way the responses are written. | Feb 23 |
My answer is "No, I never have."
I can't say "but I'm considering it," because I'm not.
But I won't say "No way!" I have not ruled out the possibility, and I may consider it in the future.
~Jane
| | | | Kevin Fulton
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 06:59
Alemão para Inglês
I very briefly considered advertising in trade journals until I spoke with someone wiser than I was. She pointed out that I would need to advertise on an ongoing basis, which would be expensive. In addition, if in the unlikely event the venture proved successful, I would need to be able to handle the increased volume of work, which meant outsourcing jobs, which in turn would create unneeded headaches for a single-shingle operator. I quickly decided to save my money as well as my sanity, as I was... See more I very briefly considered advertising in trade journals until I spoke with someone wiser than I was. She pointed out that I would need to advertise on an ongoing basis, which would be expensive. In addition, if in the unlikely event the venture proved successful, I would need to be able to handle the increased volume of work, which meant outsourcing jobs, which in turn would create unneeded headaches for a single-shingle operator. I quickly decided to save my money as well as my sanity, as I was well aware of my limitations, both financial and mental. It was a decision that I never regretted.
[Edited at 2025-02-23 14:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Kevin Fulton
Estados Unidos da América
Local time: 06:59
Alemão para Inglês
[Edited at 2025-02-23 16:20 GMT]
| | | | Hipyan Nopri
Indonésia
Local time: 18:59
Membro (2005)
Inglês para Indonésio
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| Google Ads Boosted My Traffic, But No Clients Yet – What’s Missing? | Feb 24 |
Yes, I’ve been running Google Ads to promote my translation services.
The impact on website traffic has been significant, but so far, it hasn’t converted into actual translation orders.
It’s an interesting learning experience, and I’m now evaluating whether it’s a matter of targeting, messaging, or something else.
Have you had success with paid ads for translation services? I’d love to hear your insights!
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