How important/relevant are Kudoz points when it comes to attracting new customers? Thread poster: Victor Torres
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Hello,
I want to greet and thank this community beforehand. If Love means unity, then this space is surely an example of it.
My question is:
How important/relevant are Kudoz points when it comes to attracting new customers?
Some context:
I am a freelance linguist in the make, I focused on building medical interpreting experience but... See more Hello,
I want to greet and thank this community beforehand. If Love means unity, then this space is surely an example of it.
My question is:
How important/relevant are Kudoz points when it comes to attracting new customers?
Some context:
I am a freelance linguist in the make, I focused on building medical interpreting experience but I want to start marketing for document translation again. I say again because I created this profile almost two years ago and I had some minor results but I want further develop it.
Some people say this is a dying industry. I understand that's a topic on its own, but venting that concern here is appropriate, I think since this is a marketing question made by a newb.
Your feedback is priceless to me.
Thank you. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 20:30
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Extremely important | Dec 30, 2022 |
Victor Torres wrote:
How important/relevant are Kudoz points when it comes to attracting new customers?
Without KudoZ points, your profile will not show up in search results, and most jobs that translators get via the site come from clients visiting the profile pages after having done a search in the directory. And yet, the ProZ.com management will not periodically reset KudoZ scores, which means that the longer you've been on the site, the more value it will have for you.
| | | | | KudoZ points can make all the difference here | Dec 30, 2022 |
KudoZ points can have a dramatic impact on the inflow of translation requests, provided that you've accumulated enough points to come up on the first search results page in a particular area of specialization in your language pair(s).
Mind you, it was much easier to increase your KudoZ status in the early 2000s. ProZ became operational in Feb 1999, I joined it in Dec 1999, and became a paying member in 2002. By 2008, I came up among the top three translators in my specialty fields.<... See more KudoZ points can have a dramatic impact on the inflow of translation requests, provided that you've accumulated enough points to come up on the first search results page in a particular area of specialization in your language pair(s).
Mind you, it was much easier to increase your KudoZ status in the early 2000s. ProZ became operational in Feb 1999, I joined it in Dec 1999, and became a paying member in 2002. By 2008, I came up among the top three translators in my specialty fields.
I virtually stopped answering KudoZ questions in late 2008 after switching to a full-time position with a major international law firm. Yet, I still come up on the first page, which brings in prospective clients each month.
Only 3-5% of prospects become actual clients because (1) I charge rather high rates, and (2) I'm very picky about taking new clients on board.
[Edited at 2022-12-30 20:24 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | “Dying industry”? Yes. | Dec 31, 2022 |
I’d say you should just participate in exchanges in your language combinations (kudoz and forums), communicate with others, make your suggestions, give your input, admit your misunderstandings, share your expertise. Learn from others. People will notice you if you have sth. to contribute, and may even send work your way, even if you’re a non-paying user.
Not all outsourcers search through the directory. I didn’t (or if I did, I always checked the non-payers first). It’s sexier.... See more I’d say you should just participate in exchanges in your language combinations (kudoz and forums), communicate with others, make your suggestions, give your input, admit your misunderstandings, share your expertise. Learn from others. People will notice you if you have sth. to contribute, and may even send work your way, even if you’re a non-paying user.
Not all outsourcers search through the directory. I didn’t (or if I did, I always checked the non-payers first). It’s sexier.
And kudoz points don’t indicate much unless perhaps you take into account the number of attempts it took to get those points.
Good luck. ▲ Collapse
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| Can you back that up? | Dec 31, 2022 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
...and most jobs that translators get via the site come from clients visiting the profile pages after having done a search in the directory.
Am wondering how you come to that conclusion, Samuel?
HNY,
C
| | | | | Quality of KudoZ answers | Dec 31, 2022 |
Cilian O'Tuama wrote:
And kudoz points don’t indicate much unless perhaps you take into account the number of attempts it took to get those points.
Good luck.
People who know the relevant language can check the quality of your answers to KudoZ questions.
| | | | Elena Feriani
Italy
Local time: 20:30
Member
French to Italian
+ ...
| Paying member + Kudoz points | Dec 31, 2022 |
Hi Victor,
Welcome back!
As a paying member with Kudoz points, I'm in the first page of results for FR-IT, and in the past 2 years I gained 4 very good clients who found me through Proz Find, and a number of one-time clients. It took me years to get there, but it's also fun, and I learnt a lot in the process.
Since your language combination is more popular than mine, I suppose you'll have more questions daily, but also more people answering them!
For... See more Hi Victor,
Welcome back!
As a paying member with Kudoz points, I'm in the first page of results for FR-IT, and in the past 2 years I gained 4 very good clients who found me through Proz Find, and a number of one-time clients. It took me years to get there, but it's also fun, and I learnt a lot in the process.
Since your language combination is more popular than mine, I suppose you'll have more questions daily, but also more people answering them!
For your first language combination, you need 1000 points to get to page 3 and 2900 points to get to page 1! And being a paying member, of course.
I recommend doing it, but it might take a couple of years before you see results in terms of client acquisition. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Where do visitors come from? | Dec 31, 2022 |
Cilian O'Tuama wrote: Samuel Murray wrote:
...and most jobs that translators get via the site come from clients visiting the profile pages after having done a search in the directory. Am wondering how you come to that conclusion, Samuel?
Judging by the ProZ visitor statistics, my visitors mostly come from outside ProZ. By the way, Cilian, have a look at the entry for a visitor from Sweden who viewed 130 KudoZ-related pages.
[Edited at 2022-12-31 07:31 GMT]
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Elena Feriani
Italy
Local time: 20:30
Member
French to Italian
+ ...
| Swedish visitor | Dec 31, 2022 |
Hi Vladimir,
I get a Swedish visitor too. I think it's a bot. It shows up once a month with 50-150 views in one day and checks "KudoZ, KudoZ (answered), KudoZ (asked), Other, and Profile" every time...
I'm glad I'm not alone.
I've just noticed that the viewer ID is the same. Must be a bot.
[Edited at 2022-12-31 08:10 GMT]
| | | | | Bot? Perhaps, someone uses ProZ API to collect data on users | Dec 31, 2022 |
Elena Feriani wrote:
Hi Vladimir,
I get a Swedish visitor too. I think it's a bot. It shows up once a month with 50-150 views in one day and checks "KudoZ, KudoZ (answered), KudoZ (asked), Other, and Profile" every time...
Oh, it gets interesting. Perhaps, it's a translation agency using ProZ API to fetch data on ProZ users and their KudoZ activity.
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I started translating some 40 years ago, part-time for a few years followed by 20 years as full-time in-house translator and reviser. I retired from that job in 2006 and since then I have been happily freelancing. This being said, when I started everybody around me said it was a waste of time and energy because I would never succeed. Yet I raised my three children alone (I’m a widow). I must say that it's been a long and bumpy road but here I am... still kicking. So, my advice is if this is RE... See more I started translating some 40 years ago, part-time for a few years followed by 20 years as full-time in-house translator and reviser. I retired from that job in 2006 and since then I have been happily freelancing. This being said, when I started everybody around me said it was a waste of time and energy because I would never succeed. Yet I raised my three children alone (I’m a widow). I must say that it's been a long and bumpy road but here I am... still kicking. So, my advice is if this is REALLY what you want to do, just go ahead and good luck!
P.S. I have been a paying member since 2007 and in my language combinations I am ranked high on the Kudoz leader board …
[Edited at 2022-12-31 10:37 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-12-31 13:40 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Very important! | Dec 31, 2022 |
Kudoz points are very important for exposure. It is of course nowadays more difficult than it was in the first decade of ProZ. I decided to obtain as much KudoZ points as possible when I noticed that I had very few points and a Salvadoran colleague had more than 400. It was 2007. Now I am the leader in El Salvador. Anyway, at this moment there are only 2 paying members in El Salvador. Not a typical job in this Central American country.
Off Topic (Moderators Beware!): The Russian Fed... See more Kudoz points are very important for exposure. It is of course nowadays more difficult than it was in the first decade of ProZ. I decided to obtain as much KudoZ points as possible when I noticed that I had very few points and a Salvadoran colleague had more than 400. It was 2007. Now I am the leader in El Salvador. Anyway, at this moment there are only 2 paying members in El Salvador. Not a typical job in this Central American country.
Off Topic (Moderators Beware!): The Russian Federation! What a place to be at this time in history! Such an utterly exotic and enigmatic country for me!
[Edited at 2022-12-31 22:56 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Off topic: May you live in interesting times! | Jan 1, 2023 |
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
Off Topic (Moderators Beware!): The Russian Federation! What a place to be at this time in history! Such an utterly exotic and enigmatic country for me!
"May you live in interesting times" is an English expression that is claimed to be a translation of a traditional Chinese curse.
While seemingly a blessing, people typically use the expression ironically; life is better in "uninteresting times" of peace and tranquility than in "interesting" ones, which are usually times of trouble.
Personally, I've been living in interesting times throughout my life, as I was born the day after JFK and Khrushchev prevented the nuclear Armageddon a.k.a. the Caribbean missile crisis. It seems I'd been waiting for the outcome of that "interesting time" to decide whether it was even worth it to start a new life on Mother Earth.
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