Content Editor – Page 2 – Translation Expert

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Marketing, Social Media, Translation

Payment Issues

17 November, 202218 October, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about something that I think we have all experienced as freelance translators: payment issues.

Unfortunately, one of the cons about working on your own is that clients can cause problems when it comes to paying us. And some of these issues or concerns can be:

Delayed Payments

As freelancers, we already have to wait for 15, 30, 60, or even 90 days to get paid. And on top of this, sometimes the payments are delayed.

This is annoying because it means that we have to start trying to get paid. We need to contact the financial department to ask why there has been a delay and when can we expect the payment to get done.

If they don’t answer, we might contact our PM, but a lot of times, this is useless because they immediately indicate that the project management department and the financial department are two completely different things, and there is nothing they can do.

Of course, this becomes frustrating. But I would say, don’t give up. Keep insisting until you get paid, I’ve done that and it has actually worked in the end.

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Incomplete Payments

Now, this is a different kind of problem. You get paid on time, but not the total amount of your invoice and their purchase order. This can happen due to many things, maybe the financial department made a mistake when entering the quantity to pay, or your payment platform charges you fees that you didn’t know about.

What is important here, is to let the financial department there has been a mistake, after you’ve checked it isn’t due to mysterious fees on your payment platform. You need to send all the necessary information to show that the payment doesn’t match what was invoiced. Luckily, they will make a second payment for the missing amount.

Getting Overpaid

Yes, you read that right! You can actually get overpaid. This can also be due to a mistake in the financial department or in their payment platform. Of course, it is nice to get paid more than you invoice, but it isn’t right. Just like we ask to get paid any payments that were received incomplete, we must let the client know right away about an overpayment. In some platforms, you can revert the payment, but the whole payment, not just a fraction. If you got the same invoice paid twice, you can do this and let the client know.

But if it is only a fraction and you can’t revert it, you can either ask them for an account where you can deposit the extra amount, or ask them to discount said amount from your next payment, whichever works better for everyone.

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Have you ever had any payment issues? Which ones? How have you handled them? Please leave me your experiences in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe.

Thanks to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Click on the link to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Content Marketing, Social Media, Translation

Black Friday Services Deals

15 November, 20224 November, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Continuing with the topic of “Black Friday”, today I want to talk about how this can work for products and services.

Of course, it is easier for businesses that sell products to make special Black Friday deals. Services can be a bit tricky to offer on sale because they are not tangible goods.

But this doesn’t mean it can’t be done. You can still run a campaign to offer discounts. For example, one campaign could look like this: “We are offering 15% off all our services on Black Friday. Use this code XXXX to claim your discount.”

So, you can offer a percentage off or you can also offer free credit for a certain amount, let’s say that if people use the code you advertise, they get $15.00 off the total price of the service or services you offer.

Doing something like this can help with your business visibility and engagement. It would be interesting to know how many people actually claim the discount code or codes you offer.

You can also do it without codes. You can just announce that all your services will have a 10% off on Black Friday. This is a broader offer, which might impact more followers. Sometimes people don’t like using codes, so if they see that it is a general sale, without a code, they might feel more inclined to claim it.

Of course, as service providers, it isn’t always easy to offer a deal on a specific day or holiday. If we haven’t had a high-income month, we probably wouldn’t want to offer a discount, since it would mean we would get a lower payment.

On the other hand, a discount might help us out of the low-income circle we are in at the moment. Doing anything like this is always a gamble. You have to try different strategies to find the ones that actually work for you.

I’ve never offered a deal before, I think with translation is a bit difficult to offer a concrete deal. What about you? Have you ever done anything like this? If so, how did it go? Did it work for you? I cannot wait to read all about it in the comments.

Two companies that know how to make these kinds of deals work for them are Day Translations and Day Interpreting, which are offering unique discount codes, which are valid from November 1st to November 25th (Black Friday Day)! You may use the discount codes by clicking on the banners above.

Thanks to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Click on the link to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Copywriting, Social Media, Translation

Translation, Transcreation, and Copywriting

10 November, 202215 October, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Today I have a question that I think many of us have actually asked ourselves: What is the difference between translation, transcreation, and copywriting?

When it comes to marketing translation services, sometimes a client might request a translation, but then we find out that what they really need is transcreation or even copywriting. So, before we accept a project that might be confusing in its scope, let’s review these terms and then get back to our client with all the knowledge!

Translation

Marketing translation services take the source text and translate it into the target language remaining as true to the meaning of the original content as possible. Some localization may also be necessary, for example by changing measurements into the preferred metric in that country (inches into centimeters, etc.).

Translation is never as simple as just swapping one word in one language for another. It still needs to be read fluently and not as though it’s been translated. T

Bodies of text such as on websites, email campaigns, blogs, and product marketing material are ideal for this kind of translation service.

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Transcreation

Transcreation tackles the message and feel of the copy. It’s translation + creation. With a more creative approach to translation, transcreation may be a better option for more emotive marketing content and advertising campaigns. For example, when translating a slogan directly it might not sound or feel quite right. Using transcreation allows you to remain faithful to the intent of the copy no matter what language it’s in. This often happens if the source copy uses language-specific devices such as idioms, puns, and humor, or cultural references that are intrinsic to the text but are not relevant to the target market. Transcreation recreates the copy so that it works in the target language and country, but still retains the conceptual elements that the campaign is built around.

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Copywriting

Sometimes transcreation isn’t enough. The creative concept might be too far removed from the target audience that the campaign needs original copy written.

For this, native-speaking copywriters can write copy specifically for your target audience. They will have a deep understanding of your target market, your sector, and your brand; so that their copy seamlessly fits in with your brand identity and any other translated content.

As you can see all these translation services are interlinked. However, when quoting on a marketing or advertising translation project, make a distinction between these services. There will be some differences cost-wise and so you’ll want to get this reflected in the quote.

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Have you worked with all three services? Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe!

Thanks to Day Translations for sponsoring this post. Click on the link to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Content Marketing, Social Media, Translation

Black Friday Around the World

8 November, 202229 October, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Continuing with our special theme for November, let’s learn more about the “Black Friday” celebration around the world.

According to Black-Friday.Global, in the autumn and winter season, Black Friday sale plays an important role not only in terms of e-commerce turnover but also in the activity of shoppers. At the beginning of November, small and middle-sized businesses, as well as bigger players on the market, begin Black Friday preparations. They announce huge sales to take place at the end of November, in both online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Curiously enough, merchants claim that this is not entirely about the fight for increasing their sales. In a sense, sellers and buyers swap places during Black Friday. In normal circumstances, customers gain benefits by shopping regularly and thus asserting their loyalty. In November, stores are the ones that must prove loyalty toward their clients, which can be assessed with regard to the level of rebates and availability of highly discounted products.

In the beginning, Black Friday used to be a one-day happening in the United States. However, over the past few years, the event has grown into a shopping marathon that lasts for several days. It may sometimes start on Thursday and continue until the end of the week, or even the month. In an attempt to grab consumers’ attention, some stores start the so-called presales as early as Monday. Nevertheless, in most countries, the peak of shoppers’ interest falls on the same day. Google Trends data for 19-25 November 2018 shows that one-third of all queries related to Black Friday sales were recorded on Friday. Nevertheless, the interest of customers starts to grow on Wednesday and fades on Sunday.

Unlike the United States, citizens of other countries do not usually have a day off on Black Friday. Although peaks in online shopping activity in various countries are slightly different, generally they fall in the morning and evening according to Black-Friday.Global data for 2018.

On the other hand, in countries like Turkey, Finland, Greece, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Black Friday seems to have been much-anticipated — based on the fact that most of the shopping was done right after midnight.

What is the trend like in your country? Do you get a sale on that day? Does it last just one day or several days? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe!

And to celebrate the sales bonanza spirit of the day, this year Day Translations and Day Interpreting are offering unique discount codes, which are valid from November 1st to November 25th (Black Friday Day)! You may use the discount codes by clicking on the banners above.

Thanks to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Click on the link to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Marketing, Social Media, Translation

Minimum Fees

3 November, 202215 October, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about another interesting topic: Should translators charge a minimum fee for small jobs?

Unstable translation rates have been an ongoing problem in many countries. Now more than ever it seems important for translators to set a minimum fee when possible, although it isn’t always easy to know how much to charge.

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Pricing in the translation industry has become a topic of concern more recently, with many academics releasing papers about it. They attribute pricing pressure to disruptive trends from changing technology, client or LSP resistance to rate suggestions, and the willingness to talk about rates within the community.

I find that the latter, the willingness to talk about it, is one of the biggest obstacles in the community. We are afraid to talk about rates because we don’t want our competitors to steal our clients. But at some point, as a community, we have to stand together and support our interests.

For me, it always depends on the client. Whether it is a direct client or an LSP, they are the ones who suggest a minimum fee. I work with a minimum fee with many LSPs, I think they understand better that sometimes there can be really small projects coming their way, or that the volume of work isn’t going to be the same every month.

With other clients, whenever I try to charge a minimum fee for a small project, I can sense the resistance. They say that it is too expensive, but am I really willing to spend my time and resources on a project that is going to earn me just a few bucks, probably 30 to 45 days after I invoice it? It can also depend on the client and the volume of work you get from them.

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If you get a steady volume of work, and then it decreases and small projects start to come in, I go ahead and take them, because I know that at some point the volume will increase again, and that will make up for the low-volume times.

But if we are talking about a new client, who doesn’t send me a steady workflow, I might consider not accepting the small projects, and waiting until bigger ones come my way. Of course, I always explain this to the client and that’s when I try to negotiate a minimum fee.

The main thing is that you should do what you feel comfortable with, and you shouldn’t be afraid to speak up and ask for a minimum fee. You might not get it, but at least now your client knows that you won’t work for nickels.

What about you? Do you work with a minimum fee? Has this approach worked for you? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.

Thank you to Day Translations for sponsoring this post. You can click on the link to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Content Marketing, Social Media, Translation

Black Friday History

1 November, 202229 October, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hello everyone!

Believe it or not, Black Friday is just a few weeks from now, so today I wanted to talk about its history.

According to History.com, The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping but to the financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.

The most commonly repeated story behind the Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers. As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss (“in the red”) stores would supposedly earn a profit (“went into the black”) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise. Though it’s true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin is the officially sanctioned—but inaccurate—story behind the tradition.

The real history behind Black Friday, however, is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only would Philly cops not be able to take the day off, but they would have to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache.

By 1961, “Black Friday” had caught on in Philadelphia, to the extent that the city’s merchants and boosters tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday” in order to remove the negative connotations. The term didn’t spread to the rest of the country until much later, however, and as recently as 1985 it wasn’t in common use nationwide. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The result was the “red to black” concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit.

The Black Friday story stuck, and pretty soon the term’s darker roots in Philadelphia were largely forgotten. Since then, the one-day sales bonanza has morphed into a four-day event and spawned other “retail holidays” such as Small Business Saturday/Sunday and Cyber Monday. Stores started opening earlier and earlier on that Friday, and now the most dedicated shoppers can head out right after their Thanksgiving meal.

Do you celebrate a “Black Friday” where you are from? What do you think of its origins? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Click on the link to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Social Media, Translation

Culture and Translation

27 October, 202224 September, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about culture and translation. It is not always possible to directly translate words, phrases, or even concepts. What works in one culture, might make little to no sense in another. And, in many cases, single words have no direct translation into other languages.

In many cases, there are no replacements for certain words, phrases, or sayings. In cases such as this, translators need to find alternative routes to try and represent the source content as best they can. This usually comes in the form of transcreation (an amalgamation of translation and creative repurposing). It allows translators to use more creative license and cultural awareness to create something that will ultimately make a lot more sense in the chosen market.

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But, depending on how different the cultures are that you are translating for, it can be a very difficult process. Cultural stretch, in this context, refers to Hofstede’s model, which identifies six social dilemmas that all societies face. The model identifies how different countries resolve these social dilemmas and gives us a language to understand cultural differences.

These are:

How do we deal with power inequality in society?
How do we relate to the group?
What drives our motivation?
How do we relate to uncertainty?
What is our relationship to time?
How do we relate to pleasure?

Understanding how far removed you are from the cultural status-quo of another market is very important when embarking on a new project. It could be the difference between opting for simple translation, transcreation, or a total overhaul of the campaign.

What can we do to better incorporate culture into translation?

Involve culture from the beginning. Though navigating the nuances of different cultures is fraught with complexity, there are plenty of things you can do to simplify it when taking on a translation task. The best and most simple way is to bring culture into the conversation right from the start, to ensure – long before translation even takes place – that the idea itself will land across borders.

Get creative. One of the most useful things you can do to try and incorporate culture into the translation process is to stop seeing translation as a technical thing and start to see it as a creative practice.

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Adapting and catering to other cultures is, in a sense, an exercise in letting go of what we believe to be normal. This, in turn, offers us an excellent chance to be creative and also become much more global in our thinking. Let’s face it, that’s no bad thing!

Let me know in the comments if this information is helpful, and don’t forget to hit the subscribe button!

Thank you to Day Translations for sponsoring this post. You can learn more about their services by clicking on the link to their website.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Content Marketing, Social Media, Translation

Marketing Translations

20 October, 202224 September, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hi everyone!

Today I want to talk about marketing translations and transcreation. I’ve been working in this field for a while and thought sharing my experience would be interesting.

Lately, I’ve seen growth in the marketing/ads field for translation and quality assurance. Big companies, especially in the telecommunications and retail areas, need to make sure that their ads reach everyone, including Spanish speakers in the US and Latin America.

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Google Ads consist of several headlines and descriptions. The challenge for a translator is that these headlines and descriptions have a character limit. So, for example, with the headlines, you cannot go over 30 characters. Therefore, it isn’t a matter of just translating the text, you have to make sure that it doesn’t go over the character limit but still conveys the meaning of the source text in a clear and natural way in the target language.

Of course, companies and agencies will provide you with a guide for the translation and proofreading of these texts. They will also give you tips on how to work with certain lengthy ones.

I’ve also been translating the texts for ad “cards”. These ones are for graphic ads which are published on the client’s website. These also can be tricky because you need to make sure that they take the same space, or as close as possible, as the source text. Otherwise, the text will go over the pictures that are included in the card. I am an English to Spanish translator, and if you speak these two languages, you know how Spanish is lengthier than English, it usually takes more words to convey the same message.

This is where your creativity has to kick in: “How do I translate this text in the least amount of characters possible but without losing the meaning and essence of the source?” Well, is not always easy. You really have to think about the possible alternatives and choose the one you think fits best. And that may not be enough sometimes. The graphic designers might get back to you asking for an ever shorter version!

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Still, I like this type of work. I get to translate and review, but I also get to use my creativity as a writer. I guess you get the best of both worlds.

How about you? Have you worked on marketing translations like these? What has your experience been like? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Thanks again to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Click on the link to their website to learn more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Social Media, Translation

Final Trimester of the Year

13 October, 202217 September, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hello everyone!

Believe it or not, we have officially entered the final trimester of the year! I don’t know about you, but this year has gone by quicker than ever for me.

This would be a good time to look back at what has happened so far, and what we should still work towards achieving before the year is over.

It isn’t always to analyze what has worked and what hasn’t but here are a few questions that I think can help us:

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Have we achieved the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the year?

I know, we all make resolutions when the new year starts but it isn’t always easy to reach them. Sometimes we set unreachable goals, so they tend to change along the way.

Whether it was to find more clients or to set and negotiate higher fees, now it is a good moment to step back and see what we have achieved so far and what remains to be done.

Has this been a good year, financially speaking?

As freelancers, I think our main goal is to achieve financial security. Of course, that can only be reached through a steady flow of income. But freelancing can be a rollercoaster ride. Some months might be better than others.

We need to plan and save for those months when things seem to get quiet, that way we’ll always have enough income to take care of our expenses without having to suffer to pay our bills.

What is left for us to do to close the year on a high note?

This can be many things: taking a webinar we have been postponing, finally reaching out to those clients that seem unreachable, etc. Three months is still enough time to make sure our year ends on a positive note. This will help us to get a better start of the new year.

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So, it doesn’t matter what we have or haven’t achieved so far, we can still work towards reaching our goals! Let me know in the comments how your year has been so far, I’d love to hear from you! And don’t forget to subscribe!

Thanks to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Check out their website to find out more about the services they offer.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!

Brand Ambassador, Content Editor, Content Localizer, Social Media, Translation

Day Awards 2022: Winners

6 October, 202230 September, 2022 Ilduara Escobedo

Hello everyone!

So, as you know, on September 30th was held the Day Awards 2022 ceremony! Did you watch it live? Whether you did or not, here are this year’s winners!

The ceremony was impressive, and you will find the link to the YouTube video to watch it all!

Here are this year’s winners, a round of applause for all of them and all the nominees! The competition was fierce!

Best CAT Tool of the Year:

Smartling
RWS Group Trados – Winner!
Smartcat
Lokalise

Best Management Tool of the Year:

Asana – Winner!
Twilio
Ooona Manager
Pipedrive

Best Interpreting Tool/Platform of the Year:

Day Interpreting VRI – Winner!
Zoom
Google Translate
Amazon Translate

Best Language Learning Platform/App/Program of the Year:

Duolingo – Winner!
Babbel
Drops
Memrise

Best Localized Video Game of the Year:

Animal Crossing by AnimalCrossing M.
World of Towers by Dreamlitgames – Winner!
This War of Mine by 11bitstudios
Elder Ring by FromSoftware

Nominees for Best Translated TV Show of the Year:

Midnight at Pera Palace (Turkey)
Maldivas (Brazil)
Welcome to Eden (Spain) – Winner!
The Cuphead Show (USA/Canada)

Nominees for Best Translated Movie of the Year:

The Minions: The Rise of Gru! (USA) – Winner!
Too Old for Fairy Tales (Poland)
The Wrath of God (Argentina)
The Worst Person in the World
Fruit Basket: Prelude (Japan)

Nominees for Best Translated Book of the Year:

Resurrecta by Vic Echegoyen
A Few Collectors by Pierre Le Tan
The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
Violeta by Isabel Allende – Winner!

I hope you enjoy the results, and here is the YouTube video link:

Thank you to Day Translations for sponsoring this post! Check out their website to find out more about their services.

Until next time, take care and stay safe!