LawD Networking Event Recap: Marketing Strategies for Legal Translators and Interpreters

On April 17, 2024, the Law Division hosted a networking event for its members, focusing on marketing strategies for legal translators and interpreters. The Administrator, Liz, along with the Assistant, Monique, and Leadership Council members, Dmitry, Caroline, and Katja, welcomed all the attendees.

For the past couple years, the Law Division has hosted quarterly networking sessions, experimenting with various formats and topics. Over the past year we have heard increasing concern from members who feel unprepared to effectively market their services and find new clients in the new world of AI. With this in mind, we decided to focus our latest networking session on helping improve our members’ business skills, specifically when they market their services.

It’s crucial to remember that we’re not only professionals but also business owners. A significant part of our day-to-day responsibilities involves not just translating or interpreting, but also efficiently running our business.

Having a Marketing Plan is a key tool if you want to run your business successfully, attract the clients you want to work with, and build strong business relationships.

INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION

Following the welcome, we conducted a brief presentation to introduce the topic of the networking event and prepare all participants for engagement in the upcoming discussion.

Katja led the presentation and introduced the topic: Marketing Strategies. She started by defining what marketing is, and then how marketing is defined in our profession.

She explained the concept of a Marketing Plan and its key elements. Plus, she showed everyone a basic template for a Marketing Plan and suggested everyone use it in their future work.

Katja emphasized the importance of knowing your ideal client for a good marketing strategy. She said the ideal client is the target, and the marketing strategy is the guide to reach that target successfully.

Lastly, she went on to discuss a variety of strategies to effectively reach and connect with your ideal client, and suggested different ways to engage with potential clients.

You can access the slides from Katja’s presentation here and the Marketing Plan here.

BREAKOUT ROOMS

After the introductory presentation, we introduced participants to our discussion groups.

We divided the participants into four groups:

1. Legal Translators marketing to direct clients
2. Legal Translators marketing to agencies
3. Legal Interpreters marketing to direct clients
4. Legal Interpreters marketing to agencies

This structure allowed everyone to connect with colleagues who share the same specialization and target the same type of clients.

We also suggested discussing these questions:

1. What have been your most effective marketing strategies when looking for agency clients?
2. What have been your most effective marketing strategies when looking for direct clients?
3. If you have been using AI for marketing, can you share what tools you use and what your experience has been?
4. What is a specific challenge you’ve been facing in terms of marketing yourself that you’d like to ask for advice on?

NOTES FROM THE BREAKOUT ROOMS

The following are some interesting points we discussed within the groups:

Strategies

For Legal Translators Marketing to Direct Clients

• Start by identifying your target market, such as medium-sized law firms that understand the importance of translation but likely don’t have an in-house translation department. Also, consider non-law firm direct clients, like title companies or in-house legal departments at companies in a specific field.
• Specializing or focusing marketing efforts on a very specific area of law is beneficial, as it helps you stand out from the competition.
• Identify the individuals who typically request translation services within these organizations, such as the most junior associate on a case, legal assistants, and paralegals.
• Make your email marketing concise and straightforward. Some participants have noted that they mention specific cases the lawyers have worked on when sending cold emails.
• Always proofread your marketing emails or correspondence before sending them out to ensure they are error-free and professional.
• To stay top of mind for the client, consider unique strategies. For example, one translator sends physical mail with a small gift, followed by a follow-up email. This process is time-consuming but effective.
• One participant identified that highlighting data security could add value when marketing legal services. This refers to having a secure system for exchanging and storing documents.

For Legal Translators Marketing to Agencies

• Start by identifying agencies as your target audience and consider participating in Translation & Interpretation (T&I) Conferences, which are often attended by Project Managers.
• Join professional associations like the ATA. Project Managers often begin their search for translators within their networks and use association directories to find the right candidate. Being a member allows you to create a profile and be easily accessible to Project Managers.
• Maintain strong connections with your colleagues. If a Project Manager doesn’t have a suitable candidate for their project, they’ll ask their network for referrals. Being well-connected increases your chances of being recommended for a project.

For Legal Interpreters:

• Legal interpreters emphasized the importance of being on state courts’ rosters as credentialed court interpreters.
• Joining court rosters in neighboring states can significantly increase job opportunities.
• Along with court rosters, word-of-mouth referrals form an essential part of many legal interpreters’ marketing strategies.
• Networking, which involves building relationships and securing new job opportunities, is considered more effective than cold marketing.
• Virtual networking events, in-person forums, and messenger communities like those in WhatsApp and Telegram are valuable resources for translation and interpretation (T&I) professionals.
• A perfect example of such a community is the #Hotsauceinterpreters WhatsApp group. This group, divided into different language chapters, is a popular networking platform for T&I professionals and does not allow agencies, promoting a resource-sharing and supportive environment.

Challenges

• Many individuals find marketing for direct clients to be time-consuming and prefer not to spend their time marketing their services and managing a business.
• Some participants have expressed challenges in working with agencies due to decreased workload and rates.
• There is a lack of understanding about the purpose of the translation or the end client when working for agencies, which can make it difficult to set efficient marketing strategies.
• For those residing in Europe, local laws prohibit the sending of unsolicited emails or mail, which can limit marketing strategies.
• Attending legal events or becoming a member of professional associations, though beneficial for networking and exposure, can be expensive.

AI in Marketing

• Consider using ChatGPT to find direct clients and agencies. Begin with your city, then expand to your state and country.
• AI is a beneficial tool for proofreading and checking grammar in text.
• However, AI lacks the precision required for translating legal terminology.
• Use AI to generate summaries of a law firm’s or company’s operations.
• Implement AI for proofreading marketing emails.

CLOSING REMARKS

Thank you to everyone who attended and shared their thoughts, experiences, and expertise with our community.

There’s no doubt that our profession is part of the changes this new AI era is bringing. One way to understand and leverage these changes is by staying connected and learning from others.

Save the Date for Our Upcoming Networking Event!

We’re planning our next networking event for July, and we hope you’ll join us.

If you plan to come, please share your thoughts, ideas, and questions in the comments below. This will help guide the event’s content and focus. 

We’re particularly interested in your experiences with the Marketing Plan linked above and any topics you’d like to explore in future meetings. Your feedback is important to make our events better.