No freelance translator’s website is complete without a cracking services page: the place your potential clients will head to find out exactly how you can make their lives easier.
As a multi-talented and marvellous linguist, you might well decide to have more than one services page, like a page for transcreation and another for subtitling, or a page for legal translation and another for marketing translation (not to worry, deciding how to structure your site is a topic I’ll be tackling in a future post).
But even if that’s the case, the tips below should help you create something that ticks all the right boxes and convinces visitors to your website you’re the answer to all their prayers.
Your pricing model or your packages
When you’re checking out a product you’re interested in or trying to decide whether a service is right for you, one of the first things you want to know is how much it’s going to cost you. Right?
But amongst translators, it’s common practice not to share your rates upfront, instead encouraging potential clients to get in touch to find out.
Now, as a translator myself, I totally get that, as you really can’t commit yourself to a price before you actually see the text. After all, not all 1000-word texts are made equal.
But a guide price, your minimum rates, or something along the lines of “rates starting from X per word/X per hour” can give your clients a ballpark idea of how much it might cost to work with you. That will help filter out enquiries from clients who won’t be able to (or aren’t willing to) pay your rates.
If you choose not to share anything about rates, though (which is totally fine, and entirely your call), it’s still definitely a good idea to explain how you charge. Let them know if it’s per word/hour/project/minute, as prospective direct clients may have no idea of what to expect.
The other option is to include set, fixed-rate packages on your services page. This can be trickier for freelance translators than for other freelance creatives, as every client’s needs are very different.
If there is a way you can package up your services neatly and tie them with a bow, though, seeing it all laid out clearly could be what prompts a client to get in touch, even if that particular package doesn’t suit them.
Examples of projects you work on
Visitors to your services page may already have a specific kind of text or document that needs translation, and be wondering if you’re the person for the job.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to include a list (that’s easy to scan) of the kinds of texts you’re most experienced with translating (whether that’s websites, sales reports or contracts), the kind of videos you provide subtitles for (reality TV, corporate videos, documentaries), or whatever it may be.
Testimonials
You might decide to include a dedicated testimonials page on your site, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sprinkle the same testimonials around in other strategic places too!
If your page is focused on just one service, you could round it off with a carefully chosen, particularly relevant testimonial.
If you include all your services on one page, then testimonials could be a great way of breaking up the different sections, with a short one for each of the services you offer.
Oh, and whether or not you decide not to include testimonials on this page, they can still play a big part in your copy. Remember to mirror some of your clients’ words in your copy, looking at what they consider to be the best things about your service and using that to inspire and focus your writing.
Link to your portfolio
The whys and wherefores of building a portfolio are a topic for a whole other blog post, but if you have one, don’t forget to link through to it from your services page, so anyone interested can take a deep dive into your past projects and see examples of your work for themselves.
Your process
Whilst the way you work as a translator might seem obvious to you, your potential clients may have never worked with a translator before, and being unsure how the whole thing works could be holding them back.
Start from the assumption that they have no prior experience working with a translator and walk them through what they can expect, from the first point of contact to final delivery.
This is a chance to make it clear that translation isn’t just a matter of exchanging one word for another, as you can explain all the different steps you have to take to produce a top-quality translation, which their cousin who speaks English or friend of a friend who speaks Spanish won’t be taking.
All this can help your clients understand why they need a professional on the case, and why you charge rates that might seem high to them at first glance.
All that being said, though, try and keep this section as succinct as possible! A long, drawn-out description of your process won’t hold their attention for long, that’s for sure.
What you’ll need from them
You could also add a section explaining what you’ll need from them to be able to provide an accurate quote, or to get started with the translation, from the source file to any extra information, reference documents, TOV guidelines or previous translations. We translators know context is queen, but your clients might not realise that you’ll need more than just the text to do your very best work.
FAQs
A dedicated FAQs page is always a good option, but you could choose to include specific FAQs at the bottom of the relevant services page, so your visitors don’t have to go hunting for extra information or contact you.
You could let them know here whether you ask for a deposit (which I always recommend), when you’ll send over your terms and conditions, and anything else that’s central to the way you work that you haven’t included in the summary of your process.
If there are any services you don’t provide that you often get contacted about (like sworn translations), you could add that in here too, as it might cut down the number of enquiries you have to field.
Your personality
Your services page is nearly ready. Amazing!
Just have a quick read back through it to make sure it’s not going to put people to sleep.
See what you can do to add a little bit of extra personality and make sure your brand tone of voice is consistent throughout your site, as well as on your social media. Head to this blog post for a few tips on making your copy more interesting.
CTA
Having done all this hard work, remember not to leave people hanging!
If someone has reached the bottom of your services page, they probably like what they see, but if you don’t guide them in the right direction they might just click the X in the corner.
So it should be nice and easy for them to click through to the next logical place for them to go. Make sure there’s a clear way through to your contact page, and if it makes sense, you could also give them the option of visiting your portfolio, FAQs page, or even investigating another service.
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That’s more than enough information to fill your services page. So get cracking!
Oh, and if you need any support with your copy, just give me a shout.
In the meantime, happy writing!