Poll: Do you provide copywriting services?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Feb 29, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you provide copywriting services?".

This poll was originally submitted by Francesca Battaglia. View the poll results »



 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 05:07
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Yes, I do sometimes Feb 29, 2020

but it is not every week.

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 05:07
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Feb 29, 2020

Not currently, but I would be open to proposals if approached about it.

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:07
Member (2008)
Italian to English
No. Feb 29, 2020

ProZ.com Staff wrote:

"Do you provide copywriting services?"


No. Copywriting is a special skill. I often *translate* copy, but that's a different question.

[Edited at 2020-02-29 08:46 GMT]


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 04:07
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No Feb 29, 2020

As a translator I’ve never written fresh copy (copywriting) but I do adapt advertising and marketing copy (transcreation).

Linda Miranda
Anna Herbst
 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 05:07
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Just started with it Feb 29, 2020

I've actually just started offering commercial Dutch writing from scratch, after considering it for quite some time. I like writing, have done so for own blogs, websites and occasionally for publication in an agricultural trade association magazine. Also, I think it's a wise business decision to be able to offer a broader set of services, especially now an economic recession seems unavoidable. So I'm testing the waters, and will work on the specific skills required for writing rather than transl... See more
I've actually just started offering commercial Dutch writing from scratch, after considering it for quite some time. I like writing, have done so for own blogs, websites and occasionally for publication in an agricultural trade association magazine. Also, I think it's a wise business decision to be able to offer a broader set of services, especially now an economic recession seems unavoidable. So I'm testing the waters, and will work on the specific skills required for writing rather than translating.Collapse


Andrea Sartori-Griffiths
P.L.F. Persio
Vaclav Hruza
Francesca Battaglia
 
Aline Amorim
Aline Amorim  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 00:07
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No, but I am considering it Feb 29, 2020

Because it has already appeared opportunity for me.

 
Francesca Battaglia
Francesca Battaglia
Italy
Local time: 05:07
English to Italian
+ ...
From sometimes to daily business Feb 29, 2020

First of all, thank you for discussing my poll and I was really looking into it because times are changing and I was curious to know if my fellow colleagues felt the need to expand the type of services offered.

Edith shares my point of view. I love written language and besides translation I've always kept journals, wrote articles or blog posts, and I have volunteered for many no-profit associations in the exotic pet community in Italy which also means creating content for campaings,
... See more
First of all, thank you for discussing my poll and I was really looking into it because times are changing and I was curious to know if my fellow colleagues felt the need to expand the type of services offered.

Edith shares my point of view. I love written language and besides translation I've always kept journals, wrote articles or blog posts, and I have volunteered for many no-profit associations in the exotic pet community in Italy which also means creating content for campaings, educational material, etc...

As a translator, I work with a very common language combination (EN-IT) and I have experienced the "recession" in the market quite clearly. One day a friend translator told me "Why don't you follow a specialization course on copywriting, since you are already used in creating writtent content?"... and then I realized that I had never thought of it!

Matter of fact, copywriting is now my daily routine. I've been hired by a pet-themed website to write articles about my most favourite topic. I am paid, I am happy and the amount of weekly words required allow me to spread the workload so that I can accept translation jobs too.
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Edith van der Have
P.L.F. Persio
 
Geocinara Avila
Geocinara Avila  Identity Verified
Brazil
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No, but I am considering it Feb 29, 2020

For digital marketing the copywriter position has been attractive in financial terms.
Sometimes I think about this, but the translation service has demanded continuous training and dedication and it would not be different for copywriting. Maybe, it would be necessary to make a choice.

[Editada em 2020-02-29 20:19 GMT]

[Editada em 2020-02-29 20:19 GMT]


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 00:07
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not really a translator job Feb 29, 2020

Copywriting requires good knowledge in the specific field and good writing skills. It does not require a translator, although we are fit for the job in our areas of expertise. The compensation is usually a lot lower than that of translations. So, I really think translators who seek for this kind of jobs are those who are having a hard time finding translation jobs.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 00:07
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Yup Feb 29, 2020

Aline Amorim wrote:


Because it has already appeared opportunity for me.


Your profile mentions you translate from Portuguese into English. Is that correct?


Edith van der Have
 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 05:07
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Encouraging experience Feb 29, 2020

Francesca Battaglia wrote:

First of all, thank you for discussing my poll and I was really looking into it because times are changing and I was curious to know if my fellow colleagues felt the need to expand the type of services offered.

Edith shares my point of view. I love written language and besides translation I've always kept journals, wrote articles or blog posts, and I have volunteered for many no-profit associations in the exotic pet community in Italy which also means creating content for campaings, educational material, etc...

As a translator, I work with a very common language combination (EN-IT) and I have experienced the "recession" in the market quite clearly. One day a friend translator told me "Why don't you follow a specialization course on copywriting, since you are already used in creating writtent content?"... and then I realized that I had never thought of it!

Matter of fact, copywriting is now my daily routine. I've been hired by a pet-themed website to write articles about my most favourite topic. I am paid, I am happy and the amount of weekly words required allow me to spread the workload so that I can accept translation jobs too.


Wow, that's wonderful and very encouraging


 
Edith van der Have
Edith van der Have
Netherlands
Local time: 05:07
Member (2016)
English to Dutch
+ ...
Disagree Feb 29, 2020

Mario Freitas wrote:

Copywriting requires good knowledge in the specific field and good writing skills. It does not require a translator, although we are fit for the job in our areas of expertise. The compensation is usually a lot lower than that of translations. So, I really think translators who seek for this kind of jobs are those who are having a hard time finding translation jobs.

Depending on the market segment, the compensation can actually be much, much higher.

And speaking for myself: I have a (more than) satisfactory turn-over at the moment, which has been growing to the extent that my bookkeeper commented on it because it stood out to them. My main language combination is not as common as English into the larger languages such as French, German and Spanish, and I have a very clear advantage because of my scientific background. Having said that: I also think about the future, and the current developments are not encouraging. More and more agencies ask for PEMT (which I keep declining but - if I want to stay a translator - probably will have to accept within five years or so), and many Dutch potential clients think 'they can English' so why not do the translations themselves? This, next to the fact that I love writing and am good at it, is a very good reason to start venturing into a totally new market right now

[Edited at 2020-02-29 22:53 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-02-29 22:54 GMT]


P.L.F. Persio
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:07
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sometimes - more often in the past Mar 1, 2020

Though I had wanted to be a translator since I was in grade school, I started my professional career with the best opportunities that were available: namely, three consecutive in-house jobs as editor in multilingual international organizations. Those editor jobs included not only editing but also translating and writing original copy. For example, I would be assigned to interview professionals in the organization and ghost-write articles about their projects that would appear under their names. ... See more
Though I had wanted to be a translator since I was in grade school, I started my professional career with the best opportunities that were available: namely, three consecutive in-house jobs as editor in multilingual international organizations. Those editor jobs included not only editing but also translating and writing original copy. For example, I would be assigned to interview professionals in the organization and ghost-write articles about their projects that would appear under their names. I also helped write speeches. I drafted flyers and short newsletters on different subjects. One of my regular tasks was obituaries. For a couple of years I was editor of a journal published by the organization and in this capacity I wrote a lot of original copy as well as ghost-written articles. I fulfilled this triple role for 13 years while moonlighting as a freelance translator.

To this day I am still called on to write new copy from time to time.
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P.L.F. Persio
 


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Poll: Do you provide copywriting services?






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