Blog post: Worst excuses to keep your rates low

1 March 2010

Rates are always a hot issue among translators, especially low rates offered by clients. Some translators are tempted to accept these low rates or to lower their rates just to get work. However, there is no excuse to accept low rates.

"If my rates are too high, I won't be able to find any clients"
If you raise your rates, there will always be clients who will find them too high and who won't hire you. But do you really want to work for clients who underpay you for a job that requires specialised skills? There are plenty of clients out there who know what it takes to create a professional translation and who are prepared to pay a decent rate for quality. There are even clients who will not work with translators offering low rates, because they don't trust "cheap translations". If you offer quality translations, you will be able to find quality clients who are willing to pay for what you have to offer. It will take time and effort, but that's all part of running a business.

"I only see job offers on the internet offering low rates"
There always have been, and always will be, clients who are only interested in making a quick profit and they won't go away, not as long as there are translators who are prepared to work for these low rates. If you are serious about your business and you are able to offer quality translations, you don't want to work with these clients. And you don't have to, because there are plenty of serious clients out there who are willing to pay for quality. It just takes more effort to find them, or have them find you. Make sure you market yourself professionally, provide samples of your work and be active on the internet and/or in networks so clients can actually find you. You are in charge of your business, so you set your rates.

"I've only just started and am not very experienced yet"
Obviously, more experienced translators can ask higher rates than less experienced translators. Be careful, however, not to charge rates that are too low when you are just starting, because it will be very difficult to raise those rates to a decent level once you have gained some experience. If you start too low, you will most probably lose most of your current clients and you will have to find new clients, which means you will basically have to start all over again.

"A client asked me to lower my rate in exchange for a high volume of work"
Whether you are working on a 1500-word job or a 15,000-word job, the average number of words you translate per hour will remain roughly the same. So why should you be paid less for a big job? In addition, taking on a big job also means you will have to turn down other jobs and may lose (potential) clients. So why should you settle for less during the whole time you are working on this big job?

"I don't need to earn that much, my partner earns enough to pay the bills"
Good for you, but that doesn't mean that your work is worth less. Besides, there are plenty of translators who do have to earn a living translating. By underselling yourself and your work, you are damaging the profession's reputation and you are ruining the market for others.