The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2021 - 20

can apply this tip to any area
of your online marketing.

uncomfortable feelings about
who we believe ourselves to
be or what we believe our
capabilities are. Challenge
those feelings and thoughts
and push through them to
find a way to take consistent
action, even if it's just one
step. After all, that's usually
the hardest one to take.

Make a

4 focused plan.
When you start to feel
overwhelmed with online
marketing, it's time to make
a focused plan. Don't stop
yourself before you start
because your sense of feeling
overwhelmed is running the
show. Instead, take some
time to think about how to
make your marketing efforts
consistent and focused. This
kind of planning and followthrough over time will lead
to results.

NOTES
1	
Impostor syndrome is the
fear that we aren't good
enough at something we
set out to do or that we're
asked to do, coupled with
a fear of being called out
as a " fraud. "
2	

Remember that no

5 one was born

knowing how to market
their business.
It's true that everyone has
to start somewhere. Think
about the colleagues you
know, including those you
admire from afar. How did
they get where they are?
How do they market their
businesses with grace and
confidence? How do they
seem to achieve so much on
a consistent basis? Just like
everyone else, they took the
first step. And then they took
another and another. Don't
let not knowing exactly how
to do something stop you
from taking the first step.

6 Start small.
Reduce that feeling of being
overwhelmed by breaking
marketing tasks or projects
into smaller, more digestible
to-do items. You don't have to
do everything at once-that's
impossible for anyone! By
taking this approach to online
marketing, you'll slowly build
a sustainable, reliable approach
to get new and better clients
over the long-term.

20

Even small progress is

the amount of time you put

worth the effort. Take it

into marketing your business.

from our colleague, ATA Past

But starting small is a step in

President Corinne McKay,

the right direction.

who shared this via Twitter:
Freelance tip: Honestly,
90+% of freelancers: a) do
little to no marketing, while
b) lamenting that everyone
else makes more money, gets
better clients, or does more
interesting work. Even a
moderate amount of proactive
marketing will get you into the
other 10%. (@corinnemckay)
We often make online
marketing much harder than

Questions to Ask Yourself
to Move Forward
The next time you find
yourself making an excuse
about why you can't or don't
want to work on your online
marketing, stop, take a step
back, and assess why you
feel this way. What brought
you to this place where you
think you can't or don't
want to share your expertise
with clients you know could

it really is. The stories we tell

benefit from your services?

ourselves are strong enough

What's stopping you from

to stop us before we ever

updating your website

get started. Work on taking

or reaching out to some

a proactive approach and

potential clients on LinkedIn?

setting aside a few minutes a
day. You can slowly increase

The ATA Chronicle | May/June 2021

Sometimes the answers to
these questions bring up

You can find some tips on
how to overcome impostor
syndrome here: " How
to Overcome Impostor
Syndrome as a Translator or
Interpreter, " http://bit.ly/
overcoming-impostor.

Madalena
Sánchez
Zampaulo, CT
is ATA presidentelect and
chairs the Governance and
Communications Committee.
She is the owner of Accessible
Translation Solutions and a
Spanish>English and ATAcertified Portuguese>English
translator. She served as
chair of ATA's Membership
Committee (2018-2020),
Public Relations Committee
(2014-2018), and
administrator of ATA's Medical
Division (2011-2015). She
has a BA in Spanish from
the University of Southern
Mississippi and an MA in
Spanish from the University
of Louisville. She is also a
consultant for the University
of Louisville Graduate
Certificate in Translation.
You can read more of her
articles on her blog at www.
madalenazampaulo.com/
blog-home. madalena@
accessibletranslations.com
www.atanet.org
http://www.bit.ly/overcoming-impostor http://www.bit.ly/overcoming-impostor http://www.madalenazampaulo.com/blog-home http://www.madalenazampaulo.com/blog-home http://www.madalenazampaulo.com/blog-home http://www.atanet.org
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