3 real-life examples shed light on key language services
Translation, copywriting, proofreading, copy editing … As a client who needs language services, you should have at least a basic understanding of what’s behind each of these terms. Armed with this knowledge, you can make informed decisions about which services your company needs and talk about them clearly with language service providers. So you save time, money and hassle.
You may have any number of reasons for contacting a language services provider:
- You wrote something yourself but aren’t sure whether it passes muster, so you would like a language expert to check it.
- You need your website or some marketing materials translated but don’t have the professional-caliber resources in-house.
- You need new content for your website or a brochure.
What steps are involved in each case? Who does what? How much do you need to know about the process? Find out in our 3 use cases.
Case 1: The impeccable press release — proofreading and copy editing
A client has written a press release in English for their stakeholders. The author’s English is good, but she is not a native speaker. She wants to be sure that the press release is published in absolutely flawless form. After all, the company’s credibility is at stake.
This is a job for a professional proofreader and copy editor. What’s the difference between proofreading and copy editing? In an effective text, the message, style and grammar have to be right on the money. A copy editor goes over the text with a fine-tooth comb and makes any adjustments necessary to the wording, also correcting the spelling, punctuation, syllabification, etc. at the same time. With translations, copy editing is the process that ensures that the foreign-language version of the text does full justice to the original.
A proofreader, by contrast, corrects errors in the text but does not make any stylistic changes. With proofreading, the focus is on punctuation, spelling and grammar. Proofreading is the final step before the text is published. It can be part of the copy editing process, or it can be ordered as a stand-alone service if the client does not want any stylistic changes made.
In our use case, our copy editor adapted the style of the press release to meet the stakeholders’ expectations and corrected spelling mistakes. Then, a linguist on our quality assurance team checked the copy editor’s changes and comments to make sure the editing was clear, thorough and to the point. The result: a press release that helped the client put their best foot forward.
Case 2: Translation of a marketing brochure
A client already has an attractive marketing brochure in English. But they know it won’t fly with their prospective French customers. To sell their products in France, they need to have the brochure translated. Since the client does not have in-depth knowledge of the cultural and linguistic nuances in the target market, they decide to place their trust in a professional human translator.
Let’s take a look at how the translation process works in this case: The language service provider receives the client’s text and chooses a translator who is a native speaker of French and meets the client’s needs. At ACT Translations, we work exclusively with translators who are native speakers of the target language, since they are the only ones who get all the fine nuances and pick up on any cultural factors that may need to be localized. This is a marketing brochure, so the translator also needs to be a marketing specialist. After all, the aim is not to translate the brochure word for word, but to create a powerful marketing message that wins over French customers.
As soon as the translation is finished, it is thoroughly checked by a proofreader/copy editor if this service—which is always a good idea when it comes to marketing texts—has been agreed on. This “four-eyes principle” provides extra quality assurance. In this case, the brochure was translated by a French marketing expert, and the client wisely chose to have it checked by another native speaker who added valuable input. The result: a professional marketing brochure that is now helping the client win new customers in France.
If you want to reach more customers in more markets, ACT delivers translations in over 150 languages. So your message hits the target everywhere.
Case 3: New content for a company’s website — copywriting
A technology company has realized that their website is outdated. They want to reach more customers with a new, contemporary design and content to match. They have taken a stab at writing the text for the website themselves, but the results have been less than compelling. Time to call a professional copywriter.
What exactly is a copywriter? Copywriters write text (aka copy) for advertising, websites, blog articles, headlines, brochures and other marketing-related contexts. They use various techniques to appeal to audiences’ emotions and move them to take a specific action—like buying a product or subscribing to a newsletter.
It’s important for the copywriter to understand the client’s business and/or industry. For the technology company in our example, the language service provider needs to choose an experienced technical copywriter. After all, if you want to describe a product in compelling language, you must be able to understand the product itself.
Many of ACT’s copywriters are also trained in search engine optimization (SEO). That means that they can add SEO keywords to the client’s copy and localize them for the target market.
Like all of ACT’s services, copywriting always includes our in-house quality assurance process before the text is delivered. In this case, thanks to technical copywriting plus SEO, the client now has a new website with powerful, persuasive content that search engines actually find.
What kind of text do you need?
Whether it’s fresh copy, improvements to existing copy or versions in different languages, ACT meets all your language needs and delivers content that helps you achieve your goals. We can even help you fit the new text into your existing layout. So you can focus on what you do best: your core business.
Still not sure about the best option to meet your language needs? Get in touch now and we’ll figure it out together—with no obligation.
