Non-profit organizations who want to publicize their services in languages other than English frequently contact us.  The issues they deal with are not frivolous, so letting the community know about their services is very important.  For example, victims of abuse need to know where to call for help, and they need to be sure that all calls are confidential. 

Most of us would agree that the best way to win the trust of the people who need help is by giving them information in their native language.  But many non-profits do not have the budget for translating and printing in other languages. We - and most other translation companies - will cut prices or do some pro bono work when we can, but projects are still sometimes cancelled because the funding just isn't there.

The need for non-profits to have multilingual materials or website landing pages to fulfill their missions is not going away.  With some planning, non-profits can reach more than just their English-speaking clients.

• Include translations as a line item when you write a grant.  That way the funding will already be in place for new programs or services.
• Work with local universities.  There may be professors or students of translation who will volunteer their services. 
• Send the translation to us for proofreading.  If we can't do it for free, the cost will be minimal.
• Appeal to companies in your area who support your mission and request funding for translations.  Most corporations are committed to being good neighbors.
• Give us a call and we'll do whatever we can to help.

http://www.pandltranslations.com

Thanks to @benintn on Twitter for alerting us to this wonderful post by Jay Vorhees today(http://bit.ly/TYhY).

Here is Jay's post in its entirety:

Once upon a time, 75% of internet content was in English.  Non-English speakers performed searches in English because they didn't have many other options.  Fast forward to 2009, when fewer than 30% of people online are using English.  Almost all internet users search in their own languages, and they won't find you if your site isn't optimized for their search.

This doesn't mean you have to translate your entire website or hire bilingual staff to communicate with these potential customers.  The idea here is to get found. You'll invite these searchers to your site in their language, and they'll enter via a landing page written in that language.  When new visitors click through to your website, they'll already know what you're about and what you're selling.

Once you have a landing page in another language(s), you can submit it to foreign search engines like www.terra.es (Spain) and www.google.it (Italy).  Make sure you have included keywords in the content, and that your tags (title, meta and H1) are also in the target language.  Don't forget a call to action to click to your website.

Now that you've built it, they will come.

http://www.pandltranslations.com

The number of internet users in China grew an incredible 41.9% in 2008, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre.  At the end of the year, the number of internet users in China, 298 million, almost equaled the size of the United State population.

Almost 188 million people accessed the internet access through mobile phones in 2008, an increase of 133% over 2007.

Don't forget that China's population is 1.3 billion and internet penetration is slightly under 23%.  The growth potential for smart marketers is limitless.

What's your web strategy in China?

http://www.pandltranslations.com

 Photo courtesy of Snow Kisses Sky http://flickr.com/photos/bmgallery/139525939