If you’ve heard anything about The Expedition Group, you may know it’s a membership group I run for translators and interpreters. My mission is to help make marketing more enjoyable and support you to actively market your services and grow your translation business.
However, I understand that joining a membership or any training is an investment of your time and money. And there’s a whole world of training options out there. So, I created this blog post to help you understand everything you need to know about the Expedition Group before you consider joining us for a new adventure.
Currently, there aren’t any similar memberships out there for translators so I want to make sure you have everything you need to make the right choice for you – I’ll try to be unbiased!
What is The Expedition Group?
The Expedition Group offers regular translator-specific training content on marketing and business topics. This training is broken down into easy chunks and presented with a challenge designed to help you market your services. Alongside the training, which is usually pre-written/recorded content, there’s a community of like-minded translators. Plus, live Zoom calls to ask questions and a discussion forum to submit anything you’re working on for personalised feedback. When you join, you also get a one-to-one call to talk about your goals and next best steps.
Yes, there’s an unashamedly heavy travel theme! I talk about explorers in business and heading off the beaten track on adventures and expeditions. Partly because it’s much more rewarding to explore (we focus on taking action in this group) than ‘learn’. And as translators, we love languages and culture, are based all over the world. It’s no surprise most of us love to travel too.
Why I created this membership group for translators
When you attend a workshop or complete a course, you come away with pages of notes, lots of ideas for implementation and a renewed enthusiasm for the topic. But if you’re anything like me, it takes huge amounts of willpower to set aside time to then put those ideas into practice. Often, my good intentions start to waver as soon as the next few client emails arrive and project deadlines become imminent.
When designing my training courses, I started to incorporate implementation during the training so translators can start getting results and receive support as more questions crop up. Isn’t it always the way that you think everything is clear until you start actually doing the thing? That’s exactly when you get stuck and lose momentum, especially if you have nobody readily available to ask for help.
That’s why I created The Expedition Group as a membership. I can offer training for translators in the form of challenges and fun marketing adventures and crucially provide ongoing support. The membership format also means there’s less pressure when life gets in the way. There are always times when you’re deluged with client work, timings of live sessions clash with holidays or other commitments. You can pick up where you left off without missing out.
One goal, a variety of routes
The second reason for creating the group was to introduce a range of different marketing and business topics. There are so many different ways of achieving the same goal of working with direct clients and many marketing strategies overlap. In the membership we can focus on a type of inbound marketing one month and combine this with outbound marketing the next. Aligning everything to the same goal increases the effectiveness of your marketing rather than you feeling scattered as you are drawn to one course on a specific topic and then another without any link between them.
And the monthly content is designed for you to digest in bite-sized chunks that fit around your workload and lifestyle.
What does the membership include?
- A one-to-one goal-setting call when you join. We’ll look at where you are right now and what your best next steps are in line with your goals.
- Training content for your next marketing adventure. Each topic
- Personal feedback on your plans and any marketing materials you’ve created
- Live Q&A call every month on Zoom to help get unstuck, brainstorm your next steps and offer a different perspective on your plans.
- Community Get to know the others in the group and how you can help each other. We use Slack as a discussion forum and as our base to share resources, ask questions, talk about the gremlins that are stopping us making progress and celebrate and support each other.
- There’s a growing back catalogue of all the previous challenges if you want to focus on a particular topic or refer back to.
- A ‘secret’ podcast feed which makes it easier to consume content when out and about away from your screens.
What problems does The Expedition Group solve?
- Translators who are nervous or downright terrified of marketing their business have come into the group and now feel they can approach potential clients.
- If you find yourself stuck at the planning stage but you’re not putting plans into action, this group provides the accountability and clear ‘how to’ steps with examples for inspiration and my firm but gentle nudges to implement and take action.
- Your business has plateaued or you can’t seem to break away from agency work into working with more ideal clients. If that’s the case, this group should give you the inspiration and motivation to make the changes you need.
- You struggle to find the time for marketing, even though you know it’s essential to build relationships with the clients you want to work with. A membership like this gives you natural accountability and ways to help you make time for marketing.
- If you find yourself overthinking your next steps or what to say to a potential client, The Expedition Group will help!
How much does membership cost?
There are three different payment options depending on whether you prefer a recurring monthly subscription or a one-off payment.
Monthly £55
3-month membership £165
Annual membership £605
All including VAT where applicable. It’s also possible to pay in EUR or USD, if that’s more convenient (contact me for the relevant links).
Why is the cost £55/month?
I wanted to make this as affordable as possible while still being able to deliver great content and bring in guest experts from time to time. I invest a lot of time providing individual feedback to each member of the group and answering questions. You get regular mini-courses on a variety of marketing topics, all specific to the translation profession. The practical focus on taking action is intentional so that you implement your plans and start getting results. Similar memberships outside the translation world cost upwards of £97 a month.
content marketing jungle, exciting adventures await!
Who is The Expedition Group for?
The Expedition Group is not for everyone, and I only want you to join if it’s right for you. All humans working as translators and interpreters are warmly welcome. However, please note that the training is provided in English so you need to have a good grasp of English even if it’s not one of your working languages. Beyond those factors, you’ll get the most value out of the group if:
- You’ve been translating for a few years and want to get more right-fit clients.
- You’re open to new ideas – even if they sound a bit scary.
- You want accountability to put your plans into action (instead of continually putting aside marketing activities, avoiding following up with potential clients and not implement your exciting plans).
- You’re interested in getting higher-paying clients and working on projects that put a smile on your face instead of accepting what comes into your inbox.
This is NOT for you if:
- You’re just starting out as a translator because you’ll get greater value out of the group once you have some experience – but keep in touch 🙂 I send out free marketing tips in my weekly email.
- You don’t see the value in marketing your business because you’ve always had enough of the right kind of work and are happy to rely on word of mouth to get new clients.
- You’re not interested in investing at least a couple of hours a month to improve your business.
How long do the expeditions take? Should I work through everything in order?
This isn’t an ever-growing course that you have to complete. You can join the group and jump in at any stage without digging into any of the past expeditions. Once we discuss your goals, I can direct you to the most useful content and there’s a searchable directory to find the most relevant content at any time.
For each expedition, I create a separate module of content that should take 1 hour max. to consume. If I’ve interviewed an expert, that might stretch the time a little for a good cause! The focus is on implementation rather than lots of learning as I find it’s much more effective to and How long it takes for you to complete the mission of the month depends on
In an expedition brief I suggest ways of breaking the topic down to fit the time you have available. You can take a Gentle Stroll if you have limited time but still want to make some progress. Head Off the Beaten Track if you have more time to explore. Or if you want to tackle the challenge with bells on, there’s the Hike to the Summit!
What will I need to get started?
Just your lovely self and your sense of adventure. Okay, some experience as a translator and a rough plan of what you want your business to look like would be helpful. We’ll have a kick-off call to talk about what you want to achieve and map out your first next step.
How do you access the training and start getting involved?
As soon as you sign up, you’ll get access to the membership site with all the training content. Soon after, you’ll get a welcome email that explains how to book your one-to-one call with me. I’ll also invite you into our Slack forum so you can meet your fellow explorers. Another couple of emails over the following days explain the different parts of the group in more detail. That way you’re not left floundering or wondering where to start.
Who is your trainer?
Your marketing guide is me, Sarah Silva.
I’ve been working as a German into English translator since 2008. I’ve been testing out marketing strategies since 2015. For example, attending client-side conferences to running multi-step direct marketing campaigns and writing (paid) articles for client publications. I’ve given workshops, and taught hundreds of translators and interpreters through courses of my own (Destination Direct Clients and Persuasive Portfolios) as well as together with translation associations and well-known trainers. You might have seen me present at a conference or heard me on a podcast. Perhaps you’ve read my book for translators: Your Ticket To Explore – Essential Preparation for Your Translator Marketing Adventures.
While I have lots of ideas, I don’t claim to know everything! As well as me, you’ll get to hear from guest experts to guide us through specialist topics.
How big is the group?
At the time of writing there are 24 group members, which means everyone gets to know each other. There’s plenty of space for you to ask questions, get feedback and share experiences. I really enjoy getting to know you and your business and don’t ever want to lose the great vibe we’ve created so will consider limiting numbers and/or adding extra live sessions. You’ll meet colleagues with different language pairs from all over the world. Whatever time zone you’re in, I want everyone to have the opportunity to attend live if possible (although calls are recorded).
What results can I expect from joining The Expedition Group?
I did say I would try and be unbiased so I’ll let members of the group tell you in their words what’s changed for them since joining.
- Marketing confidence and consistency
“My marketing efforts are definitely more consistent now. It helps me to know that I’m still making plans, ticking things off my list and keeping marketing on my radar even when I don’t have much time available.” Fiona Gray, Grayscale Translations Ltd - Business skills
“Since being in the group I have a better idea of my target market, I’ve defined and am using my LinkedIn strategy with some success (one new client so far!), and I’m making more time to work on my business. These are positive changes.” Keith Baddeley, French- and Spanish-to-English translator for the IT industry, KeithBaddeley.com - Mindset shifts
“Seeing other people be active and taking chances makes me want to do the same. And I have noticed that the world is not as scary as I thought before.” Elena Volpato, Edit et Versa
“This month has been one of my best ever despite only working part time! I’m definitely attributing this to some big mindset shifts inspired by the group and the concrete steps I’ve taken thanks to the modules, so thank you!” Josephina Worrell JW Translation
Read more about The Expedition Group in this article: The CPD that transformed me written by Dean Evans and published in the Jan/Feb 2024 issue of the ITI Bulletin.
How do I sign up?
Now you know everything you need to know about The Expedition Group you are ready to join. I hope this helped you.
Click the link below, and I’ll see you on the inside!
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