3 Reasons Your Website Needs a Contact Form and How to Get It Right
Contact forms on websites are nothing new these days. But not all freelance translators or interpreters take advantage of them.
There are a lot of good reasons to use a contact form. It doesn't have to be totally impersonal if you set it up well.
Done right, you can make a contact form that is beneficial for both your clients and for your translation or interpreting business.
3 reasons you need to use a contact form on your website
It’s the most convenient way for clients to get in touch with youWhen you have a way for clients to reach you directly via your website, you take away additional steps from the equation. The fewer the clicks and hoops clients have to jump through, the more likely it is that they will reach out to you about their next project.If you've ever searched a website and had trouble finding how to contact someone, you probably got frustrated rather quickly. And if you did find the information easily, but the only option to contact the business was one you'd rather not use (like a customer service chat instead of a phone number to call), you probably wished they'd given more options. Your clients are the same. Everyone likes options, especially if they allow for different ways to get answers to questions. One of your options should be a contact form. It's easy, convenient, and it's right there on the page.
There's little to no room for error If a client has to copy/paste your email address or dial your phone number, there's a chance they might not copy the address fully or they might accidentally dial the number incorrectly. With a form, your clients can simply fill it out and hit the "submit" button. Easy peasy. The form lands right in your inbox with a subject line of your choosing, and you can get back to them pretty quickly. In addition, a contact form gives clients a sense of having taken immediate action once they submit their request via your website. They very quickly check off one more item from their long to-do list. By making the process easy for them, you are already helping to solve their problem, one step at a time.
It’s also easy for youWhen a new inquiry lands in your inbox via your website contact form, it tends to look a bit different than a typical email. You won’t risk missing it among all your other emails, as the subject line is always the same. In fact, with most forms, you can set the subject line to be something that stands out to you. Here's how the subject line of my contact form appears in my inbox:
You can then gather the information from the form that you need to craft a warm email to the potential client.
While I do suggest making every interaction with a client specific and personal to them, creating email templates to have on hand will also save you a lot of time!
Related: How to Create Email Templates to Implement in Your T&I Business and Save Time
How to get your website contact form right
Keep it simple and straightforward.
It's important to keep your contact form simple and straightforward. Don't take up a lot of your potential clients' time. Ask for pertinent information that you'll need to get back to them quickly and get the ball rolling so you can talk to them about how you can help solve their problems with the services you provide.
Tip: Ask for two ways to contact them if possible. If you contacted them via email but didn't get a response, you could try calling them a few days later to follow up.
By the same token, leave out any unnecessary information. Remember that you don't need to have your entire preliminary conversation with a client through your contact form. Just get the basics right and you can add and request information as the conversation unfolds after initial contact.
Here's how my current contact form appears on my website.
It's simple. It's easy to fill out. And it doesn't go into lots of detail. I let the client give as much or as little information as they feel comfortable giving in the "How can I help you?" field.
Ask for initial information only, and leave the lengthier conversation for your follow-up message.
A contact form allows you to gather pertinent information about your client.
But again, your form should be easy to fill out. A no-brainer.
Once you have an idea of the potential project or assignment your client has in mind, you can follow up by sharing a little about your services and experience, as well as your availability. At the same time, you can request further information from the client that you'd need to prepare a proposal for them or kindly decline the project if it doesn't seem like a good fit.
Or, if you really want to make an impression, you can offer to jump on a discovery call to see if what you provide fits what they're looking for. Include a link to your open appointments by using a service like Calendly or Acuity. This shows the client that you are a serious professional while also giving you additional time to do some research about their organization or background before you meet.
Our colleague Meghan Konkol does a great job of this. She includes a link to her Calendly appointment calendar on her website under her contact form and in her email signature.
Make it work for you!
Be sure to include a section on your form that clients can fill out with more information about the project up front. This can help to reduce some of the back-and-forth emails later.
Again, fewer steps = an easier process for the client and for you!
Of course, you can include as many or as few questions as you like, as well as a place for clients to upload documents. I personally don’t use the document upload option, because I don’t want sensitive files to be sent through my website contact form, especially with current privacy laws. But this is a decision that you should make for your own business.
One item I always tell fellow translators and interpreters to add to their contact form as a required piece of information is something like “How did you hear about my services?”
This helps you to easily track where your new clients come from.
Did they find you through a referral? Did they come across your website after conducting an online search? Did they find your name in a professional directory?
These are all possible options when searching for service providers, and it’s important for you to know how your clients find you so that you can do more of what’s working!
This very simple question can help you plan your marketing strategy for years to come.
Finally, I think it's important to meet clients where they are. If you know your clients prefer to talk over the phone than via email, then include your phone number on your contact page as well. I've even seen some translators in Europe offer their WhatsApp number because the app tends to be so widely used there and many people feel comfortable communicating this way.
Whatever contact methods you decide to utilize on your website, make sure one of them is a contact form. The easier it is for potential clients to reach out to you, the more likely it is they will!
What methods of contact do your clients prefer? Do you use a contact form on your website, and if so, do you have any tips to share with colleagues?
