When I started my career as a freelance translator, the most difficult aspect was finding work.

I didn't have a solid network of clients and building that foundation was sometimes very disheartening. However, finding work is becoming easier and easier thanks to technology, and especially the Internet.

The Internet has enabled all kinds of new communication tools that are both convenient and cheap. No more having to flip through the phone book calling potential clients. Now you can send emails to people needing your services. No more taking an ad out in the Yellow Pages. Now you can have your own website promoting your services to a larger audience for a lot cheaper.

So, what is the best way freelance translators can used this technology to find work and build their network of clients? Most translators continue to say that translation agencies are the number one source of translation work.

If contacting translation agencies is one of the more productive ways of getting the word out about your translation services, then the only thing that is left is finding those agencies. Thanks to the Internet, that is a lot easier than it used to be.

One of the ways that translators find translation agencies online is by using a search engine and typing something like "translation agency" and "freelance translators" in the search box. This can be a little tedious, but once you get in good with a couple of translation agencies, they will be more likely to regularly send you work and the time spent contacting the agencies will be well worth it.