7 Steps to Mastering Multilingual Email Marketing

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7 Steps to Mastering Multilingual Email Marketing

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We should not be surprised that marketing emails sent in the language spoken by its intended recipients have a higher trust factor compared to ones in English. A higher level of trust means higher email ‘open rates’ and  ‘clicking through’ rates. Ultimately, this means more customers, clients and higher sales.

Multilingual marketing success

If you are currently using email marketing to drive traffic to your website, or to sell your products and services, you will be familiar with the principles of this form of marketing. However, multilingual marketing is not simply a matter of translating existing marketing material. You will need to use the services of a professional linguist  who possess an appreciation and understanding of copy writing for your target market.

Your multilingual email marketing campaign

Here are some tips on how to get the best from your multilingual email marketing campaign:

  1. Customer Support – before you start, consider if you can you support customers in that country? Can you provide information and advice in their language? Do you need to create specific pages on your website in the language spoken in those countries;
  2. Website Analytics – you can use your website’s analytics program to see if there is any demand from your target country. One of the most important reasons for selling in new markets is evidence of demand for your product or service there. One way to determine whether there is demand, is to see if you are receiving website visitors from those countries and the search terms used by them to find your site. Website analytics programs such as Google Analytics provides a reliable, robust and thorough analysis of site visitors, including the country they came from;
  3. Localise your content – professional linguists should be able to localise your content. There is no substitute for using the services of a professional linguist who not only understands email marketing but is translating into their mother tongue the language. This is the language they grew up speaking and they will possess a knowledge of the customs and practices in your target country;
  4. Split test your messages – headlines and content in your emails can influence significantly the ‘open’ and ‘click through’ rates. Therefore, you should use the ‘split testing facility provided by your email services provider to test different messages to see which ones are most effective;
  5. Branding – decide if your product will have the same name in your target market. Ideally. you will want the name of your product to mean exactly the same in the target language as it does in English. It is very common for brands to change the names to make them appropriate for different markets. To avoid confusion and other unintended consequences consult with your professional linguist to help insure that your product name is appropriate for your target market;
  6. Ensure your email is culturally acceptable – humour, calls to action and cultural references are just a few of the things that might sound great in English, but will lose their impact when translated. So, it is vital that you work with your professional linguist to ensure that your email content is culturally appropriate;
  7. Timing is everything – timing is vital when it comes to sending emails and the best time of the day, and best day of the week, to send emails varies from country to country. Also take this into account the different time zones involved, rest days and local holidays. If you wish to tie your promotions in with local celebrations make sure you are familiar with the dates that these celebrations take place;