Email marketing allows you to reach customers in virtually all corners of the globe. Making the right impression on those customers requires modifying your content to fit their language and culture.
This is especially important if you’re advertising a specific product or service. Research indicates that 75% of consumers prefer to buy products if the information about the product is in their own language.
Email localization allows you to cast a wide net, reaching as many customers as possible and boosting brand loyalty in overseas markets. Here’s how to send international email to make sure your campaigns are properly localized.
Choose a Language for Your International Email Marketing Campaign
Study the demographics of the people who subscribe to your email list to determine which languages you may need to translate content into. If the vast majority of your subscribers live in areas where English is the primary language (or at least a very common language), you may not need to translate your international email content at all.
That’s unlikely to be the case if you have a high number of subscribers. According to recent studies, approximately half of all people in the world are now internet users. That means the odds that you may reach customers who don’t speak or read English are high.
If you do choose to translate content into another language, segment your subscriber list accordingly. It is also wise to coordinate with professional translators to make sure that you know how to send international email and that there are no errors in the content or when encoding the emails.
Study the Culture to Make Email Localization Easier
When learning how to send international emails, it’s important to keep cultural differences in mind. Obviously, some references won’t translate from one country to another.
Additionally, methods of communication vary from one culture to another. A direct, extremely enthusiastic email may work with one audience, but won’t necessarily resonate in another. Learn everything you can about your target audience’s expectations and adjust your email localization strategy accordingly.
Don’t Just Translate Email
Effective international emails need to link readers to pages they’ll understand. If a foreign reader clicks on any link in one of your emails, make sure the page they arrive at is also translated.
It’s easy to forget that all of your relevant content must be adjusted when you reach out to customers from a different culture. Before embarking on an international email marketing campaign, be sure you’ve adequately prepared your content.
Study Laws Before Sending International Email
Email localization involves familiarizing yourself with any relevant laws within your new markets. Online privacy laws can vary from one country to another. Making sure you know what you can and can’t do with your subscribers’ information is key to avoiding legal trouble while encoding emails for sending internationally.
Learn How Your Audience Reads Email
Different demographic groups consume email in different ways. While many people now check their email on mobile, there are still groups that are more likely to read email via computer.
Structure your content so it appears properly-organized on the kind of device a customer is most likely to read it on. For example, if a customer reads an email on a mobile device, you want to make the content easily scannable by including headings and limiting large chunks of text.
Keep in mind, you should also learn how your audience receives email. Encoding emails for a server you’re not accustomed to may be necessary to ensure subscribers can read them.
Luckily, reaching customers throughout the world with international email marketing doesn’t need to be a challenge. If you apply these tips to your next campaign, you’re much more likely to develop a global following. With email localization, this translates into a lot more revenue in the long run.