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Today, multilingualism is an integral part of powerful email marketing, especially for companies operating in global markets. Still, this is quite a challenge that will require time and effort.
So why make your email marketing multilingual? Why actually add new languages to your strategy when you can only email in English (or any other language)?
1. Boost your email performance
Recipients are more likely to interact with email content in their native language. So, for some companies, the move to multilingualism results in the following:
- Conversion rate increased by 30%
- 56% of respondents said they prefer content in their native language to a price
- The open rate (OR) increased by a whopping 100%
Related Topics: How to launch your first email marketing campaign and get the results you want
2. Improve personalization
At the heart of effective email marketing is personalization: delivering the right message to the right person at the right time. This is also known as the 3R rule.
And the “right” message is:
- right context
- correct data
- correct language
3. Reach a wider audience
Just knowing the geographic location of your customers is not enough. It is important to recognize their language preferences or even ask them directly as they may have different cultural roots. For example, one in five Americans speaks a language other than English, suggesting that relying solely on English is not enough to reach the entire US population.
Related Topics: 3 quick steps to get your message across to a wider audience
4. Observe local regulations
Some countries or regions you travel to may have specific language requirements for marketing communications.
For example, in Canada, the Official Languages Act gives customers the right to receive services in the official language of their choice.
5. Understand your audience better and stay competitive
By running email marketing campaigns in a few/many languages, you can gain insights into the preferences of your target audience from different countries and optimize your strategies accordingly.
How to run multilingual campaigns correctly
There are a few basic things businesses need to know in order to communicate effectively with their global audience.
1. Align emails with other communication channels. Before you start your multilingual email journey, you should make sure that your website/product is available in the required languages.
If this is not the case and you only plan to translate your website into these target languages, make sure that all necessary landing pages, such as “thank you” and “unsubscribe”, are available in them.
You may also want to run social media and the Help Center in all the required languages.
2. Ensure accurate and consistent translations. Accurate, high-quality and consistent translations are crucial to avoiding misunderstandings and ensuring that the message is well received. Provide professional translators with your glossary of terminology relevant to your niche and terms used on your website.
3. Localize emails. They don’t just translate emails. You have to locate them. translation is the process of conveying the meaning of a source text through the use of an equivalent target text. localization is a more in-depth approach that takes into account the cultural, visual and technological elements of the target audience. It goes beyond the choice of words and can affect how your email information is presented and designed (colors, pricing, images, etc.).
When localizing, companies need to consider the following:
- Cultural differences – because of this, sometimes you need to use different visuals for your emails, stick to different tone of voice for different countries, or even send emails on different dates. For example, most European countries celebrate the New Year in December while Israel celebrates it in September. Another example: Americans prefer an informal tone when communicating, while French, German and Japanese prefer a formal tone.
- Units of measurement: In the US, ft and lbs are used, while in Europe, meters and kilograms are used.
- Currency: Price conversion is best when reaching people worldwide.
- Dates: Different regions use different time and date formats. Europe uses MM/MM/YYYY while the US uses MM/DD/YYYY. Convert dates or specify months in letters. (e.g. Friday, May 5, 2023.)
- Time Zones – this looks pretty obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning. Consider recipients’ time zones to ensure email is delivered at the most convenient time for recipients.
- Technical Compatibility – Ensure localized emails are compatible with different devices in different regions. This includes handling right-to-left (RTL) and left-to-right (LTR) text directions and character encoding.
- Current Country Situations: Adapt your email localization strategy to the rapidly changing global landscape, e.g. B. economic fluctuations, political events or public health crises. In these situations, it may be necessary to adjust your messaging, tone, or approach to ensure your emails remain relevant and responsive to the needs and concerns of your audience.
- Legal requirements – Familiarize yourself with local laws and regulations, e.g. B. Privacy Policies, Anti-Spam Laws, and Advertising Regulations. It will also be helpful to create a glossary of words that are banned in some countries.
With multilingual email marketing, you recognize and respect the diversity of your customers, foster strong connections, build trust and ultimately increase business success.
