You’re a smart digital marketer. You’ve checked Google Analytics and you have traffic from around the world. You’ve steadily built up an email list with subscribers who speak many different languages and you’re using an email tool like Mailchimp which tracks recipient locations and time zones. You want to market to them, but you realise that an international audience is harder to communicate with than a purely domestic one is.
You’re right, and we’re here to help – translations of emails aren’t as expensive as you might think, as text is generally short and punchy to get the click through result you’re after. It’s often a drop in the ocean considering the amount you may be spending on your overall marketing campaigns.
At Bubbles, we solve the language barrier between international communications – email communications included.
These are the top 5 tips to keep in mind – read them, apply them to your own marketing, and watch as your email marketing campaigns become more and more profitable.
#1 – Get it professionally translated!
Okay, we’re biased on this one, but we feel really strongly when we receive an email written in broken English from what seems like a reputable international company. If you’re the same, you immediately distrust the sender unless you knew him or her personally – and we’re guessing that you don’t know your customers quite that well.
Running an email through an automatic translator is begging for spelling, phrasing, grammar, and misused-word errors. And if your translation comes out particularly bad, you’re asking for the other party to get offended. This would reflect badly on your brand, making the recipient very conscious that you don’t take them or their business seriously enough.
So the first step? Get your email copy finished and send it to Bubbles for translation. No matter which language or how seemingly complex the content, we will be able to help you with your email campaigns.
#2 – Be careful with your images
Your subscriber probably gets a lot of emails per day – especially promotional ones. You have to relate to him or her on a personal level in order to capture any further interest. You have to make him or her think that out of all of the emails, yours is special.
Pictures are a big part of this. They’re an easy way to convey what you want to say and relate to the reader. But the same pictures that work for a U.K. audience might not work somewhere else – maybe even not somewhere similar like the U.S.
Check the graphic elements in your emails and make sure that they relate to the person who you’re sending them to. Think about subject matter in particular. For example, someone having fun in Sweden may look different from someone having fun in South Africa. Race and gender should be considered carefully.
Stock photos are still okay – you might just need more than one.
#3 – Pay attention to your phrasing and tone
Not everywhere is like the UK. Over here, we’re okay with certain topics being discussed, how certain topics are discussed, etc. Every culture has its own “line” of what is okay and what’s not.
You have to tread carefully along that line to be effective, entertaining and informative, but you can’t be offensive. Poor translation can have you appearing as someone or a business that you don’t want to be so ensure your context is translated too. This may lead to a little more transcreation rather than a straight translation. Contact Bubbles today to ensure all of your international emails read exactly as you’d like them to.
#4 – Consider the timing of your sending
Think about when each country checks its email and any possible restrictions that they would have to checking email.
The obvious points:
● Segment lists by time zone
● Send during prime hours (not in the middle of the night – your email may be pushed to the bottom of the inbox by morning)
And one not-so-obvious:
● Keep a calendar of national events and holidays to avoid (and to use for promotional purposes, too)
#5 – Remember that some countries use email more than others do
When you’re building your email lists or sending out blasts, you have to keep in mind two things:
● Email is more prevalent in some countries than in others
● Sometimes, subscribers won’t have the chance to check for a few days
In the UK, a sale that lasts 24 hours might get results.
In countries where email (and internet in general) is less frequently available or users are less mobile-centric, subscribers might check on the sale too late and not get a chance to convert.
Marketing campaigns can often be copied from one country to another, but we think you’ll find that small adjustments based on the country’s habits make a big difference.
International Email Marketing Recap
On a basic level, international email marketing is the same as domestic email marketing. You just have to keep a few things in mind:
● Make sure that your email content and visual aids are appropriate for the country you’re mailing to
● Get your content translated so it makes sense, sends the right message, and is free of errors (Bubbles can help you with this!)
● Pay attention to the imagery you use
● Send depending on the time zone of the subscriber and habits of his or her country
● Don’t get discouraged if international campaigns aren’t the money makers that your UK emails are – test, refine and evolve!
