Multilingual Email Marketing: How to Get International Sales

Some people may think that with social media constantly vying for our attention these days, email may be ‘off-trend’. But that could be misguided. In fact, according to EarthWeb, 333.2 billion emails are being sent per day in 2022 or 3.5 million per second! It’s a cost-efficient method of communication for businesses, and with 99% of email users checking their inbox at least once a day, it’s a great way to generate interest.

Equally, email marketing to your global target audiences can be an excellent way to raise awareness and boost sales. So, what do you need to know when creating a successful multilingual email marketing campaign? Below, we share our seven tips for getting international sales.

• Identify demand

Before even attempting to create an email campaign, you need to check that there is demand in your target market. Start by using your website analytics tools to see if there has been any relevant activity and, if so, what search terms visitors are using to get to your site.

• Segment your data

If you are targeting multiple global markets, it is essential to segment your data carefully. For example, subscribers should be split not just by language but by market, e.g., separating your European, Mexican and Latin American Spanish speakers, as each audience will have distinct cultural backgrounds and tastes.

• Personalisation

If you are familiar with email marketing strategies, you’ll know that a core principle is personalisation. With so many emails being sent daily, any generic or irrelevant emails are likely to be ignored. The same principle applies to multilingual email marketing. And personalisation here starts with localisation.

Firstly, your email should be written in the language of your target audience, or it is doubtful that recipients will trust it enough to open it or click through to your content. We’d also recommend engaging with native, in-country transcreators (translators specialising in marketing content) to ensure your content is localised appropriately to your market’s expectations and preferences while still retaining your brand style and intent. You can learn more about how transcreation can support your global growth in our previous blog.

• Consider your taglines and product names

Native transcreators can also work with you to evaluate whether your product names and taglines work in your new target market. For example, culturally specific idioms or humour may not translate well to other markets. With a different background and context, your new target audience may not understand them or, worse, could be offended. Transcreators are skilled at understanding what you are trying to achieve with your messaging and then adapting it to be culturally relevant to your new audience without losing its impact.

• Adapt your landing pages

When readers click through from your email, make sure your landing pages have also been localised. If not and they can’t understand your content or it is unfamiliar to them, they will likely click away immediately, leading to increased bounce rates and lost leads.

• Research your timings

The timings of your email campaigns can make a significant difference to their open rates and engagement. The appropriate timings for your multilingual email marketing campaigns will likely differ from those at home. Therefore, take care to research the best days, times and varying time zones to ensure your email hits the inbox when it will be best received.

• Split test and analyse

Split testing is likely to be even more crucial in a multilingual email campaign than in your native ones. There are more factors involved and probably more unfamiliarity with the audiences. Carrying out split testing of core aspects of your content, such as your subject lines and openings, will provide a better understanding of what works best in your new target market. Use the results from these testing phases to learn more about your non-native audiences and create more targeted content in the future.

If you are unsure about how to approach your multilingual email marketing campaigns, we can help! Mission Translate specialises in providing language and research support for global marketing strategies, including email campaigns. With our team of native transcreators, experienced project managers and design engineers, we can help ensure your multilingual email marketing delivers the best possible ROI.

Please get in touch with our team to find out more.