Email Marketing Localization: How to Build an Effective Strategy

Are you looking to improve your marketing campaign’s performance and increase revenue? One way to achieve this is through email marketing localization.

Email localization is an effective way to increase engagement with your audience. By tailoring your email messages to specific regions and cultures, you can create a more personalized experience. Email marketing localization offers several benefits that can help you improve your overall marketing campaign’s performance:

• Increase engagement: Localized emails are more likely to resonate with your audience and encourage them to engage with your content, leading to higher open and click-through rates.
• Improve revenue: Localized emails can increase conversions by creating a more relevant and personalized experience for your subscribers.
• Boost brand recognition: Tailoring your emails to local audiences will strengthen your relationships with your subscribers and increase brand recognition.  Even if you run an online coaching business with a solid email marketing localization strategy, you can stay on top of the mind of your target audience.
• Improve customer loyalty: Localized emails can help you establish a more personal connection with your subscribers and create a sense of loyalty to your brand.
• Better reputation management: With content sensitive to local cultures and customs, you can avoid misunderstandings and improve your overall reputation.

Now that we have reviewed the benefits of email marketing localization, we will dive into the tools and tips that will help you create an effective strategy around it.

Steps For Building An Effective Email Marketing Localization Strategy

Here are the steps to an effective email marketing localization strategy. They will help you build a stronger connection with your audience, increase engagement, and ultimately drive conversions and revenue.

1. Understand your audience

Creating a successful email marketing localization strategy involves understanding your audience and tailoring your content to their needs and preferences. To determine the type of content that resonates with them and the tone that will engage them, you must gather data on your subscribers’ demographics, locations, and cultural backgrounds.

To identify your subscribers, you need to collect data such as their age, gender, occupation, and interests. Consider your subscribers’ cultural backgrounds to create content that is respectful and relevant to them: their cultural values, beliefs, and practices, as well as research any nuances that may affect how they perceive your content. By taking these steps, you can create email campaigns that resonate with your audience and encourage them to engage with your brand.

Additionally, you can also use A/B testing to test different versions of your emails and establish more personalized and effective communication. 

2. Use localized email templates

Localized email templates can help your brand create a more consistent and professional image while catering to your audience’s unique needs and preferences. By customizing these templates to match the cultural preferences of your audience, you can create a more personalized experience and build a stronger connection with them.

Creating localized email templates is especially beneficial for brands with international or diverse audiences. These templates allow you to tailor your email marketing campaigns based on various factors such as language, cultural norms, and local holidays. By doing so, you can create a more professional and credible image for your brand that resonates with your audience.

Localized email templates can also help you improve your email engagement and conversion rates. When your audience receives an email that speaks directly to their culture and language, they are more likely to open it, read it, and take action. 

3. Use localized signatures and salutations

To create effective content, it is crucial to understand the audience and tailor the message to meet their needs. Customize the content to build a connection with the audience, demonstrate empathy, and show understanding of their challenges.

In this way, localized signatures and salutations can establish a personal connection with the audience. Incorporate local language, titles, and cultural references relevant to the audience, such as local events, holidays, or traditions. 

Addressing people through their own languages and references demonstrates cultural understanding. Besides, it will lead you to build rapport with the audience. However, be careful in what you write down to avoid cultural misunderstandings.

4. Test and optimize

After creating and sending out your campaign, analyzing key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates will let you know how your audience is responding to your messages.

After identifying which messages resonate with your audience and which don’t, you can make informed decisions about how to adjust your content and strategies to improve your results. For instance, if certain subject lines are leading to higher open rates, you can experiment with using similar language in future emails to see if it continues to be effective.

Continually test and optimize your messages to ensure that your email marketing campaign delivers the results you want.

Tools For Email Marketing Localization

There are several tools available that can help businesses to streamline the process and maximize the impact of email marketing localization campaigns. In this section, we will explore some of these tools and how we can use them to create targeted and impactful emails for different regions and cultures.

1. Email service providers

Email service providers (ESPs) are crucial tools for businesses looking to reach out to an international audience. They are platforms for creating, sending, and managing email marketing campaigns, along with a range of localization tools to help businesses communicate effectively with their target audience. 

In broad terms, ESPs allow to:

• Translate and customize emails for different regions and languages, ensuring the message is conveyed effectively and preventing misunderstandings.
• Use machine translations. Note: It’s always a good idea to review the translation to ensure accuracy.
• Adapt emails to reflect regional preferences using customization features.
• Track the performance of email campaigns and optimize them for better results.

There are many ESPs available, each with its own set of features and pricing plans. The fittest ESP for your email marketing campaign will depend on your specific needs and budget. Here are a few popular options to consider:

• Mailchimp. A popular ESP that offers a range of features, including email automation, A/B testing, and detailed analytics. Mailchimp also offers a free plan for up to 2,000 subscribers, making it a great option for small businesses.
• Constant Contact. Another popular ESP with customizable templates, email automation, and real-time tracking. Constant Contact also offers a free trial and pricing plans that are based on the number of subscribers.
• Sendinblue: Sendinblue features include email automation, A/B testing, and advanced segmentation. Sendinblue’s free plan allows for up to 300 emails per day, as well as paid plans that are based on the number of emails sent.
• Campaign Monitor: Campaign Monitor provides a range of features, including drag-and-drop email design, segmentation, and personalized content. The platform has a free trial, and its pricing plans are determined by the number of subscribers.
• HubSpot: HubSpot offers a range of marketing tools, including email marketing and automation, A/B testing, and detailed analytics. HubSpot has a free plan, as well as paid plans, based on the number of contacts.

2. Translation software

Translation software has revolutionized how we communicate in today’s globalized world. This technology has proven particularly useful for email communication as it allows quick and easy translations into the recipient’s language. Some popular features of translation tools include:

• Machine translation. Machine translation tools use artificial intelligence and algorithms to translate text automatically. While fast and cost-effective, especially for businesses with a large subscriber base, machine translation isn’t completely accurate and can result in awkward or incorrect translations.
• Human translation. Human translation tools involve hiring a professional translator or an agency to translate email content. Even though it is more expensive and time-consuming than machine translation, it typically produces more accurate and culturally appropriate translations. Human translators can also help suggest businesses adapt their messaging to suit local customs and cultural norms.
• Translation memory. Some translation tools also include features such as translation memory, which stores previously translated text and suggests similar translations for new content, maintaining consistency across their email campaigns.

Nonetheless, it’s essential to acknowledge that translation software is not without limitations. While it can accurately translate simple phrases and sentences, complex languages, such as idiomatic expressions or cultural nuances, can be lost in translation.

As such, use translation software alongside human translators or editors who can review the translations for accuracy and cultural sensitivity. Combining the speed and convenience of translation software with the expertise of human translators can ensure effective and respectful communication across different languages and cultures.

3. Geo-targeting and IP address tools

Geo-targeting and IP address tools can determine the locations of subscribers based on their IP addresses or other geolocation data. You can use this information to personalize email content according to region, city, and even neighborhood.

These tools are particularly useful for businesses with a global audience that wants to send different messages to specific regions and to understand what resonates with them.

To further enhance their understanding of their subscribers’ preferences, businesses can also use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). A VPN like Surfshark or  ExpressVPN can help you research and understand different regions’ preferences for email personalization. With a VPN, you can: 

• Connect to servers in various locations around the world 
• Access the internet as if you were located in that region 
• See the type of emails that are popular in specific areas 
• Identify the preferred language, style, and format that resonates with the local audience

The Bottom Line

Email marketing localization is an effective way to increase engagement, improve revenue and customer loyalty, boost brand recognition, and better manage reputation. By employing email service providers, translation software, geo-targeting, and IP address tools, you will significantly improve your email campaigns.