Cindy King's International Business Blog » translation mistakes

How Translation Ruins The International Sale

Cindy King — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:00:21 +0000

A young French copywriter recently asked me if an international client should take the sales letter he wrote for them in French and translate it into English and a series of other languages. And this is for a direct mail piece, which means a fairly large investment for the mailer.

Translation or copywriting?

Now this is something an experienced copywriter and marketer would immediately understand.

A Unique Audience

A copywriter always writes a sales letter for one specific audience. And in addition to the demographic specifics of each audience, the copywriter also writes for a specific market maturity and environment.

This is what increases the results of your sales letter.

Now…

Different Culture = Different Sale

If you change the language you change the culture. This means you change the audience.

In fact, you are probably also addressing a different market. This market has a different environment. There will be cultural differences. And possibly other differences in market environment.

This different audience might even be at a different stage of market maturity for the product you are selling.

Different Sales Letters In Different Languages

What does this mean?

A different culture will not respond to your letter in the same way. Your sales letter will not work well.

You need different sales letters when you write them in different languages. It is unlikely a simple translation will get you good sales results.

If you are investing in a direct mail package to sell your product, you should also invest in appropriate sales copy for each different language you use.

A company that invests in hiring a copywriter to write a sales letter, knows that a good sales letter will bring in more money. That is why companies pay large sums of money for experienced copywriters to write their sales letters.

An Example Of How Translation Ruins The Sale

Have a look at this example of translation into English:

Van Cleef And Arpel’s Feerie Perfume

It is easy to see the lack of good copywriting skills in the English text. And the text reads as if it was simply translated from French. The text may work well in the original version.

But here, it does not go well with the elegant and expensive web design.

The English text will not add to the sales appeal. In fact, the English text actually takes away some of the sales appeal. And in some places the English is actually confusing.

It makes me wonder whether:

The translator did not do a good job. Which would surprise me.

Or with a company this size, I would expect the translator was told to give a strict translation and to follow the original text as closely as possible. A common problem.

Of course, in smaller French companies, the reason could also be because it was the technically minded webmaster that was asked to write the script.

The end result is a pity… especially after investing in such great design.

Foreign Language Sales Letters

As a marketing executive, I would never turn to a translator to write any sales copy. As a marketer this was easy for me to grasp even before I “discovered” copywriting as a profession.

How did I get foreign language sales copy?

The best solution is to network until you find a native language speaker with the right marketing and sales background to understand both your product and the foreign language market.

Yes, there are translators who do have copywriting skills. There are also many translators who say they do copywriting, and yet do not have the skills.

If it is my product, I would still prefer to spend the time to hunt down the person right for the job.

Professionals with good sales skills exist in all cultures. Your international sales results will increase if you learn to seek out other people with native language sale skills in your industry.

Don’t Miss…

Internationalize Your English

And in particular…

Translation Friendly International English

Global English To Avoid Miscommunication

Cindy King — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:00:09 +0000

Internationalize Your English

The widespread use of English in international business makes it easy to assume writing your content in English is enough. All you need is to simply avoid slang and culturally specific English language phrases and vocabulary.

But it is not always that simple. Miscommunication can still loom. And through no fault of your own.

First ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a large number of non-native English speakers who read your English content?
Will you need to translate your English language content into several languages?

If you answer yes to either or both of these questions, then you need to take a closer look at your own communication. This will help you avoid miscommunication.

There are two main reasons for the new trends in writing Global English or International English.

1 – Make Communication Easy

The rise in proportion of non-native English speakers online presents a unique perspective.

If you want to communicate well across non-native English speaking cultures, you need to adjust your communication.

2 – Make Translation Easy

An international company today often needs a website in over a dozen languages. In fact, international companies usually have content in well over 20 languages. And this number is increasing every year.

When you invest in multiple translations you will greatly appreciate starting with the right source text.

Your source text is easier to translate
The various translations will be more representative of your original text.

Another Perspective On Avoiding Miscommunication

During the recent Olympics in China examples of translation errors were widely available online. Most were comical, some portrayed bad translation skills or the bad use of translation tools.

In international business you have a choice to make:

Will you or will you not take a step towards other cultures?

And will you do this with your own communication?

Will you communicate as you do at home?
Or will you make an effort to adapt your communication for everyone?

You see, if you really want to connect with different cultures, and especially with non-native English speakers, you need to turn towards them.

You need to be open to other cultures.
You need to adjust your communication…and your English.

When you adjust your English communication, your English becomes what is referred to as International English, or Global English. It is English that is very easy to understand for different cultures.

International English or Global English is also a great source base for translations.

What you need to know about International English:

International English Guidelines

Online Translations Tools Write Bad Sales Copy

Cindy King — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:25:30 +0000

Translation For International Sales

If you have been reading my posts here or my articles over at Get International Clients, you know that I find the online translation tools great… For International Market Research.

Although I have not used them for translating content, I read that this is a growing trend in large companies that have too much volume to feasibly translate. But these companies make careful choices in what they translate with these tools.

Online translation tools have improved dramatically. Their use will continue to grow. And I’m really open to this. Even professional translators use software tools to help speed up their process. But they are only part of the process. These translators have the knowledge and skill to accurately proof these translations, and know when to use them.

There is one rule to follow:

Never use online translation to tools alone to translate any sales or marketing copy… ever!

Good sales copy can only be written by a human being. And if you have the right human being writing your sales copy you will get international clients.

Don’t Miss…

Internationalize Your English

And in particular…

Translation Friendly International English

Cindy King's International Business Blog » translation mistakes

How Translation Ruins The International Sale

A Unique Audience

Different Culture = Different Sale

Different Sales Letters In Different Languages

An Example Of How Translation Ruins The Sale

Foreign Language Sales Letters

More on Translation For International Sales:

Don’t Miss…

More In The Get International Clients Business Guides

Global English To Avoid Miscommunication

1 – Make Communication Easy

2 – Make Translation Easy

Another Perspective On Avoiding Miscommunication

More on Internationalizing Your English:

What you need to know about International English:

More in these Get International Clients Business Guides

Online Translations Tools Write Bad Sales Copy

There is one rule to follow:

More on Translation For International Sales:

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More In The Get International Clients Business Guides