6 important considerations when writing texts for an international audience

Writing texts for an international audience is not an easy job and represents a challenge for those who have to manage the distribution of multilingual content. The first challenge is for company management to understand the value and return on investment of multilingual content and multilingual translation. The second is that the brand itself (that is, the staff, from production to accounting) believes that it works for international markets. They have to be convinced that their salaries and company income come from people who speak other languages ​​and whose only affinity with them is the brand. Third, the traditional distribution channels for quality translations should be complemented (or replaced) by the company website as a multilingual knowledge center, social media, etc.

But we could call those three points the fundamental. They are prerequisites. I would like to address other points that brands can often overlook specifically when writing content for international audiences. This is a short guide to help sales and marketing personnel as well as webmasters to make sure they don't make any mistakes when they have to translate a website into multiple languages ​​and distribute branded content around the world.

Content preparation and planning

Original content is aimed at a specific audience, usually the "home" audience. By spending a little time adapting the source material right out of the box, a brand will save time, money, and resources in translation. A direct translation only works for the instruction manuals. The content has to be adapted to different target markets, from place names to titles, from really relevant content to expressions, currencies, measurements, even content that does not require translation, as it simply does not matter.

Consolidate a writing style

Avoid sentences of more than 25 words in length: short, clear sentences always read better. This does not mean that they have to be simple. A large vocabulary will improve SEO ranking as variety seems more natural to search engine algorithms. This will also be reflected in the translation. Brevity is also your ally since you will save on translation and localization services or cultural adaptation.

Use editable files

This will help save everyone's time when it comes to exporting and importing from / to document. If you can't provide editable files, or graphics have been vectorized, the localization process will take longer and will scratch your pocket too. The same happens when working with PDF files that cannot be edited. You always have to solve these problems and create another source file, but it will take time and money. Surely someone in the content creation chain must have some original and editable files. This is also part of the above-mentioned careful planning requirement. Creating a company or brand repository can avoid very serious headaches.

Manage charts with care

Graphics and images can contain text. If they don't have text, they obviously won't require editing for translation. If they do, they may or may not need a translation service in Dubai. They should be classified to speed up editing and localization. The text inside an image should be minimal. A lot of text means a new layered source file and the translated text restored as a separate layer, which means more desktop publishing work, and more hours.

Lastly, a labor-saving tip: Images should never be embedded in a post. Linking is a much better option for making files lighter.

Translating large volumes of content in multiple languages ​​means managing teams of translators. Availability can have its weight and content translation is an ongoing process. Brands need to maintain consistency across their multiple channels and month after month. This can only be achieved if the translation service in Abu Dhabi or brand managers work with a glossary of terminology or an official database. Even a simple Excel file will suffice: it is the responsibility of the professional translation company to employ tools to use these assets centrally with their translators. This will also ensure fast delivery of each translation project and reduce the time it takes for proofreaders/reviewers to validate the final version before approving it.

This ties into content preparation again. A final document is a translation job, while various changes or modifications mean starting and stopping the process and translators in multiple languages. The translation company should have a system for tracking changes, but in the language industry, this means human intervention. It means multiple emails and calls… even for a single word. Changes should be requested in batches or in stages to avoid working with multiple versions of a document. micromanagement: unnecessary phone calls

Some of the translation and localization costs actually cost much more than they should because of the excessive iterations.