As a professional writer you?re consistently challenged with creating content that appeals to a wide audience ? and it?s particularly challenging when your content is being translated into one or more languages.
As a language service provider, we?re consistently challenged to be the driving force behind the success of your company?s translated content. If we can?t get your copy to resonate with a foreign audience, who will?
While that?s generally true, there is also a part of multilingual content satisfaction that lies within the hands of the original author ? you.
If this comes as a surprise, you?re not alone. We?ve partnered with many global writers and marketers to show them how authoring with translation in mind fosters better content for global companies. So to help you out too, here are six writing tips for creating global content.
1.?????? Make your intentions obvious.
Be certain your global content has a clear, focused purpose. Whether you?re a technical writer explaining how a particular product works, or an advertising specialist sharing your company?s latest deals ? every message has a purpose that needs to trigger the desired response from your audience (no matter which market they?re in). If your content has multiple angles and purposes, it can make it difficult to translate into another language. If you make sure everyone has a clear understanding of what your content?s intention is, then translation won?t be an issue.
2.?????? Know your global audience.
Don?t lose the attention of your foreign audience by focusing too much on your in-country customer when creating copy. Those who purchase your products or read your materials abroad may not respond as positively to your messaging if it wasn?t created with their characteristics in mind. While it?s a language service provider?s job to tailor your message to a foreign audience, it?s best that you also have an understanding of the intended audience?s cultural profile so it comes across in your global content.
3.?????? Keep culture under consideration.
Always try to keep cultural, economic and societal specifics out of messaging that will require translation. These things, such as regional jargon, can make the translation process much more difficult for a translator (and more expensive and time-consuming for you). Another no-no is using your organization?s lingo or ?corporate culture speak?. Unless consumers already know your company and its specific terminology, they?re not going to understand your lingo. Instead, focus on making your messaging less regionally-constrictive and more universally adoptable.
4.?????? Don?t let creativity become a constriction.
Being a global marketer is a creative job, but if you overlook the fundamentals of writing and bend the rules too much it can be a hassle during translation. While creative copy may make sense to your in-country audience, the messaging may stray when presented in another language. Avoid this by creating more consistent global content. And if you think that will diminish the style of your messaging, look into transcreation ? a translation process that focuses more on tailoring your entire marketing strategy for a new foreign market.
?5.?????? Be open to reiterated messaging.
Many times marketers and global content creators start to feel like they are repeating themselves in the variety of global content they?ve created ? and this isn?t a bad thing. If your company?s communications have similarities, it helps keep messaging consistent and translation prices lower and more predictable. If you?re not using them already, look in to translation memory services which store your previously translated segments. Then when it?s time to translate new documents you can leverage the existing messages across the organization ? and avoid paying new word rates for something you?ve translated before.
6.?????? Use authoring tools to drive consistency.
If you have multiple authors creating content, it can be a struggle to keep messaging consistent. That?s why it?s important to create authoring tools which help your global marketing team keep messaging suited for translation. Creating style guides and glossaries lets your team know what terminology, style and usage should be used in any instance. These tools are also beneficial for your language service provider because they help your provider keep your messaging and style consistent when translating your content into a target language. For more on this topic, check out our blog post Style guides and glossaries: Critical tools to improve your translations.
These are just a few of the ways you can help create globally adaptable content well before it falls into the hands of your language service provider. If you?re looking for more ways to ensure translation quality while authoring global content, download our best practices brief Authoring for translations: Ensuring quality from the start.
Do you author content that is often translated? If so, what are some of the processes you use to author for international success?
Related posts:
Designed to perfection: 5 ways to simplify multilingual DTP
5 must do tactics for effective website localization
International social media: Taking your strategy global
Source: http://www.sajan.com/blog/6-writing-tips-for-creating-global-content/
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