• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

  • Microsoft Word
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • PowerPoint
  • Writing
  • Editing

Content Localization Tips

By Erin Wright

Content Localization Tips | Image of Globe on Bronze BaseLast week’s post introduced content localization, which is the process of tailoring content for specific areas. Today’s post extends that topic with several content localization tips for business writing.

Sometimes content localization requires complete translation, and sometimes it adapts the existing language for cultural or geographic differences. If your business has international customers or clients, you may want to localize the following material:

  • Website content
  • Website interfaces (e.g., menus, call-to-action buttons, contact forms)
  • Blog posts
  • Newsletters
  • Brochures
  • Business cards
  • Product descriptions in print and online catalogs
  • Scripts for telephone and online customer service representatives
  • Scripts for radio and television commercials
  • Print and online advertisements
  • Signs and banners
  • Instructions and manuals
  • Case studies and white papers
  • Warranties
  • Legal notices

Here are a few suggestions for individual entrepreneurs or small businesses that may not have access to a dedicated localization team:

  • Recruit a member of the target audience—or someone very familiar with the target audience—to analyze the content for cultural or geographic issues (before translation, if translation is necessary). If you have a lot of material, you may need more than one analyst.
  • Review all of the graphics, photographs, audio files, and videos associated with the text.
  • Hire a professional translator from the target audience or a translator very familiar with the target audience.
  • Conduct usability tests with a variety of people associated with the target audience.
  • Reevaluate localized content on a regular basis, particularly if your target audience lives in an area with frequent political or cultural shifts.

Remember that your international clients or customers may appreciate some of the cultural or language differences that appear in your content, particularly if you are in a creative industry. As such, you should be wary of completely sanitizing your own geographic or cultural voice.

My Very Occasional Book Review Series will return next week with a look at Blog Inc. by Joy Deangdeelert Cho.

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: business writing

Home » Content Localization Tips

Primary Sidebar

Meet the Author

Technical Writer and Editor Erin Wright

Hello! My name is Erin. I am a technical writer and editor who shares writing-related software tutorials on this website and on YouTube.

Recent Tutorials

How to Create Run-In Headings in Microsoft Word (Indented & Left-Aligned)

How to Insert Text into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Export PDF Tables from Adobe Acrobat to Excel (PC & Mac)

How to Insert Images into Shapes in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Align the Periods in Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

Explore More Tutorials

  • Microsoft Word
  • Adobe Acrobat
  • PowerPoint
  • Writing
  • Editing

Footer

  • Microsoft Word Tutorials
  • Adobe Acrobat Tutorials
  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Writing Tips
  • Editing Tips
  • Writing-Related Resources
  • About Me
  • Contact
Email: erinwrightwriting@gmail.com
Phone: 708-669-9503

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

© Erin Wright, 2012–2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this website’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Erin Wright with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.