International email marketing is the quickest and most cost-effective means of communicating with consumers across the world. However, there are several different hoops to jump through before you complete a successful email campaign. Sending an email with U.S. focus across the globe is bound to land you with a poor rate of return, and here’s why:

1. Language

The first one is the most obvious issue; language barriers. It would be wrong to assume that all email recipients are willing to receive communication in English; therefore, it is important to have a strong grasp of the native language. If this means you need to involve a native speaker in the process then so be it. On the other hand, some countries prefer to receive marketing material in English even if it is not their first language. It is important to understand the preference of the targeted location or you will find very few of your emails convert.

In addition, it is important to understand nuances of the English language across different English speaking countries. For example, there are many different terms in the U.S., U.K. and Australia that are exclusive to that country.

2. Time zones

Second, but just as important is the impact timing can have on the opening success of your emails. This can cause problems in several different ways. To start with, emails sent at the beginning of the working day are proven to have much better open rates than at other times of day. This of course is made problematic by the fact that the start of each country’s working day is different all over the world; therefore, it is important to be able to automate campaigns to run on different time zones.

Time zones also impact upon seasonal campaigns. What kind of a response will a U.S. bikini campaign receive in Australia, when it is winter there? Thousands of campaigns are wasted by this kind of mistake, which shows a lack of understanding about the end consumer.

Finally, holidays differ across countries; some countries do not celebrate certain holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, or they celebrate at different times of year, such as the New Year.

3. Legislation

Legislation is even more crucial to get right. Make a mistake on a large campaign and you could find yourself on rocky ground.

The U.S. CAN-Spam Act gives consumers the right to opt out of email marketing they don’t want to receive but Canada has recently introduced further legislation to protect consumers called Bill C-28. U.K. legislation differs again with regulation on spam, opt in and opt out permissions. Countries vary across the world and one solution to understanding the different laws is to build a relationship with international email service providers (ESPs) that recognise the variations in legislation.

4. Personalization

Finally, another of the basics of getting international email marketing right is to understand behavioural and cultural expectations across geographic location. In some countries, personalization improves open rates with recipients more likely to read material addressed to them. On the other hand, greeting consumers by name, i.e. ‘Dear Joe’ is considered an invasion of privacy by some.

Getting these basics right will set you well on your way to providing a successful international email marketing service but it is by no means a comprehensive list. Understanding your end consumer and their needs is, in short, the fundamental aspect to any email marketing campaign.

Guest Author: Emily Goodyear is PR & Marketing Executive for Email Marketing Specialists WRM-Media. She also writes the company blog at http://wrmmedia.wordpress.com/ looking at the latest industry trends. Follow her on Twitter @Emily_Goodyear or @wrmmedia.