Beyond translation: The challenges of email localization and what we can do about them

In January, I attended the Email Summit 2025 in Odense. One topic kept surfacing in our conversations—email localization. Participants from various industries and countries, especially from the Scandinavian region, shared their experiences in localization. These countries are connected economically, but their different native languages make localization a challenge.

I have noticed that many companies have implemented email localization but face some common challenges. Some start working in Figma (it provides multilingual support), then create Google Docs with texts for different languages, using translation services, such as Crowdin or Localize, or working with native-speaking in-house teams. Everything is then brought back into the emails, reviewed again, and deployed in the email marketing system, making it a multistep process with possible delays and inconsistencies.

Everyone approaches localization in their own way … yet no one gets it perfectly! I decided to write this article to highlight the less obvious issues in email localization processes, explore its common challenges, and suggest solutions.

Localization as another form of personalization

Localization in email marketing is not just a translation of email copy into multiple languages spoken by your subscribers. It also involves adapting the entire content of your emails, including design, tone of voice, and context, to resonate with your recipients from different regions. It helps brands build strong customer relationships and send personalized emails that people want to read.

Even if most of your subscribers are proficient in English, getting your brand’s emails in their native language shows your effort to communicate with them effectively. Here are some statistics to consider:

• localized email campaigns improve conversion rates by 30%;
• 65% of customers prefer content in their native language (even if its quality is lower!);
• GenAI translations combined with human editing are 70–80% faster than the regular human translation and editing process;
• among 4.1 billion internet users, only 16% speak English;
• 55% of customers prefer to buy from brands offering product information in their native language.

Common challenges of email localization

Despite the tempting benefits of email localization (better email performance, personalized experience, and audience enrichment), the path to effective localization presents many challenges.

Here, I expand on the common obstacles that businesses face when localizing their email campaigns:

Translation vs. full localization

Translating emails is not enough to claim that your campaigns are localized for subscribers worldwide. For full localization, it’s crucial to work on language translation, cultural differences, imagery, units of measurement and currency, dates and scheduling, and more, all created with sensitivity to cultural differences.

Example: Sending your US subscribers a Mother’s Day email with discounts on the second Sunday of May is a great idea. However, the same email will seem a bit off to your UK recipients, who celebrate this holiday three weeks before Easter Sunday.

Cultural sensitivity

Always remember local traditions and values; respect them when planning your email campaigns. Overlooking cultural differences can cause misunderstandings or offense.

Example: When brands run summer email campaigns showing swimsuits, they may get tough feedback from their subscribers in more conservative countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In this case, it’s important to work on modest imagery.

Technical compatibility

Emails should be optimized for various devices and clients, particularly for languages with right-to-left (RTL) texts or unique characters, to provide seamless delivery. You should also consider differences in units of measurement and currency, time and date formats, and the current situations in countries worldwide (political events, natural disasters, economic fluctuations, etc.).

Example: An email marketer formatted their email in Arabic for RTL reading, but this email contained product names in English. As a result, alignment issues created a mix of RTL and LTR texts.

Legal and regulatory compliance

Building trust with your subscribers worldwide means following privacy policies, anti-spam laws, and advertising regulations, which can vary, depending on countries and regions.

Example: The French are renowned for their strong cultural identity. If your target audience includes subscribers from France, it’s important to adhere to the Toubon Law—all marketing communications should be in French.

Dynamic content and localization management

Dynamic email content changes based on who receives the email and when it is received. It includes the subscriber’s name, demographics, preferences, RSS feeds, and more. If you lack the right tools, localizing dynamic content can feel more challenging.

Example: A travel company sends personalized emails with local weather information. The data should adjust automatically between Celsius for most countries around the world and Fahrenheit for US subscribers.

Specific email localization challenges businesses face

Now I share some insights from businesses and the specific challenges they encounter. It is exciting to witness their level of interest and the depth of their questions, including practical issues that companies grapple with daily:

• managing multilingual workflows: Companies are worried about content quality and want to find a way to localize their email campaigns and provide valuable content;
• balancing AI with human input: Email professionals seek a balance between using AI and human proofreaders for email translation to maintain quality and speed up the email creation process;
• integrating multilingual data: Brands prefer pulling multilingual data from external sources instead of using manual translation like product feeds or RSS content;
• translation control for shared content: Businesses look for a way to maintain consistency across email elements that don’t change for different email campaigns (footers, headers, and disclaimers), without translating them manually for each email;
• banner text translation: Another challenge is translating text embedded in an image, particularly banner text, which is difficult to manage and automate without proper design considerations.

I noticed that these issues are not unique to the industry but are relevant for experts operating in different sectors and company sizes.

Ideas to overcome localization challenges

Based on these challenges, I outlined some potential solutions that could be useful for email experts:

Enhanced AI-powered translation

Move beyond Google Translate. Opt for advanced AI models, such as OpenAI or other large language models, to automate translation but with customizable instructions for each language. You can control the tone of voice, vocabulary, and grammar, ensuring that translations are contextually relevant and culturally appropriate for subscribers across the globe.

Automated banner text translation

Implement an automated system for banner texts that can dynamically translate the texts overlaid on images. It will help you maintain consistency across multiple languages without additional manual work. For example, you can use email design tools that support text overlays on images (banners), converting them into images upon export.

Web-based proofreading for real-time edits

It’s a good idea to use a web-based proofreading tool that allows reviewers to easily edit email content and leave comments in its designed format. This way, the email structure remains intact, making the translation process more streamlined and accessible.

Multilingual external data integration

Instead of translating external data, I suggest that companies directly pull the correct language version from the data source to reduce translation errors and increase efficiency. Consider using tools that support external data sources (RSS feeds, product feeds, CSV) and multilingual variations.

Translation control for static content

Some email elements (headers, footers, and disclaimers) should remain unchanged across your campaigns. Multilingual modules would be extremely helpful, allowing marketers to manage reusable content blocks with preapproved translations.

Photo by Il Vagabiondo on Unsplash