Posted by The role of an email marketer is vital, no matter if we’re talking about a B2B or a B2C company. This job entails many crucial responsibilities – launching and monitoring email campaigns, managing email lists, nurturing leads, etc.
Email marketing jobs are also quite competitive. According to statistics, the job outlook for email marketers (together with all other marketing positions) is 7%, which is higher than average.
Which skills are of most importance for an email marketer?
First and foremost, you should be good at analytics – the skill you’ll need to have a deeper understanding of your audience and the target market in general.
Next, a successful email marketer knows how and when to rely on automation to deliver the best email marketing experience.
Finally, you should know how to create engaging content that targets the needs of your audience. It is hard to make any email marketing campaign work if it doesn’t cater to the target buyer’s needs.
But where do language skills fit here? How can the knowledge of at least one foreign language impact your job success?
Here are a few ways language skills can turn your career around as an email marketer.
1. Understand Global Email Marketing Trends
Email marketing is a global phenomenon. That’s why, when a new email marketing trend emerges, it usually doesn’t have a local impact.
The knowledge of a foreign language can help you learn more about the trends that are emerging overseas. It can happen that a foreign company generates a certain email marketing trend. So, if you know the language of the country this company is coming from, it can help you trace the history of this trend and see how you can apply it.
Thus, foreign language skills can help broaden your search of the current global email marketing trends. As a result, you’ll be able to build a more sustainable content marketing strategy for your next email marketing campaign. Besides, you’ll get a reputation as a knowledgeable expert.
2. Get New Clients
If you are a freelance email marketing consultant, you will benefit from a more diverse portfolio. Knowing a foreign language can help you land new clients from overseas and add these projects to your portfolio to make it more competitive.
Most jobs on the platforms for freelancers come from different countries. For instance, here are just a few recent email marketing projects on Upwork:
Credit: Upwork
As you can see, two out of three jobs come from countries where English is not the first language. There are also plenty of projects that require a freelancer to know a foreign language. For instance, here’s a job for an email marketer to write email copies both in English and in Spanish:
Credit: Upwork
Of course, you will need a more advanced knowledge of any language to land projects abroad. But you will always have to start with the basics. If you found a great company from Italy you want to work with, start with essential Italian words and phrases and learn how to read. You need to have at least a B1 or ideally a B2 level to land a job overseas.
Here’s why it’s better to know the language of the client you want to work with. Most of them probably speak English, but if you talk to them in their language, it will be easier for you to build a rapport. Besides, the knowledge of the client’s language can help avoid misunderstandings in the work process.
3. Run International Email Marketing Campaigns
If it has always been your dream to move to another country, and you’re currently searching for an email marketer position abroad, you will need a foreign language to outcompete all other applicants for the job.
Why?
It’s normal for a company to look for local experts first before inviting someone from abroad. Often, such a decision is forced by the local laws of a particular country. And, if a company cannot find someone on a local job market, then their decision to bring a person from a different country is justified.
If you know a foreign language, you have more chances to have your application considered. Besides, in most cases, you will have to know the foreign language to understand the job ad. Italian companies, for example, post job ads mostly in Italian:
Besides, as we already mentioned, it will be easier for you to build a rapport with a recruiter during your job interview. And, since the knowledge of a language equals the knowledge of a culture, it will help you not make embarrassing mistakes during your interview.
4. Get a Promotion Faster
Lastly, there is a big chance that you get promoted faster if you know at least one foreign language. There’s evidence proving that it’s not an empty claim.
According to EF Education, there are eight languages that have proven to be useful in every industry – English, French, Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese, Italian, and Japanese. The popularity of these languages is tied to their role in global commerce and to the number of people speaking these languages worldwide.
What’s in it for you as an email marketer?
If you speak at least one of these languages, you are already a valuable asset to the company. You are more versatile, can handle more diverse tasks, and can handle international communication with partners and customers.
Besides, if a company decides to expand to a foreign market, they already have you as an expert in the target market. According to British Council, 60% of companies cannot expand abroad because they lack employees who speak and understand foreign languages.
So, if you speak at least one foreign language, it already puts you forward and makes you a more desired candidate compared to other job applicants. And, your chances to get a promotion are higher since knowing a foreign language makes you more valuable to the company.
Over to You
Of course, the knowledge of a foreign language is not the primary skill for an email marketer. If you’re just starting this career path, focus on more relevant skills, including analytics, content management, and automation.
However, if you want to reach new heights and land new career gigs, knowing at least one foreign language can be of great help.
First of all, you’ll be able to learn about email marketing trends coming from abroad. Knowing at least one foreign language will also help you land new clients and run international email marketing campaigns, benefiting your portfolio and career, especially if you’re a freelancer.
But most importantly, the knowledge of a foreign language can speed up your promotion as it makes you a valuable asset to a company.
With foreign languages, be ready to start small – you will have to master the basics before you can get to a more advanced level. But keep in mind – consistency is crucial if you want your deepen your knowledge and enhance your language skills.
About the author: Ryan is a passionate blogger and writer who likes sharing his thoughts and. Now he works as a content editor and internet researcher, you can check his website. He likes to travel and explore new countries.