Working As An International Copywriter

Most English-speaking copywriters, whether they’re in the UK, the US or Canada, tend to write their copy in English for native businesses. But in these days of economic woe, it’s increasingly necessary to spread our wings and look for work elsewhere.
Some English-speaking copywriters have begun to work internationally. That doesn’t mean upping sticks and relocating. This is the age of the Internet, after all. But it does mean you have to bear a few things in mind when writing for an audience whose first language isn’t English.
1 Humour doesn’t translate
Many copywriters are copywriters simply because they have a great sense of humour and it works well for them in print ads and in website writing. However, there are several cultures, particularly mid-European such as Germany and Italy, where humour just won’t translate. Obviously, there are exceptions. One of the most obvious is in airport advertising, where there are vast numbers of foreign business people reading your billboard ads. Airports tend to feature lots of adverts written by English native copywriters. The ones written by German or French speakers are pretty easy to spot, too.
2 Stop playing with words
While humour can still have its place, one thing you really want to avoid in international copywriting is plays on words. Now, this is one of the great appeals of copywriting for many. It’s why we became copywriters in the first place. We like playing with words. Consider a well-known phrase – let’s say ‘dead in the water’. Use this in your international copy and chances are you’ll have a lawsuit on your head, because it will get lost in translation in some way. As an international copywriter, you need to consider using plain English, which will at least make your job that much easier.
3 Humor or humour?
As an international copywriter, you need to get used to changing nappies for diapers. If you’re a US copywriter, you probably consider US English as standard English. UK copywriters feel the same about ‘English’ English. But many European companies doing business internationally use US English. Be clear from the outset and research those US spellings.
4 Be flexible
Things are different overseas – it’s like another country. Many US and UK ad agencies have huge departments entirely given over to proofing and editing.
Copywriters tend to just come up with the concept, scribble a few words of body copy and then hand the whole thing over for a spot of polishing. As an international copywriter, you are your own proofreader and editor all rolled into one. In fact, a lot of your time will be devoted to sorting out poor English translations. It’s a much wider remit.
Get all this right and you’ll make a great job of international copywriting – and might even beat the recession.