Apps are the perfect product to take into foreign markets. There are no international shipping headaches, you don’t have to open a brick-and-mortar store in the new location, and app translation can get you rolling in the new market in no time. Below, we’ll cover all you need to know about app translation, how to source the service from a translation company, and some bonus tips on how to promote your apps through a blogging network.
Finding App Translation Through a Translation Company
To be absolutely clear, you shouldn’t try to handle your own app translation. Whatever kind of app you’ve developed, shoddy translation can make the app feel cheap or play poorly. One game, for example, instead of reading “try again” or “game over” when the player lost, included “a life has been lost.” It seems like a small detail, but it read like a passive-voiced obituary for a relative no one liked. Seeing it every time the game ended was an irritation that got in the way of enjoyable gameplay. And that’s just simple text. If your app has audio or complicated text, translation from a translation company will be key to keeping it usable. According to the Tomedes translation blog, audio transcription requires intense concentration and focus, and that’s before you’ve even begun to convert it to the language(s) you need it in.
One of the main ways a translation company can help with your app is understanding how the language translates on a highly nuanced level. Translators know how idioms, phraseology, metaphor, and other figurative language translate into the new language for maximum readability. And that’s before we get into localization (which we’ll cover below).
Why Is App Translation So Important?
Apps are a truly global market. 50% of the countries in the top 10 downloads and revenue in the iOS app store are non-English speaking countries from Europe and East Asia. To get on board with this trend, translation and localization are very important for an app. Localization is the process that handles all details of a product as it gets updated for the new market. App translation is actually part of localization.
One of the main ways in which localization updates an app is to make sure all formats comply with local standards. For instance, the localization process might update currency symbols as part of in-app purchases. It might also update the language selection settings in the app store itself.
Localization can also make sure the product meets local regulations in the new market, such as data and privacy laws. It can also make sure the text is not offensive or inadvertently humorous to the new culture.
Localization also makes sure the app’s layout works with the new language. The layout is especially important for an app since apps must run on a variety of mobile devices and operate intuitively across all of them. The layout may also receive changes to meet local consumer or app use standards. Localization might also update graphic elements to make sure the graphics incorporate the translations and meet local expectations.
Ultimately, localization through a translation company can make sure all parts of the app operate natively within the new culture, from language to consumer habits.
Promoting Your App Through a Blogging Network
Once you have your app translated, or even before the translation begins, it pays to know how you’re going to make foreign audiences aware of your new app.
One method is to promote it through a blogging network. This entails writing blog posts that mention and/or link to your app. What type of app you have will influence what sort of blogging network you pursue. For instance, if you have a financial assistance app, you might write for personal finance blogs. If you have a game app, you might target gaming blogs. If you don’t want to write for these outlets, you might consider purchasing ads on the blogs in your chosen blogging network or paying others to write posts on your behalf.
You’ll need to know the basics of content marketing before using this avenue to promote your app. A few pointers to keep in mind include:
- Always write blog articles that deliver value to readers. Advice, education, news, analysis or how-to formats are ideal. Blog readers are savvy and don’t want to read 900 words that are one glorified app ad. And 79% of blog editors say guest content is too promotional. To go back to the financial app example, you might write a post about the best personal finance tips for the current year. Then you might include a tip about using personal finance apps and mention your app.
- Do diligent research on the blogs you plan to submit to. Make sure they accept linking to your product and promotion.
- If you are promoting your app in another language, keep in mind that you will need to find a translator for your blog posts, as well as for the app itself.