Example (original AI output in Spanish):<\/strong><\/p>\nHere\u2019s what we aimed for in English:<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw you were scoping around the platform and that you were interested in speaking with us. Would you like to meet on one of the following days?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThis is the original output in Spanish:<\/p>\n
\u201cEstuve revisando tus interacciones en nuestra plataforma y quer\u00eda ofrecerme como tu punto de contacto.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nIn English, it translates to:<\/p>\n
\u201cI reviewed your activity and wanted to become your point of contact.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nWhile grammatically correct, this sounded invasive<\/em> in Spanish \u2014 like we were watching the user too closely. It didn\u2019t feel natural. One reviewer called it \u201ccreepy.\u201d<\/p>\nHere\u2019s another example:<\/p>\n
\n- Original English intent: <\/strong>\u201cI noticed you\u2019ve been exploring our platform and expressed interest in connecting with us.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- Original Spanish output:<\/strong> \u201cMe pareci\u00f3 interesante tu inter\u00e9s en nuestros servicios.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- Translation in English:<\/strong> \u201cI found your interest in our services interesting.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Again, it\u2019s technically accurate, but it\u2019s redundant and robotic. It\u2019s the kind of phrasing that makes a reader stop and go, \u201cDid a bot write this?\u201d<\/p>\n
The takeaway: <\/strong>Even when the translation is accurate, the tone<\/em> can be off. And tone is everything in marketing.<\/p>\nThe Shift from Translation to Language-aware Prompt Design<\/strong><\/h2>\nAt this point, I realized we needed more than AI outputs \u2014 we needed a system<\/strong> for guiding the AI to think like a multilingual marketer.<\/p>\nI built a language-portable prompt framework<\/strong> \u2014 a structured prompt that could adapt across languages while respecting each one’s unique grammar, tone, and cultural context.<\/p>\nHere\u2019s What Changed<\/strong><\/h3>\nInstead of one static prompt, I broke the logic into variables:<\/p>\n
\n- : Target language (e.g., Spanish, French, German)<\/li>\n
- : Pronoun and tone level (\u201ctu\u201d vs. \u201custed\u201d, \u201cvous\u201d vs. \u201ctu\u201d)<\/li>\n
- : Inbox-friendly, conversational, professional<\/li>\n
- : Direct vs. suggestive phrasing<\/li>\n
- : Enforced where grammar allowed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We also added clear, language-specific rules.<\/p>\n
Example (Spanish):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Use t\u00fa<\/em> consistently, never usted<\/em> (too formal for our brand)<\/li>\n
- Avoid gendered adjectives like interesado\/interesada<\/em> when possible
\u2705 \u201cMostraste inter\u00e9s en \u2026 \u201d
<\/em> \u274c \u201cEstuviste interesado en \u2026 \u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nExample (French):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Always use vous<\/em>, not tu<\/em>, in B2B messages<\/li>\n
- Avoid ambiguous endings like int\u00e9ress\u00e9(e)
<\/em> \u2705 \u201cVous avez montr\u00e9 de l\u2019int\u00e9r\u00eat \u2026 \u201d
<\/em> \u274c \u201cTu t\u2019\u00e9tais int\u00e9ress\u00e9(e) \u2026 \u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhy This Shift Mattered<\/strong><\/h3>\nIn English, a friendly CTA might look like:<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you be available for a brief conversation on one of the following days?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nWe tried directly translating it into Spanish:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u00bfQuieres agendar 15 minutos para hablar sobre lo que est\u00e1s buscando?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nIt was grammatically correct, but it sounded too casual<\/em> and unprofessional in a B2B context. Not pushy, just slightly off-tone.<\/p>\nSo, we reworded it to be friendly but formal:<\/p>\n
\u201cSi te parece bien, podemos agendar una conversaci\u00f3n breve esta semana.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThis translates to:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it works for you, we can schedule a short chat this week.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nHere\u2019s another example in French:<\/p>\n
\n- Original output<\/strong>: <\/strong>\u201cSouhaitez-vous prendre rendez-vous pour en discuter ?\u201d
<\/em> (\u201cWould you like to schedule a meeting to discuss this?\u201d<\/em>)<\/li>\n- New version: <\/strong>\u201cAuriez-vous 20 minutes pour voir comment HubSpot pourrait concr\u00e8tement vous aider?\u201d<\/em> (\u201cWould you have 20 minutes to see how HubSpot could practically support you?\u201d<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The second version adds value to the CTA. Not just time \u2014 but purpose.<\/p>\n
Backing It Up With a Stakeholder Questionnaire<\/strong><\/h2>\nLocalization isn\u2019t just a linguistic issue \u2014 it\u2019s a business alignment issue.<\/p>\n
To get it right, I created a simple stakeholder intake doc and shared it with marketing ops, regional marketers, and content leads. The goal was to align early on tone, content boundaries, and regional sensitivities.<\/p>\n
These are some of the questions I asked:<\/p>\n
\n- What level of formality is appropriate in your market?<\/li>\n
- Should we avoid gendered terms?<\/li>\n
- Can we reference the user\u2019s company or product usage?<\/li>\n
- How direct should we be in asking for action?<\/li>\n
- Are there idioms, cultural references, or phrasings we should avoid?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
We got some pretty interesting insights.<\/p>\n
For example, in some regions, stakeholders preferred not<\/em> to reference the recipient\u2019s company type in the copy, even though that was common in English (e.g., \u201cI saw that you help startups with HR\u201d).<\/p>\nThe localized alternative became more general:<\/p>\n
\u201cEntiendo que est\u00e1n buscando formas de mejorar sus procesos internos.\u201d <\/em>(\u201cI understand you\u2019re looking to improve internal processes.\u201d<\/em>)<\/p>\nThe results of this survey helped create clarity between content, ops, and regional marketing teams \u2014 and dramatically reduced our revision cycles.<\/p>\n
The Final Product: Human-sounding Emails at Scale<\/strong><\/h2>\nWith the updated prompt and intake framework, the new outputs were instantly better.<\/p>\n
Before:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Original output: <\/strong>\u201cHola [FirstName], soy Mar\u00eda de HubSpot. He visto que has navegado nuestra plataforma y parece que te interesa nuestro producto.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- English translation: <\/strong>\u201cHi [FirstName], I\u2019m Mar\u00eda from HubSpot. I saw you\u2019ve browsed our platform and it seems you\u2019re interested in our product.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
After:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Original output: <\/strong>\u201cSoy Mar\u00eda de HubSpot. Vi que estuviste explorando la plataforma y que quer\u00edas saber m\u00e1s sobre c\u00f3mo podemos apoyar tu negocio.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n
- English translation:<\/strong> \u201cI\u2019m Mar\u00eda from HubSpot. I saw you were exploring the platform and wanted to learn more about how we can support your business.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
And stakeholders responded positively:<\/p>\n