DO NOT translate your sales copy in Spanish

Happy Tuesday!

Okay so I've been seeing a few sales letters on CB lately in Spanish and... they're completely horrible.

Why? My best guess is the product creators decided translating their great English copy to Spanish would bring in just as many sales...

I say this because I reviewed one dude's copy in English and it's converting very well... but his Spanish version is off the mark.

If you're thinking about translating your copy to rope in a wider audience, don't do it.

Hire a native Spanish speaker who knows how to hit a variety of angles within the Spanish culture and have him write it from scratch because it's a whole different avenue, trust me.

Translated copy reads formal, far from conversational or personal. And the words are jumbled up a bit. Almost like it was spun by software or the person who wrote it took a quick Rosetta Stone course, just saying.

Being from NY, and Puerto Rican, I grew up speaking both. Just like there are words that bring about curiosity and excitement in American culture, the same is true for Latinos. That's why commercials like Sears, Wal-Mart and McDonalds have a different approach when targeting Latinos.

I can go on and on and on about it but I just thought I'd give you a heads up just in case you get a client who asks if you can get his copy translated (or if you're doing it for your own product).

Toodles,

Lina