Can you be called Else and still be a native speaker? Sure, you can! I may be the only one, though.
Lived experience of both the United States and Germany has familiarized me with the gulf between German and American communication styles. What began as a personal interest has now turned into a career.
It sounds simple at first: The more people you reach, the larger your audience. English has the potential to unlock an almost global market for you.
But there’s a catch: Do you want to invest time and money in copy that clients and prospects never connect with? Or even stumble into embarrassing language fails? English can trip you up whether you are posting on Instagram or writing a white paper. Target markets that are physically far way or less familiar make it even harder to get it right.
To really engage your audience, you want to communicate your German company and mindset in a way that resonates with your English-speaking target group. You’re literally trying to unite two worlds.
For the last ten years, I have been helping German companies reach out to English-speaking markets. It’s something I’m good at because I know both the American and the German way of life.
Fail to keep up with the world and you’ll become more extinct than the dinosaurs. Language change, new tools, new methods, market changes: There’s always more to learn.
