During times of recession, we're all looking for new ways to diversify and look for more business. One idea that's becoming more popular is to target an international audience, and try to sell to them. This approach – getting traffic from hitherto ignored countries – could end up bringing a lot of business through your doors.

Did you realise that there are now more non-native English speakers than there are native ones? The good news is that these people are obvious candidates to be new customers, since they should alread by able to understand your site.

But don't be fooled into thinking that it's enough to put your site in front of them untouched. Their ability as speakers will vary wildly and shouldn't be taken for granted. It might be slightly more difficult getting across your company's message.It's important to make sure then, that you optimise your website for those visitors. Be sure to keep your language simple and avoid using too much jargon or slang.

Another way of approaching the problem might be to create a brand new, localised site that offers information tailored to the country you're targetting.You might also choose to show your cultural credentials by including country-specific information on your new site.

For the serious-minded, a site that's 100% translated into the target market's language would be the ulltimate sales tool in that country. In order for this to be successful, each page will have to be translated by hand, which will almost certainly involve the services of a professional translator.

A possible compromise is to translate just part of the website – the core, or most imortant parts.Alternatively, you could focus on a language-specific email marketing campaign that stays in touch with your international audience and at the same time addresses them in the language they find easiest to understand.

Are you looking for a customized calendar for your business? We make a customize calendar that contains holiday dates for over 200 countries – brilliant if you're operating over international borders.

Tags: internet marketing business, online business, small business