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Translation

Better Email can turn one campaign into a family of language versions — full sibling campaigns grouped under the original, drafted by Betty AI, reviewed like any other campaign, and kept in step when the original design changes.

How it works​

The campaign you start from becomes the master. Every language you add becomes its own campaign with the same design:

  • Each language version has its own content, feedback, approvals, pre-flight checks, and export — the whole Campaign Workspace.
  • The family stays connected. Design changes flow from the master to every version, and the Workspace always shows you which versions are up to date.
  • Betty translates the copy — subject line, preheader, and every text field in the campaign — and preserves merge tags, links, and HTML structure exactly.

Before you start​

Translations are enabled per organization. Once the feature is available, an organization admin turns it on and picks the languages under Settings → Translations:

  1. Switch on Enable translations.
  2. Use Add language to build the list of languages your team translates into. Search the common list or enter any language tag directly (for example de-AT).
  3. Save. Removing a language later doesn't affect language versions that already exist.

Translations settings page with translations enabled and German, French, and Swedish configured

If the page says translations are not available on your organization, contact support to have the feature turned on.

Create language versions​

Open the campaign you want to translate and go to the Translations tab in the Workspace:

  1. Click Add languages.
  2. Pick one or more of your organization's languages.
  3. Click Add languages to create the versions.

Add languages dialog with Swedish, German, and French selected

Each language becomes a full campaign immediately — it starts with the original text until you translate it. A good rule of thumb: finish the master's content first, then add languages.

Translate with Betty​

Right after creating versions, use the Translate now shortcut in the banner — or Translate all at any time — to translate every language in one go. Single languages can be translated from the row menu (⋯ → Translate this language).

The Translations tab is the family's dashboard while Betty works and after:

Language versions table showing the English master and German, French, and Swedish versions as AI drafts with all fields translated

  • Status — where each version is in its life: Needs translation, Translating, AI draft, Edited, In review, Approved, or Translation failed.
  • Design — the master revision each version's design is on, and whether it's behind.
  • Copy — how many translatable fields are translated, plus any flagged as stale.
  • Approvals and Export — the same review signals you know from single campaigns.

Betty preserves merge tags such as [first_name] and template expressions byte-for-byte, keeps HTML links untouched, and follows your Tone of Voice in the target language.

Review and edit a version​

Every language version deserves human eyes before it ships. Open a version from the table (or switch with the language switcher next to the campaign name — it lists the master and every version):

Language switcher menu listing the English master and the German, French, and Swedish versions

A language version's editor works exactly like any other campaign, with one addition: a thin banner links back to the master it belongs to.

German language version open in the editor, showing the master banner and the translated hero copy

Edit any field to polish the translation — the version's status changes to Edited so the team can see a human has been in. Reviewers comment and approve per language, and pre-flight checks run per language, so each market signs off on its own version.

Keep versions in step​

When the master's design changes — modules added, layouts adjusted, images swapped — the language versions don't silently drift. Create a revision on the master and the Translations tab tells you who is behind:

Design update banner showing that Rev 3 has design changes and three language versions are on older revisions, with a Push design update button

Click Push design update to bring every version onto the latest design while keeping their translated copy. If the master's text changed too, the matching fields are flagged as stale in the Copy column — use ⋯ → Retranslate stale (or Translate missing fields) on a version to let Betty catch up, or edit the fields yourself.

Translating again overwrites existing translations, including manual edits, so the Workspace asks you to confirm before retranslating a version someone has polished.

Export​

Language versions export like any other campaign — each on its own, from its own Review tab, or all together from the Translations tab with Export all languages (once approvals are configured, the button becomes Export all approved and only ships signed-off versions).

The first export of a language version reuses the master's export settings for the same integration and creates a new asset in your ESP (it never overwrites the master's). Export the master once first, and the whole family exports in one click after that.

Managing the family​

From the row menu (⋯) on the Translations tab you can also:

  • Detach from family — turn a version into a standalone campaign. It keeps its content but no longer receives design updates.
  • Delete language version — move the version to the Trash. Restoring it from the Trash rejoins the family.

Best practices​

  • Finish the master's structure and copy before adding languages — every design change afterwards is one more push.
  • Keep one source of truth: make content changes on the master and let translations follow, rather than editing the same thing in five places.
  • Review links, dates, prices, and legal/footer content per market — correct language isn't the same as correct content.
  • If your campaign uses merge tags or segmentation, verify they still make sense in each language.