What are the Differences Between US and UK Marketing Emails?
Bird
Aug 20, 2018
1 min read
Key Takeaways
Premise: Although the U.S. and U.K. share a language, their email marketing styles differ culturally and tonally, affecting engagement and conversion.
Goal: Equip marketers to localize campaigns effectively by adapting tone, structure, and persuasion style for each audience.
Highlights:
Message length and tone:
U.S. emails are shorter, punchier, and more upbeat, leading directly to the CTA.
U.K. emails are longer and more reserved, often requiring more reading to find the main action.
Adaptation tip: Keep it brief for American audiences; expand and contextualize for British readers.
Building credibility:
British audiences respond strongly to evidence and social proof such as reviews and testimonials.
American audiences appreciate these too but prioritize clarity and immediacy over depth.
For U.K. campaigns, always include third-party validation to support claims.
Use of celebrity influence:
U.S. brands (and even political campaigns) frequently leverage celebrity endorsements and sender names to drive engagement.
U.K. brands rely more on institutional trust and brand voice, with limited use of celebrity figures.
Language style and spelling:
American emails favor abbreviations and internet slang (“OMG,” “FTW”), whereas U.K. audiences prefer formal, fully spelled-out language.
Adjust both word choice and spelling variants (e.g., “color” vs. “colour”) for authenticity.
Universal principle:
Regardless of tone or format, both regions value targeted, relevant content that informs and adds value — not filler.
Without localized tone and message structure, even well-crafted campaigns risk being ignored — or worse, marked as spam (or “rubbish”).
Q&A Highlights
What’s the biggest difference between U.S. and U.K. marketing emails?
U.S. emails are concise and direct, while U.K. emails are longer, more descriptive, and subtler in persuasion.
How should tone differ when marketing to each audience?
Americans prefer energetic, action-driven copy; British audiences appreciate modesty and nuance.
Do testimonials matter more in one region?
Yes — they’re crucial in the U.K., where credibility and reviews heavily influence buying decisions.
Should I use celebrity endorsements globally?
Use them carefully — effective in the U.S., but often seen as inauthentic or excessive in the U.K.
How should marketers handle slang and abbreviations?
Keep them in U.S. campaigns where casual tone is common; avoid in U.K. emails to maintain professionalism.
What’s the common ground between both?
Both markets respond best to personalized, relevant, and clearly valuable content — style differs, intent doesn’t.
While the US and UK share the same language, the way in which it is used in email marketing in the two countries is quite different! Because of this, when targeting both American and British customers it’s important to consider both the obvious and nuanced cultural differences between the countries exhibited in their varying email strategies.
While the US and UK share the same language, the way in which it is used in email marketing in the two countries is quite different! Because of this, when targeting both American and British customers it’s important to consider both the obvious and nuanced cultural differences between the countries exhibited in their varying email strategies. While sometimes it may be as easy as switching “soccer” to “football”, other times the necessary changes may be trickier to identify! Luckily, we’ve compiled the the top 4 differences between US and UK marketing emails, check them out below:
Differences Between US and UK Marketing Emails
Message Length
Emails sent from American companies tend to use an upbeat tone and direct language. By contrast, British emails are typically longer and make customers work a bit harder to find the call to action. British marketers beware– when it comes to sending emails to American customers shorter is better. Conversely, American marketers should create messaging that mirrors the verbose nature of British marketing emails when sending messages to the UK.
Building a Case
Typically British customers like to read evidence before making a decision with a particular preference for third party reviews. For British brands, including customer testimonials, links to reviews and encouraging customers to leave their feedback is important for creating a conversion. While this certainly won’t hurt a marketing campaign targeted towards Americans it is an absolute must for British email marketing.
Star Power
American email marketers often use celebrity endorsements in email notifications to customers. The American political arena uses this approach particularly well, especially when it comes to raising funds. For instance, the Obama campaign used tailored emails from celebrities to encourage supporters to donate to their cause. Across the pond however, this technique is used sparingly. Rather, British political emails typically only use political candidates or party leadership as the sender.
Spelling it Out
As mentioned, American emails tend to be shorter than those from the UK. What may be surprising is that this actually applies to the length of words used in American and British emails! While it is not rare to see an American marketing email employ abbreviated language like “OMG” or “FTW”, this is actually uncommon in marketing emails from the UK. That said, when sending emails to British customers, when in doubt spell it out!
British marketers write and send email notifications a little differently than those from America. But, despite the differences in email style, American and British email marketers alike focus on delivering updates, offers and news that is targeted and informs users. Ultimately, without this approach to email content, regardless of your message length or tone you run the risk of both American and British customers treating your message like trash…or rubbish.
