January 26, 2023

by James Metzger

How to Make Your Email Marketing Accessible

Email marketing is a critical tool for businesses of all sizes, but it’s important to ensure that your campaigns are accessible for all recipients, including those living with disabilities. In the United States alone, 25% of the population, or 61 million Americans, live with some form of disability.

As email marketers, it’s essential to keep in mind that conditions like dyslexia, colorblindness, and astigmatism can make it harder for some people to digest written content. A recent survey of over 250 email marketers found that while 89% of respondents are either considering implementing accessibility initiatives or currently doing so, only 7% agreed their company has a fully defined accessibility strategy.

The good news is that making basic aesthetic changes can go a long way in ensuring your email marketing campaigns are accessible to all. One key consideration is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides legal guidelines for promoting accessibility and threatens penalties for those who don’t comply. For instance, the ADA requires font sizes be a minimum of 14 points so text is larger and easier to read, and there must be sufficient contrast between the text and background colors.

When working on your next campaign, consider the following:

Embrace white space.

• Don’t overload your emails with too much text, hyperlinks, or images. Be generous with the amount of white space you leave to ensure important content stands out and calls to action aren’t buried. Avoid using full text justification, which makes it more difficult for dyslexic recipients to determine where to start reading.

Enable dark mode capabilities.

• You can also use a media query to glean whether recipients have dark mode enabled on their devices. Dark mode is a boon to photosensitive viewers because it reduces eye strain, placing light text on a dark background. Marketers should alter text formatting and color to make sure messages are compatible with dark mode so users with this setting enabled can digest written content.

Keep it simple.

• Pare back your use of images and tables. Emails should always make sense without visual aids, especially because these are inaccessible to visually impaired recipients using screen readers or smart speakers. Always consider how assistive devices will interpret the elements you include in your messages. If you must include a photo, make sure you employ meaningful alt text to describe what each image shows.

In conclusion, by keeping in mind the accessibility needs of your recipients and following a few simple guidelines, you can ensure that your email marketing campaigns are inclusive and reach a broader audience. Remember, by implementing an email marketing strategy that includes accessibility, you can avoid alienating and excluding 25% of the U.S population. Aspire Marketing is here to help you in every step of the way in creating inclusive and accessible campaigns that will reach a broader audience.