HOW TO: Balancing Email Accessibility With Design
Don’t be that brand, you now the one.
In 2022 it’s imperative that brands authentically reflect a range of backgrounds, experiences and abilities in their marketing so customers feel included and recognised.
In the area of digital marketing we need to go a step further than face value. Casting a diverse range of models for a campaign is a positive step but what if someone with vision impairment can't access your content?
Email marketing falls into the digital accessibility bucket which addresses the notion of creating digital assets that everyone can access regardless.
It's an element which often falls by the wayside so to help get your brand on the accessibility front foot keep reading and be sure to try our checklist tips - you can start applying some of these straight away.
What is digital/email accessibility?
Digital accessibility is concerned with ensuring all digital assets (including email) are fully accessible to everyone. Most digital media is consumed in a format which isn’t optimised with inclusivity in mind, limiting brand reach and potentially tarnishing the brand experience.
Email accessibility means your emails are designed and built using best practice methods which allow email content to be consumed via a screen reader for those with vision impairment or injury. Every customer regardless of ability should be able to easily access email content, navigate to your website, browse and make a purchase without guesswork.
Why you should adopt email accessibility methods
A Deloitte survey of 11,500 global consumers, found the youngest respondents (from 18 to 25 years old) took more notice of inclusive advertising when making purchase decisions. As this group of consumers ages, their beliefs and ideals will be passed onto future generations so even if they make up only a small portion of your database right now, the flow on effect will be even more transformative.
Here’s 5 tips on why you should start adapting your email marketing so it’s more accessible:
1. Improved reach
Accessible emails means you’ll be reaching a wider audience e.g. people with disabilities, the elderly, and other social groups. Given email's high penetration, you can expect that improvements you make in this channel will assist in reaching reach a sizeable audience.
2. Positive user experience
Providing equal access to your content creates better experiences. By designing your emails with inclusion in mind, you'll improve your users' experience when interacting with your communications.
3. Improved engagement
Better user experience leads to higher engagement which in turn leads to higher conversion, think of it as a domino effect. Easy to consume emails removes barriers which may have been preventing customers from previously engaging.
4. Better brand recognition and recall
Many brands currently aren’t applying email accessibility protocols so rather than follow suit, why not take the lead and set your brand apart from the rest? A consistent brand experience across all digital channels is a key contributor to brand recognition and recall afterall.
5. Better inclusion leading to better brand value
Consumers now expect their favourite brands to align with their values and beliefs and by creating accessible emails, you will be demonstrating an understanding of your customers, support their beliefs, and offer real value.
Email accessibility checklist;
Not sure where to start? Here’s a checklist you can start applying today and if you’re using advanced coding, check in with your developer/designer to make sure they are coding using accessible design language.
Subject line and pre-header are short and sweet using sentence or title case, emojis used sparingly
Copy is direct and succinct and provided in bite sized chunks
Email flows in a logical reading order
The font size used is 14px or larger
Hyperlink text uses descriptive words
Text-background colour contrast ratio has been considered
Web-safe fonts or custom fonts with a fallback font are used
Email body line length is between 45-75 characters
Line height is 1.5 times the font size used
GIF file sizes are low and transitions are smooth
Alt text included for images, GIF’s and CTA’s
There’s enough white space in your email
CTA’s use a strong colour contrast
CTA’s are clickable using a keyboard
Clear labels have been added to the CTA and other links
As a brand, striving to deliver the best in class email experience to ALL subscribers should be your top priority. Expanding your marketing program to include accessibility as part of your diversity pillar is a commitment we are looking forward to seeing more brands adopt this year!
Need a hand getting there? We got you.
📧 contact@justsenditmarketing.com.au | 📱 0432 926 782