Myths about accessibility in email marketing

Category: Email Marketing

Accessibility is surrounded by myths, like many other areas related to technology and marketing. It's easy to believe the phrases you hear, but it's a mistake because they are often based on bad practice, perpetuating the lie and holding back the experimentation that would lead to better design. Accessibility in email marketing benefits the entire contact list, not just people with vision, hearing, motor or cognitive impairments as is often believed, and it's not as complicated as it sounds because of its technical component. Let's debunk these and other myths about accessibility in email marketing!

 

Accessibility helps only people with disabilities

This myth is perhaps the most widespread, but it is false that accessibility is only for those who use a reading device, have difficulty reading the screen or do not distinguish colours well. Of course, it helps them and is therefore considered to be the group that benefits most, but the adjustments that are made also help to make emails more understandable, benefiting all recipients.

The most obvious example is the use of ALT tags to describe the pictures in a campaign: they help both reading devices and people who have blocked the pictures to know what they are about.

 

An accessible template will always be accessible

When the first email marketing template is designed, it is when most efforts are made to ensure that it is displayed correctly on all devices, especially mobile devices. It is then when you have to take accessibility into account so that the base on which future campaigns will be built is a good one. However, this is not the only time to be concerned about it.

 

On the one hand, it is normal to make design changes, even if they seem as minor as adding a new image, but each of them can ruin an element that makes the mailing less accessible. On the other hand, browsers and operating systems change, so it is important to be aware of whether or not they affect the original template. Regular audits are one way of ensuring that standards are maintained.

 

Accessible design is less creative

Following a standard always means setting certain limits on what you can and cannot do. They are the same for everyone, so this should not be seen as a negative thing. If the design of a campaign, such as a website, is approached from an accessibility angle, you have to adapt to the accepted criteria and elements. Some may not be the first choice, but it is possible to maintain the creativity of the message.

In fact, it could be said that ensuring that the design correctly follows the structure set by accessibility standards is a way of demonstrating the skills of the programming team to make the result as attractive as if there were no limits. Meeting the expectations of the users, of all of them, is a challenge that is overcome by being creative in the solutions provided.

 

Accessibility in email marketing is complicated

If you read words like HTML or CSS and get scared, it's clear that you believe this myth. Everything that sounds like technology may seem difficult, but it's not as difficult as it seems. Even less so nowadays, when artificial intelligence is already very present helping and simplifying tasks in the marketing area.

The reality is that working in email marketing requires getting used to the technological component if you want to get the most out of it. The good news is that professional platforms are working to make campaign editors easy to use and include automatic systems to check with one click how different users will see it. Making a campaign inclusive may not be the main goal, but taking that step is not complicated and helps conversions, which may be what you are aiming for.

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