Issue #201 All About Email

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #201 of All About Email!

Last week marked a significant milestone as I celebrated 200 issues of this newsletter, and I’ve got an update on Campfire Email.

This week, my fourth guest author of the summer guides us through the most overlooked inbox barrier.

Take it away, Sarah 👇

The Most Overlooked Inbox Barrier

Aka - Why Accessibility Should Be EVERY Marketer’s Priority

When most email marketers think about problems with their campaigns, they tend to focus on granular issues, such as spam filters, authentication, tracking, etc.

🚨 But they often overlook a vast segment of their audience - people with disabilities.

28% of the US population lives with some disability that can impact whether or not they can access the content in the emails we send (that number is closer to 26% in the EU).

That’s nearly 1 in 4 people who are potentially excluded from your messages every day due to inaccessible emails.

The good news? It doesn’t take a complete overhaul to start making a difference - and as email marketers, we are in a unique position to lead that change.

Where to Start: Ask the Right Questions

The best and easiest place to start is wherever you’re at, of course!

🧠 Whether you work with an agency (or three) or if you have an in-house team, or if you’re a one-person superstar, the best thing you can do is to find out what you/your team are already doing.

Questions to Ask:

1. Who writes the alt text? Do they follow best practices?
   

2. Does your team work within a modular framework? How long ago was that built?
   

3. Do the people who approve the email proofs insist on pixel-perfect perfection, or do they focus more on flexibility and efficiency?
   

4. Who makes the emails, and how?
   

5. How are the emails designed, and does the designer run the colour schemes through a contrast checker? How do you check dark mode?
   

6. Do all of the moving parts of your email process have a cohesive way to communicate? What dynamics are at play to prevent best practices across the board?
   

💡 Even just asking these questions can reveal hidden problems and give you a roadmap for change.

What’s Important: Quick Wins with Big Impact

It can be really hard to know which things need to be resolved first.

You only have so many working hours in a day, and let’s face it, reading through the WCAG is not for the faint of heart.

Luckily, there are numerous resources with lots of information for your continued education (my blog being one of them).

💡 There can be a lot of nuance in accessibility, especially when we add the complication of differing email clients and how they support (or do not) support accessibility best practices.

It’s definitely worth learning more and really digging into, but let’s start with the tried and true top hits that will take your email from impossible to read to more possible to read:

Animated GIFs

The darling of the email marketing world can cause very real problems for some users. 

Animated GIFs:

• Should stop playing after 5 seconds.

• Shouldn’t take up too much of the screen.

• And should avoid flashing.
  

No VML

Vector Markup Language supports rounded corners on buttons and background images in Outlook on PCs, and VML can cause a real mess for some screen readers.

💡 While VML doesn’t always cause accessibility issues on its own, when it does, there’s nothing marketers or developers can do to fix it, because the problem lies within Outlook itself.

Alt Text

✅ Alternative text will always be on the top of my list because it’s something anyone can do to improve their emails.

I have a whole four-part series about alt text that’s worth checking out if you have time, but the most important thing to know for email marketers is that all linked images must have appropriate alternative text in the alt attribute!

Colour Contrast

This issue pops up in every single accessibility audit I’ve ever done, except for one client whose email designs had to go through their accessibility team first.

It is so easy to check your text and CTAs for colour contrast, but so few marketers actually do it.

Intentional Linking Strategy

💡 The days of linking every square pixel of your email are over. Make your email more accessible - and easier for everyone to use - by being intentional about what you link in your emails.

It’s OK to have your CTA be the only link!

Semantic Code

This is particularly challenging for marketers using an email builder, but it’s essential to verify that your email builder can generate accessible code. (Most will claim they can, but I have thoughts.)

Paragraphs should be enclosed in paragraph tags, headings should be enclosed in heading tags, and tables should have a role ‘presentation’ or ‘none’.

Too Much to Tackle Alone? Bring in a Specialist

There are a good number of accessibility specialists (like yours truly) who can conduct a formal audit of your email campaigns and provide you with a list of what needs to change, along with the priority and associated costs.

You might be amazed to discover that most accessibility solutions are actually straightforward and quick to implement, or you might find out that your archaic templated system will require an overhaul.

But only a formal audit can spell that all out for you.

What should you look for in an Accessibility Specialist? 

You’ll want to find someone, ideally, who is certified or at least has the requisite accessibility audit experience, along with email expertise specifically.

💡 I have worked with non-email accessibility folks, and they have been incredibly helpful, but they will require a counterpart email developer to work with.

Accessibility has become a bit of a hot topic recently, which is amazing!

⚠️ However, that does mean that some individuals are taking advantage, so you’ll want to ensure you do your due diligence before undertaking an audit.

Play the “Long Game”

🚨 Without tremendous executive-level support, completely revolutionising your process to be accessible is unlikely to happen overnight. Nor will hiring an auditor save you from all future problems.

Accessibility requires time for your team to learn and adopt new processes, but also because email accessibility is still relatively new, and email clients are lagging behind in support.

🧠 Things can change over time, so it’s important to continue to follow leaders who can help you navigate the space as it changes.

My (Simon’s) Thoughts

Where do I begin?

This is the most comprehensive issue ever dedicated to accessibility, and there is so much good stuff in here!

I know for sure that Sarah would be my first port of call for an accessibility audit.

Some of my highlights:

• Those six “questions to ask“ - what a brilliant place to get started. 🤌

• I do love a GIF, so I’ll be paying much closer attention to these now and making them more accessible.

• An “intentional linking” strategy has really got me thinking, as you all know, I have a lot of links in my emails.

• When it comes to “semantic code“, I agree that ESPs and their accessibility claims are interesting because most of them just aren’t true! (I see it first-hand every day.)

• Being a freelancer, I often feel overwhelmed, so a massive thanks to Sarah for what to look for in an accessibility specialist and what to be wary of.

• It’s definitely a ”long game” and one we all need to play.

🎉 A huge thank you, Sarah and I can’t recommend your blog enough, it’s one of my go-to accessibility resources.

All About Email - Playlist 🎧

I listen to lots of music, particularly when I’m writing newsletters.

Each week, when I hit the publish button, I’ll share the track I am currently listening to and create the most eclectic playlist you’ve probably ever heard.

That’s It For This Week 👋

If you are just joining us or missed my previous summer guest authors, you can catch up:

• Creating Consistent Content - Vicky Smith

• Your Treasure Map to the Inbox - Travis Hazlewood

• I Like Big Buttons (and I Cannot Lie) - Emily Ryan

Next week, I’ll be chatting about “easy carousels” for your emails and sharing some new tools from Jay Oram, and in a couple of weeks, it’s the turn of my next summer guest author, Elizabeth Jacobi.

See you next week!

Email Marketing News & Tips

This week's excellent and insightful email news & tips:

• 🤯 It finally happened - Everyone, check your Litmus account! (I recommend Parcel as an alternative.) (Anne Tomlin)

• 😎 Groups IO - Email Provider Status dashboard, which is very handy for a "gut check" when you're running into email delivery delays and wondering if it's just you. (Al Iverson)

• Insightful - 10 Pitfalls of paid newsletters. (Lex Roman)

• Just send to your most engaged subscribers! - Engaged but Enraged. (Alison Gootee)

• Klaviyo MCP (Beta) - Your own AI email marketing assistant! (Magnet Monster)

• 🔥 Failure Details - Google’s DMARC reports just got smarter: More insight into sender requirement failures. (Valimail)

• International Inbox - How a Spain-Born Founder Built and Runs One of Mexico’s Most Popular Newsletters — From Texas. (Inbox Collective)

• 10+ Examples - How SaaS Companies Announce New Integrations. (Userlist)

• Email List Decay - What it is, how fast it happens, and how verification slows it down. (Email Expert)

• 30k Subscribers - The Multi-Platform Approach That Built a Multi-Six-Figure Newsletter Business. (Growth In Reverse)

• Still Landing In Spam? - Check Under the Floorboards. (Lauren Meyer)

• EAA Fines Explained - What every marketer needs to know. (Action Rocket)

If you have a question about this email or email marketing, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.

I hope you have a great week! 👋