How can you write email marketing copy that is accessible to all audiences?

Most email marketing tools today have personalisation token that you can tap on, and today, you can personalise even on videos and video thumbnails

The subject line is the very first thing your recipients see when they receive an email from you. It serves as a window into the content that awaits them inside. Therefore, it is crucial to make it concise, engaging, and most importantly, relevant to the email's content. This will entice your recipients to open and engage with the message you have carefully crafted.

Some tips to achieve 1. Use clear and concise language: Write in a simple and understandable manner, avoiding jargon or complex terminology. 2. Use a conversational tone: Write as if you're having a conversation with a friend. 3. Keep sentences and paragraphs short: Short sentences and paragraphs make the text easier to read and comprehend, particularly individuals with cognitive disabilities or limited reading abilities. 4. Utilize formatting techniques 5. Ensure readability 6. Add alt text to images: 7. Provide text alternatives 8. Create accessible links: Use descriptive anchor text for hyperlinks instead of generic phrases like "click here." 9. Test your email's accessibility 10. Be inclusive and diverse

Writing email marketing copy that's accessible to all audiences is vital for success. Key tips include using simple language, providing alt text for images, selecting readable fonts and high-contrast colors, and ensuring mobile responsiveness. Regular testing with accessibility tools and user feedback will help fine-tune your approach, making your campaigns more inclusive and effective

Accessibility encompasses more than technical aspects. It’s a holistic commitment to inclusivity, ensuring that content is open to individuals of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and identities. Beyond technical accessibility, it addresses gender, language, geography, sexual orientation, and supports decolonization efforts. In Higher Education and beyond, this comprehensive approach fosters equitable opportunities, strengthens your ethical foundation, and ultimately benefits both your institution and the broader community.

I test my email copy for accessibility by using tools like Axe or WAVE to check heading structure, alt text, and color contrast. I ensure a clear message and provide a text version for screen readers. Testing across different email clients and devices ensures a seamless experience for all subscribers, including those with disabilities.

Testing your email copy for accessibility is a non-negotiable step in modern email marketing. Using screen readers, color contrast checkers, and email preview tools ensures that your message reaches and resonates with a diverse audience, adhering to accessibility standards. Inclusivity and user-friendliness are the keys to effective communication

Ensuring accessibility in email campaigns is paramount. It's not just about tools, though. It's equally crucial to involve individuals from diverse backgrounds and abilities in the testing phase. Real-world feedback and insights from these users can uncover nuances that automated tools may miss, contributing to a more genuinely inclusive email campaign that resonates with a broader audience.

Mastering accessible, concise email copy is a craft you can perfect. Personally, I've found the less is more principle to be golden. Start by keeping your sentences short, precise, and based on single ideas - this guarantees readability. Use plain language and eschew jargon; not everyone might be familiar with industry terminologies. Be direct and state your intent at the beginning: your 'Why'. Choose active voice over passive for a stronger impact. And always, always proofread; clear communication is error-free communication. By harnessing these steps, you'll craft copy that resonates with a broad audience, ultimately driving engagement and results.

As for all marketing communications, it pays to know your specific audience. Invest time familiarising yourself with the keywords they search for, the blogs they read, the social media creators they follow. This will help you grasp the topics, language and style that resonates with them the most.

?? A useful trick to make your email copy short and clear is to split major topics into different emails. By doing this, you can focus on one important topic in each email, making it easier for the receiver to concentrate and reply to them individually. It also allows them to respond to each topic in their own time, without feeling overwhelmed by multiple topics in a single email. ????

Creating accessible texts means, first and foremost, providing recipients with the right context. We receive numerous emails every day from brands we may sometimes not remember or know the reason for contact. Therefore, including a brief introduction that immediately establishes or re-establishes a connection with the recipient is essential to engage people and introduce them to the most important contents of the email itself.

Incorporating alternative text and captions into your email marketing strategy is an essential, yet often overlooked, accessibility technique. As an experienced marketer, I've found that alternative text (alt-text) and captions empower you to reach a broader audience, including those with visual impairments or who utilize screen readers. To harness their full potential, be descriptive and concise when crafting alt-text for your images. Avoid redundant phrases like "image of" or "photo of" and directly describe the visual content. For videos, provide captions to cater to viewers with hearing impairments or those in sound-sensitive environments.

There are some great (free) resources out there to that allow you test your designs and colour choices against a variety of different accessibility and readability options. (Coblis is worth a look). Several fonts exist which are designed to help reduce the effects of dyslexia (Dyslexie). Most good email designers will understand these accessibility issues and have a framework in place to create accessible content. Strong data collection and cleanliness can also allow personalisation across segments which can even better suits the recipients needs rather than a one shot to all.

Crafting accessible email marketing copy involves clear, concise language. Use descriptive alt text for images, ensuring screen readers understand visuals. Maintain a logical structure with headings and bullet points for easy navigation. Provide text versions of important information within images. Avoid jargon and complex language, ensuring universal understanding. Test emails with various accessibility tools to guarantee compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technologies, ensuring inclusivity for all recipients.

How to use headings and lists to structure your email copy One of the ways to make your email marketing copy more accessible and readable is to use headings and lists to structure your content. Headings help readers scan your email and understand the main points, while lists help organize information in a clear and concise way. Headings and lists also help screen readers and other assistive technologies navigate your email and provide an overview of the content.

To further enhance email accessibility, consider user feedback and conduct regular accessibility audits to ensure your content remains inclusive and user-friendly. Accessibility should be an ongoing commitment to better serve a diverse audience and improve your email marketing results. Remember that accessible email marketing benefits not only those with disabilities but also enhances the experience for all recipients. Prioritizing accessibility is a positive step toward building a more inclusive and effective email marketing strategy.