Newsletters should be created in an accessible format. Though PDF files have been widely used in the past, we do not recommend them as they are not the most accessible or the most mobile-friendly option.
Our first recommendation for newsletters is to use ActiveCampaign.
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is the CRM used for NC State Extension and NC State Cooperative Extension. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a technology for managing all your customer relationships and interactions. For example, you can see who attends your events and what newsletters they receive. The benefits of this program include: contact information is contained in this program, individual logins for employees, multi-county agents can see all their contacts in one location, and Eventbrite attendees are added automatically.
Note: ActiveCampaign is only digitally accessible if you use it correctly! You should be assigning heading levels to headings and including all text information in plain text. Text within images is NOT accessible. If you add a Canva flyer image to your newsletter, you must include the text from the image in plain text within the newsletter as well. Assistive technology like screenreaders cannot access the text within the image. See Using Canva with Accessibility in Mind for more information.
Alternative Format
- Your Extension Website: Post directly to a web page or web post in the Extension website system. You can create a parent page to act as a newsletter landing page and link to each of your newsletters, which might be ActiveCampaign links, or links to web pages or web posts.
Unacceptable Formats
- Canva: Canva newsletters shared with live links are not currently acceptable because of reading order issues. You can use Canva to create graphics to use in your newsletters, but you should not create the entire newsletter in Canva, as it will not be compatible with screen readers.
- Adobe Creative Cloud: Adobe also offers a newsletter tool, but it has accessibility concerns. You can create graphics in Adobe, but you should not use their newsletter with the live share link.
We may reevaluate these tools in the future if they make updates that ensure compliance with current accessibility standards.