Update to blog post, April 19, 2025: The following blog post was published by me on March 1, 2024. The rebrand from Five Minute Wisdom Newsletter to Book Notes Newsletter referenced in my article occurred approximately one month after that date. The Book Notes Newsletter website owner chose in early 2025 to not renew their domain, which resulted in domain expiration. I choose to retain this blog post for historical purposes and the lesson I chose to share about effective accessibility advocacy.

Introduction

After months of not blogging, I’m back again! With this post, I am starting a new series on my blog. I’m calling it “Accessibility Advocacy 101”. My focus will be sharing some of my experiences voluntarily advocating for accessibility on various websites over the years. I use the word “voluntarily” to make clear I am not a professional web accessibility expert. I do have, however, knowledge which I hope will help readers of my blog if they choose to also advocate for accessibility on the Internet. In addition to sharing some of my accessibility advocacy experiences, I will also share advocacy advice which I hope some readers will find useful. My first post in this series will focus on the importance of creating well-thought-out accessibility communication.

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 Blake’s Story: Five Minute Wisdom newsletter

Several weeks ago, I subscribed to the free

Book Notes Newsletter.

The newsletter, previously known as Five Minute Wisdom Newsletter, was rebranded as Book Notes Newsletter after my blog post was published. Several days before I wrote this article, the publisher had switched from using Roman numerals to emojis. The change was an accessibility problem for me as a screen reader user. For those not familiar with the term “screen reader”, it means software which can verbalize text on the screen and/or display it in braille. As a screen reader user, it was more difficult for me to figure out where newsletter sections ended when emojis were used. I contacted the newsletter publisher and assertively expressed my concern. I suggested that the format be changed to use both Roman numerals and emojis. The publisher listened to my concern and, by the following day, had changed the format to be Roman numerals only according to the JAWS screen reader. This is similar to how the newsletter format was before the temporary switch to emojis to separate sections. Knowing that I was able to make a difference through my advocacy is gratifying. To help my readers in their own advocacy efforts, I will now share some examples of my effective communication and how readers can follow in my footsteps.

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Blake’s Communication Examples and Advocacy Advice

A key strategy I used was to be clear, concise and respectful. I first stated the fact that I enjoy reading the newsletter. Then, I explained my accessibility concern. Email excerpt:

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“Challenge Faced: As a blind reader, the recent switch from roman numerals to an emoji has created an accessibility issue for me. I rely on JAWS screenreader assistive technology to navigate written content, and the change to emojis has made it more difficult for me to distinguish between different sections. For example, when reading individual quotes from books, the roman numerals provided clear audio cues, which the emojis do not.”

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It can also be helpful to offer suggestions to improve the accessibility of a website. Email excerpt:

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“Suggested Resolution: I strongly suggest that future editions of the Five Minute Wisdom newsletter include both roman numerals and the visual emoji. By

doing so, the newsletter would cater to the needs of all readers, ensuring that both screen reader users such as myself and visual learners reliant on emojis are adequately accommodated. Thank you for taking the time to consider my feedback.”

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As I mentioned earlier, the newsletter publisher decided to change the newsletter format to Roman numerals only and not show emojis. I respect and appreciate the publisher’s decision. I will now share some closing thoughts.

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Conclusion

I am thankful that my accessibility feedback in this situation was taken into consideration and acted upon. I encourage my readers to be both polite and helpful if they provide web accessibility advocacy. In my view, it is not enough to simply say a problem exists. For accessibility advocacy to be effective, suggesting solutions can help brainstorm resolution ideas. It is then up to the organization, or in this case an individual newsletter publisher, to implement any changes they consider necessary. Stay tuned to read my next post in this series!