So yes, dark mode is definitely one of the biggest monkey wrenches thrown at email marketers in the last few years.Ī 2021 industry survey from Pathwire (in partnership with Ascend2) on dark mode found 72% of email marketers surveyed had the theme on their radar - with 44% of email marketers considering the theme during email production and development, and another 58% testing their email campaigns in dark mode before sending at least some of the time.Īdd to that the fact that optimizing logos and images, coding the email properly, and keeping branding consistent were the biggest challenges for over a third of respondents (regardless of company size), and you’ll begin to see why dark mode email has proven so difficult for so many.īut where there’s fear, there’s hope! Let’s start by shining a light on the dark mode theme to provide some real insight into what the “dangers ” are, and how you can best prepare.įirst, a quick primer on dark mode themes and how they impact email design. Dark mode also spells serious trouble for your brand consistency. What if folks can no longer read the copy in your email? (Spoiler: We found cases where this happened.) Worse, what if your call to action is hidden? (Spoiler: We found evidence of this, too).īoth these examples are huge detractors to your audience’s overall experience, and thus dangerous for your engagement and deliverability rates. The most basic implication has to do with accessibility. So the thought of an email client inverting your text and background colors willy nilly is a scary one! The answers may surprise you… Why should marketers care about dark mode emails?Įvery email marketer knows how much effort goes into ensuring emails are pixel perfect. What are some best practices you can follow to make sure your emails still shine?.What are the dangers of dark mode for email marketers?.

With this investigation, I’m answering a few key questions, including: That’s why I (and the rest of the Dyspatch team!) thought it was high time to investigate how exactly dark mode affects email content. From operating systems and entertainment user interfaces (UI) to popular Chrome extensions and, of course, email clients, more and more forces have decided to join the dark side. The launch of dark mode on iPhone and Mac OS back in 2019, as well as its availability on Samsung Android devices and services like Slack, have made this theme mainstream.

Outlook mac dark mode