It’s possible that you didn’t go into business, hoping that you could spend time thinking about font sizes. Maybe. There’s a chance that you have not yet called a board meeting to discuss the best font size for email marketing.
As it turns out, however, font selection in your marketing materials is quite important. After all, even the average layman understands that you should not, under any circumstances, use COMIC SANS!
The style of font you use conveys a great deal in your customer communication. And most of us instinctively have fonts we like to look at and those we don’t. It is sort of like having the most favorite and least favorite colors.
But did you know that in addition to style, font size matters? It is a surprisingly crucial decision in the digital age. Since most people are getting their information from a screen rather than a printed page, font size carries more weight than most people realize.
Do People Care About The Best Font Size for Email Marketing?
Yes they do care. As in, people scientifically study the best font size for marketing. Would it surprise you to learn that guidelines on good font size came about almost 100 years ago? Back in 1929, a font-size study concluded that 10pt font was the best size for reading.
Not to point out the obvious, but this entire study revolved around the printed word. It certainly does not apply to this digital article that you are lovingly scrolling through right now.
The way we read has changed. While smaller print may be best on paper, larger fonts are where it’s at in the online age. More recent studies link font size to emotion and also retention of information. Both studies indicate it’s all about going big.
How to Choose the Best Font Size for Email Marketing
A quick Google search might indicate that the best font size for email marketing is 14pt. But many prominent online media designers, such as Medium, Basecamp, and Zen Habits, employ font sizes over 20pt. This shift is a significant change from the early 20th-century notion of small being optimal.
Prevailing wisdom and current research suggest that your email campaigns should never use anything smaller than 14pt font. And there are times when you should use an even bigger size. It can feel awkward if you are in the generation who had to type everything in 11pt print for teachers. But this is a brave new world we now inhabit.
There are several reasons to go big or go home when it comes to your emails and overall digital presence.
Font Size Is All About the Feels
Emotions matter. Especially when considering the best font size for email marketing. No decision we make is without sentiment. Feelings work with our reasoning capabilities all the time to guide our choices. Often, emotions can even override our logic when we have decisions to make. If you have toddlers or teenagers, you know this all too well.
Emotional connection can last a lifetime. And developing lifelong customers is probably your goal. So as much as you may want to ignore it, you need to consider things like font size in your online marketing.
The psychology of typography is a fancy way of studying how humans interact with fonts. It’s a legit thing and is a well-founded area of science. The smart people behind science have explored all sorts of font topics, including size.
Have you ever found yourself frowning while reading an email even though the content was benign? In one study, researchers presented participants with words in the same font style but with different sizes. Participants were more apt to frown while reading a smaller size font. Want to turn your customer’s frown upside down? You have to go bigger. That’s just one way to choose the best font size for email marketing.
Font Size Is Sticky
It’s not sticky like gum on the bottom of your shoe. That’s gross and irritating. It’s sticky like memorable. The larger the font, the better people retain the information. That makes sense since anything big will draw the eye to it. So it stands to reason that a bigger font will pull people in and keep them reading and remembering.
Interesting science-y note: The process of reading involves two distinct acts, scanning and pausing. Most humans cannot scan more than seven to nine letters at a time before needing to pause. This pause allows our brains to process what we just saw.
So while we are scanning, we aren’t absorbing any of the content. We have to wait for a pause. Scientists call these pauses “fixations.”
With a larger font size, the fixations happen more frequently. This frequency allows the reader to process and retain the information more efficiently. Removing a small percentage of the guesswork that goes into the process means a happier brain.
The Best Font Size For Email Marketing Helps Reach Aging Readers
Not every business has 23-year-olds with perfect vision as their ideal clients. Most companies need to reach a broader range of customers. As the population ages, decisions about things like font size become more important.
If a potential client or a loyal customer cannot read your marketing materials, you will lose them. Spoiler – that is bad for business. Make sure everything you send out is accessible to your entire client base. Enlarging your font size is a simple way to accomplish this.
Take That Font Size Up a Notch
So the next time you get ready to hit ‘send’ on a marketing email, consider adjusting the font size up a bit. Science says it’s the smart thing to do. Science says the best font size for email marketing is bigger, rather than smaller. A simple change in your marketing process can deliver impressive results in brand recognition and loyalty. Many of our lasting institutions persist thanks to their ability to make small adjustments in just the right place.
If the fascinating world of font size is making your head spin, reach out to ALYKY today. Our content strategy team will take over the head-spinning for you, so you can go back to running your business. With research-backed processes, our experts will develop all of the content your company needs to thrive in big, bold letters.
Elisabeth Rumley