With newsletters being a major marketing tool, I have a client who would not listen to reason about fonts and the importance of an easy readable font. When I started working for this client a couple of months ago, they had just launched their newsletter. Overall, the look and layout were fine except for one thing: The font was toooooooo small. I needed a magnifying glass to read it!

After two months of the client complaining that the stats were too low on customers reading his newsletter, the client decided to do an experiment and let me send the newsletter with a larger font and it was a repeat of the previous newsletter sent.

No surprise, the results of people reading the newsletter and interacting with it were quadrupled. The font is now being permanently changed on the newsletter.

After this all happened, I received a newsletter from another source and their font was so small it was frustrating to read and I closed it. Is this a trend that newsletters are starting to go for? Or, is someone just ignorant of how the newsletter looks?

__________________
Mary Hettwer
Hettwer Virtual Office

I am still working my day job, and our newsletter has a very small font as well. My boss will not listen to reason, and is not getting results. I think it has something to do with trying to get too much information in the newsletter. If they would shorten their sentences, or omit one or two things, and change the font a bit, they would get better results. But some people just don't want to listen.

__________________
Pam
www.adminetcetera.com

I used to really like small font - and I think it has it's place in design but I agree that in a newsletter it should be big enough for comfortable reading. In fact, I have one client who's newsletter we're going to be reworking for this very reason...

__________________

In working with newsletters via email and mail - the smallest font you should have for an article is 10 pt. Unless you are working with captions, then those should be 9 or 8 - put that is pushing it. Also, make sure that the font is readable. On mailing newsletters it is easier to use Times New Roman (which I personally hate) and for e-news - I usually stick with Arial font. It is easier to read on the screen. Make sure you only stick with two font types and use a font that has different choices - as in bold, italic, etc. That way you can use these fonts to make the newsletter appealing without using a lot of graphics.

But I am sure you know all of this... I am rambling! At my previous job, it was hard for my boss to change over but once he seen it all together and the potential it had - he went for it.

__________________
Michelle
Mid-Knight Business Solutions