Are you looking to better your marketing? Have you ever asked yourself, "how can I use fonts to create better marketing?" While the graphic designs, layouts, pictures-- and of course, content—are all very important, many people overlook the importance of the font! While pictures are captivating, the layout makes it easy to navigate the page, different designs are pleasing to the eye, and the content is informative, the font ties the whole thing together. Let’s face it, after your eyes travel around the page, which hopefully has a clean, easy to navigate layout, the next thing to do is read the content!

Have you ever visited a page that you really wanted to skim but ended up leaving, looking for something different because it was too hard to read? Maybe the font was too small, or too bold, or too ornate. Maybe the colors were too jarring or clashed with one another. All of these are important factors when choosing fonts for you website or marketing materials!

Before we get down to it, let’s go over some basics about fonts, typefaces and spacing techniques.

So, you’ve probably seen some popular typefaces such as “(Fill in name here) Sans” or, “(Fill in other name here) Sans Serif. Well, what the heck is a serif and why is it important? A serif is that little stroke you see at the end of letters. You know Times New Roman and how it has a cap at the end of each letter? That’s the Serif. A typeface without this stroke is referred to as “Sans Serif” because it’s…well…sans the serif. Make sense?

Now why is this important to marketing and writing content? Well, Sans Serif fonts are much easier to read than Serif typefaces! Readability is the number one factor of drawing in your reader and keeping them reading--as long as the content is interesting, of course ;). Think about it:  if you can’t see the words well, it slows you down. If you’re slowing down, the longer it will take you to read it. Skimming an article is near impossible. You lose interest and move onto the next one. It doesn’t matter what the content is if your reader can’t read it!

What is kerning, tracking and leading you may ask? Well…

Kerning

Kerning refers to the spacing between letters. Why is this important to take into consideration? Because if your letters are too close together, thenyourwordsgetsmushedtogether, making it unpleasing to the eye. Same      goes      for      if      they     are     too     far    apart. You want your kerning to be the perfect balance.

Tracking

Tracking involves adjusting the spacing throughout the word, which sounds exactly like kerning, but it is actually different. When you think of tracking, think of readability. It’s important for longer words and sentences to look clean and easy to read. If your brain has to think too hard and long to figure out what a word is, interest drops considerably.

Leading

Leading refers to the spacing between lines. When you’re taking into consideration what the paragraph looks like as a whole, you need to consider your leading. Again, readability is what you’re concerned with. If the lines are too far apart or too close together, it’s hard to read.

Well, now that we’ve picked a good font, have our perfect kerning, good tracking, and appropriate leading, it’s time to talk about the three rules of good typography:

consistency

hierarchy

alignment

 You always want your fonts to remain consistent. Switching between Sans Serif and Serif typefaces is probably not your best bet.  And while we’re talking about consistency, alignment of text should always be consistent. Rulers or guides in the program that you’re using are there for exactly this reason.

By hierarchy we’re talking about headlines. Headlines should always stand out, whether they are bold, bigger, colored or underlined; the reader should be able to distinguish different topics from the main body of the copy.

Another important aspect of choosing fonts is the color. Pick a color palette for your brand or page and stick with it. But, make sure it’s captivating while also being easy to read. Red on black is obviously easy to read; yellow on white, not so much.

Choosing the right font for your page is important for multiple reasons. For one, and the most important, it makes your content readable! But, we’ve covered that already, so let’s move onto our next important point: it also improves your marketing by creating a well-known brand. When you stay consistent with your fonts, colors and spacing, people come to recognize your work and become more familiar with your style, creating a more intimate feeling. Blogs, especially, thrive on intimacy. If your reader can connect with what they are reading, then you will soon have a fan base! But remember, to get them reading, you need that perfect font!

So experiment with your fonts, typefaces, and colors! There’s nothing wrong with a little trial and error, but once you find what works, stick with it!