Copywriting Tips - Does the Font Really Matter?

By: Steven Wagenheim

Copywriters are a strange breed. They nit pick over the littlest things. I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing. I am just stating a fact. They test everything from headlines to buy now buttons. They even test their fonts. Yes, it's true. The font you use could have an effect on the conversion of your sales page. But does font really matter that much? And if it does, what's the best font to use? Is there a best font? Does it depend on the niche you're targeting? Lots of questions, and very few answers. Well, I'm going to try to answer some of these puzzling questions in this article.

If for no other reason, font matters because not every user on the Internet has every custom font that you might decide to dig up out of the bargain bin. For example, let's say you have a sales page for selling Christmas items and you decide that you want to find a Christmas type font. Well, unless the person viewing your page on the other end has that font installed on their machine, guess what? It won't show. Instead, they make get something that makes your page look dull, bland, boring and ultimately, unlikely to convert because it has no pizzazz. So in that respect, font matters a lot.

But what if you're using a common font, one that is typically found on most computers, like Times, Ariel, Tahoma and Verdana? Does it matter which one you use? Well, if you go on the Internet and look at a lot of opinions, you will find some rather contrasting and conflicting ones. Some people say to use Verdana and others say to avoid it like the plague. Who is right? After all, they both can't be. Or can they? Again, it all comes down to what it is you're selling.

The way human beings interpret sights and sounds is an interesting thing. Not everybody sees things the same way, which is why you could show 10 people a photo, have them describe it and get 10 different descriptions. Ultimately, the font you choose is going to depend on testing various fonts in your copy. In other words, we come back to split testing. Instead of split testing two sales pages, one with maybe a different headline, you'd split test two different fonts, leaving the copy the same, and see which one converts better.

The truth is, there is no right or wrong font. Yes, it matters, but you won't know which one is better to use until you test your theories out. You may find a font that nobody has suggested using that converts quite well.