Postcard Font 101: How to Choose a Great Font for Business Postcards

According to small business experts, direct mail marketing is a highly valuable (and often overlooked) marketing strategy with a strong ROI.

Direct mail marketing is personal, cost-effective, and flexible. Plus, tracking the results of your direct mail campaign is as simple as including a unique promo code or coupon that is only attainable through the mail.

Just like in digital marketing, design choices are important to the success of your direct mail marketing. That’s why we’re offering design tips that our printing service can bring to life.

Read on to learn about choosing the perfect postcard font for your next direct mail campaign.

Why Does Postcard Font Matter?

It may seem silly to put so much thought into your postcard font, but the truth is that different fonts convey different meanings and have a psychological impact. In fact, there is a whole line of business psychology devoted to the world of typography!

Your objective, when choosing a font, is three-fold. First, you need to grab your viewer’s attention. Then, you want to convey that you are professional and that you understand your niche.

Selecting a font is a tricky business. A recent study found that if a font is too legible, it can lessen the chances that the viewer will retain the information. However, if it’s too muddled or difficult to read, the viewer will quickly give up.

How do you achieve this perfect balance? Let’s take a look at the best—and the worst—fonts you can use on your business postcards.

The Best Postcard Fonts for Any Business

Three of the best fonts to use for your direct mail postcards are Century Gothic, Verdana, and Helvetica. Here they are as examples:

What do these fonts have in common? As you can see, they’re bold and spaced out enough that the digital printer will have no trouble recreating them on paper. Plus, they’ve been used by some of the biggest brands in the country, making them recognizable to viewers who may take comfort in this familiarity.

Not sure where you’ve seen them? Microsoft uses Helvetica, to give you one key example from a successful brand:

Three Fonts to Always Avoid

Postcards are typically 4 inches by 6 inches, which means you need to get your message across in a concise manner. Using a font that resembles cursive or any other old-fashioned typography isn’t going to do you any favors!

As you can see, cursive is slightly hard to read from the above Cassandra example.

We also don’t recommend using a font that is thick or uses wide letters such as Hellenic wide font. Not only will this take up valuable real estate on your postcard but it may look a tad overwhelming or off-putting to your viewers.

Finally, if there’s one font that has become outdated, that’s Comic Sans. Most people feel that Comic Sans is no longer professional and gives off an almost childlike vibe. That being said, it could still work well for any businesses that are kid-oriented—but not for others!

Quality Matters

Once you’ve chosen your direct mail design, down to the postcard font and finishing touches, it’s important to find a printing service that produces high-quality work. If you can find one that also offers mailing services, you’re in great shape!

If you’re in Tampa, Florida, consider Modern Mail & Print Solutions for your printing and mailing needs! Contact us today to find out more about how our business can help boost your business.