People hate fine print. It reeks of trickery and underhandness. So, why do two thirds of the promotional emails I receive have half a page or more of Arial 7.5 light gray print?
It has the same effect as a stop light. The light is green when the email is opened, then just as I’m about to click through, it turns to caution. If the promotion is exceptionally appealing, I may try to slide through. But, most of the time, the brakes are slammed on; the email is flagged for follow up, and then forgotten.
According to tests we’ve conducted for our clients, I am not the only one suspicious of fine print. A/B split tests for the same offer consistently show higher click through and sales for the segment without fine print.
Of course, sometimes you have to include a few rules. What do you do then? Make it easy to read. It eliminates the appearance of trickery. People understand conditions. Additional testing showed minimal differences between no rules and legible ones.
The irony found in the emails I receive is that most of the fine print isn’t prohibitive to purchasing. It includes how to unsubscribe, do not reply, and privacy information. A simple change to increase the font and change the color would increase the return.
If you have rules in your promotional emails, test the different methods to determine what works best for your customers.
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