How to Nail Humor in Email Marketing

Humor can be subjective, and it's even trickier to gain a positive reaction from it when it's displayed in writing. With so many things to bear in mind, and the need to remain aware of potentially offending your audience, here are some top tips on how to nail humor in your email marketing, as well as some great examples of brands doing it well!

Why use humor in your campaigns?

• Can help establish trust
• Makes your brand memorable
• Triggers an emotional response
• Creates a positive relationship with customers
• 72% of customers surveyed claimed that they were more likely to buy from a brand if their image was humorous
• Helps keep subscribers engaged and entertained
• Positions your brand in a fun, positive and unique way
• Makes you stand out amongst competitors

Make Subscriber's (and unsubscribers) Smile!

No one wants to see their subscribers opt out from receiving emails, but sometimes people's inboxes are just too full. This makes it more important that you give them a reason to stay, but also when it comes to them unsubscribing - why not make it fun? Making something that's usually boring and over in just a click a little more interesting is likely to make users remember you.

Many companies implement a bit of reverse psychology within their unsubscribe tactics to try and persuade users to stay. For example they might say something along the lines of 'you really don't want our amazing offers in your inbox anymore? :('. Groupon takes this a step further, actually making their unsubscribe copy light hearted and humorous while inviting the user to interact with one of their poor employees; Derrick to see how sorry you really are for leaving them!

10/10 for customer interaction, use of humour and fun (but poor Derrick - just look at that face!)

Creative (and funny) Content Always Wins

When it comes to promoting a product and trying to push sales, many companies make the mistake of simply selling. While this may seem like the conventional way to promote your product or service, with the increasing competition within the industry, the need to be creative and stand out is higher than ever before. While it's always okay to directly mention or push your product, think outside the box in terms of just how you do this. Companies (and people) that don't take themselves too seriously often receive a much better reaction from their users and it's this kind of content that makes headlines.

Check out Harry's clever and hilarious hero image they used in one of their email campaigns which uses the perfect balance of product promotion, humor, and creativity all while tying the campaign to a huge national holiday.

Another hilarious piece of content that has recently captured the attention of thousands of social media users is Innocent's conker milk campaign. Although this campaign was on a larger scale than just email, it's a great example of why you should sometimes take risks with your marketing. After creating a 'fake' conker milk drink in order to promote their new dairy-free milk alternatives, Innocent then had to take to Twitter to advise people that conkers aren't actually edible, the drink is not actually real and the whole thing was a huge PR stunt. The result? A ton of engagement, lots of laughter and a memorable campaign that positioned the brand as light-hearted, humorous and likeable.

Make a Funny First Impression With your Subject Line

Subject lines are the first thing subscribers see in their inbox, making it incredibly important that yours stands out and encourages users to click. Whether you throw in a pun or use sarcasm; aim to gain attention when it comes to your subject lines and test different ones to see humor really does impact sales. Here are some funny examples to take inspiration from:

Uniqlo: "Is that new? I love it!" - Everyone
Groupon: Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)
OpenTable: Licking your phone never tasted so good
Chubbies: Cruisin' for a jacuzzin'

This article was written by Chloe Rowlands with Postage Supermarket which provides delivery services for businesses by teaming with leading courier companies for competitive prices.