Yes! Funny direct mail drives results. Some marketers are worried about offending someone, but you can be funny without being offensive. When you want to use humor, you will want to get a really good idea of who your customers and targets are to find humor that fits them. Stay away from hot button subjects like religion and politics. Humor is a great way to engage people and get them to share, when you do it correctly. So what are the best ways to add humor to your direct mail?

Suggested Funny Ideas:

Jokes:

Clean fun jokes that show how your brand can relate to people on their level and be fun. No dirty ones allowed!

Images:

Find a funny image or create your own meme that makes you and your team laugh. Create a way to integrate that funny image into a problem/solution you can fix. There are plenty of images that can invoke laughter without being offensive.

Cartoons:

Add cartoons in humorous situations that your customers or prospects could get into. Make them really over the top to get the laughter. Make the message fun, maybe even a play on words that ties into the cartoon theme.

Create your own comic strip:

Create your own fun comic strip with characters that represent fun things about your company. You can highlight real problems customers have in a funny way and resolve them. Get creative! This can be really fun for your team as well as your recipients.

Real life examples:

In many cases, there are real life examples of funny things that have occurred either in the office or with customers that can be highlighted and included into a funny example of what not to do. These are very popular as they are relatable; it could happen to them too.

When you are creating your direct mail campaign and want it to be funny, you should test your ideas on several people from different backgrounds who are outside your organization. This will allow you to see first if people get it, second if they think it’s funny and third if anyone is upset by it. Once it passes you know you are good to include it.

Make sure to create ways for your customers and prospects to share your funny addition. You should create a special landing page on your website so they can share the funny with others on social media, text message or email. Keep in mind that the landing page needs to be responsive so that if accessed by a mobile device or a desktop it will look correctly as well as be functional for all.

Your customers and prospects love to laugh and to share what they think it funny. Give them that laugh. Don’t forget the point of your direct mail is to drive response to your offer, so make sure you have a good offer! Don’t get so caught up in the humor that you ignore what is important. Now it time to go out there and create some really funny direct mail. Are you ready to get started?