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Humor in sales and marketing emails is not a brand-new concept, but it is certainly gaining momentum, thanks to the fleeting attention span of consumers.
Every brand is striving to capture the attention of prospective customers. An effortless way to achieve this is by incorporating humor into your communications, especially in your cold emails—those initial contacts with potential customers.
Why? Well, for starters, humor can help you grab your readers' attention. The average person receives 121 business emails each day, so envision how you can break through the noise. Humor can be a powerful tool to get your message across.
Big brands are already embracing this approach. If you've encountered marketing communications from brands such as Ikea, Netflix, Spotify, and others, you'll understand what I'm referring to. Here's a brilliantly effortless example of using humor to make your messages stand out, as demonstrated by Burger King in one of their tweets. The way they added a twist to Maslow's hierarchy of needs is both amusing and appetizing.
Numerous other examples illustrate how the use of humor can not only capture your customers' attention but also inspire them to purchase your product or service.
Humor is not merely a tool to grab your customer's attention; it is also a valuable asset for alleviating the initial tension of "do I know you" when reaching out to them for the first time.
A report by Oracle and author-podcaster Gretchin Rubin reveals that despite 91% of people worldwide expressing a preference for brands with a humorous touch, a striking 95% of business leaders are apprehensive about incorporating humor into their interactions with consumers. Additionally, the study highlights a concerning statistic, indicating that 45% of individuals globally have not experienced genuine happiness for a period exceeding two years.
By infusing humor into your cold emails, you can effectively break the ice and gradually establish a rapport with your prospective customers.
We all appreciate joy and happiness, don't we? Regardless of how serious a sales process may seem, it's crucial to remember that we are ultimately selling to human beings who crave genuine love, attention, and, of course, moments of joy.
A cold email that tickles the funny bone of your prospects can help you secure a place in their memories.
According to "The Happiness Report," a notable 90% of individuals are inclined to recall advertisements that incorporate humor, and a substantial 72% express a preference for brands with a humorous touch over their competitors. Surprisingly, the report highlights a significant disparity, revealing that only 20% of brands incorporate humor in offline ads, while a mere 18% utilize this strategy in online advertisements.
Surprising, isn't it? So, consider this your cue to begin incorporating humor into your cold emails and marketing communications.
Incorporating humor into your emails can act as a potent catalyst for deepening your audience's understanding of your product or service.
By strategically infusing wit into your messaging, you can effectively simplify complex information, making it more accessible and engaging for your audience.
A witty and engaging approach in your email subject lines has the potential to capture attention, prompting recipients to open and explore your content eagerly.
By infusing humor to create a positive and enjoyable email experience, you not only stand out in the crowded digital landscape but also foster a more favorable response from your audience.
Here's a Cold Email Structure That Generates High Open And Reply Rates
In a very informative video on ‘The Science of Selling With Humour,’ Andrew Tarvin shares an interesting concept of creating a humour MAP (Medium, Audience, and Purpose) when trying to leverage humour in your cold outreach strategy.
Medium - stands for figuring out HOW you are going to execute the humour, like in our case, via a cold email.
Audience - stands for having a clear picture of who your audience is, their pain points, and relevancy. Lacking situational awareness when writing a funny email can land you in big trouble.
Purpose - stands for defining why you are using humour.
Feel free to check out the full video here.
Now, let's delve into a practical example using Smartlead. Suppose I'm crafting a cold email to reach out to a prospect.
Smartlead is an innovative cold email outreach tool designed to elevate brands' success rates by sending engaging cold emails. Its features, including unlimited AI warmups, auto-rotating accounts, personalized AI messages, and a unified inbox for streamlined lead communication, make it a top choice for achieving better response rates and engagement.
Considering this, I recognize that my target customer is someone grappling with the challenges of achieving success in cold email outreach. Here’s what my cold email looks like:
Scenario: I have been following the prospect on LinkedIn and regularly engage with his posts and activities. I have seen him liking and commenting on posts related to cold emailing tips and tricks.
The above cold email template has a higher chance of eliciting a response for several reasons:
Remember, aligning your cold email with the intent and needs of your audience is crucial. Take the time to understand your prospect before crafting a message.
Write better emails with these 101+ Cold Email Templates
Using the wrong humor in emails can indeed backfire and potentially lead to misunderstandings or offense. Here are some things to consider and watch out for while trying to be funny in emails:
By being mindful of these considerations, you can use humor effectively in emails without risking miscommunication or causing offense. Always prioritize respect and sensitivity when crafting funny messages in professional or personal contexts.
The subject line of your funny cold email is the first thing your prospects notice. Including humor right in the subject line can help you grab their attention quickly.
Humorous subject lines not only stand out but also create positive associations with your brand, making your communication more memorable.
When crafting humorous subject lines, steer clear of creating clickbait. Remember, your goal is to bring a smile to your prospects' faces genuinely. Therefore, keep it real and relevant.
Check out these 80 Cold Email Subject Lines to Increase Your Response Rate
#Example1
Scenario: The person writing the email works in a travel agency, and is just promoting a holiday season offer on their gold membership card
Subject: I am writing this in the middle of eating my pizza
Hi {first name},
I know, I know, it’s a Friday - and you must be busy wrapping up your week’s tasks. Trust me, I am too busy finishing off my last pizza slice. But, just wanted to give a heads-up to you about the upcoming Holiday season and how you can save up to $250 on your next vacation with us.
At {Brand_Name}, we are running a free offer on our Gold Membership card. Sign up for just $1 and get up to 35% off on your next bill with us.
Amazing, right? Don’t wait, just grab the offer today. {Include CTA link}
Regards,
{Your Name}
#Example2
Scenario: An individual working with an email lead generation tool is reaching out to a fellow member of a Facebook group, promoting a YouTube video that discusses tips and tricks to increase open and reply rates. The person knows that the recipient is a fan of Star Wars.
Subject: Unleashing the Email Jedi within You 🚀
Hey [First Name],
Hope this message finds you dodging the Monday blues like a pro! 👊 I stumbled upon your insightful posts in our [Facebook Group Name], and I couldn't resist reaching out.
Picture this: you, me, and a virtual coffee chat. ☕️ I've got some top-secret email hacks that can turn your inbox into a powerhouse of leads. And guess what? I've spilled all the beans in my latest YouTube video.
I won't spoil it, but let's just say it involves email sorcery, a sprinkle of charm, and maybe a Jedi mind trick or two. Intrigued? Check out the video here: [Insert YouTube Link]
Feel free to share your thoughts, or if you're up for it, let's swap our favorite email war stories over a virtual cuppa!
May the open rates be ever in your favor!
Regards,
{Your Name}
#Example3
Scenario: A person is contacting a marketing team member to get the email of the department head, in order to promote a product offering.
Subject: Quick Help: Can Batman (You) Point Me to [Department Head's Name]'s Inbox?
Hey [Marketing Team Member's Name],
Quick favor – I'm on a mission to connect with [Department Head's Name] and feeling a bit like Batman without Alfred. Any chance you can be my hero and point me to the Batcave of their inbox?
Your assistance is superhero-level awesome!
Cheers,
[Your Name]
#Example1
Subject: Hey, I just had an Interstellar moment
Hi [Recipient's Name],
I was recently engrossed in watching 'Interstellar' and couldn't help but draw a quirky parallel. Is it possible that my last email got caught in a time warp, doing its best Matthew McConaughey impression?
If you've got a spare spacecraft handy, could you help rescue my email from the gravitational pull of cyberspace? Eagerly await your thoughts on our previous exchange.
Best,
[Your Name]
Important: When quoting a movie reference, ensure that you have some idea about the interests of the recipient.
#Example2
Subject: Feeling Ross and Rachel Vibes 😅
Hi [Recipient's Name],
Hope all's well! Your silence is giving me serious Ross and Rachel vibes – the last time I felt this hurt, they were "on a break."
Let's fix this email heartbreak, shall we?
Looking forward to your response.
Regards,
{Your Name}
#Example3
Subject: One Last Peek – I Promise! 🙈
Hi [Recipient's Name],
I hate being that pesky salesperson, but I also hate the thought of missing a chance to connect with you. This is my last gentle nudge to see if you're still interested. Just one last peek – I promise!
Cheers,
[Your Name]
While humour can be a great addition to your cold emails, you must take care of the following factors before implementing it:
I hope you enjoyed reading the article.
Humour is effective in sales when aiming to build rapport, lighten the mood, or create a memorable interaction. Use it when you understand your audience's preferences and cultural context.
Concluding emails with a light touch can leave a positive impression. Consider humorous sign-offs like "Stay punny," "Keep smiling," or "In laughter and success."
Yes, sending fun emails can be professional when it aligns with your brand voice and the nature of your relationship with the recipient. Ensure the humor is appropriate, relevant, and doesn't compromise the message's integrity.
Avoid using humour in sensitive situations, such as delivering bad news, addressing serious issues, or when dealing with formal and strictly professional communication. Additionally, be cautious if you are uncertain about the recipient's sense of humor. Stay away from sensitive or religious/cultural references when leveraging humour.
Smartlead's cold email outreach tool helps businesses scale their outreach efforts seamlessly. With unlimited mailboxes, fully automated email warmup functionality, a multi-channel infrastructure, and a user-friendly unibox, it empowers users to manage their entire revenue cycle in one place. Whether you're looking to streamline cold email campaigns with automated email warmups, personalization fields, automated mailbox rotation, easy integrations, and spintax, improve productivity, or enhance scalability with subsequences based on lead’s intentions, automated replies, and full white-label experience, our cold email tool implifies it in a single solution.
Our "unlimited mailboxes" feature allows you to expand your email communications without restrictions imposed by a mailbox limit. This means you won't be constrained by artificial caps on the number of mailboxes you can connect and use. This feature makes Smartlead the best cold email software and empowers you to reach a wider audience, engage with more potential customers, and manage diverse email campaigns effectively.
The "unibox" is one of the unique features of Smartlead cold email outreach tool, and it's a game-changer when it comes to managing your revenue cycle. The master inbox or the unibox consolidates all your outreach channels, responses, sales follow-ups, and conversions into one centralized, user-friendly mailbox.
With the "unibox," you gain the ability to:
1. Focus on closing deals: You can now say goodbye to the hassle of logging into multiple mailboxes to search for replies. The "unibox" streamlines your sales communication, allowing you to focus on what matters most—closing deals.
2. Centralized lead management: All your leads are managed from one central location, simplifying lead tracking and response management. This ensures you take advantage of every opportunity and efficiently engage with your prospects.
3. Maintain context: The "unibox" provides a 360-degree view of all your customer messages, allowing you to maintain context and deliver more personalized and effective responses.
Smartlead, the best cold email marketing tool, ensures your emails reach the intended recipients' primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Here's how it works:
1. Our "unlimited warmups" feature is designed to build and maintain a healthy sending reputation for your cold email outreach. Instead of sending a large volume of emails all at once, which can trigger spam filters, we gradually ramp up your sending volume. This gradual approach, combined with positive email interactions, helps boost your email deliverability rates.
2. We deploy high-deliverability IP servers specific to each campaign.
3. The ‘Warmup’ feature replicates humanized email sending patterns, spintax, and smart replies.
4. By establishing a positive sender reputation and gradually increasing the number of sent emails, Smartlead minimizes the risk of your emails being flagged as spam. This way, you can be confident that your messages will consistently land in the primary inbox, increasing the likelihood of engagement and successful communication with your recipients.
Certainly, Smartlead is designed for seamless integration with a wide range of tools and platforms. Smartlead offers integration with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, Clay, Listkit, and more. You can leverage webhooks and APIs to integrate the tools you use. Try Now!
No, there are no limitations on the number of channels you can utilize with Smartlead. Our multi-channel infrastructure is designed to be limitless, allowing you to reach potential customers through multiple avenues without constraints.
This flexibility empowers you to diversify your cold email outreach efforts, connect with your audience through various communication channels, and increase your chances of conversion. Whether email, social media, SMS, or other communication methods, Smartlead's multi-channel capabilities ensure you can choose the channels that best align with your outreach strategy and business goals. This way, you can engage with your prospects effectively and maximize the impact of your email outreach.
Smartlead distinguishes itself from other cold email outreach software by focusing on limitless scalability and seamless integration. While many similar tools restrict your outreach capabilities, Smartlead offers a different approach.
Here's what makes us uniquely the best cold email software:
1. Unlimited Mailboxes: In contrast to platforms that limit mailbox usage, Smartlead provides unlimited mailboxes. This means you can expand your outreach without any arbitrary constraints.
2. Unique IP Servers: Smartlead offers unique IP servers for every campaign it sends out.
3. Sender Reputation Protection: Smartlead protects your sender reputation by auto-moving emails from spam folders to the primary inbox. This tool uses unique identifiers to cloak all warmup emails from being recognized by automation parsers.
4. Automated Warmup: Smartlead’s warmup functionality enhances your sender reputation and improves email deliverability by maintaining humanized email sending patterns and ramping up the sending volume.
5. Multi-Channel Emphasis: Smartlead places a strong emphasis on multi-channel outreach. You can reach your prospects where they are with the LinkedIn outreach feature. With Smartlead’s cold email automation software, you're always one step ahead in your outreach efforts, enjoying the freedom to scale your initiatives and seamlessly integrate with other tools—all while maintaining a focus on maximizing the impact of your outreach.
Ensuring the security of your data is Smartlead's utmost priority. We implement robust encryption methods and stringent security measures to guarantee the continuous protection of your information. Your data's safety is paramount to us, and we are always dedicated to upholding the highest standards of security.
Getting started with Smartlead is straightforward! Just head over to our sign-up page and follow our easy step-by-step guide. If you ever have any questions or need assistance, our round-the-clock support team is ready to help, standing by to provide you with any assistance you may require. Sign Up Now!
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