Why humor can be the copywriter’s secret ingredient?

Kumar Ritesh
Nov 6 · 14 min read

I know people like you.

You hate humor to its core.
You think of humor as a distraction, if anything.

You are afraid that your audience will perceive you as flippant or frivolous when using it.

But deep inside, you know how engaging humor can be.
How listening to just a few words of jokes springs your brain into action.

And how when the punchline hits, your heart rate starts to rise, you begin to chuckle without any thoughts, and how all the “happy hormones” start to hit your brain at once.

Isn’t it?

In fact, the ad agency “Harmon Brothers” effectively uses humor to make mind-boggling, viral, and successful ads for companies like Dollar Shave Club, Poopourri, Chatbooks, and many others.

Let’s dive right to it.

What is Humor?

I can give you a dictionary definition, but that will be super boring.

Instead, let me give you a feeling of what humor can be.

Humor occurs when you are damn high on hormones.

It’s something that makes you laugh so hard that tear gushes out of your eyes.
It instantly melts your anger and brings a nice ol’ big smile on your face.

Humor is a conversation starter and, when used correctly, is a powerful weapon.

Why Humor?

Admit it. Humor is powerful.

Don’t believe me?

Try to remember every ad you watched in your lifetime.
I bet most of the ads you remember are based on humor.

Remember this Old Spice ad.

Don’t you like it?

Everything is possible when you have humor in your arsenal.

Just add a tinge of it in whatever you do and see the engagement it brings.

Here are some mind-blowing facts about it:

•Humor is an attention seeker

According to an article in The Journal of General Psychology, humor receives increased attention than non-humorous information, which helps people to remember the brand for longer.

Here’s the reason.

Jokes are unexpected.
Our brain searches for patterns, and when it finds something that is unexpected (i.e., funny), it shifts its orientation from a logical to an emotional one.
Simply put, it stops analyzing and reacts emotionally.

So, if you can make your visitors laugh even for a second, you have already won their attention.
Your visitors will be more open to you and will better recall you for that.

•It builds and increases trust and credibility.

You all have a friend who is funny, charming, and witty.
He would crack jokes that would make everyone laugh.

People would come to him with their problems and ask him for advice.
Isn’t it?

In the article published by William P. Hampes, regarding the Humor’s style and trust, It was noted that there is a close correlation between humor and intimacy.
Since trust is an essential part of intimacy, it was hypothesized that there is a close correlation between humor and trust.

In another study conducted by Terry R. Kurtzberg,
She found that the emails that began with humor resulted in increased trust and more satisfaction with the process.

•It is highly persuasive.

According to Michael Kerr in Putting Mimes to good use;
“Humor can be highly persuasive when presenting a message that people disagree with.
Humor distracts them from immediately creating counter-arguments, in part, because they don’t feel like the message is being crammed down their throats.”

•It Breaks the pattern.

Have you seen “The Matrix” movie?

There when Morpheus was training Neo, he passed through a bunch of people, telling Neo who they were.

All the people there were wearing black suits.

Suddenly, amidst that crowd, a woman wearing a red dress walked over.
And Neo’s gaze immediately fell upon her.

That my friend is called breaking the pattern. (finger snaps)

*And humor is the woman in that red dress.

Our brain subconsciously tries to seek a pattern in everything we do, listen, or see.
The pattern creates a prediction, and the prediction creates an expectation.

And when something unexpected happens (like humor), our brain tries to make sense of it and allots more processing power to it along with conscious awareness and is, therefore, more likely to notice.

•It is Immortal

Ok, not immortal, but it’s long-lasting.
Don’t believe me?

A research poll done by Pew Research Center found out that the viewers of the humorous news channel like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report display higher retention of news facts than those from the non-humorous channel like newspapers, CNN, or Fox News.

Why do you think we tend to remember funny or hilarious moments of our life?

Because, according to this article, humor activates the brain’s dopamine reward system, and you know how much our brain loves dopamine.

It’s one of the happy drugs of our system.

And guess what?
Dopamine is responsible for our long-term memory.

Simply put, our brain favors humorous information when it comes to storing it in our memory.

•It makes us defenseless.

According to a study from Radboud University Nijmegen, it lowers our brain’s resistance to influence.

In other words, It is distracting, and because it’s distracting, it prevents us from forming the negative opinion of the brand.

Instead, it helps us in confirming in increasing brands positive association.

Simply put, when we encounter humor, it diverts our attention, our defenses become lower, and we forget we are being influenced.
And the result is that we are more likely to follow through their marketing plan.

But with its pros, it also has some cons.

Humor hinders recall.

Why?
Because it’s distracting.

People might not remember who you are or what your brands do because they are too busy enjoying themselves.

So, a word of caution,
Use humor in moderation.

•It makes you likable

Don’t you feel closer to your new friends or some “just met” strangers after exchanging some blows of jokes?

Recent studies have found that humor increases likability and interpersonal attraction.

We are always fond of funny people because they make us feel good.

How can you not like someone who makes you laugh?

•It increases positive sentiments

By now, you already know that humor makes us happy.

But what you don’t know is that humor associates our feeling of being happy to a positive opinion about the related products or info.

A study by Dr. Thomas Cline, Ph.D., professor of marketing and statistics at Saint Vincent College, found that humor elevates mood and proved the same.

That’s why about 30% of all ads and 50% of all TV ads are based on humor.

Have you ever watched a funny ad and developed a favorable opinion of that product before using it?

For example: See the advertisement below of a photoshop class.

What do you think? Do you like the ad?

Well… This ad made me chuckle.
The moment I saw it, I formed a positive opinion about this photoshop course before even taking this class.

Don’t you?

•It fosters rapport

When you share a few good chuckles and giggle with someone new, a positive connection is formed between you both.
You tend to be more open to that person.

In a study done by Alan Gray of University College London,
He found that the participants who had a good laugh together tend to be more open and shared significantly more personal information than the groups who did not.

Why do you think this happens?

Because humor lowers defense.
It triggers the release of one of the happy hormones (Endorphin) in our system and establishes a rapport and intimacy and promotes friendship by showing common sentiments.

•It makes content more shareable.

Social folks like to share contents that are funny and informative.

I’m sure you have noticed that funny memes and videos are popular.
In fact, most viral contents are funny.

People consider what they share online to be a reflection of their very own personality.
For them, the source of the content is not important as long as they deem the content to be funny and interesting.

Remember the Oreo tweet during the Super Bowl 2013.
The game was delayed due to a Blackout, and during that delay, Oreo posted a tweet.

That tweet garnered 16000 tweets and became one of the most talked-about of the Super Bowl.

Humor in copywriting

Humor is highly subjective;
And that’s why it can be a risky approach when using it in copywriting.

What you find playful and funny can be an insult to others.

People and companies are afraid of using humor.

Their concern for most of the time is:
“What if people don’t trust me?”
“What if it doesn’t convert?”
“What people find it too flippant.”
“What people find it offensive.”
blah blah blah and the list goes on.

But, despite all these, there are many brands and copywriters that incorporate humor and are really successful in doing so.

One of the best examples is Neville Medhora.

He wrote the email that was humorous, engaging, and the total opposite of the norm and still ended up making the first $10,000 profit in AppSumo in just a day.

That’s the power of humorous copywriting when used correctly.

•Incorporate Humor in copywriting

I know, I know.
Not everyone has a panache for writing humor.
And believe me, you don’t have to be a pro at using it.

Let me in you a secret.
Humor heavily relies on the element of surprise.

When you put unexpected and contrasting ideas or words together,
it catches your reader off guard.
The result is that the readers are surprised and find the article engaging.

So do the same in your copywriting.
Surprise your audience.

There are many places where you can incorporate humor in a good fashion.
You can use it in the funnel process, contact page, about page, conversion Page.

Here is an example of how Groupon used humor in their unsubscribe page.

It’s a classic act of how Groupon made you smile even when breaking up with you.

Here is another example by Zendesk.
See how they used a little playfulness to generate humor.

I have covered some tips and strategies on how you can incorporate humor in the later section of this blog post.

When Humor doesn’t convert

You already knew about the cases where using humor fell flat.
Not every company is successful when using humor

Here’s the reason why it fails to convert:

•When you are being offensive

I think this is pretty self-explanatory.
Nobody likes a loudmouth.

Being offensive is never a good idea.
It certainly grabs your audience’s attention, but that’s it.

Try to stay away from politics, religion, and sex unless you want to contend with mountains of people who don’t agree with the opinions that you have.

And if you’re still going to use these topics, make sure you are absolutely ready to maintain and defend those opinions of yours.

Here’s an example of how an ad can be unknowingly offensive.

See this ad by Mr. Clean.

This ad came in 2011 and strongly conveyed that the real work of women is to clean the house.
As you have probably guessed, this ad was not well received, especially from the younger crowd.

•When it’s not the correct audience

Have you ever tried telling an adult joke to your grandparents?
A word of advice; Please don’t.

I almost got thrown under piles of words and deadly stares.

But try the same joke within your friend’s circle.
and lo-and-behold, you will be well received by haha sound.

You know, telling jokes is only half the battle.
The other half is finding the right audience.

If you observe famous people around you, you will find that they have their audience according to how they preach.

Take the example of a stand-up comedian.

What can you tell about their audience?
Their audience likes to laugh, are in a bubbly mood, and probably have a different way of seeing the world.
You won’t find people that are dead serious there.

•When timing is off

Ever tried to celebrate Christmas in January instead of December?
Of course, no.

But why?
Because that’s the specific time all the people are celebrating it.
They are in jolly moods, buying costumes, preparing candies and sweets to give to others.

Christmas loses its importance if you try to celebrate it any other day than 25th December.

Same is the case with the humor.
If you pause too much or go too fast, humor loses its touch.
You miss that little moment of precision where everything falls correctly.

•When you are inconsistent

Have you ever traveled in a ramshackle road?
The word “pain in the ass” literally comes true in this scenario.

Yeah, like this.

You don’t want your audience to feel like that. Don’t you?
Make a smooth ride for them.

And that’s why try to be consistent in your copy.
It doesn’t mean that you have to cram the jokes down their throats.
Just try to maintain the tone and flavor.

• When you make it a laughter house.

I told you earlier that humor is distracting.
Remember the feeling when you know you laughed hard but don’t know why or worse, for whom.

The moment you try to make your copy a laughing machine, people will forget who you are.
Don’t make that mistake.
Trade humor in moderation.

• When you prioritize more on being clever than clear.

Try to be clear when the copy asks for it.

Because if your audience can’t figure out the meaning behind the lines or what will happen when the “red shiny” button is clicked;
Chances are you will lose that audience of yours.

Always remember that your end goal is to connect with the audience or to make sales, not to open a comedy club;
So make sure that your humor doesn’t overshadow the message you are trying to convey.

Follow a rule of thumb.
Prioritize clarity over funny when you have something important regarding sales, to tell your audience.

Hacks and Strategies

There are specific strategies you can use to make your copy humorous.

•Rules of 3

“There are only three things women need in life,
Food, water and compliments”
Chris Rock

You see, how it made you smile in just 13 words.

Leo McCarey, one of the most popular comedy directors of the pre-World War 2 era, called “Rules of 3” as almost an “Unwritten rule.”
Quoting him,
The jokes work best when there are two straightforward examples to establish a pattern and then a third to shatter it.”

You know what makes it funny;
It’s the third example, where the writer says something that’s totally unexpected, which in turn adds a humorous feeling to it.

Not the single example on its own but rather, it’s the relationship between these examples that makes it amusing and surprisable.
It catches the reader off-guard, which causes them to smile or chuckle.

•The Reverse

One of the important elements for the joke to work is a surprise.
And the easiest way to create surprise is to lead the audience to assume one thing, then breaking that assumption of theirs with something different in the last second.

And lo-and-behold… You got a famous recipe for making “The Reverse. ”

The first part is known as the setup, and the switcheroo is known as the Punchline.

But, just be careful not to overuse it.
If people become aware that the ending is going to be switched, they will lose their moment of surprise.
And without surprise, there is no laugh.

Here’s an example:
“Last week my house was on fire. My wife told the kids, ‘Be quiet, you’ll wake up Daddy.” — Rodney Dangerfield

I wrote a book on reverse psychology.
Don’t buy it!” —
Unknown

•Unspoken Truth

You know one of the best tricks to make your audience laugh?
It’s a simple unspoken truth.

There are many things that people are embarrassed to talk about.
Not only embarrassed, sometimes they are afraid, sometimes they are sad, sometimes they are disgusted, and the list goes on.

If you can find some hidden or unspoken truth and present it in a funny way, you can even change their prejudice and make them laugh at the same time.

Check out this meme by Steffenfield.

•Parallelism

It’s a sentence having two or more phrases or clauses, having the same grammatical structure.

It follows the path of incongruity;
And just like incongruity, it is often used to juxtapose two different contrasting ideas.

Here are some examples:
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
— Groucho Marx

“I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod;
My shadow does that much better.”
— Plutarch

•Use Punctuation

Want your reader to feel awkward pause, exasperation, or weird eye roll expression?
Punctuation is your partner here.

Yup, that’s eye roll.

Use punctuation like the ellipsis to show hesitation or pause.

See the below excerpt from a blog post by Grammarly.

•Use Caps Lock

Have you ever watched a standup comedian?
They try to stress different words to convey a different meaning and feelings to their audience.

Same is the case when you try to use humor in your copy.
You don’t want to deliver in a flat monotone voice;
And what’s the best way to do it other than using caps lock?

I know, on the Internet, writing in caps lock is considered as shouting or yelling.
But if used correctly and moderately, you can use it to emphasize certain words to add a voice to your copy.

•Exaggeration

A simple difference between expectation and reality results in feelings of amusement.

Exaggeration overemphasizes and dramatizes a situation.
It’s a way of bringing a story to life.

Check this example:
All my wife does is shop — Once she was sick, and three stores went under.
— Henry Youngman

Creating exaggeration is easy,
Take a few basic sentences and see if you can gather some ideas about it.
Now try to stretch or overstates some ideas of yours.

Make it unreal.
Push it to the extreme and beyond reason.

Conclusion

Man… this was one heck of a ride.

You still with me?
Good…

You see, humor is a very powerful tool in a copywriter’s arsenal.
It’s just that it doesn’t have a clear set of an instruction manual.

There are lots of things that come into play when making humor.
Even though I wanted, I couldn’t cover it all, as it would make the post too long.

Many brands and copywriters are using humor, and they are very successful with it.

Why don’t you give it a try?
C’mon, let out all your pent-up thoughts below.

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