Continuing the seasonal theme with Scribbles my email newsletter, this month, when you might have succumbed to an April Fools’ joke on the first of the month, I took a look at how to put some fun into your marketing. A lot of marketing can become tired and repetitive, so what can you do to liven yours up a bit?

Good marketing is marketing that grabs the attention of your potential client. Websites that drone on about how great you are, or blogs that go into technical detail will not win you new clients. When you provide a service such as coaching, consulting or training, you need a way to show your prospective clients what they will get from working with you. You need to share your knowledge and expertise with them, allowing them to get to know you.

But life is serious enough, so think about ways in which you can lighten up the lives of your prospects, by bringing a bit of humour into your marketing.

Here are a few of my favourite examples of how you can fool around with your marketing.

Email newsletters – I receive a very good newsletter from Jeremy Nicholas, who is a very funny chap. While he shares really good advice in his newsletters, he also adds some humour to bring his examples to life. Check out his newsletter here.

Videos – something that really makes me laugh about Jeremy’s newsletters are the occasional videos he includes, especially the ones of him talking to his dog. While they don’t tell you what Jeremy can do to help your business, the videos help you get to know him. When you provide a service, allowing prospects to get to know you is vital.

Or you could just use Ewe Tube!

Blogs – my client Kate runs a serious business, helping leaders to become more effective at what they do. She writes a very informative blog which she shares on LinkedIn. To make her serious topic a bit lighter and to make her updates stand out, Kate has commission a serious of very funny cartoons. You can find one of my favourites here.

Social media – how many accountants does it take to change a light bulb? Being an Accountant is a serious job, but because it’s service, to promote it effectively, Accountants (and all other Consultants) need to allow potential clients to get to know them. This is what my former client Graham used to do, by including jokes in his tweets and Facebook updates. (By the way, the answer is two – one to change the bulb and one to check it was done within budget!)

Workshops and talks – one of the best ways for coaches and consultants to promote their businesses is by running events for clients and prospects. As well as sharing useful advice and showing off your expertise, you can add some humour and show people what makes your business different. I once ran a workshop using some of my favourite soft toys as props!

Clever copy – or you could just resort to a clever sign outside your office.

Whatever business you’re in, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of other people doing what you do. You need to find an effective way of making your business stand out from the crowd. Adding some fun to your marketing can help you do this, while giving your potential clients the chance to get to know the real you.

What will next month’s Scribbles be about? May Day (mayday, mayday, my marketing is in trouble!)? Reading Beer Festival? Spring Bank Holiday? All suggestions gratefully received!

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