The great thing about writing an A-Z of Marketing is that you don’t really have to have a clear idea of what you’re going to write about, until the time comes to sit down and write the blog for the next letter. For the letter J, I looked at a previous A-Z that I’ve written and saw that last time I wrote about Joint Ventures, so knew that I should write about something different. I had a quick look on the internet for some inspiration and most other A-Zs feature Jargon as their letter J. But when I saw an article entitled ‘Essential Jargon’ I decided to steer clear. For me, ‘essential jargon’ is an oxymoron – a figure of speech that is actually contradictory. Why? Because in marketing we always advise you to avoid jargon – the industry words and phrases which you probably use every day, which your clients won’t understand. There is no such thing as essential jargon, so this blog had to be about something else.

What’s So Funny?

In this A-Z of Marketing, J is for Jokes. I wrote in a previous blog about how you can bring humour and personality to your marketing. They will help you to stand out from the crowd of other businesses that do exactly what you do. If you can bring a smile to the face of one of your prospects, as they struggle to deal with a tricky situation, they will be more likely to call you and ask for your help in solving that problem.

This got me asking myself how many Marketing Consultants it takes to change a light bulb. It would appear to depend on the type of Marketing Consultant you are asking. Here are some options:

Q: How many SEO consultants does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Two – one to change the light bulb and another to conduct a controlled experiment that shows that although rookie SEOs think the light bulb has changed, in reality there are over 200 factors that go into determining the state of the light bulb, so we can’t really know for sure that the light bulb has indeed changed.

Q: How many Social Media consultants does it take to change a light bulb?

A: None. If all you’re thinking about is changing the light bulb, you’re missing the point. The idea is to first lurk around in the room and watch other people changing light bulbs. Then, start providing commentary and encouragement to those that are changing light bulbs. Next, build relationships with these people in the lighting community. Then – and only then – should you even think about trying to change the light bulb.

Q: How many copywriters does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Nobody changes ANYTHING!

Lighten Up

A lot of what we all do every day at work is serious and important. We’re all trying to earn a living and get by. This means that a lot of marketing can become very serious. If you can lighten up and give people something to smile about, you’ll find it easier to get through the day. If you do something like marketing, accountancy or you’re an estate agent – professions that get looked down on, with a reputation for high fees – you’ll find it easier to sell your services if you add little humour and fun to your marketing.

And if you have any more light bulb jokes that you’d like to share with me, do send them to me at chantal@appletreeuk.com!