All the Serious Objections to Writing Funny Emails3 min read
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OK, the gloves are off. I’ve been haranguing you for more than a month about writing funny emails.
But you’re still skeptical, to say the least.
Here are all your serious objections:
1. I can’t write funny. It’s hard. I can’t do it. OK, I quashed that one last week. Get over it, already. Read my amazing argument here.
2. This won’t work in my industry. They don’t have a sense of humor. They will hate my funny emails.
And those, my friends, are really the only two reasons that you are terrified of including a dose of humor in your emails.
So, since I so adroitly answered the first one last week, I’ll tackle the second one today. Boy, I am efficient, aren’t I?
Yes, when you are writing to people in your industry, especially in prominent positions, they are all business; their sense of humor has been discarded completely.
When they reached their exalted positions, they made a conscious decision never to laugh again.
They stopped watching sit-coms, never went to another funny movie and certainly avoided attending any mud wrestling contests.
No, buttoned up and straight-laced, they sit at their computers eagerly anticipating a deluge of boring emails.
They just love that stuff.
No humor here. It’s all business. Serious business.
Or maybe not.
Perhaps your clients are more like this person.
Tony Hsieh, multimillionaire owner of Zappos. The guy lives in a trailer park and hangs out with his pet two pet lamas. No sense of humor or fun here.
Well, actually one of the guiding principles of his business is to, “Create fun and a little weirdness.” The guy is committed to serendipity and randomness in his life. And yeah, he’s worth $780 million.
Would he enjoy your funny emails? Meethinks so. Wouldn’t you love him as a client?
According to a prestigious article in the Harvard Business Review, “The workplace needs laughter. It’s been shown in research from institutions as serious as Wharton, MIT, and London Business School, that every chuckle or guffaw brings with it a host of business benefits. Laughter relieves stress and boredom, boosts engagement and well-being, and spurs not only creativity and collaboration but also analytic precision and productivity.”
So, not only are business people open to humor, they are craving it. They are completely open to it. They are happy to be exposed to it. They love it.
And when they get a funny email, they welcome it with open arms. They actually laugh. Strange but true.
I’m doing my best to convince you that just about anyone is open to humor and funny emails.
And look, if you send an email to some self-important dullard who doesn’t appreciate humor, why would you want him or her as a client anyway?
You wouldn’t. So humor not only gets attention, it’s the perfect screening system for clients who will be great to work with.
When they respond to your emails, they’ll respond enthusiastically. Would that be OK with you?
OK, then. Time to start infusing some humor into your emails. You no longer have any excuses.
Cheers, Robert
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