Humor, does it work in all niches\some\any at all?

[ragnartm]

Sure we've all seen some people that use quite a bit of humor in their ad copy, blog or newsletter that also happen to be successful, to me that's not what's interesting. Their success can have come by through luck, circumstance, help, acquaintances among other things. Can humor improve results of say, a squeeze page, or a sales page no matter who you are or what niche you are? Honest, clean tasteful humor(not necessarily, depends on the niche of course). Can it? I'm running a few tests in the IM/MMO at the moment that look promising, but that's not really enough, I'd like your opinions on this.

[Anita Ashland]

Originally Posted by ragnartm

Can humor improve results of say, a squeeze page, or a sales page no matter who you are or what niche you are?

No, humor won't improve your copy no matter what. It depends on your niche, who you are and what type of humor you use.

Humor can work in a story on your sales page, if it's light-hearted and not offensive, and if your objective is to make a connection with the prospect more than it is to make them laugh.

In the IM niche though, at least in my experience, humor works best in blog posts, email and video and not on a squeeze or sales page. If I wanted to improve the conversion rate of a squeeze page, humor wouldn't be among the first things I'd try to add. Instead I'd look at, say, Joe Sugarman's 31 psychological triggers first and make sure those bases are covered.

Also, humor can too easily backfire. I wrote humor columns for local newspapers for 15 years and quickly learned that even when people expect humor from you they don't always appreciate it. :-) What you think is funny and what your prospect thinks is funny can be two different things.

[Treborrevo]

Yes, humor can work.

Should you try to use it?

NO!

A) Your highest potential leverage areas are List, Offer, Creative (headlines). Play there.

B) Everything Anita said. Knowing that a large percentage of your audience want a specific benefit is pretty high probability. Knowing that a large percentage of your audience would find something funny is a very high risk guess.

C) NEVER NEVER use humor on financial services! (test after test has shown humor to TANK response rates in these industries - heck, some test have shown lots of color to reduce response. These niches are serious).

D) Maybe - Maybe use it on personal care products like toilette paper (puppies, cartoon bears, etc are often used to bridge into these very sensitive areas).

But with such high-probability plays like cranking up the offer, guarantee, better bonuses, testing headlines, putting a signature below the headline, adding audio or video, etc, etc, .. Why would anyone even consider playing with a dangerous, unpredictable element like humor?

[procopywriter]

The other posts are valid. However, I would add that humor--when used appropriately--is a great relationship-building tool. It insures people actually read your stuff. It's very magnetic.

It's not a CRITICAL element in a sales letter. But if you use it appropriately, it keeps people reading. One of my sales mentors teaches "funny equals money." It builds rapport and trust... and works in print, as well. Sure you might offend some people (like Big Ass Fans does in a conservative B2B market), but you'll attract others who love it.

If you're talking about catalog copy, or newsletters, etc., humor can add a LOT and make people eager to read. I'm thinking of companies like Big Ass Fans and Trader Joe's off the top of my head, for example. I write a newsletter for company that manufactures high-output blacklights for the entertainment industry. Humor is part of the appeal of the newsletter, and why people love it.

It certainly depends on the niche, but humor creates magnetism. Even Dan Kennedy uses--and teaches--humor and tongue-in-cheek in his copy.

(BUT.... if the copy is bad, humor won't help you one bit.)