3 Ways to Differentiate Your Content Marketing Using Subtle Humor

If I can make you laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And, if I can persuade you to laugh at any particular point I make, by laughing you recognize it as true. - Actor and comedian, John Cleese

There is so much content these days, much of it written in the same boring, bland language. This is why creating dynamic and colorful content that stands out and attracts your ideal customers is crucial in content marketing.

How to create living content? Here are three ideas to consider:

Imbue your marketing content with subtle humor. Use fresh, detailed language in your marketing content. Let the best of you and your brand permeate your content.

In this article, the first in a three-part series on how to differentiate your content marketing by expressing yourself with verve and color, we'll look at the first idea: how to infuse your content with subtle humor.

I'm not talking about being a comedian or making people laugh for a minute. I'm talking about sometimes making your readers smile.

A word of warning: don't try to use all of these techniques at once in a single piece of content. This could have the opposite of the intended effect and drive prospects away.

Technical humor 1: Use words with the letter K

The humorous aspect of the letter K is best expressed through a few lines in Neil Simon's play, "The Sunshine Boys". In it, a comedian played by Walter Matthau explains the appeal of the letter K to his nephew.

In "The Sunshine Boys" by Neil Simon, Walter Matthau explains to his nephew the humor of the ... [+] letter K.

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Fifty-seven years in this business, you learn a few things. You know which words are funny and which words are not funny. Alka Seltzer is funny. You say 'Alka Seltzer' you get a laugh... Words with 'k' are funny. Casey Stengel, that's a funny name. Robert Taylor is not funny. The cupcake is funny. Tomato is not funny. Cookie is funny. Cucumber is funny. Car keys. Cleveland... Cleveland is funny. Maryland is no fun. Then there is the chicken. Chicken is funny. Pickle is funny. The cabin is funny. The cockroach is funny - not if you get it, only if you say it.

Here are some words with the K sound; do you see yourself using any of them in your content?

Pickle Bikini bonk Cheeky Mess

You can also use the technique to name your business and your products or services. A brand comes to mind: Design Pickle.

Design Pickle offers unlimited graphic design for a "crazy and affordable" monthly plan.

The word pickle subtly tickles my funny bone, as does the company logo - a smiling pickle.

Design Pickle uses the K sound in its name for humorous effect.

Design Pickle

Design Pickle founder and CEO Russ Perry says his company's name should be easy to say, easy to remember, and able to put a smile on anyone's face.

"When I named and branded Design Pickle, I had a huge pride pill to swallow," he says. "I realized that in my previous agency life, I had spent so many years branding companies, products, and marketing campaigns, trying to be as smart and intelligent as possible, but often forgetting one key requirement: being memorable. The Design Pickle name did the trick, and the domain was available."

Caiden Laubach, Creative and Communications Director of Design Pickle, says the team strategically considered humor as part of a recent brand renewal.

"When we did a brand overhaul earlier this year, we deliberately talked about styles of humor that would help kick our brand up a notch and elevate us while staying true to our roots," he says. “We decided to use