How to write funny content

Try self-deprecating humor

When executives at the San Francisco sewer department needed to call attention to the system’s crumbling infrastructure, PR pros at Davis & Associates knew just what was needed.

How to write funny content — **You must be joking** Add self-deprecating humor to your message. *Image by your_photo*

Poop jokes.

**A bunch of crap** Potty humor increased awareness of the San Francisco sewer department’s crumbling infrastructure.

Traditionally, outreach for public agencies has been formulaic, sober and dull. But blah-blahing about upgrading failing infrastructure to ensure the reliability and performance now and into the future wasn’t going to cut it.

So D&A PR professionals stole a line from critics of the deteriorating sewer system, who sized up the situation, tongue in cheek, as “a bunch of crap.”

**Who gives a crap?** More than 200,000 people who visited the sewer department’s public awareness campaign website as a result of this campaign. That’s who.

D&A pros pushed their client to “walk the fine line between attention getting and off-putting.”

They plastered “No one deals with more crap than I do” and “You can’t live a day without me” ads on buses and Facebook feeds. They offered fun facts on their campaign website, hosted a quiz with prizes and even wrote a rap song. Because of course they did.

**Shift happens** Poop wordplay earned Davis & Associates a PRSA Silver Anvil Award.

The results? Coverage by Inc. and Fast Company. In-depth stories on the local news. A double-digit increase in social media engagement.

And — oh, yes — a PRSA Silver Anvil for Davis & Associates PR pros.

Which means, of course, that they are hot, um, stuff.

Humor is one of the Top 3 reasons people share content. And self-deprecating humor reveals is confidence, builds credibility and overcomes distance between the your organization and your audience.

Ask: Are you taking yourself, your organization and your message too seriously?

How can you make tedious topics interesting?

Fun facts and juicy details might seem like the Cheez Doodles and Cronuts of communication: tempting, for sure, but a little childish and not particularly good for you.

Not so. Concrete details are more like salad dressing and aioli — the secret sauces it takes to get the nutritious stuff down.

Now you can learn to use concrete details to change people's minds — and behavior — at Master the Art of Storytelling, our business-storytelling workshop starting July 11.

There, you’ll learn six quick ways to add color to your message and how to help readers understand big ideas through specific details.

Save up to $100 with our group discounts.