April Fools’ Email Ideas To Make Your Subscribers Laugh Out Loud

April Fools’ Email Ideas To Make Your Subscribers Laugh Out Loud
18 March, 2022 • ... • 860 views
Valeria Shulga
by Valeria Shulga

Even if you represent a very serious business, April Fools’ Day is a perfect occasion to go crazy and have fun! Play some pranks, troll readers (but in a kind, joking manner), and do everything that may splash the dash of laughter! For marketers, it’s also a chance to make your prospects aware of current discounts and promotions. So, if you are planning to send an April Fools’ Day email campaign, make sure it is both informative and humorous.

Read on to find out tips and tricks to use in your holiday email campaigns, and see the examples of successful April Fools’ Day ideas to get inspired from.

Why send out April Fools’ email

The 1st of April is a favorite holiday for many people of all ages. It is not a typical promotional day like Black Friday or Saint Valentine’s day, and that’s why it’s worth your attention. An overall atmosphere of fun and joy makes people feel relaxed and more open, so your campaigns sent on this day are likely to hit the target and engage the audience!

April Fools’ Email Example by Nations Photo Lab
A good combination of a promo offer and a playful tone corresponds to the subscribers’ festive mood. Source: Mailcharts.com

Humor is a good tool to improve connections with your audience and make your brand memorable. The research by scientists from International Islamic University in Malaysia says that messages imbued with humor are easier to remember.

Funny jokes can certainly add new dimensions to your campaign, and earn you better results, but only if used appropriately. So, let’s dive a bit deeper into the essence of April Fools’ emails and figure out the secrets of the most successful campaigns.

How to create your campaign

When it comes to April Fools’ jokes, it’s so easy to take it too far which usually results in the negative buzz around your company. Before making a prank, do a little research to avoid looking foolish.

Last year, on the 1st of April Dileveroo’s (food delivery service) users in France, received the following message with a fake bill saying thank you for ordering 38 pizzas and 50 portions of sauce:

April Fools’ Email Example by Deliveroo
Source: Dailymail.co.uk

It resulted in thousands of panicked customers who thought their accounts had been hacked. Later, Deliveroo confirmed via Twitter that it was a bad prank. But the customers had already got angry and some of them even wanted to boycott the service.

Here are the simple steps to avoid situations like the one mentioned above:

Define your goals

First of all, figure out what goals you pursue launching this campaign. Notify the customers about holiday promotions? Boost sales? Increase brand awareness? Simply entertain your subscribers and cheer them up? Find it out and build your campaign depending on this goal.

You don’t have to join the overall festive madness only because everyone does so. Stay true to your brand and keep the joke in tune with your company’s culture. If your company’s tone of voice is usually serious, trying to be funny once a year might come off as awkward and forced.

Segment your audience

Make sure that your audience reacts to the prank properly. Do some research before you start sending out your campaigns: think about the customer profile your joke will be addressed to. What’s their age? Gender? Location? Interests? This data will guide you and give you a good idea of what types of jokes are welcomed and what might be frowned upon.

Surely, you won’t be 100% accurate. It’s impossible to match the joke perfectly to every subscriber. However, such an approach is helpful when it comes to determining how customers will react to the joke and how far you can go.

Come up with a catchy subject line

April Fools’ Day is a chance to mix things up. Don’t be afraid of experimenting with email subject lines: you can try several different strategies to see which one works best for your audience.

  1. To make sure that your emails will be open, intrigue the subscribers! Make a crazy or bold statement to surprise them and awaken their curiosity. For example, PizzaExpress on the 1st of April sent an email with the subject line “Cutlery Now Banned at PizzaExpress”. Here’s how it looks:
April Fools’ Email Example by PizzaExpress
Source: Fresh Relevance

The subject line looks so absurd that it immediately grabs the attention and increases engagement, making the readers open the email to see what’s going on.

  1. You can stick to the more traditional approach, simply using holiday-related words like “prank”, “joke”, kidding”, “fool”, “fun”, “crazy” in your subject line. It may not be as attention-grabbing as the previous strategy but still performs well.

Here are some examples of the subject lines for your inspiration:

Joke

  • No Joke! Open to Reveal Your Exclusive 1-Day Offer…
  • It may be April Fools’ day but our prices are no joke!
  • No joke, your April Fools’ Day deal is 40% off!
  • Jokes On Us! ? Savings Inside
  • It may be April Fools’, but we’re not joking…

Prank

  • April Fools’’ Day Sale — No Pranks, just Real Offers. This Weekend only!
  • 3 Lasting Benefits To April Fools’ Day Prank Marketing;
  • OMG these pranks are too good ??
  • April Fools’ prank ideas! + 40% off with code SPRING40
  • Prank All Over Me

Fool

  • Don’t Be Fooled – This Deal is For REAL
  • Ready for April Fools’?
  • 15% OFF Online Only! No Foolin’
  • Free Shipping All Day — No Fooling!
  • No Foolin’! This Deal is Not to Be Missed…

Make sure you’re mobile-friendly

When you think about how to create a “good-looking” email, every detail matters. Stats says that mobile email accounts for approximately 44% of email opens, depending on your target audience, product, and email type. So, make sure your digital marketing campaign displays correctly on all types of devices, especially when it comes to the templates with GIFs, videos, and complex layouts.

Provide a clever call to action

The CTA should be clear and remarkable, and a bit festive, of course. Instead of boring “Shop now” and “Visit the website”, you can use more creative variants to boost engagement and increase sales. BarkShop did that in their campaign, jokingly offering your dog to get a job:

April Fools’ Email Example by BarkBox
Source: Mailcharts.com

Surely, it is not necessary to squeeze out something extraordinary, if you don’t have any ideas. “Shop now”, “Buy today” may also be suitable for your April Fools’ Day email template, especially when the button looks prominent, and is conveniently located.

April Fools’ Email Example by Fossil
Source: Mailcharts.com

Fossil has divided CTA into two different buttons: for him & her. Such a trick shows that you care about subscribers’ time and want to make their user experience as comfortable as possible.

April Fools’ Day email ideas to use in your campaign

Here are the noteworthy ideas you can use for inspiration when creating your April Fools’ Day campaign.

Don’t be afraid to show your sense of humor

April Fools’ Day is all about jokes and crazy pranks: everyone’s having a great time teasing each other. Show that you can joke with your subscribers too! Use puns, play on words, bright pictures, tell funny stories –– it depends on your taste and company’s tone of voice.

April Fools’ Email Example by King Artur Flour
Source: Mailcharts.com

That’s an example of a soft self-deprecating joke. King Arthur Flour uses such an approach to show that even pros sometimes make mistakes when cooking –– “details the far-ranging ways we’ve baked and failed this year.” It encourages beginners to carry on baking no matter how many mistakes they make.

Offer special discounts and deals

Traditionally, companies and brands initiate sales dedicated to the upcoming holiday. April Fools’ Day is no exception –– that’s a chance to be more creative and show your business in the most profitable way possible.

April Fools’ Email Example by Reuzel
Source: Email.uplers.com

The illustration of Reuzel’s email makes you give a chuckle or two. The content is crisp and to the point: the company offers festive discount codes which last till midnight –– it’s a well-known strategy of so-called last chance emails. The CTA buttons contrast sharply against the background and are very prominent.

Try creating a fake product

April Fools’ Email Example by Boohoo
Source: Mailcharts.com

Do you believe a company that sells clothes can launch its own airline? It’s hard to believe…but who knows? Boohoo pranked its subscribers in a funny yet unconventional way –– such an email definitely awakens curiosity and grabs readers’ attention.

April Fools’ Email Example by Email Uplers
Source: Email.uplers.com

Mood-responsive email –– sounds like something from a sci-fi movie, right? Email Uplers don’t think so: they’re pretty sure it can become a part of our today’s reality –– with their help, of course! (By the way, it’s also a prank). The bright and funny visuals illustrate the moods and, surely, immediately get you interested and coax you to click the CTA button.

Best April Fools’ emails examples that we’ve ever seen

Here are some really creative examples of April Fools’ emails that prank the subscribers but do it in a funny and smart way.

Waves

April Fools’ Email Example by Waves
Source: Klaviyo.com

Waves decided to prank its subscribers by telling them that their stores were closing. That’s a bit risky April Fools’ Day email, yet attention-grabbing. Surely, they’ve sent another email and told the subscribers it was a bluff, but we’re sure they gave some of the customers a good scare!

Kelty

April Fools’ Email Example by Kelty
Source: Mailcharts.com

Very often April Fools’ emails prank the subscribers. But what if you offer subscribers to prank each other? It can be even more effective –– Kelty proves that, displaying the way you can prank a friend using their products. Such an intriguing approach!

True & Co

April Fools’ Email Example by True&Co
Source: Andrew Graham blog on Pinterest

I laughed so hard when I found this email 🤣 True & Co pretends to create the world’s first remote-controlled bra, where the level of push-up can be switched with your iPhone. A must-have for first dates and deep necklines! But, unfortunately, they’re pranking us too –– and it looks so true-to-life that I’m afraid lots of girls feel disappointed having found it out!

Final thoughts

A touch of humor can add new dimensions to your campaign, and earn you better results, but only if it’s used appropriately. Here are the simple steps to follow when creating a good-looking email for an April Fools’ Day campaign:

  • Define your goals –– choose the key pros of launching your campaign, and build your strategy depending on these goals.
  • Make sure that your audience reacts to the prank properly –– do some research before you start sending out your campaigns, and think about the customer profile your joke will be addressed to.
  • Create a catchy email: choose an attention-grabbing subject line, use a prominent CTA, and check whether your campaign is mobile-friendly.

Here are the noteworthy ideas you can use in your April Fools’ Day campaign:

  • Don’t be afraid to show your sense of humor. Use puns, play on words, bright pictures, tell funny stories –– it depends on your taste and company’s tone of voice
  • Offer special discounts and deals. April Fools’ Day is a chance to be more creative in your promotions and show your business in the most profitable way possible.
  • Try creating a fake product. It makes the readers curious and forces them to open the email to see what’s in it.
  • Use funny visuals. Grab subscribers’ attention with colorful and humorous illustrations, which create a festive atmosphere.

A half-hearted attempt to capitalize on April Fools’ Day won’t get your emails noticed. So, try to add some personal approach to your campaign, and you’ll definitely get incredible results!

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18 March, 2022
Article by
Valeria Shulga
A writer by nature, study, and trade with more than 7 years of experience. Contributor at Selzy wearing many hats: I create special content projects, write articles, and own Facebook and Reddit communities. My expertise lies in email and content marketing, but I also have experience with the topics of real estate and immigration. Outside of work, I like spending my free time learning foreign languages, seeing plays at our local theaters, and doing yoga.
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