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April Fools Newsletter Ideas for 2024
8 April Fools Day Newsletter Ideas
Jacob Bear
April 1st, 2024
Was this a joke?
The marketing newsletter promised “10 Uninspiring Practices Guaranteed to Produce Mediocre Profits and Disappointing Results Every Time.”
Yes, it was April 1st, and the writer was having some fun.
Research has shown that humor can increase engagement and make your emails more memorable. So why not have a little bit of fun this spring?
April Fool’s Day is an opportunity to create a refreshing and memorable newsletter. Here are eight April Fools Day newsletter ideas to get you started.
We’re going to do a deep dive into each of these ideas below. But first, here’s the TL;DR in case you’re in a hurry:
An April Fools newsletter needs to offer value, avoid upsetting your readers, and stay consistent with your brand
Emphasize an amazing feature or offer that seems like a prank, but is not
Come up with a funny coupon code for your April Fools newsletter
Create a prank around a popular item
Help your customers prank their friends--and use this as a source of referrals
Write about a new, fake product in your April Fools Newsletter
Share historic information about April Fools Day
Tell your readers about April Fools pranks carried out by other businesses
Offer your tips on how to avoid being fooled on April Fools Day
Pranks in your April Fools newsletter should link to a landing page that says, “April Fools” and makes it clear these are jokes
If your joke upsets customers, treat the situation the same way you would treat a customer complaint or bad PR
Table of Contents
What to Include in an April Fools Newsletter?
A newsletter is still a newsletter. If you want to maintain your credibility, your April Fools newsletter should always give the reader some value.
For example, advice on getting an outcome which is the opposite of what the reader wants. Such as “7 Meal Preparation Tips That Will Nauseate Your Dinner Guests.”
While your subject lines give them a shock, you’ll write a hilarious newsletter that reveals 7 mistakes your reader should avoid. You’re providing useful information with an April Fool’s twist.
You should also think carefully about your April Fools newsletter subject lines. Encourage more opens by jumping into the joke right away or you might want to be more subtle.
It all depends on which April Fools newsletter ideas you choose to implement and how well you know your audience.
Creating a Funny and Engaging April Fools Newsletter
As you can see, this is a ridiculously underappreciated opportunity. April Fools newsletters can entertain, inform, and sell with a light but irresistible touch.
Here are a few best practices for your April Fools newsletter.
Make Sure It Is the Right Tone for Your Audience
There’s a tightrope walk between getting a positive laugh and potentially harming your brand.
Most businesses can afford to be lighthearted, but there are exceptions.
If you’re in an industry such as healthcare or finance, where customers expect you to be serious, you’ll have to blend a careful mix of creativity and caution.
Know your audience, and know when there’s a line you can’t cross.
Be Fun and Engaging
Add some jokes or clever puns to your April Fools newsletter. For example, you could tweak one of the words in the name of your newsletter. If your newsletter is “Power Tools Reviewed,” why not change the header to read, “Power Tools Unglued.” The Milk Road could become The Spilled Milk Road for a day.
A consistent newsletter template is an important asset.
But it’s OK to create a few one-time design tweaks to show this edition is different. For example, if you normally have faces or emojis in your newsletter, you could have them all wearing jester’s caps.
Consider adding funny gifs or photos of you or your team doing something silly.
Special April Fools newsletter subject lines can also add to the fun.
To make your newsletter interactive, you may want to add a poll that asks your readers a silly question such as, “Are you concerned that your pet will replace you with AI?”
Why Trust Us? All beehiiv writers are carefully vetted for their knowledge and experience. Jacob Bear has been writing email marketing campaigns for nearly a decade. He has written April Fools newsletters, and is known for playing practical jokes on his friends. |
Now let’s dive into the fun. Here are some evergreen April Fools newsletter ideas to help you craft your own.
No Joke
Start with an amazing offer that seems like it couldn’t possibly be real. For example:
“All the features of our professional-level Scale plan, Free for 30 days? Is this an April Fool’s prank?”
Then totally impress your readers by showing them you’re not kidding.
Exclusive Coupon With a Funny Word
Who doesn’t like a coupon code?
You can make your readers laugh by departing from usual codes such as “SPRING25.”
Come up with a funny code such as DISGORGEDHAIRBALL for pet lovers, ATHLETESFOOT for shoes, or AIAIAI if you’re keeping your readers up to speed on AI.
Prank About a Popular Item
What is your most popular product or service? What could you do to 10x it? How could you make it suck?
Announce a new version of your product, exaggerated or changed to the point of ridiculousness. Apple is welcome to steal this example:
Introducing the iPhone Landline SE--It’s bolted to the wall. Featuring a vintage rotary dial and curly wire. Multi-user design means this phone will be shared by the entire family.
If you’re going to do this, be sure your readers can tell it is obviously a prank. You have to go completely over the top, or someone may try to buy your prank item!
Referral Program With Prank
Jewelry seller Brilliant Earth did a clever April Fools Day campaign using their app, which enables users to see the company's rings on their own fingers.
Brilliant Earth told their followers to use the app, take a screenshot, and post it saying, “I got engaged!” The company also provided a “drop a hint” feature that would send the picture to a partner or significant other.
Brainstorm a playful way that you can get your readers to share your content and information. Here are a few more suggestions:
Come up with a ridiculous way to use your product or service, and create a template your readers can send which humorously glorifies the virtues of this application. Maybe your shoes serve as a flower pot, or you recommend art projects using the makeup you sell.
Offer your readers something unexpected and unbelievable in exchange for sharing your link. For example, they get a free trained wallaby if they refer 3 people. Then send them a photo, video, or gif of a wallaby, along with an “April Fools” message and a coupon or other reward that offers something relevant and more reasonable.
Make a Joke About a New and Fictional Product
In 1998, Burger King announced the release of a new Whopper designed for left-handed people. The usual, round Whopper was rotated 180 degrees.
Burger King ran a series of ads explaining that all the condiments were distributed in a mirror-image version for the left-handed Whopper.
Thousands of hungry people waited in line for left-handed Whoppers. But the joke was on them: April Fools!
Can you make up a fake product and announce it in your April Fools newsletter?
If you do, make it so ridiculous that it’s clearly a jest.
The easiest way to do this is to offer a product that does the opposite of what your followers want. You could also highlight features that are either meaningless (like a left-handed burger) or completely absurd.
You can also give your reader some historic April Fools tales. Here are a few examples, going as far back as the 17th century:
In 1698, people in London were told to come and see the annual “Washing of the Lions” at the Tower of London. This lion bath, scheduled for April 1st, never took place. But for centuries afterwards, the event was announced each year and sometimes tickets were printed. The most gullible people--usually from out of town--would show up to see the fake event.
In 1905, a German newspaper said that all the gold in the U.S. Federal Treasury had been stolen.
In 1957, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) got in on the tradition with their own April Fools prank. They reported a record “spaghetti harvest,” thanks to the virtual disappearance of an imaginary pest, the “spaghetti weevil.” They played footage of farm workers harvesting spaghetti from bushes and trees.
In 1992, the Los Angeles Airport hoisted an enormous banner for April Fools Day. It read, “Welcome to Chicago” and was placed outside where passengers would see it as their plane landed.
In 2016, National Geographic announced that they would “no longer degrade animals by showing photos of them without clothes.” Anyone who clicked through to the article saw a page with cute pictures of dogs and cats dressed up in human clothing, and the words, “April Fools!”
Provide Examples of the Funnier Pranks From Famous Brands
If your newsletter audience are business or marketing folks, you can share a few April Fools pranks carried out by popular brands.
For example, Taco Bell pretended they bought the Liberty Bell as an April Fools joke. They announced it would now be the “Taco Liberty Bell” and they encouraged other corporations to buy up national treasures to help pay off the national debt.
In 2013, Twitter (now X) announced they would no longer support vowels for their free accounts. Users could opt to pay monthly for a premium account, which would enable them to include vowels in their posts. “Twitter Premium” also included the chance to pay for an extra character through an auction bid. This process was limited to one character per account.
Groupon took the April Fools tradition to a whole new level when they reported owning the patent to April Fools. “You and your favorite corporate entities are barred from creating or participating in any April 1 prank without the express written consent of Groupon,” they warned.
Another April Fools Newsletter idea would be to give your readers advice on how to avoid being fooled. You could throw in some comical, joke advice, such as, “delete all emails, texts, and DMs you receive on April 1st without reading them.”
How Do I Choose the Right Tone for My April Fools Newsletter?
There are three schools of thought around tone.
The first perspective is that you don’t break character. If your usual tone is professional, or even somber, then keep it this way for your April Fools newsletter. Deliver your jokes completely deadpan, and let the ridiculousness of the message speak for itself.
Another April Fools newsletter idea is to exaggerate your tone. Whether your brand is serious, sassy, or snarky, turn up the volume until your newsletter becomes a caricature of itself.
Finally, you could do the complete opposite. Adopt a tone that is so far away from your usual tone that your readers think they’re dreaming.
With all three of these approaches, make sure you understand your readers. You want to amuse them, perhaps even shock them. But you have to avoid offending them.
Can I Use Real Offers in My April Fools Newsletter?
Using real offers in your April Fools newsletter is a great idea.
Especially if you have an offer so good you can present it in the context of, “No Joke” as discussed above.
You could also set up a real offer by preceding it with something ridiculous.
For example, your April Fools offer would be “Make $100 or more in purchases today and receive a free armadillo. Offer only good for residents of Atlantis or Middle Earth.”
When they click through or scroll down, they see a different bonus for their $100 purchase “for the rest of us.”
The real offer could include a graphic of an armadillo with a red circle and slash, and fine print saying, “Offer not valid in Atlantis or Middle Earth.”
How Can I Make Sure My April Fools' Newsletter Is Engaging?
Cultures throughout the world have a Fool character in their mythology, who is usually depicted doing something strange and unorthodox. The Fool is often an entertainer and frequently an unexpected teacher.
The archetype of the Fool has always been engaging. If you follow the April Fools newsletter ideas we’ve given you in this article, you will live up to this role.
What Should I Do if My April Fools' Joke Backfires?
Rule number one is to avoid upsetting your readers. Here are a few essential preventative measures:
If it doesn’t spoil the fun, mention April Fools Day in the newsletter itself. This way your readers will know to expect a prank.
Link any offer or Call to Action to a page that prominently says, “April Fools” above the fold. They’ve already taken the bait, so deliver the punchline.
Never make jokes about violence, race, gender, or any subject that is likely to offend your readers. If your newsletter isn’t already political by nature, avoid political jokes. Your humor can be shocking, but not
upsetting.
Show that you are joking with an element of factual impossibility, such as “Offer only good for residents of Neptune.”
If you still manage to offend someone, treat it with the same gravity as any PR blunder or customer complaint.
First, listen to the offended party. Let them express how they feel, and acknowledge their feelings.
Next, apologize and offer to make it right. If the joke has upset a large segment of your readers, make your apologies and corrections public.
Get Started with Your April Fools Newsletter
If you want to send a knockout April Fools Newsletter, you’ll need the ability to customize every element of the design.
beehiiv emails are fully customizable and render well on every device. You can also insert polls directly into the email for better engagement and interaction.
The beehiiv platform enables you to segment your audience to make sure each of your subscribers gets a message that’s appropriate for them.
If you write an exceptionally funny April Fools newsletter, your readers will want to share it. The referral program in beehiiv allows you to track and reward this behavior with just a few clicks. It’s a powerful way to grow your list year-round.
If we told you about beehiiv’s AI tools, customizable landing pages, 3D analytics, and superior deliverability you would probably think we were playing a joke.
So see for yourself. Sign up for a free 30-day trial and start a beehiiv newsletter.
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