In the real estate industry, on those bus trips with a dozen or more agents going from home to home, the sponsor (typically a title agency rep) would break out some trivia questions and see who knew the answers. It always got the conversation flowing.

Why?

1 – People like to think. Not too hard. Not too much. But they DO like to think.

2 – Answering usually resulted in a prize of some sort.

3 – Some of the trivia was obscure or just plain funny. So the question would stump everyone or the answer would make them laugh.

Using trivia in your marketing materials can work in the same way. It gets your prospects to think. It stumps them and leaves them wanting more. Or it makes them laugh and appreciate the trivia…and likely leading them to pass it along.

The trivia does not have to relate to your actual business. If you create semi-conductors, few people will want to really know trivia about semi-conductors. You can use jokes, trivia involving famous people, a quiz, random facts, a “who said this quote”…

It doesn’t matter if your marketing material is print or electronic based. It could be an email autoresponder or it could be a direct mail postcard. That bit of trivia used within the piece will get your prospects to think rather than hitting the delete button or tossing the postcard in the trash. It gives you more time to have your marketing message in front of them.