Close your eyes and think about the most boring occupation you can imagine. For most people, it is something like accounting or financial planning. Trying to make either service sound exciting is tough work.

For Martin Watkins, CFP, the solution to getting himself in front of potential clients has been through humor. He sends high quality cards to his list of prospects each month. The cards are never the same size or format twice in a row and they aren’t mechanically addressed. They look like invitations, not junk mail. Each card features a funny quote related to finance and timed to the season. Then we build on the sense of fun with careful image selection and creative typography.

There is no hard sell, just a reminder that he’s ready and waiting to give a free consultation.

I call this style of advertising “getting in the side door” because it is unlike typical “frontal attack” styles of direct mail.