Coming up
What to post for the August bank holiday
It's tempting to post 'summer's nearly over' with a sad face, do the opposite. It's the last long weekend, so make it the best one.
Mon 30 Aug 2027the date 337 days to gofrom today 12 daysthe run-up
Pick your days and we write your own guide. Your first plan is free.
Pick your days below. Nothing is made until you say.
The run-up
Every day between now and then that is worth a post
Not one a day. These are the ones that do a job. What each is for is underneath it.
Wed 18 Aug 12 days before Go where the feed isn't While everyone else mourns the end of summer, post the opposite, 'one last proper weekend, let's make it count'. Upbeat stands out in a feed full of sighs.
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Sun 22 Aug 8 days before Frame it as the last chance It really is the last long weekend of summer, so say so. People act on a genuine last chance far quicker than on a nice-to-have.
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Wed 25 Aug 5 days before Make it a send-off, not a wake A summer send-off, the last barbecue, the final garden session, the end-of-season special. Give people one clear reason to gather one more time.
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Sat 28 Aug 2 days before Post the long-weekend hours Three days off, so state plainly when you're open across them. On a bank holiday, being easy to find is half the job done.
Write this one →
Mon 30 Aug The day One last high On the day, lean right into it, the last of the outdoor tables, a sundown special, a proper goodbye to summer. Send them off remembering you.
Write this one →
How many days will you post?
4
4 days, all free.
Your days
Aug 18 12 days to Summer bank holiday Wednesday 18 August Go where the feed isn't
Aug 22 8 days to Summer bank holiday Sunday 22 August Frame it as the last chance
Aug 28 2 days to Summer bank holiday Saturday 28 August Post the long-weekend hours
Aug 30 Summer bank holiday day Monday 30 August One last high
The day itself is always one of them.
Written for · from About you
About you + a customer to write for
Your first plan this year, of 4 free. Nothing is posted anywhere.
The 99p pack: four more days on this plan. Paid once with a card. No account, no subscription.
Your plan · Halloween · 4 days Otley Barbers at Halloween Four days spread across the run-up, the day itself in. Each one is written for a barber in Chapel Allerton, and each one is a thing to think about while you work that day.
Kept on your profile Oct 11
20 days to Halloween Sunday 11 October · day 1 of 4
Suggested time · Sun 6 to 8 pm i Say it is coming
- One line, no photo: "Something is planned for the 31st."
- Photograph nothing yet. The wait is part of it.
- While you work: which dad would ask for a spooky colour spray for the kids? Note the name.
Why Sun 6 to 8 pm: Dads plan the week on Sunday night, after bedtime.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Oct 17
14 days to Halloween Saturday 17 October · day 2 of 4
Suggested time · Sat 9 to 10 am i Show it half-made
- The pumpkin in the window before it is carved.
- The kids' cut offer half-written on the board behind you.
- While you work: ask two Saturday dads if they would book the 31st.
Why Sat 9 to 10 am: Saturday dads book the morning of, from the school car park.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Oct 25
6 days to Halloween Sunday 25 October · day 3 of 4
Suggested time · Sun 6 to 8 pm i Show the proof
- The first kid with the Halloween colour, from behind, with the cape on.
- The chair by the window with the carved pumpkin on the counter.
- While you work: count the Saturday slots left and write the number down.
Why Sun 6 to 8 pm: Same slot as day one: they saw the first post here.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Oct 31
Halloween day Saturday 31 October · day 4 of 4
Suggested time · Sat 8 am and 4 pm i The day itself, twice
- Morning: what is still free today, with the opening time in the picture.
- Late afternoon: the last of it, "two chairs left till six".
- While you work: one photo of the busiest moment for next year.
Why Sat 8 am and 4 pm: The morning post catches the planners, the afternoon one the ones who forgot.
Everything on this card goes with it to What should I post?
Want more days? The 99p pack adds four to this plan.
The idea most businesses miss
Swim where no one else is
Kim and Mauborgne's idea is to stop fighting for attention in the crowded water where everyone competes the same way, and open up your own uncontested space instead. At the August bank holiday the feed fills with wistful 'summer's over' posts, that's the crowded water. Post the upbeat, let's-make-it-count message and you have clear water, and all the attention in it.
W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors and authors of Blue Ocean Strategy · Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant, Harvard Business Review Press, 2005
Questions
The questions people ask
- Isn't 'last weekend of summer' a bit gloomy?
- Only if you frame it as an ending. Frame it as a send-off worth turning up for, and the very same fact becomes a reason to celebrate, not mope.
- My bank holiday is a different day, I'm in Scotland.
- Scotland's summer bank holiday is the first Monday of August, not the last. Post to your own date; the idea is the same, the day just moves.
- It's my quietest weekend. Why push it?
- Because it's the last easy excuse to gather before autumn. Give people the reason and plenty will take it, nobody wants to waste the last one.
The other dates worth the effort
Sat 24 Jul 2027 Summer holidays 300 days to go Through the summer holidays, parents aren't buying a coffee, they're buying a solved afternoon. Sell the calm hour, not the cup. 5 posts to make →
Mon 21 Jun 2027 Summer solstice 267 days to go The longest day is a ready-made occasion most calendars skip. Claim it, and you get a bright, easy story with barely any competition. 5 posts to make → Everything else The whole calendar
The rest of this year and all of next, with the British ones in the right place.
Open the calendar →