Coming up

What to post for Bonfire Night

Everyone posts the fireworks. The post that works is the one only your shop can make: the warm bit between the cold and the display.

Thu 5 Nov 2026the date 39 days to gofrom today 14 daysthe run-up
Pick your days and we write your own guide. Your first plan is free.
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.

Thu 22 Oct 14 days before Claim the warm spot Post that you're the warm stop on Bonfire Night, before the cold really sets in. Say it early, while the crowd is still deciding where they'll head. Write this one →
Mon 26 Oct 10 days before The one thing only you do Not the fireworks, post the one thing only your trade can. The pie handed over a cold counter, the flask by the door; or, if you're a trade, the outdoor light or lock you fit before the dark nights properly arrive. Write this one →
Thu 29 Oct 7 days before Show it being made The pan on the hob, the first tray going out, the steam on a cold window. Showing the graft is what makes a passer-by believe the warmth is really there. Write this one →
Sun 1 Nov 4 days before A reason and a time Say when you open and why you're worth the stop, "the warm bit between the car and the display." Give people a reason to fold you into the route they plan that week. Write this one →
Wed 4 Nov The day before The night before One reminder the evening before, with your opening hours on it. A fair few won't settle on a spot until the last minute, so a clear time can win them over. Write this one →
Thu 5 Nov The day On the night Post once with what's ready, then again as the sky goes dark and the queue for the display builds. The late one pulls in the people already out in the cold. Write this one →
The idea most businesses miss

Be the purple cow, not the fireworks

Seth Godin's idea is that a business is either remarkable or invisible; a brown cow in a field of brown cows gets ignored. On Bonfire Night every feed fills with the same firework photo, and that's the brown cow. The post people notice is the one only your trade can make, so make that instead.

Seth Godin, marketer and author, known for Purple Cow · Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Portfolio, 2003

Questions

The questions people ask

I don't sell food or drink. Is Bonfire Night for me?
Maybe not head-on. If you run a trade, the real hook is the dark: it's night by half four now, so this is the week to talk about outdoor lights, security and getting a place ready for winter.
Do I need to run my own event or fireworks?
No. The idea is to be the useful stop near someone else's display, not to compete with it.
Isn't one good post enough?
One post is easy to miss. A steady handful through the fortnight is how people come to recognise you before the night itself.