Coming up

What to post at Halloween

It lands on a Saturday, so it is a trading weekend, not one night.

Sat 31 Oct 2026the date 34 days to gofrom today 20 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.

Sun 11 Oct 20 days before Say it's coming Post that something is planned for the 31st, with no photo yet. An unanswered "watch this space" gives people a reason to look again next week, before anyone else has said a word. Write this one →
Sat 17 Oct 14 days before Show it half-made The pumpkin before it's carved, the menu before it's printed. A half-done thing pulls people in, because they want to see how it turns out; a finished graphic just reads as an advert. Write this one →
Wed 21 Oct 10 days before Put the price on the picture Photograph the thing with the number written on it, not tucked away in the caption. Pictures get screenshotted and sent to a friend. Captions stay behind. Write this one →
Sun 25 Oct 6 days before Show the proof One honest photo of the real thing, or of your own hands making it, beats any designed graphic. People trust what looks like it actually happened. Write this one →
Wed 28 Oct 3 days before Name what's left "Three left" is a fact people act on. "Limited availability" is a phrase they scroll past. Only say it if it's true. Write this one →
Fri 30 Oct The day before The day before Remind them once, and put your opening time in the picture. Plenty of people only decide on the day itself, so a plain reminder is often what tips them in. Write this one →
Sat 31 Oct The day The day itself, twice Two posts today. In the morning, what you've still got; late afternoon, the very last of it. That afternoon one sweeps up everybody who meant to come and then forgot. Write this one →
The idea most businesses miss

The wait is part of what you're selling

Looking forward to something is a real pleasure in its own right, not just dead time before the event. In one well-known experiment, people would even pay more to put off a treat so they could savour the anticipation. So three weeks of "something's coming" isn't filler; it is part of the fun you're offering, so start it before anything is ready.

Behavioural economics, the documented value people put on anticipation · Loewenstein 1987, Anticipation and the Valuation of Delayed Consumption, The Economic Journal

Questions

The questions people ask

Do I need costumes or decorations?
No. One real photo of what you actually sell does more than a shop full of cobwebs. The job is to be the easy choice, not the spookiest.
What if Halloween falls midweek?
Most of the trade still lands on the nearest weekend, because that's when people plan and gather. Post for the weekend, not only the 31st.
Isn't it too pushy for my followers?
Only if every post is a sell. Mix one "here's what we're making" in with the "here's what it costs" and it reads as sharing, not shouting.

The other dates worth the effort

Thu 5 Nov 2026 Bonfire Night 39 days to go 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. 6 posts to make → Fri 27 Nov 2026 Black Friday 61 days to go You can't out-cut the big shops, so don't try. Offer the one thing they can't: a gift card, at a small premium, from a real person. 6 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 →