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What to post for St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day is about belonging, not beer. People come out to be part of it, so make yours the place that feels like the party.

Wed 17 Mar 2027the date 171 days to gofrom today 12 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.

Fri 5 Mar 12 days before Post the feeling, not a discount Not '10% off the Guinness', post what the day is like at yours: the music, the crowd, the craic. People are buying an evening to belong to. Write this one →
Tue 9 Mar 8 days before Show last year's room One photo of the place full and happy tells a stranger 'people like you come here for this'. Nothing sells a night like a night that already happened. Write this one →
Fri 12 Mar 5 days before Turn one booking into a crowd Nudge people to come as a group, 'round up your crew and grab a table'. On a night like this a booked six pulls a livelier room than six arriving alone. Write this one →
Mon 15 Mar 2 days before The practical bits Times, food, booking or walk-in. Belonging is what pulls people; the plain logistics are what actually get them through the door. Write this one →
Wed 17 Mar The day Live, on the day Post from inside the party, a busy bar, the band starting up. The people still deciding see it's already going and don't want to be left out. Write this one →
The idea most businesses miss

Sell belonging, not the pint

Seth Godin's line is that people are drawn to 'people like us do things like this', we act to belong to a group we want to be part of. St Patrick's Day is pure belonging: nobody comes out for a discount, they come to be in the room. So sell the room and the feeling of being one of the crowd, and let the drinks look after themselves.

Seth Godin, marketer and author · This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See, Penguin, 2018

Questions

The questions people ask

I don't want to just flog cheap drink.
Then don't. Sell the atmosphere, the food, the music. People who come for the feeling spend more and behave better than anyone chasing a deal.
It's midweek this year, is it worth it?
A midweek St Patrick's is a rare reason for people to come out on an otherwise quiet night. That's a gift, not a problem.
I run a café, not a pub.
Do the daytime version, an Irish coffee, soda bread, a green bake. The morning and lunch crowd want in on the day too.

The other dates worth the effort

Mon 1 Mar 2027 St David's Day 155 days to go It lands on a Monday, so the fuss is smaller, a simple, sincere nod beats a big push on a working day. 5 posts to make → Fri 23 Apr 2027 St George's Day 208 days to go Landing on a Friday, a pub can spin it into an evening; for everyone else a warm daytime nod is plenty. 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 →