Coming up
What to post for the summer solstice
The longest day is a ready-made occasion most calendars skip. Claim it, and you get a bright, easy story with barely any competition.
Mon 21 Jun 2027the date 267 days to gofrom today 10 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.
Fri 11 Jun 10 days before Claim the longest day Post that you're marking the longest day, late light, tables out till nine, a solstice special. Few others will, so the idea is yours to own.
Write this one →
Mon 14 Jun 7 days before Sell the long evening The pull is the light: 'the sun's up late, so are we'. People linger on a bright evening, so hand them a reason to linger at yours.
Write this one →
Thu 17 Jun 4 days before Make a one-off of it A solstice bake, a sundown drink, a longest-day walk that ends at your door. A small ritual people can't get any other week of the year.
Write this one →
Sat 19 Jun 2 days before Say the plan and the hours When you open late, what's on, where to sit for the last of the sun. Clear and simple beats mysterious every time.
Write this one →
Mon 21 Jun The day Catch the golden hour Post as the evening light turns gold, the sun low over your tables. It sells the spot better than any words about it could.
Write this one →
How many days will you post?
4
4 days, all free.
Your days
Jun 11 10 days to Summer solstice Friday 11 June Claim the longest day
Jun 14 7 days to Summer solstice Monday 14 June Sell the long evening
Jun 19 2 days to Summer solstice Saturday 19 June Say the plan and the hours
Jun 21 Summer solstice day Monday 21 June Catch the golden hour
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
If you can't be first, invent something you can be first in
Al Ries and Jack Trout's law is that when you can't lead an existing category, you create a new one and lead that. Every shop competes at Christmas; few think to compete at the solstice. Claim the longest day as your thing and you're first in a category of one, all the attention, none of the crowd.
Al Ries and Jack Trout, who set out the immutable laws of marketing · The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, HarperCollins, 1993
Questions
The questions people ask
- Do customers really care about the solstice?
- Most don't clock the date, which is the opening. Make a small, warm thing of it and it feels special precisely because nobody else did.
- The date moves, doesn't it?
- It's the 20th or 21st of June depending on the year, so say 'the longest day' rather than a fixed date and you're always right.
- I close in the early evening.
- Then do the morning version, a sunrise opening, an early solstice coffee. The longest day has two ends, and dawn is the quieter one to own.
The other dates worth the effort
Sun 20 Jun 2027 Father's Day 266 days to go Hardly anyone really wants another pair of socks for Dad. What they want is to show him they thought about him, so sell them that, not a product. 5 posts to make →
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 → 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 →