Coming up
What to post on April Fools' Day
A funny April Fools' post gets shared far and wide, and sells nothing, unless the joke points straight back at what you actually do.
Thu 1 Apr 2027the date 186 days to gofrom today 7 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.
Thu 25 Mar 7 days before Decide if it's even for you Be honest with yourself: a weak joke costs more than no joke. If you can't make it genuinely funny and on-point, skip it and post something real.
Write this one →
Sat 27 Mar 5 days before Tie the gag to what you sell The only joke worth doing points back to your real thing, a daft 'new product' that's secretly about the one you actually make. A random gag just confuses people.
Write this one →
Mon 29 Mar 3 days before Keep it kind and clear Punch at nobody. Make it obviously a joke by the end, so not one person walks away feeling tricked or got at.
Write this one →
Wed 31 Mar The day before Have the real follow-up ready Write the 'alright, we're kidding, but here's the real thing' post now, to go out later the same day. The reveal is where the actual selling happens.
Write this one →
Thu 1 Apr The day Post the gag early, reveal by lunch Put it up in the morning while people are hunting for them, then own up by lunchtime. Leaving them fooled too long turns funny into annoying.
Write this one →
How many days will you post?
4
4 days, all free.
Your days
Mar 25 7 days to April Fools' Day Thursday 25 March Decide if it's even for you
Mar 27 5 days to April Fools' Day Saturday 27 March Tie the gag to what you sell
Mar 31 1 day to April Fools' Day Wednesday 31 March Have the real follow-up ready
Apr 1 April Fools' Day day Thursday 1 April Post the gag early, reveal by lunch
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 the joke doesn't sell, it's just a joke
David Ogilvy's rule was blunt: cleverness that doesn't move the product isn't good advertising, it's entertainment. An April Fools' post everyone laughs at but nobody connects to your business is a wasted day. Make the gag about the very thing you sell, so the laugh and the reminder land together.
David Ogilvy, advertising pioneer and founder of Ogilvy & Mather · Ogilvy on Advertising, Vintage/Penguin Random House, 1983
Questions
The questions people ask
- Everyone says small businesses shouldn't do April Fools'.
- They're mostly right, a bad one reads as trying too hard. But a warm, on-brand gag with a real reveal can out-reach a month of ordinary posts.
- What's the safest kind of joke?
- A gentle fake product that's obviously daft, the pub's pint-flavoured crisps, the barber's dog-grooming service. Silly, kind, and clearly about you.
- What should I never do?
- Never fake bad news, a closure or a price cut. Tricking customers with something that stresses or excites them for real burns trust you won't win back.
The other dates worth the effort
Sun 28 Mar 2027 Easter 182 days to go Easter is a four-day weekend, not a Sunday. It's easy to post just once, on the day, but the trade is spread across all four. 6 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 →