Coming up
What to post for Father's Day
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.
Sun 20 Jun 2027the date 266 days to gofrom today 16 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 4 Jun 16 days before Sell the feeling, not the thing Post what your gift says, not what it is, 'for the dad who never treats himself'. People are buying the message it carries, not the object.
Write this one →
Wed 9 Jun 11 days before Offer a day out, not a thing A meal, a proper hot-towel shave, a pint and the match on the big screen, something done together beats another object that ends up in a drawer.
Write this one →
Sun 13 Jun 7 days before Make the voucher easy A gift card or booking is the rescue for anyone stuck for ideas, say it takes two minutes and never comes in the wrong size.
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Thu 17 Jun 3 days before Catch the Saturday buyer Loads of people sort Father's Day the day before. A 'still stuck? here's the simple answer' post lands right in the middle of the panic.
Write this one →
Sun 20 Jun The day Keep it warm on the day Post a simple word to all the dads and what you've got on. The buying's mostly done, today is just about being the nice place they picked.
Write this one →
How many days will you post?
4
4 days, all free.
Your days
Jun 4 16 days to Father's Day Friday 4 June Sell the feeling, not the thing
Jun 9 11 days to Father's Day Wednesday 9 June Offer a day out, not a thing
Jun 17 3 days to Father's Day Thursday 17 June Catch the Saturday buyer
Jun 20 Father's Day day Sunday 20 June Keep it warm on the day
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
People hire a gift to do a job
Clayton Christensen's idea is that customers don't really buy products, they 'hire' them to get a job done. The job on Father's Day isn't 'own a mug', it's 'show Dad I appreciate him without making a fuss'. Work out that job and sell straight to it: your table, your shave, your day out is how they get it done.
Clayton Christensen and colleagues, who framed the 'jobs to be done' idea · Christensen, Hall, Dillon & Duncan, Know Your Customers' Jobs to Be Done, Harvard Business Review, 2016
Questions
The questions people ask
- I sell products, not experiences.
- Then frame the product as part of one: not 'a bag of our coffee' but 'the Sunday morning he gets to sit and enjoy it'. Sell the moment around it.
- Isn't Father's Day much smaller than Mother's Day?
- Quieter, yes, but the last-minute crowd is bigger, plenty leave it to the Saturday. Being the easy answer that weekend is where the trade is.
- A barber or salon on Father's Day?
- A voucher for a proper cut or a hot-towel shave is one of the best gifts going, easy to buy, and he'll genuinely use it.
The other dates worth the effort
Sun 7 Mar 2027 Mothering Sunday 161 days to go Mothering Sunday isn't about you, it's about the person trying not to let their mum down. Make them the one who got it right. 6 posts to make →
Mon 21 Jun 2027 Summer solstice 267 days to go The longest day is a ready-made occasion most calendars skip. Claim it, and you get a bright, easy story with barely any competition. 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 →