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What to post for Pancake Day
Pancake Day is a reminder the whole country shares on the same morning. Your only job is to be the easy answer when they think of it.
Tue 9 Feb 2027the date 135 days to gofrom today 12 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 28 Jan 12 days before Put the date in their heads Post 'Pancake Day is coming and we're doing them' early. The day does the reminding for you; you just want your name attached to it.
Write this one →
Mon 1 Feb 8 days before Show your own stack One real photo of your own pancakes, the plate, the topping, the steam. Not a stock picture; the actual thing you'll hand across the counter.
Write this one →
Thu 4 Feb 5 days before Give the reason to pick you Name the one thing worth leaving the house for, lemon-and-sugar done properly, a topping nobody else does, an easy price for kids.
Write this one →
Sun 7 Feb 2 days before Remind them the day before People remember Pancake Day late, usually the evening before, so a 'it's tomorrow' nudge lands harder than anything you posted early.
Write this one →
Tue 9 Feb The day Two posts, not one Morning with the first stack, then again for the after-school and after-work rush. That second post catches the people who meant to and forgot.
Write this one →
How many days will you post?
4
4 days, all free.
Your days
Jan 28 12 days to Pancake Day Thursday 28 January Put the date in their heads
Feb 1 8 days to Pancake Day Monday 1 February Show your own stack
Feb 7 2 days to Pancake Day Sunday 7 February Remind them the day before
Feb 9 Pancake Day day Tuesday 9 February Two posts, not one
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
Ride a reminder you didn't have to build
Jonah Berger's work on why things spread shows that triggers, everyday cues that bring something to mind, keep a product being thought of long after any advert has stopped. Usually you'd have to build your own triggers. Pancake Day hands you one for free: the whole country is reminded of pancakes on the same morning, so the only question left is whether they picture yours.
Jonah Berger, marketing professor and author of Contagious · Contagious: Why Things Catch On, Simon & Schuster, 2013
Questions
The questions people ask
- It's one day. Is it worth the effort?
- It's a rare day when the demand is handed to you and people are already after pancakes. Meeting that is far easier than making demand from nothing.
- I don't normally serve pancakes.
- Then it's a one-day special, and say exactly that. The novelty and the 'today only' are half of what pulls people in.
- Sweet or savoury?
- Post both if you make both. A savoury option catches the people who assume pancakes mean pudding and keep scrolling.
The other dates worth the effort
Wed 10 Feb 2027 Ash Wednesday 136 days to go Ash Wednesday is the day a chunk of your customers quietly change what they buy, for six weeks. It's easy to notice only what they stop ordering, and miss what they'd happily start. 5 posts to make →
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 → 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 →