# Promoting/Advertising a home haunt



## wandererrob (Aug 8, 2007)

I'm sure this has been covered but for some reason my search-fu is failing me and spitting back a lot of irrelevant results, so, to kick a potentially dead horse one or two more times...

I'm looking for free ways to get word out about my haunt and generate more interest and traffic. 

The haunt has a Facebook page, but my website is no longer. Resurrection of the site isn't an option this year. 

I'm getting word of the Facebook page out on a town events page on Facebook, as well as a local news website (my friend is the editor  ).

And lastly, I'm beefing up my roadside display this year, complete with a sign indicating the haunt is open Halloween night and hopefully the facebook address too if I can get it on there in a way that isn't stupid and/or obnoxious.

What about haunt listing sites? What's out there these days? I know Chateau Grrr didn't last, sadly. I do have a listing up on betterhauntsandgardens.com though, but more would be better.

I want to get more than 30 kids this year. I want to generate enough traffic to justify some of the bigger ideas I have in my head. And above all else, I just want to share the fun with more people!


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

Maybe see if you can hang up a flyer at the local high schools. Ask some local shops that might attract your target audience if you can hang up a flyer. Ice cream shops, pizza, movie theaters, fast food, comic book shops, etc might all be willing to let you put it in their windows or a bulletin board.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

IF you have a local community college, you might talk to the drama department. They usually have good contacts for flyers and things.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

THe thoughts listed are good ones, but focus your advertising where your target group is likely to see it, and far enough in advance that they can make plans to visit. With Halloween falling on a Wednesday, it will probably mean a short night for TOTs and visitors. Work and or school the next day will mean a limited visiting time for most people.
Flyers work great, but they do cost money to produce, and you have to have them out far enough in advance, and constantly available for your info to sink into people's heads. If you can't afford to do flyers, you might consider doing some posters instead. Good posters attract attention and don't require the reader to take something home. Granted, some posters will get stolen or vandalized, but that's a risk we all face.

Facebook and the like are fine, but they basically require the viewer, or intended viewer, to know what to look for in advance, and if they already know that then you've already gotten your message across.


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## Warrant2000 (Oct 8, 2008)

Orange poster board from the office store, large black marker, paint stir stick, clear packing tape, ladder.

Place several signs at nearby main roads on a light pole. Place the paint stir stick behind the sign at the top to keep it from curling around the pole. Use the ladder to place the sign high and out of reach of most. Also place at intersections with stop signs. Large *bold *print, not wordy, just enough that can be understood in less than 5 seconds.

Put these signs out at least 2 weeks before Halloween. Check them every few days in case they are taken down by vandals or weather.


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Keep in mind that posters and flyers are basically resume's for you and your haunt, they tell the viewer what quality and what kind of haunt they have to look forward to. If they posters and or flyers look sloppy and cheaply done, then that is what the typical viewer will expect from your haunt. I'm not trying to scare you away from doing this kind of thing, just giving you a warning shot of reality. More often than not, less is more for these kinds of flyers and posters.


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## zombastic (Aug 27, 2012)

Last year I made a flyer and put it on the bulletin board at the nearest grocery store, a Winn Dixie in my case and mine wasn't the only haunt on there. I also put one on the bulletin board at the entrance to my subdivision.
I also made a couple of signs leading to my haunt.


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## BioHazardCustoms (Aug 5, 2009)

Best advertising in the world: The kids in my neighborhood walk right past my house to the bus stop. They tell their friends, who tell their friends, etc.


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## hauntedyardofdoom (Nov 6, 2008)

By the way, if you see a flyer for another haunt, go find that other haunt and ask them if they'll put up your flyer at their place in exchange for you putting up theirs at your place. Win win for both and you might make a new friend out of it. That actually happened to me


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