Halloween has become a busy part of the local events calendar, with everything from pumpkin trails and children's activities to parties, performances, workshops and spooky experiences taking place around Eastbourne.
That also means organisers are competing for people's attention.
If you are organising a Halloween event, getting people through the door often comes down to one simple question.
Did enough people discover it early enough to make plans?
It can be tempting to think Halloween promotion should happen towards the end of October.
For an organiser, that can be surprisingly late.
Families may be deciding which activities to take children to. Friends could be organising a Halloween night out. Visitors may already be looking at what is happening while they are staying in the area.
Getting your event listed early gives it longer to be discovered by people searching for Halloween events and things to do locally.
Halloween can mean very different things to different audiences.
A pumpkin trail for young children is very different from a late-night horror experience.
Make that distinction clear.
Useful information might include:
Help visitors quickly understand whether the event suits them.
Halloween is highly visual.
A strong image can help an event stand out when it appears within an events guide, newsletter or social feed.
If you have your own event artwork, make sure the important information remains readable on a smaller screen.
Don't rely on the poster image to provide every essential detail though. Put important dates, times and booking information into the event listing itself too.
The earlier your Halloween event is added to thebestof Eastbourne, the longer people have to discover it.
Early submission also gives us more opportunity to consider it when we are preparing Halloween event content, newsletters and other local promotion.
Additional promotion cannot be guaranteed for every event.
Timing, however, makes a difference.
If we know about an event well in advance, there are naturally more opportunities to do something with it than if we first discover it a day or two beforehand.
Whether you are organising a Halloween party, family activity, theatre performance, charity fundraiser, workshop, community celebration or spooky experience, let people know it is happening.
And do it early.
Add your Halloween event to thebestof Eastbourne What's On guide.
