Written By: Gaye Swan

A few years ago, I was asked to create content for a direct mail campaign, asking alumni of a prestigious school for donations. The money raised would give a few buildings a much-needed upgrade. Luckily, the mailing would go out at the end of October, so we had a great theme to work with – Halloween. Working with a designer, I came up with the idea of a fun postcard with the headline Our Old Haunt Could Use a Little BOOst From You!

The rest of the copy was simple and straightforward and the design was eye-catching and perfectly suited to the ghostly theme. This simple yet effective campaign was a huge success, with more than enough money donated for planned renovations.

Holidays are the perfect time to spice up your content marketing with seasonal phrases. Halloween especially offers many ways to create engaging copy with easily recognizable imagery and words that are easy to turn into a cute pun. A note of caution here: Do not go overboard! When writing, three or four catchy phrases are enough. Work with a designer to carry out a theme rather than sprinkling each and every sentence with “spooky” words. 

More formal content may not be the best place to incorporate a theme. You wouldn’t add Halloween puns to a white paper or magazine article for a professional journal, for example. But blogs and newsletter campaigns are wonderful ways to incorporate a little pumpkin spice, fun imagery, and treats into your marketing content. 

Bewitch your Blogs and Newsletters

I’ve had a great time working with Campfire Collective clients on their Halloween-related content over the years. Here are a few fun concepts we’ve created that may provide some inspiration for you!

For a store that offered cat-themed gifts and items for the pampered feline, I wrote blog content for Halloween that:

• Described the coolest cat costumes of the year

• Gave the history of black cats

• Detailed the dangers of Halloween for felines – and how best to avoid them

Of course, pets are an easy theme to play on, especially cats at Halloween. However, some aspect of the holiday is sure to fit with your company or promotion. If you are in the performing arts, create a blog about the history of costumes. If you are in the hospitality industry, a newsletter giving tips on safety during one of the busiest nights of the year will be timely and helpful. If you run a non-profit focused on promoting bicycling, an article on ways to (safely!) deck out your bike is a fun option.

You will need to get creative if you have the type of business that may not lend itself well to a Halloween theme. But it can be done! For most companies, blog posts or newsletter campaigns can:

• Offer a deal so good, it’s positively scary!

• Show off a fun side with colorful, seasonal wording (more on that below)

• Add pumpkin-carving ideas, decor ideas, recipes for treats, party ideas, and safety tips to your newsletter

• Add some Halloween trivia to your content – give some little-known fun facts about the day to punch up a blog or newsletter.

Spooky Words to Spice up Your Content

Use these Halloween-themed puns to make your content pop:

Fangs – Fangs for your business. 

Witch – this may be a little edgy, but I saw a super-cute ad for clothing that began, Witch, Please! You know your audience best, so be sure not to be offensive. You can use a more innocuous Witching you a safe Halloween or Our marketing campaigns will make you witch and famous!

Eerie – Our products are eerie-sistible!

Spooky – Spooktacular! 

Boo – Boo-tiful, Bootacular!

And a few all-purpose words to summon up the Halloween spirit:

Creepy, scary, blood-curdling, spine-tingling, frightening, black magic, broomsticks, spellbinding, tombstone, haunting, ghastly, ghoulish, and of course – trick or treat. We recommend offering your customers a treat rather than a trick! And it’s worth repeating that an excess of spooky words and puns is more than tricky – it can become downright tedious. So choose one or two and do not go overboard.

Above all, Halloween is a fun night, so make your content hex-tra special with spellbinding words, puns, and imagery!