If you are doing a home yard haunt, putting up a Halloween countdown sign or cemetery fence a bit early is good advertisement for anyone who drives or walks by, especially school buses. You could also put some signs like "Haunted House - This Way" with arrows up on local street lights to help direct foot traffic to you.
Some people name their haunt & create FB pages for it & have friends and family like and share it, and you can ask TOTers to share photos to your page or to your #Hashtag.
You could go an old fashioned route & put flyers up on grocery store bulletin boards or at your local library. You could do a FB search for your town & post there, you could ask your local parks & rec to post your flyer or add your event to any of their "to do" event lists.
My haunt group has a map, but other than that I can't say that I advertise other than word of mouth. I live in a cul-de-sac and the only reasons to drive in to it are because you live there, you know someone who lives there, you're coming to see my haunt or you are driving by looking for open garage doors so you can do a grab and dash. I tend to think that putting flyers up encourages the latter.
We had a huge influx of cars last year, and I didn't know where all these folks were coming from. Then my kids told me they put up a posting on Craigslist. Worked pretty well.
Typically it is word-of-mouth. My house is known as the haunted house in the area. So we typically get people driving by throughout the season to check on my house and decorations. By the day of, we have plenty of people coming.
Hallow and wow - this is SUCH a great question and thread! Getting the word out is all well and good - BUT I am always concerned about out-of-the-area groups that come in droves -- then scope out things to prank, break or take.
We don't have a truly sophisticated haunt - one that charges or one that has many actor volunteers, etc. and so we cater to just our hood and a group of friends and co-workers to enjoy our set-up.
Still, our neighborhood has been "growing up." Each year - the little TOT's are older and now many are even in college from when we first started our home haunt in 2001. Fewer little ones means less traffic and then where are you with your haunt - "all dressed up and nowhere to go!" right? So we will be reconsidering this very question soon.
So if you do go hog wild on spreading the word -- know that your reputation will grow no matter what... With only flyers and word of mouth, our yard haunt grew to include a "FINAL BOO!" on Halloween night so that the neighbors and friends could come hang out for an extra hour. We serve hot dogs and cider, popcorn and pot luck. It would be costly and hard to manage, plus a shame to have it ruined by large groups from out of town.
Then there is the next big step that some home haunters CRAVE. TV coverage!! Right? But I offer a reality check - Unless you have the cohoonas to handle thousands, I recommend you hold off on that dream. Because we have connections with local TV media folk, we have been asked to allow film crews to come out and capture our yard decor. We always politely decline. There is the liability issue -- and then our neighbors would have a coronary if hundreds flocked into our neighborhood... bad drivers, boozers - -- the rude - the obnoxious - and then there is the public! LOL
So I guess my long-winded point is if you REALLY want to "advertise" your haunt, be sure to consider the ramifications of plastering your haunt all over hades ... Consider the range/reach for postings and how near and far you spread the invitation. Just how many people do/can you REALLY want to descend upon it!
Facebook ususally - I've created a host known as Larry Underearth who connects with friends and public and hopefully draws them to my homepage. Larry posts all month long with updates and images from our Cemetery. Also distributed a few flyers at night to homes around my area. This year, Halloween is on Saturday. I may convert my garage from a crypt to a" Bone n Spirits After Hours Bar" that night. I'm thinking of placing a sign out front Halloween night for all the adults - inviting anyone that loves Halloween and costume to stop over for a few spirits after the kiddies are done with trick or treating.
Create group on facebook for haunters in your area. Keep posting images of your yard or things horroweenish up to your event.
