The simplest rule for marketing a seasonal trade in Simcoe County is this: promote the next season, not the current one. By the time a season is in full swing, the organised customers have already booked someone, and you're competing for whoever is left. This guide walks through a sample year for a trade that serves both year-round homeowners and cottage owners, then gives you a format to build your own.
The months below are a template, not a rule. Ice-out, the first frost and the start of heating season move from year to year, so treat the timing as a starting point and adjust it to your own records.
Why the calendar matters more here than elsewhere
Simcoe County's demand is unusually uneven. A trade that works the shoreline in Tiny or Ramara may do most of its work in two short windows, while a business in the Barrie subdivisions sees a steadier but still seasonal flow.
Three things make the calendar so important here:
- Owners plan ahead. Many cottage owners book their opening and closing work weeks in advance, and they book whoever reaches them first.
- Capacity is fixed. Your crew can only do so many jobs a week. Extra marketing in a full week only buys missed calls.
- Quiet months cost money. Payroll and equipment costs don't stop in February. Every job you can move into a slow month helps.
A calendar turns these from surprises into plans.
January and February: set up the year
Winter is the planning season. It's quiet for most shoreline trades, but it's the most valuable time to prepare.
- Review last year. Pull jobs by month and by town. Note when the rush started and ended and how many calls you missed.
- Fix the foundations. Update your website, refresh your Google Business Profile with last year's best photos, and correct any wrong hours or service areas.
- Start the spring pre-booking. Contact last year's opening customers, with consent on record, offering to book their spring date now.
- Keep heating and winter work visible. For HVAC, propane and property-watch businesses, this is still a working season. Keep ads for emergency and winter services running at a level your crew can handle.
A useful target: aim to have a meaningful share of your spring openings booked before March ends.
March and April: the pre-season push
Late winter and early spring is when you should spend the most on promoting spring work. Owners are thinking about the season, but most haven't booked yet.
- Run search ads for opening services, docks, water systems and spring maintenance, aimed at both local searchers and people interested in your Simcoe County service areas.
- Publish or update a page that explains exactly what your opening service includes and how scheduling works.
- Send a second reminder to past customers who haven't yet booked.
- Ask property managers and watchers whether they want to block-book several properties.
Roofers, landscapers and exterior renovators should also be filling their early calendars now, before weather allows full work.
May and June: deliver and capture
Once the rush starts, shift from promotion to delivery. Your marketing job now is to protect your reputation and capture future work.
- Lower ad spend to the level your crew can serve, keeping enough to stay visible for your own business name.
- Answer every call or text quickly. A missed call in May often means a lost customer for the year.
- Ask for reviews at the end of each job, while the customer is happy.
- Take photos of finished work for next year's website and profile.
- Mention the fall to every opening customer. A simple line, such as asking whether they'd like their closing date booked now, fills autumn without any ad spend.
July and August: the summer plateau and the fall pre-sell
Midsummer is busy for some trades and oddly quiet for others. Either way, August is when the most important pre-selling happens.
- If you're in a lull, use it to run small campaigns for repairs, upgrades and inspections in the towns closest to your base.
- From early August, start promoting fall closings, winterisation and heating checks. This is the single most commonly missed window in the region.
- Contact every spring customer and offer a closing date.
- For heating trades, start your fall maintenance campaign now, before the first cold snap brings a flood of urgent calls.
A business that books half its fall work in August has a calmer, more profitable autumn.
September and October: the closing rush and heating season
Fall is the second peak for shoreline trades and the start of the main season for heating businesses. Again, shift from promotion to delivery.
- Reduce ad spend for closings once your calendar is full.
- Keep a modest budget running for heating, emergency and repair searches where you have capacity.
- Ask for reviews and take photos.
- At each closing, mention spring and any winter services you offer, such as check-ins or snow-related work.
October is also the right time to start planning next year's calendar, while the season is fresh in your mind.
November and December: wrap up and pre-book spring
Late fall is a natural time to lock in next year.
- Offer spring opening dates to every fall closing customer.
- Send a short note to all seasonal customers before the holidays, thanking them and confirming your winter services.
- Review your year: how many jobs, from which towns, at what cost.
- Set your budget ceilings for the coming months.
A one-page format for your own calendar
You don't need software. A single page with twelve rows does the job. For each month, write five short answers.
| Month | Selling | To whom | Where | Channel | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: August | Fall closings | Past spring customers and new cottage owners | Tiny, Tay, Oro-Medonte | Reminders plus search ads | $900 |
Fill in all twelve months, pin it on the wall, and check it at the start of each month. When the weather or your crew changes, change the plan.
Common mistakes to avoid
Most calendar failures come from the same handful of habits.
- Promoting the season you're in instead of the next one.
- Spending the same every month regardless of capacity.
- Not asking for the next booking at the end of each job.
- Going completely silent online in winter.
- Forgetting that many customers search from the GTA, not from their cottage.
Getting help
If you'd rather have a calendar built for you, our seasonal campaign planning service does exactly that, with monthly reviews. For the absentee-owner side, read our guide to reaching absentee cottage owners. To set the spending ceilings in the right-hand column, use the method in seasonal ad budget maths. You can also see all our guides in one place.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start promoting cottage closings?
In August. Organised owners book their fall closing before Labour Day, and by the Thanksgiving long weekend the most convenient slots are usually taken.
What should I do with marketing in January and February?
Use those months to pre-sell spring work to past customers, gather reviews and photos from the previous year, and fix your website and Google profile before the rush.
Does this calendar work for non-cottage trades?
Yes, with adjustments. A furnace company in south Barrie or a roofer in Bradford will weight the months differently, but the principle of marketing one season ahead still applies.
How detailed should my own calendar be?
One page is enough. For each month write what you're selling, to whom, where, through which channel and what you'll spend. Review it monthly.