Okay, so I was messing around with this idea for a “promo crossword” thing, and I figured I’d jot down how it went. It’s not super polished, but hey, that’s how these things start, right?
First Crack at It
I started by just grabbing a piece of paper. Yeah, actual paper. I sketched out a grid, nothing fancy, just some squares. Then I started thinking about words related to, well, whatever I was trying to promote. Let’s say it was a new coffee shop, “The Daily Grind.”
I wrote down words like:
- COFFEE
- LATTE
- MUFFIN
- DAILY
- GRIND
- AROMA
- BEANS
I tried fitting them into the grid, crossing them over where letters matched. It was… messy. Lots of erasing, rewriting, and crumpled-up paper balls. It took more time doing that.
Getting a Bit More Organized
After a while, I thought, “There’s gotta be a better way.” so I use a online crossword puzzle * in my words, hit a button, and boom! A crossword grid. Much neater than my hand-drawn mess.
Then came the clues. This was actually kinda fun. Instead of just straight-up definitions, I tried to make them a little bit playful, like:
- For “LATTE”: “A hug in a mug, with extra foam.”
- For “COFFEE”: “The reason I can function before noon.”
- For “AROMA”: “What hits you when you walk in the door.”
Realizing What’s Missing
I printed out a few copies and tried them myself. It worked! But it felt… basic. I show my wife and she complete it easily.
It needed something more to make it actually promotional. I decided to add a little “find the hidden word” element. I picked one word from the puzzle – let’s say “GRIND” – and made those letters a different color in the grid.
Then, at the bottom, I added: “Find the hidden word, unscramble it, and bring it in for 10% off your first order!”
That is perfect to use.
Final Result
It’s still a work in progress. I need to test it out on more people, tweak the clues, maybe make a harder version. But it’s definitely a step up from my scribbled-on-paper first attempt. It’s a fun little way to engage people, and hopefully, it’ll bring some folks into the coffee shop!
