How can you attract restaurant customers on weekdays?

How can you attract restaurant customers on weekdays when you run out of tables on Saturday but the dining room is empty on Tuesday? A discount alone does not tell guests why they should come after work. If people associate your restaurant with a weekend outing, you need to show them another occasion: lunch near the office, dinner without cooking or a relaxed Wednesday catch-up. A local creator can show that situation to people who already watch their content, rather than leaving them with another generic invitation.

You do not need a big campaign straight away. You need an authentic visit, a specific dish and an invitation for the day you want to fill. Create a brand account on Blogger Bank and post an assignment showcasing your weekday offer. Describe the location, time and meal; applications will help you choose a creator who suits your restaurant, rather than starting with random Instagram messages.

Guests need to picture themselves at your table

An interior photo shows what the restaurant looks like. A video of a real lunch shows something more important to someone working nearby: what they can eat, how to get into the restaurant and whether it fits a break in their day. The creator guides that decision. They describe the experience in their own words, and viewers can relate it to their own plans.

So when weekdays are quiet, look not for the biggest account but for someone whose audience could actually sit at your table. A creator covering neighbourhood life, local food or places to meet after work makes sense if their content and audience data support that fit. Where the creator lives is not enough: ask for audience city statistics and watch their previous restaurant content.

A collaboration will not fix bad food or slow service. When the offer works but neighbours do not think of it when planning an ordinary day, a creator can help connect the restaurant with a specific occasion. That is the problem to put in the brief — not a general request to “increase reach”.

Why another promotion may not be enough

A discount reduces the bill, but also your margin. It does not explain whether guests will have time to eat during their break or find something for a relaxed dinner. If it mainly reaches people who were already planning to visit, you will pay for lower-priced sales rather than a new reason to come.

Social media advertising can reach the neighbourhood, but buying impressions alone does not give you convincing content. A menu leaflet may help a passer-by, but it cannot show the experience at the table. You do not have to abandon these channels. A creator visit gives them content: an actual portion of a dish, the route from a nearby street and a clear invitation for a chosen time. Agree separately on reusing the video in advertising.

Lunch shown as part of a creator’s ordinary day

Imagine a restaurant near offices that wants to attract guests for Tuesday lunch. This is an example scenario, not a report of a client’s results. Invite the creator at the same time their viewers would come. Commission a short vertical video: the entrance from the street, the set meal ordered, the actual portion and where to check the current menu. Rather than a staged feast, show a meal the kitchen serves every day.

Give the creator the lunch hours, current set price, address and ordering instructions. Do not put “lunch in fifteen minutes” in the brief unless you can deliver that during a normal shift. You are commissioning content that helps someone at a nearby business assess a visit, not just like a food photo. Schedule publication before the time you are promoting, not after lunch service ends.

Dinner after work instead of waiting for the weekend

If empty evenings are the problem, show a visit that needs no special occasion. In an example assignment, a creator comes for Wednesday dinner and films a sharing dish, the atmosphere for conversation and how to book. Choose someone who already covers places to meet in your city, not an account that attracts only weekend tourists.

Agree on dishes that will remain available after publication, kitchen hours and the booking link. Let the video answer practical questions: can you drop in without dressing up, what can you order for an ordinary evening and how do you find the restaurant? The assignment should deliver an invitation to a specific experience, not a promise of a full dining room. Check that the message really is about Wednesday, rather than just presenting the restaurant.

A seasonal menu as a reason to come now

A new menu or an intimate tasting gives the creator a topic beyond another general review. Example assignment: the creator talks to the chef about a seasonal dish, shows it on the plate and invites viewers to a Thursday evening. Commission a video and short Stories with the date and booking instructions, published early enough for viewers to plan their visit.

The restaurant is responsible for the offer, capacity and reservations. The creator is responsible for the agreed content and publication. Before approval, check the date, price, menu contents and booking availability; an impressive video with an outdated offer makes selling harder. If it is a one-off event, also agree on what will happen to the invitation after it ends.

The restaurant creators page provides a reference for scope and rates. It includes an assignment promoting a restaurant garden near Rondo Kercelak in Warsaw’s Wola district: an example of how specific a local topic can be, not evidence of weekday sales growth. When choosing someone, also compare creators and rates in Warsaw or the relevant page for your city. A listed rate is not a quote for your assignment.

Blogger Bank: one assignment instead of searching through profiles

A restaurant owner does not need another contact list to call through. They need a creator who knows the terms of the visit and wants to take it on. On Blogger Bank, you describe the assignment and creators apply for the scope you have set out. You can then compare interested people instead of explaining your restaurant and expectations to each one from scratch.

Location matters when promoting a weekday offer. Post an assignment on the Influencers Friendly map to receive applications from creators near the restaurant. The catalogue lets you search by topic, city and audience; then assess the portfolio and data of the person you want to work with. The guide to using the Influencers Friendly map explains how to organise a local assignment.

You keep messages, agreements, files and deadlines with the assignment. That matters when you need to check quickly before service who is coming, what they are filming and when they will publish. For a paid collaboration, you deposit the budget upfront, but the creator receives payment only after you approve the result. You assess whether the content meets the brief and request revisions before approval; you are not paying for a promise of a particular number of guests.

You can also propose barter: a meal in exchange for agreed content, if the creator accepts those terms. Registration and posting an assignment are free; access to all applications, chat and hiring requires a subscription. Check the current pricing before choosing a creator. Barter still involves the cost of food and restaurant labour, while the deposit protects payment for the content — it does not guarantee sales.

Post an assignment for lunch, dinner or a seasonal menu. Describe what a future guest should see, not just the platform where the video should appear. Our guide to restaurant marketing with creators covers the full process of organising a collaboration; here, start with one quieter time slot.

From the first assignment to assessing visits

1. Publish an assignment on Blogger Bank. Specify the quieter day, address, dish, format, publication channel and payment or barter terms. Example brief: “Show a Wednesday dinner after work: the route, a sharing dish, kitchen hours and booking.” Agree on advertising disclosure and rights to reuse the video.
2. Choose a creator and prepare for the visit. Check their local audience, portfolio and availability. Provide the current menu and a contact for the person on shift. When reviewing the content, check that dishes, address, hours, link and collaboration disclosure match the agreement.
3. Check whether additional guests came. Before starting, record visits and sales on comparable days. Ask guests how they heard about the offer and collect answers when they book. Compare results after costs and across the whole week so you do not mistake visits shifted from Saturday for growth. The restaurant collects these data, not Blogger Bank.

Do not start by discounting the whole menu. Start by showing neighbours one visit they would like to make on an ordinary day — and find a creator for that specific assignment.