Welcome to our list of May observances and content ideas for your monthly author marketing plan!
I hope Q2 has already kicked off strong for you and you’re committed to making this year one of your most successful yet – because we can help you do that.
If you haven’t downloaded our Monthly Book Marketing Planner yet you can grab that at the bottom of this piece in our resources section.
Remember, without regular connections to readers, you’re just another book on the shelf (literal or virtual) they have no vested interest in…so take the time to make yourself stand out by using our monthly observances and tips to create interesting content with your own unique twist.
Another great reason to bookmark this author marketing resource? Timely content that uses popular and trending search terms and hashtags, is a great way to enhance your visibility and improve SEO in a very simple way.
And what’s really key: content ideas don’t always have to stem from your genre or topic.
When it comes to author marketing and building a brand, ensuring fans and followers have ways to connect with you on a more personal level is equally as powerful as ensuring you also make time to really speak to your genre and topic.
How to Use My Content Ideas
Below are holidays and just plain wacky and fun May Observances in 2019.
I’ve also included a few content ideas and angles to help spark your creativity!
Remember, not all these are worth an entire blog post or article, but nearly all of them can be turned into a fun or thought provoking social media post or blurb in your newsletter – so it’s like getting triple the ideas!
Keep in mind, nearly all your posts should encourage your fans and followers to respond, chime in, share their stories, etc. so don’t forget to work in that angle. I mention it as part of my recommendations occasionally, but please know that encouraging engagement is always the goal – so never post “flat” content, always get creative with how you can pull others into the conversation, and easily.
And if you’re feeling a little guilty about the lack of promotion planning you’ve done so far this year, use this list as a productive kick in the rear, commit to writing something for each of the holidays listed, use it on social, for your blog, in your newsletter – get creative – but giving yourself a bar to reach is the first step.
Monthly Observances for May 2019:
- Date Your Mate Month
- Foster Care Month
- Gifts from the Garden Month
- Lupus Awareness Month
- National Barbecue Month
- National Bike Month
- National Blood Pressure Month
- National Hamburger Month
- National Photograph Month
- National Recommitment Month
- National Salad Month
- Older Americans Month
Weekly Celebrations:
- Children’s Book Week – first week
- Nurse’s Week – first week
- Wildflower Week – second week
- National Bike Week – third week
- National Police Week – third week
- Emergency Medical Services Week – fourth week
This is a great month for all my children’s book authors, definitely dig up promo ideas you’ve used in the past and revive them for some fun content for your fans. Do polls, giveaways, art contests, remember to make it about your readers – not about you – and you’re guaranteed to see better engagement.
If you need some additional support on how to translate these ideas to actual content and posts, please consider signing up for email coaching with me and we’ll get personal!
Getting Started With Content Ideas
1 Mother Goose Day – Share your all-time fave rhyme, and if you’re a children’s book author remember, this is your week to shine!
2 Brothers and Sisters Day – Share a fun throwback photo of you and your siblings.
3 Garden Meditation Day – If you have a garden you’re proud of this is a great moment for a photo opportunity.
3 Space Day – Are you a space nerd at heart? Be loud and proud!
3 World Press Freedom Day
4 Bird Day
4 Free Comic Book Day
4 Star Wars Day – Another day to geek out! Maybe post a short quiz to test your followers!
5 Cinco de Mayo – How do you celebrate? Share your favorite recipes!
6 National Nurses Day
6 No Diet Day – This is a fun way to share some personal information, how do you celebrate a day with no food rules?
7 National Teacher’s Day – Tag your kiddo’s school or share a memory of your favorite teach growing up.
8 National Outdoor Intercourse Day – Now this is exciting, dare your followers to participate in a poll!
8 V-E Day
10 Clean up Your Room Day – Earn some points with your readers with kids by reminding them of this fantastic holiday.
10 Military Spouses Day – Be sure to thank those in your life that support those serving our country.
Time to Get Creative with Your Author Marketing
11 Eat What You Want Day – I love that there are two days for no food rules in one month!
11 National Train Day – I’m a huge fan of trains, always have been, if you have a great memory to share now is the time.
11 Twilight Zone Day
12 International Nurses Day – These are the hardest working healthcare providers out there, definitely thank a nurse today!
12 Limerick Day – This is a fun challenge for writers! Post your own limerick and challenge fans to share theirs.
12 Mother’s Day
15 Police Officer’s Memorial Day – Take a moment to tag and thank your local police department for all their hard work.
16 Love a Tree Day
16 Wear Purple for Peace Day – This is just a lovely message to send, and another great reason to share a shameless selfie.
17 National Bike to Work Day – Encourage fans to participate and check in with you if they bike to work.
18 Armed Forces Day – Let’s for sure take a moment to thank our service members, it’s an often thankless job and every single moment of recognition is appreciated.
18 International Museum Day – If you have a favorite museum call it out, tag them, share why you love it so much, and encourage others to make recommendations.
18 Visit Your Relatives Day
19 World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day – Another great photo opportunity! And if you’re a secret green thumb maybe invite your followers to post gardening questions for you to answer!
May Has Almost Wrapped
20 Be a Millionaire Day – What would you do with a million dollars?
23 Lucky Penny Day
25 National Brown Bag It Day – What goes in your brown bag lunch? Sometimes these seemingly silly or pointless topics are actually your most effective, because they share something personal about you that strengthens the connections you need to make with readers to sell more books, and keep them coming back for more.
25 National Wine Day – Oh I love this. Great photo sharing opportunity, great time to make recommendations, don’t skip this easy one.
27 Memorial Day – How do you celebrate? Share your traditions.
27 Sunscreen Day – This is so important as the temperatures rise and we spend more time outside.
28 National Hamburger Day – Do you have a great recipe? Maybe a favorite local restaurant you can tag with a stellar review?
31 World No Tobacco Day – If you’ve given up tobacco take a moment to share your story, tips, words of encouragement, whatever you can do to help others.
The Takeaway
Remember, being an author demands creativity, and it also demands authenticity.
Coming up with unique content ideas as part of your author marketing plan is a great way to take your success seriously, without taking yourself too seriously! And these May observances should really help.
Have plans for a fun take on any of these ideas? Share below in the comments!
If you’re on Twitter please share this fun piece with your author network by clicking below!
Resources
Monthly Book Marketing Planner
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