Welcome to our unique content ideas for authors list of December observances you can use in your monthly marketing plan.
December is a month full of grand celebrations. Don’t let this stop you from also taking the time to recognize the possibilities offered by each individual day.
Without a regular connection to readers, you’re just another book on the shelf. Take the time to make yourself stand out by using our monthly observances and tips to create interesting content with your own unique twist.
This is part of building your brand!
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: unique content ideas don’t always have to stem from your genre or topic.
When it comes to author marketing and building a brand, ensuring that your fans and followers have ways to connect with you on a more personal level is as powerful as speaking about your genre and topic.
How to Use Unique Ideas for Authors
Below are holidays and just plain wacky and fun December Observances for 2020.
I’ve also included a few content ideas and angles to help spark your creativity!
Not all of 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!
There are always a lot of holidays around food, drink, and cooking, so get ready to share recipes or tag local fave establishments and ask followers to share theirs. The same goes for activities: this is a great chance to take selfies and/or share a bit about yourself outside of being a writer.
These also open up opportunities for you to make recommendations for products – no, not official ads, but again, people love to follow someone who’s a great resource. Think outside the box to come up with ways you can help people out and make their lives easier or more exciting.
Keep in mind: ALL of your posts should encourage your fans and followers to respond, chime in, share their feedback, insight, stories, etc. Don’t forget to work that angle: let them know you want to hear from them.
Also remember: your goal is to encourage engagement – never post flat content; be creative with how you pull others into the conversation and offer ways for them to easily engage.
If you feel 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 some form of content every day and use it on social, for your blog, in your newsletter – get creative!
Giving yourself a bar to reach is the first step to upping your game.
Do polls, giveaways, fan 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 unique content ideas for authors into actual content and posts, consider signing up for email coaching with me and we’ll get personal!
Getting Started with Unique Content Ideas for Authors
You can easily devote a whole month’s worth of content to Christmas – recipes, traditions, gift ideas, etc. And Hannukah lasts eight days (oh the latkes, the dreidels, the menorahs!), while Kwanzaa spans seven (colors and candles and fruits and feasts!).
And then there’s New Year’s Eve (we’ll save New Year’s Day for our January 2021 List).
So we’ve established there are a lot of well-known holidays competing for attention. Which is why content that is also relevant and timely will stand out from the images of Santa, snowflakes, candlelight, reindeer, and red and green.
Check out some of these other monthlong observances. Several offer opportunities to support a cause close to your heart by sharing stories, raising awareness, and/or giving your followers ways to donate money, time, and love to your favorite issues.
Unique Content Ideas for Authors
National Drugged and Drunk Driving (3D) Prevention Month – this one might be easier this year as so many of us are sheltering in place to prevent a further surge in coronavirus cases, but if this a cause that speaks to your heart, a gentle reminder about responsible imbibing during holiday celebrations is easy enough.
Read a New Book Month – you got this one!
Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month – just made for you cookbook authors!
Spiritual Literacy Month – a great gift for any of you working with spiritual material of any kind. The holidays can be difficult for those with restless hearts and minds. Your content might be a solace – create a community where you can.
Universal Human Rights Month – celebrated in December because the United Nations General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights during this month in 1948. Eleanor Roosevelt had a lot to do with the push toward its passage. Plan a few posts that show your followers which rights matter most to you. The UN published a great illustrated version of the document that you can easily share (see Free Download and Resources at the end of this post).
Multi-Day Celebrations
Week 2 Computer Science Education Week – be a learner! Find a site that helps you learn to code and share the resource AND your work with your followers!
December 10 – December 18 – Hannukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights
December 16 – December 24 – La Posadas (the Inns) a Mexican Christmas tradition
December 17 – December 23 – Saturnalia, a Roman harvest festival honoring the agricultural god Saturn
December 25 – January 5 – the Twelve Days of Christmas (yep, that’s right. The 12 days don’t end on Christmas, they start there)
December 26 – January 1 – Kwanzaa, a celebration of the African heritage in African-American culture
Daily Observations for December
December 8
National Brownie Day
Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day – time for my fantasy and historical fiction writing friends to shine. Start a conversation on social about the historical era you’d most like to visit. Be specific. Include cool images!
December 9
Christmas Card Day – share a photo of yours with your followers and invite them to do the same!
National Pastry Day
December 10
Dewey Decimal System Day – perfect for nonfiction authors. Post your call number at the beginning of the day and ask your followers what that strange mix of numbers and letters means. See how long it takes someone to figure it out, and at the end of the day, share your library love.
Human Rights Day
Nobel Prize Day
December 11
National App Day
National Noodle Ring Day – if you have a favorite kugel recipe, why haven’t you already shared it?
December 12
Gingerbread House Day – have everyone in your pod make a gingerbread house, then have a contest for which one is the best. You can use Poptarts if you want the project to be smaller and manageable! Or you can take it to the next level and invite your followers to upload photos of their own gingerbread houses to your comments or a Pinterest board, and then have everyone vote. The winner gets bragging rights or a special memento from you.
National Ding-a-Ling Day
Poinsettia Day
December 13
Ice Cream Day
International Children’s Day
National Day of the Horse
National Guard Birthday
Violin Day
December 14
International Monkey Day – read No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed to your captive Internet Audience and ask for suggestions for other monkey books in the comments.
Roast Chestnuts Day
December 15
Bill of Rights Day
National Cat Herders Day – maybe your pound puppy got the spotlight on December 2 for National Rescue Dog Day. Now it’s time to let your audience know that it’s really your felines who run the household. I bet many of them will relate – and share!
Wear Your Pearls Day
December 16
Jane Austen’s Birthday
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
December 17
National Maple Syrup Day
National Re-gifting Day – time for a conversation about your most embarrassing regift mishap.
Wright Brothers Day
December 18
National Twin Day
National Ugly Christmas Sweater Day – I mean, I know you have one….
Underdog Day
December 19
National Wreaths Across America Day
Oatmeal Muffin Day
December 21
Celebrate Short Fiction Day – write and post a 100-word story and ask your followers to do the same. Prizes? An Amazon gift card and packet of Walker’s SHORTbread cookies?
Crossword Puzzle Day
Humbug Day
Look on the Bright Side Day
National Flashlight Day
Winter Solstice
December 23
Festivus – for the rest of us
Roots Day
December 24
Christmas Eve
National Chocolate Day
National Egg Nog Day
December 25
Christmas Day
National Pumpkin Pie Day
December 26
National Thank You Note Day
December 27
Make Cut Out Snowflakes Day
National Fruitcake Day – run a poll that asks followers whether fruitcake is delicious or obnoxious and announce the results at the end of the day. Fruitcake may ultimately be declared victorious or go down in flames. Either way, a selfie of you with fork poised over a slice seems called for.
December 28
Boxing Day
Card Playing Day
Pledge of Allegiance Day
December 29
National Hero Day – We all need someone to look up to and the people you admire say a lot about you. Share your spotlight with an unsung hero.
December 30
Bacon Day
National Bicarbonate of Soda Day
December 31
Make Up Your Mind Day
New Year’s Eve
Unlucky Day
The Takeaway
Remember, being an author demands creativity, and it also demands authenticity.
Coming up with unique content ideas for authors as part of your marketing plan is a great way to take your success seriously, without taking yourself too seriously! And these December observances should really help.
Resources and Free Downloads
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Monthly Book Marketing Planner
5 Simple Tips for Creating Video Content for Social Media
Ideas for Irresistible Bonus Content & Giveaways
Jane Friedman: Reporting and Consulting on the Publishing Industry
Thanks for giving a shoutout to my Celebrate Short Fiction Day! Here’s the link to give people some idea for next year! https://www.nancychristie.com/focusonfiction/celebrate-short-fiction-day/
Hi Nancy, I’m glad you enjoy my article. I’d love to hear about your experiences in writing. And of course, if I can help you with any of your book marketing strategies, please contact me here to set free consultation up!