It’s time to run through our January observances and unique author branding enhancements and content ideas for your monthly book marketing plan!
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 really refining your author 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: content ideas don’t always have to stem from your genre or topic.
When it comes to author marketing and building an author 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 My Content Ideas
Below are holidays and just plain wacky and fun January observances for 2022.
I’ve also included a few content ideas and angles to help spark your creativity and help you wrap your mind around how to work them into your author branding.
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 to 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.
Giving yourself a bar to reach is the first step to upping your author branding 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 ideas into actual content and posts, consider signing up for email coaching with me and we’ll get personal!
And don’t forget to grab our Monthly Book Marketing Planner from the Free Resources and Downloads section at the end of this post.
Getting Started with January Observances
Start with these month-long ideas! 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.
National Bath Safety Month
National Blood Donor Month
National Braille Literacy Month
National Hobby Month- Share who you are outside of being an author! Encourage people to chime in with their favorite hobbies and activities (other than reading of course).
Hot Tea Month
National Oatmeal Month
National Soup Month
January Observances by the Week
2nd Week Letter Writing Week
January Observances by the Day
January 1
National Hangover Day
New Year’s Day- C’mon, 2022! Here’s to a year filled with hope and happiness. Share your New Year’s resolutions and encourage your followers to start chasing their goals.
January 2
Feast of the Epiphany – Three Kings – date varies
International Stop Spam Day
Run up the Flagpole and See if Anyone Salutes Day
World Introvert Day
January 3
Festival of Sleep Day
Fruitcake Toss Day
Humiliation Day
January 4
National Spaghetti Day
Trivia Day- This is a great opportunity to host a giveaway! Create a trivia quiz and reward the winners with a free sticker or a discounted book price. Enough buzz around your trivia will bring tons of new readers to your platform.
January 5
National Bird Day
January 6
Bean Day
Cuddle Up Day- If this day isn’t begging for a cozy reading selfie, then I don’t know what is!
January 7
Old Rock Day
January 8
Bubble Bath Day
Male Watcher’s Day
January 9
Play God Day
January 10
Bittersweet Chocolate Day
Houseplant Appreciation Day- Show off your green thumb and your plant babies! Houseplants and greenery have become such a popular aesthetic. Use a nice photo to freshen up your social media feed!
Peculiar People Day
January 11
Learn Your Name in Morse Code Day
Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend’s Day
January 12
Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day
National Hot Tea Day
National Pharmacist Day
National Take the Stairs Day
January 13
International Skeptics Day
Make Your Dream Come True Day- Do you have big goals for 2022? Make them known! Use this day to declare your dreams and take actions to make them reality.
National Rubber Duckie Day
January 14
Dress Up Your Pet Day- We could all use more adorable pet content in our lives. If you are going to use just one of these ideas- let it be this one!
January 15
National Bagel Day
National Hat Day
January 16
Appreciate a Dragon Day
National Nothing Day
January 17
Ditch New Years Resolutions Day
Kid Inventors Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday – celebrated on the third Monday
January 18
Thesaurus Day
Winnie the Pooh Day – the birthday of author A.A. Milne
January 19
National Popcorn Day
National Tin Can Day
January 20
National Buttercrunch Day
National Cheese Lover Day- Share your favorite cheesy dish. My mouth is already watering just thinking about the possibilities…
Penguin Awareness Day
January 21
National Hugging Day
Squirrel Appreciation Day- Sure, why not? Show some love to the nutty characters in your life.
January 22
National Blonde Brownie Day
January 23
National Pie Day
National Handwriting Day
Measure Your Feet Day
January 24
Beer Can Appreciation Day
Compliment Day- The world needs more positivity. Start a compliment train with your followers- respond to as many people as possible with kind words and compliments.
Global Belly Laugh Day
January 25
Opposite Day
January 26
Australia Day
Spouse’s Day
January 27
Chocolate Cake Day- Share your favorite recipe, or ask your readers to share theirs. Hopefully cutting down on sweets isn’t one of your resolutions…
Punch the Clock Day
January 28
Data Privacy Day
Fun at Work Day
National Kazoo Day
January 29
National Puzzle Day
National Cornchip Day
National Seed Swap Day
January 30
National Inane Answering Message Day
January 31
Backward Day
Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day – last Monday of month
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day- Appreciate the beautiful works of art in your life, or share an image that really speaks to you. Be creative!
The Takeaway
Remember, being an author demands creativity, and it also demands authenticity when developing a marketing plan to support your author brand.
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 January observances should really help.
Resources and Free Downloads
Monthly Book Marketing Planner
0 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks