Welcome to our list of May observances and content ideas for your monthly author marketing plan!

If you haven’t downloaded our Monthly Book Marketing Planner yet you can grab that here!

Remember, without regular connections to readers, you’re just another book on the shelf they have no vested interest in…so take the time to make yourself stand out by using our monthly observances and tips to create timely, interesting content with your own twist.

Causes and Interests Associated with May:

• National Barbecue Month
• National Bike Month
• Lupus Awareness Month
• National Blood Pressure Month
• National Hamburger Month
• Date Your Mate Month
• National Photograph Month
• National Recommitment Month
• Older Americans Month
• National Salad Month

Weekly Celebrations in May:

• Nurse’s Week – first full week of the month
• Child’s Book Week – first full week of the month
• Wildflower Week – week two
• National Bike Week – third week
• National Police Week – third week of month
• Emergency Medical Services Week – fourth week of the month

If any of the above are near and dear to your heart be sure to show your support. And remember, 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. In fact, it’s smart book marketing.

How to Use the Content Ideas in Your Author Marketing

Below are holidays and just plain wacky and fun May Observances in 2018.

We’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. However, 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. We can’t wait to hear how incorporating these May observances makes your author marketing pay off!

Getting Started With Content

2 Brothers and Sisters Day – Share a fun and slightly embarrassing family photo!

2 Harry Potter Day – Celebrated on the day the Battle of Hogwarts took place, if you’re a Potterhead now is a fun time to draw out all your Potterhead fans as well!

3 Garden Meditation Day – If you get zenned out in your garden or use your outdoor surroundings as inspiration for your writing share some photos.

3 World Press Freedom Day

4 Bird Day

4 Star Wars Day – Need we say more? May the Fourth be with you!

5 Cinco de Mayo – Share your celebration plans!

5 Free Comic Book Day – Did you have a favorite growing up? Definitely share it so your fans can share with your nostalgia!

5 National Hoagie Day

6 Beverage Day – A great excuse to share and elicit favorite cocktail recipes!

6 National Nurses Day

Time to Get Creative with Your Book Marketing

8 National Teacher’s Day – Who was your favorite teacher growing up and where did you go to school?

8 V-E Day

9 Lost Sock Memorial Day – This is one most moms can get on board with!

9 School Nurses Day

10 Clean up Your Room Day

11 Eat What You Want Day – So what’s on the menu today?

11 Military Spouses Day – Honor the military families in your life!

12 International Nurses Day

12 Limerick Day – Share your favorite limerick of course. And, as a fun twist, ask your fans for their favorites, too!

12  National Train Day –

Just Keep Writing More Content

13 Mother’s Day – I hope you don’t need any inspiration here, but set your reminder if you haven’t already!

15 Police Officer’s Memorial Day

16 Love a Tree Day – Do you have a favorite tree that sits outside and inspires your zen writing time?

16 Wear Purple for Peace Day

17 Pack Rat Day – Time to confess the touching, funny, or maybe bizarre things you just couldn’t get rid of over the years!

18 International Museum Day – If you have a fab local museum now is the time to show them some love. Be sure to tag them as well!

18 National Bike to Work Day

19 Armed Forces Day

20 Be a Millionaire Day – Believe it or not this day seems to have been created to draw attention to fiscal responsibility. And this has its place for sure, but it would be more fun to get your followers to talk about what they’d do if they were gifted a million bucks!

May Isn’t Over Yet, Power Through

20 Pick Strawberries Day

23 Lucky Penny Day

25 Don’t Fry Friday – This always happens the Friday before Memorial weekend as a way to draw attention to the importance of using sunscreen and the real dangers of skin cancer.

25 National Wine Day – One word: AMEN.

26 Sally Ride Day – Honoring the first woman in space!

27 Sun Screen Day

28 Memorial Day – Take a moment to honor family members, or just post some words of gratitude for those who lost their lives serving. Encourage fans to share old photos.

29 Learn About Composting Day – If you’re a composter who can share some earth-friendly tips, or if want to learn some, now is the time to open the discussion.

31 World No Tobacco Day – If you smoke or chew tobacco…kick the habit today. Your life depends on it! If you’re a recovered tobacco user share your story.

The Takeaway

Being an author demands creativity, and it also demands authenticity. These May observances may be just what you need to get the ball rolling on some great content!

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!

What are your favorite May observances and content ideas? Please share them below in the comments!