May is National What Month? Unique Content Ideas for Authors

by | Apr 22, 2020 | Book Marketing Basics, Monthly Observances & Content Ideas, Social Media for Authors

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

If you’re committed to making this year one of your most successful yet – 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. We’ve updated it for 2020 with even more prompts and tips to make life easier!

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 special twist.

This is part of building your brand!

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: 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 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 Unique Content Ideas for Authors

Below are holidays and just plain wacky and fun May Observances for 2020.

I’ve also included a few unique content ideas for authors 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: ALL your posts should encourage your fans and followers to respond, chime in, share their feedback, insight, stories, etc. so don’t forget to work in that angle to let them know you want to hear from them.

I mention it as part of my recommendations occasionally, but please know that encouraging engagement is always the goal – 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 some form of content every day, use it on social, for your blog, in your newsletter – get creative – but giving yourself a bar to reach is the first step in 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 to actual posts, please consider signing up for email coaching with me and we’ll get personal!

Getting Started with Unique Content Ideas for Authors

This month is National Get Caught Reading Month and Family Reading Month! So if your market is children and families, this is your time to shine!

Read more about Get Caught Reading Month here, because it’s really fun, and you 100% should be encouraging your fans and followers to share photos of themselves “getting caught” reading their favorite books in their favorite reading spots!

It’s also Nurse Week, Police Week, and Emergency Medical Services Week this month and what perfect timing. Do what you can to spread the word, that’s the easy part, but if you have a special bonus you can offer, a discount, a dedicated live event – that would be a fabulous way to say thank you!

Monthly Observances for May:

  • Asian American Month
  • 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 Family Reading Month
  • National Get Caught Reading Month
  • National Hamburger Month
  • National Photograph Month
  • National Recommitment Month
  • National Salad Month
  • Older Americans Month
  • Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Weekly Celebrations for May:

  • Nurse’s Week – first week
  • Reading is Fun Week – second week
  • Wildflower Week – second week
  • National Bike Week – third week
  • National Police Week – third week
  • Emergency Medical Services Week – fourth week

Daily Observances for May:

May 1

Loyalty Day – consider doing a special promo for your current fans, people who have already purchased your book, signed up for your newsletter, etc.

May Day

Mother Goose Day

Save the Rhino Day

Space Day

May 2

Brothers and Sisters Day

Free Comic Book Day

Herb Day – if you’re a gardener (or aspiring gardener) share some pics!

May 3

Garden Meditation Day – there’s a theme for Spring, more photo opportunities for today.

World Press Freedom Day

May 4

Bird Day

Star Wars Day

May 5

Cinco de Mayo – hey now’s the time to post your fave margarita recipe!

National Teacher’s Day – teachers are missing school as much as parents are, so if you’re in contact with your kids’ teacher or teachers, think of something fun you can do to show your appreciation, and get your followers on social involved by crowdsourcing ideas!

Oyster Day

May 6

National Nurses Day – share the love and help make this day known! If any of your fans are nurses consider doing a special promo or discount.

No Diet Day – Amen to this, check in with your fans about their go-to indulgences during quarantine!

May 8

Child Care Provider Day or Daycare Provider Day – similar to teacher’s day, if you’re in contact with your child’s care provider, do something special to check in with them and encourage others to do the same.

Military Spouses Day

National Outdoor Intercourse Day – this is exciting and I hope you romance authors can think of something fun to do to celebrate this day!

V-E Day

World Red Cross Day

May 9

Birth Mother’s Day

National Train Day

National Windmill Day

May 10

Clean up Your Room Day

Mother’s Day – sharing a special story about your mother is a great way to invite fans in on a personal level, it makes you human, it makes you relatable.

Unique Content Ideas for Authors

May 11

Eat What You Want Day – what do you eat when there are no rules?

Twilight Zone Day

May 12

International Nurses Day

Limerick Day – calling all writers, let’s see what you’ve got!

May 13

National Receptionist Day

School Nurses Day

May 15

National Bike to Work Day – this may be a little different for a lot of people this year, depending on how quickly things open up, but hey, if you work from home you can take a ride around the neighborhood and document it for fans.

National Chocolate Chip Day

Police Officer’s Memorial Day

May 16

Armed Forces Day

Love a Tree Day

Wear Purple for Peace Day – if you want to get involved be sure to share a photo!

May 18

International Museum Day

No Dirty Dishes Day

Visit Your Relatives Day – if you still can’t visit family face to face now is the time to set up a virtual get together!

May 19

World Plant a Vegetable Garden Day

May 20

Be a Millionaire Day – what would you do if you were a millionaire? Get your fans to get involved too!

Pick Strawberries Day

May 21

National Memo Day – you could have a lot of fun with this, putting memos out to the world, or to certain types of people. Ever heard of @dudewithsign on Instagram? He’s hilarious, take notes and make people laugh!

May 22

Buy a Musical Instrument Day – maybe you have a secret talent you can reveal? Do a video and post it!

World Goth Day – I feel like there are a lot of authors out there with characters who could have their 15 minutes of fame today…

May 23

International Jazz Day

Lucky Penny Day

May 25

Memorial Day

National Brown Bag It Day – post a picture of your brown bag lunch and ask fans to guess what’s inside!

National Wine Day – I think a selfie is pretty much required if you’re a wine fan.

Tap Dance Day

 

May 27

Sun Screen Day

May 28

Amnesty International Day

National Hamburger Day

May 29

Learn About Composting Day – are you a composter? It may sound random, but using these holidays to reveal hidden talents, hobbies, etc. are an easy way to better connect with your fans and by referring back to this post for prompts, the ideas are ready for the picking!

May 30

Mint Julep Day

Water a Flower Day

May 31

National Macaroon Day

World No Tobacco 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 May observances should really help.

Have plans for a fun take on any of these unique content ideas for authors? Share below in the comments!

Resources and Free Downloads

Monthly Book Marketing Planner

Personalized Coaching

How to Create Video Content for Social Media

Irresistible Bonus and Giveaway Ideas

Please use the social share buttons below if you learned something from this post – your shares really help educate other authors, which raises the bar for publishing and gets more books in readers hands!

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