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

Please read this NOW, because there are some really fantastic promotions that can be planned around a number of October observances.

And 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 (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 timely, interesting content with your own unique twist.

Here’s a list of causes and interests associated with the month of October:

• Adopt a Shelter Dog Month
• Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• Clergy Appreciation Month
• Computer Learning Month
• Cookie Month
• Domestic Violence Awareness Month
• International Drum Month
• National Diabetes Month
• National Pizza Month
• National Vegetarian Month
• National Popcorn Popping Month
• Sarcastic Month
• Seafood Month

If any of the above are near and dear to your heart be sure to show your support or your humorous bend!

These monthly observances are a great way to plan a series of content too. It can be as simple as sharing a family cookie recipe once or twice a week, to as impactful as dedicating posts to breast cancer fighters who have touched your life. A series of content not only gives you focus, the predictability is also something followers naturally gravitate toward.

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.

And in addition to everything you’re doing, I’d love to chat with you about collaborating on some book marketing strategies and seeing where I can fill in some holes in your approach or what you’re able to make time for. It never hurts to understand your options!

How to Use My Content Ideas

Below are holidays and just plain wacky and fun October 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, 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.

Getting Started With Content Ideas

5 Do Something Nice Day – I love this so much, social media in particular can get so negative, let’s use these opportunities to share what we’re doing that’s positive, and encourage others to do the same.

5 World Teacher’s Day – Recognize your kids’ teachers, or call out a teacher from your past that really changed your life.

6 International Frugal Fun Day – Share your favorite frugal fun activity and why it means so much to you, inspire your followers to share their ideas as well.

6 World Card Making Day – Such a lost art! Take a moment to send cards to people you care about and remind your followers to do the same.

9 Curious Events Day – This is really fun and a great way to show your personality, find something that’s happened in the past and do a little research, share what you’ve learned, and shake up your usual content.

10 International Newspaper Carrier Day – If you enjoy your daily paper remind your followers to do something special for their mail carrier, someone you’d surely miss if they weren’t there!

Time to Get Creative with Your Author Marketing

11 It’s My Party Day – Share a win you’ve experienced lately, spreading positivity is just as important as venting, and you’ll have plenty of time for that this month as well.

12 Cookbook Launch Day – Celebrating all our cookbook authors! Sure, you may not be launching your book, but don’t miss the opportunity to shine a light on what you do and how the magic happens.

12 Moment of Frustration Day – Let it out! Connect with your followers, this is something we can all relate to and should be an easy opportunity to come up with some content that shows the blood, sweat and tears that go into creating the books they love.

13 International Skeptics Day – What are you skeptical about? This is another great time to let your personality shine.

16 Dictionary Day – What’s your favorite uncommon word and why?

17 Wear Something Gaudy Day – And take so many pictures to share on social!

Just Keep Writing Social Media Content

19 Evaluate Your Life Day – Oh wow, this can go a lot of ways, but I encourage you to use it as an opportunity to give your followers some additional insight to you as a person, not just as an author.

21 National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day – Have a double serving, and consider sharing your favorite fall-themed dessert recipe.

27 Make a Difference Day – What have you been doing to make a difference beyond your household? Share and inspire those who follow you and encourage them to go out and do something they’re also proud to share.

28  Mother-In-Law Day – This could be humorous or touching, or both.

29 National Frankenstein Day – Which version of the movie is your favorite?

30 National Candy Corn Day – Love it? Hate it? Post a poll on your social, people are in a festive mood.

30 Mischief Night – This is just a fun, opened ended opportunity you should capitalize on!

Halloween Has Arrived

31 Carve a Pumpkin Day – If you’re like me this was done DAYS ago, but it’s a fun time to show off your creations and encourage fans and followers to do the same.

31 Halloween – Share your traditions, pics of your kiddos if you’re open to doing that, some funny memes about binging on candy, your favorite horror flick, get in the spirit.

31 Increase Your Psychic Powers Day – I’ve worked with a number of intuitives over the years on some amazingly eye opening books, so if you fall into this category plan a really fun, engaging post or even a series of posts this month that lead up to this day.

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 October observances should really help.

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

Love this post? I’ve made it easy for you to share with these tweets below!

Click to Tweet: Take your October marketing to the next level with these killer content ideas from @bookgal #contentmarketing #contentideas

Click to Tweet: Kick your October content into high gear with these monthly observances from @bookgal #contentmarketing #monthlyobservances