Wacky May holidays bring promotion opportunities
It’s time to inject a little fun into your book promotion.
I always get so many happy comments and emails when I run these wacky holiday lists that I’m going to try to do it more often. These unusual special occasions give you a chance to get creative – and smile.
The goal is to find one or more wacky May holidays from the short list below or the expanded list on HolidayInsights that relates to your book. Use that occasion as a starting point for any number of book promotion tactics.
Winning ways with wacky May holidays
If you haven’t done this sort of thing before, here are some ideas to get you thinking:
- Write a blog post that connects the holiday to your book. Do you write mysteries? Use May 11, “Twilight Zone Day,” to reminisce about the episode that scared you the most. The author of a book on how to get organized can use “Lost Sock Memorial Day” to write about how to avoid honoring that holiday by using a simple trick that prevents lost socks.
- Host a contest. Ask your readers to nominate their favorite school nurse for May 9, “School Nurses Day.” The winner you select will receive a copy of your book as a thank you gift. As part of the nomination process, require people to do something specific, such as like your Facebook page or follow you on Pinterest or Instagram.
- Write and distribute a tip sheet related to a holiday with a connection to your book. Is your book about wealth management? Create a tip sheet for “Be a Millionaire Day” that provides advice on how to do that for longer than a day.
May’s wacky days
Let these wacky holidays inspire your creativity.
- May 1 Mother Goose Day
- May 3 Garden Meditation Day
- May 4 International Tuba Day
- May 6 Beverage Day
- May 6 No Diet Day
- May 8 No Socks Day
- May 9 Lost Sock Memorial Day
- May 9 School Nurses Day
- May 10 Clean up Your Room Day
- May 11 Eat What You Want Day
- May 11 Twilight Zone Day
- May 12 Limerick Day
- May 14 Dance Like a Chicken Day
- May 17 Pack Rat Day
- May 18 No Dirty Dishes Day
- May 20 Be a Millionaire Day
- May 25 National Brown Bag It Day
- May 25 National Towel Day
- May 25 National Wine Day
- May 25 Tap Dance Day
- May 28 National Hamburger Day
Don’t forget to use the more traditional May occasions such as Mother’s Day, college commencements, and high school graduations as jumping off points, too. Reporters and producers in particular are always looking for a fresh approach to an old favorite.
Have you ever used a holiday to help promote your book? What did you do? Tell us in a comment.
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I haven’t used a National Day of … yet, Sandra, but I certainly am going to!
May 1, Mother Goose Day, is one I’m going to work on right away. I have a children’s book called Gracie and the Magic Feathers, which is a story and a counting book rolled into one. I believe I’m going to look up some bullet-point facts on the old gal, put them into my blog and add a new ‘fact’ .. Mother G’s feathers were magical. (Come on, now … how else do you explain a goose that can not only speak but also tell stories?!) I’ll link that ‘fact’ to Gracie.
I’ll let you know how it goes! 🙂
Thanks, as always, for such a fun and informative post!
Deb, you made my day! That’s exactly what I had in mind when I wrote this. Whoohoo!
I know you’ll have fun with it!
Sandy
One year, for Valentine’ Day, I approached other fellow romance authors to include in a catalog I made on FlipSnack that featured the covers of our books and a blurb on subsequent pages. It was the first time I made such a thing and liked it so much, I keep it on my website. You can view it on my homepage at http://www.deborahmpiccurelli.com.
What a fun idea, Deborah! Thanks for sharing that!
Sandy
I market my “ Purr-fect Pals: A Kid, A Cat & Diabetes” book for children who have been diagnosed with diabetes and their families, in November for National Diabetes Momth and World Diabetes Day.
Sheila, that’s SO smart!
Sandy
Thank you for you kind words, Sandy. My goal is to make sure as many children and families living with the never-ending challenges of T1D are offered education and comfort from my book. JDRF has also included 6,930 “Purr-fect Pals:A Kid, A Cat & Diabetes” books in their Bags of Hope that are giving to newly diagnosed children and their families. I allocate 100% of my royalties from “Purr-fect Pals: A Kid, A Cat & Diabetes” to JDRF to find a cure for T1D. If you are wondering why JDRF is my charity of choice, it is because our eldest son has has been living with T1D for 32 years.
I presumed you had a personal connection to your topic, Sheila. Good for you for turning your family’s experience into a force for good.
Sandy
Would be grateful if you would list the wacky holidays for June 😀.
Gloria, you can find them at the Holiday Insights link in this article above. The link takes you to May, but you can use that to get to June.
Sandy