January is the optimal time to start planning your 2020 marketing calendar. When deciding on your campaign ideas for the year, it's useful to have a clear overview of all key events. This will help you keep track of which holidays are coming up, as well as everything you need to do to get your business prepared.
January is the perfect time to start planning all your campaign ideas for the coming year.
We've created some great resources which will certainly come in useful to you when putting together your marketing schedule for the year.
Get your hands on a 2020 email campaign planner (based on our team's own content marketing plan!), plus a 2020 marketing calendar jam-packed with the most important dates.
Get your FREE 2020 marketing calendar and campaign planner!
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Make the most of your free resources:
Once you have downloaded your free 2020 marketing calendar, you can skim through all the most important dates, holidays and sales periods coming up in 2020. Use these dates and any others you want to include to fill out your 2020 email campaign planner.
Throughout the year, you can note down todos, campaign ideas, important links, etc. and keep track of all your campaign planning in one useful document. We've already provided you with some useful links to help you get started.
Getting to work on your first campaign
Ready to get started on your first email campaign of 2020? Check out the Mail Designer 365 workflow! Build your campaign using the creative tools in Mail Designer 365. Then, upload your design drafts to Mail Designer 365 Approval to get feedback and ideas from your team members.
Once your team has approved your campaign, you can go ahead and export directly to use with your ESP.
Want more inspiration for 2020? Keep reading to discover more unique and exciting holidays your business can get involved in this year...
12 BONUS dates that you need in your 2020 marketing calendar
Stuck for fresh ideas or looking to build a marketing campaign different to everyone else's? To go alongside the must-have dates in your 2020 marketing calendar, here are some slightly more obscure or unheard-of dates to inspire you to create even more unique and interesting email content for your customers.
January 20th: Blue Monday
Officially named the most depressing day of the year, Blue Monday always falls on the third Monday in January. As marketers, you can be clever and do your best to take advantage of this otherwise miserable day and give your customers something to smile about.
Get your readers out of the Blue Monday slump with a fun campaign.
February 29th: Leap Year Day
2020 is another leap year; meaning February has an extra day this year. This is a great chance to get creative and think of a promotion to offer customers exclusively on February the 29th. Remember to try and create a sense of urgency here by reminding customers it's just for one day.
March 8th: International Women's Day
International Women's Day is a great opportunity for you to celebrate your female customers and colleagues. A marketing campaign giving back to women's charities or simply an email recognising the day would be highly effective way to show women your appreciation.
Celebrating International Women's Day is a great way to show your female customers your appreciation.
April 23rd: World Book Day
If you sell books or e-readers, World Book Day could be a great opportunity for you to launch a promotion. If not, consider holding a special reading event or share your team's favorite books with your customers to encourage them to read more.
May 4th: Star Wars Day
Calling all Star Wars fans: May the fourth be with you! Depending on which business you're in, this unofficial holiday might be a little bit out there. However, with a little creativity, some of you may be able to pull off a fun campaign to put a smile on your readers' faces.
June 20th: Summer Solstice
The longest day of the year is certainly a special day and, with it being right at the start of summer, it can be used as an excuse for a summer sale or promotion. Alternatively, you could consider holding a special event to celebrate with your customers. This could be great themed event for a bar or restaurant.
Celebrate the longest day of summer with a solstice-themed event.
July 24th: Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony
The Summer Olympics are considered by most as the world's biggest sporting event and an event which brings dozens of nations together. No matter your field of business, there's bound to be a way you can stay on topic and incorporate the olympic theme into your campaigns this summer.
August 8th: International Cat Day
Cats are an internet sensation and a funny cat meme or video can be the ideal addition to liven up an otherwise standard email campaign. Of course, if your business is related to cats in any way, or you are a cat charity, then this is a very important date for your diary.
Cats make everything better. Celebrate International Cat Day with a fun, cat-themed campaign.
September 12th: International Programmers' Day
This is one for all the software and tech firms out there... Show appreciation for your fellow programmers by giving a nod to them in your email campaign! Try offering a discount on new software which developers may find useful, or provide programmers with early access to your beta releases. They'll definitely appreciate you going the extra mile for them.
October 1st: International Coffee Day
This is one for café, and restaurant owners, or any other vendors or retailers selling coffee. Make the most of this one-off celebration with a fun promotion or event.
Apart from celebrating the delicious drink, International Coffee Day also concentrates on promoting fair-trade and supporting the overseas industries behind the production of coffee. This is also a great thing to mention in your campaigns (learn more.)
Everyone loves a good cup of coffee! Why not launch a campaign around it this International Coffee Day?
November 11th: Singles' Day
Originating in China, Singles' Day is a day dedicated to celebrating single people and is now massively growing in popularity. Many businesses use this as an opportunity to offer discounts and great deals to their customers. In particular, this holiday is popular with younger people in China, the UK and the USA.
December 10th: World Human Rights Day
Why not use the last month of the year to draw attention to a good cause? Take a break from festive sales emails to promote values such as equal rights, peace and tolerance. Holding a special event, launching a product and donating the profits to human rights organisations, or simply raising awareness are all great ways to get involved.
Getting started
We hope we have given you some ideas and inspiration for your 2020 marketing calendar. Alongside the regular holidays and events in your planner, these events should give you some fresh and interesting new subject matter to create engaging emails with in 2020.
Don't forget to check out our free resources for your 2020 marketing calendar. The extensive email campaign planner and downloadable events calendar are both completely free and a great way for you to get your campaigns organised this year.
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