January Holidays and Newsletter Ideas — 2023

A whole new year.

And it’s time to decide what you’re going to do with it.

With days like Motivation and Inspiration Day (Jan. 2nd), and National CanDo Day (Jan. 4th), there are plenty of days to celebrate and focus on getting things done this month. 

Starting with New Year’s Day (Jan. 1st), people start talking about the New Year’s resolutions they’ve made, and marketers everywhere will be talking about planning an entire year’s worth of marketing now. And I’m no exception.

Yes, marketing takes time and effort. And, you’ll have a greater chance of success if you use an online marketing calendar to plan your marketing strategy in advance. But it doesn’t have to be difficult. 

The most important thing to remember is that your marketing plan is a living document. (Tweet this!) Right now, it needs to be a basic roadmap for where you want to go and how you plan to get there.

There’s no need to sit down and plan the details of each and every campaign right now —  unless you’re feeling industrious or have a team of marketers at your disposal. Instead, look at the big picture of where you are now and where you want to be. Then, pencil in some holidays, local events, and any “annual” activities that align with your brand. This gives you an outline dotted with focal points for your marketing efforts.

Once you have your focal points, you can start to fill in plans for cross-channel campaigns, stand-alone emails, social media contests, ad campaigns, etc.

Creating a marketing plan outline for the year now will make it easier to make adjustments if and when you find them necessary.

Once you have the outline completed, you have your marketing plan for the year all mapped out. And when it comes to creating and executing those campaigns, break them down into small, manageable bites. Whether that’s a month at a time, a week at a time, or even a day at a time. 

Trello calls this process of breaking things down into the smallest possible tasks microproductivity. I call it amazing because even the largest elephant isn’t that big if you only look at one square inch at a time.

So, now that you’ve got your 2023 marketing calendar roughly marked out with a plan that’s going to help you crush your goals for the year, it’s time to get to the next task . . . creating the first campaign on your calendar.

To get started, take a look at these January holidays, newsletter ideas, and fun subject lines and see where your imagination takes you.

January holidays — 2023

  • January 1st – Commitment Day. While originally for making a commitment to those closest to your heart, use this day to make commitments to your clients, customers, and community.
  • January 8th – National JoyGerm Day. The one thing you want to catch and spread around.
  • January 9th – National Clean Your Desk Day and National Word Nerd Day.
  • January 12th – Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day. No one really knows what this is, but it sounds fun, right?
  • January 13th – Korean American Day.
  • January 14th – Ratification Day.
  • January 15th-21st – Hunt for Happiness Week.
  • January 17th – National We Are Not Broken Day.
  • January 18th – Museum Selfie Day and National Thesaurus Day.
  • January 19th – Good Memory Day.
  • January 20th – Take a Walk Outdoors Day.
  • January 21st – National Use Your Gift Card Day. Encourage your readers to use the gift cards they received during the holidays.
  • January 22nd – Celebration of Life Day and Chinese New Year.
  • January 24th – Belly Laugh Day. Who doesn’t love a good belly laugh?
  • January 25th – Library Shelfie Day and Opposite Day. Maybe the library shelves should take a picture with you. 
  • January 28th – Local Quilt Shop Day and National Kazoo Day. 
  • January 30th-Feb. 6th – National Storytelling Week.
  • January 31st – National Hot Chocolate Day. 

January newsletter ideas

While a lot of new entrepreneurs may think marketing campaigns are all about selling, that’s not true.

The biggest advantage small businesses have over the big guys is the relationships they build. (Tweet this!)

Nothing can replace the feel of a small town or being on a first-name basis with your butcher. And those relationships are built by talking with your customers, not at them.

Start by using days like Get to Know Your Customers Day (Jan. 19th) to send out a survey to learn more about your customers. With it being a new year, this is the perfect time to ask about goals and resolutions.

January newsletter ideas for helping your readers reach their goals

When you take time to get to know your audience, you stand a better chance of knowing what they want and need, and how you can help and support them.

Here’s how you can support your readers this month:

  • Be an inspiration. Share stories about how you, your employees, or other locals are overcoming obstacles to be a success. Take it from your newsletter to social media by asking followers to share their definition of success.
  • Be a resource. Think about the different resolutions your readers may have made, and take a look at how your business or organization can help them achieve those goals. Then, reach out to your readers with how you can help, including providing a list of additional resources they could use. Better yet, ask them to share their resolutions on social media, then create a list of resources based on the answers you received.
  • Be an ally. Take a look at your goals for the year, both personal and professional, as well as the feedback you received from the resolutions survey suggested above and find what you have in common with your readers. Then, think about sponsoring a mentor program or a support group, or offer up your location for after-hours meetings for those that already have support groups started in your community. If it’s not appropriate for you to host guests at your place of business, take a poll of your readers and followers to see if they’d be interested in joining a Facebook group or meeting at a local coffee shop or public library.

January newsletter ideas for making your readers feel good

With days like International Mind-Body Wellness Day (Jan. 3rd), National Cuddle Up Day (Jan. 6th) and National Compliment Day (Jan. 24th), it’s easy to find a moment this month to make your readers feel good.

  • Be a partner. Partner up to raise funds for a local nonprofit. Whether you hold a “cuddly kitten” picture contest on social media to raise funds for a local shelter, partner with a local gym and sponsor a community beginners Yoga class, or get with a local counselor to create a free video on meditation or mindfulness, there are a lot of things you can do in partnership with your fellow business owners and nonprofits to benefit your community.
  • Build relationships and trust. If you’re already doing something great for your community, share what you’re doing with your readers and let them know how they can contribute.
  • Be a resource. Share tips on mental, physical, and emotional health. Depending on your brand, you can share funny stories about how you relieve stress — personally, I make bread — or you can supply professional tips of your own or curate content from a trusted source.

Whatever holiday you highlight in your newsletter this month, whether you issue a challenge, offer advice, or ask your readers to share, include a branded hashtag and a custom hashtag — along with a corresponding post on social media — so you can easily find and like what they post!

January newsletter subject lines

  • “We’re committed” – Commitment Day (Jan. 1st) – Let your readers know your intentions.
  • “We should be committed” – Commitment Day (Jan. 1st) – For offering an incredibly good deal or doing something “crazy.”
  • “Happy Mew Year!” – Happy Mew Year for Cats Day (Jan. 2nd) – Ideal for pet stores or shelters.
  • “Talk to me” – Day of Dialogue (Jan. 5th) – Perfect for surveying your readers on, well, just about anything.
  • “Let’s talk” – Day of Dialogue (Jan. 5th) – Great for starting a conversation with your readers, or sharing serious information.
  • “Whip it good!” – National Whipped Cream Day (Jan. 5th) – Yeah, I don’t know what you’d use this for, but it’s fun!
  • “This is shocking!” – National Static Electricity Day (Jan. 9th) – For a shockingly good sale, sharing shocking news, or highlighting a new model of hand buzzers.
  • “I call my houseplant Fred” – National Houseplant Appreciation Day (Jan. 10th) – This is one of those subject lines that will really make your readers go, “Huh?”
  • “Logically speaking…” – World Logic Day (Jan. 14th) – Good for just about anything  —  as long as it’s logical.
  • “Join us on the hunt” – Preheader: “for happiness” – Hunt for Happiness Day (Jan. 15th).
  • “We’re strong to the finich” – Preaheader: “cause we eats our spinach” – Popeye Day (17th) – Great for anyone who wants to show customers that they work hard until the work is done.
  • “Rumbly in your tumbly?” – National Winnie the Pooh Day (Jan. 18th) – Great if you serve, sell, manufacture, or give away any sort of food.
  • “Do you remember the time?” – Good Memory Day (Jan. 19th) – Great for reminding readers of an announcement, or event, or to cherish and write down their good memories.
  • “Have we got a story to tell you!” – National Storytelling Week (Jan. 29th – Feb. 5th) – Perfect for sharing any type of story that relates to your business or community.

For more January holidays and ideas on what you can do to share them with your customers, download the graphic below. Or, Start the new year right by planning out your marketing strategy now with our 2023 Online Marketing Calendar. Complete with a free template and a list of holidays you can use to plan a successful year.

January 2023 Marketing and Holiday Planning infographic

Click on the image to download the graphic.

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