October Holidays and Newsletter Ideas — 2024

[Nick_S]

This article was originally written by River Cartier for the Constant Contact Blog.

Just as fall is my favorite season, October is my favorite month.

I love October. Not just because I get to over-decorate the house, play dress-up as an adult, and buy way too much candy without judgment.

Nor do I love it because of National Pumpkin Spice Day (Oct. 1st) or National Cinnamon Roll Day (Oct. 4th) — although those are both good reasons to love October.

I love it because the first snows fall and then melt away, because of Indian Summer days and cold nights with breezes that nip at your nose, and because everyone is getting ready to hunker down for winter.

I love October because here in the Northern Hemisphere, it is nature’s last hurrah before winter sets in.

So, when you start working on your marketing for October, think about how this time of year makes you feel and how you can help your readers celebrate the end of the season while preparing for the coming winter.

If you’re not sure where to start, I’m here to help with a bushel of October holidays, newsletter ideas, and subject line starters. So slip into your favorite slippers, grab a cup of hot cocoa and let your mind warm up to some of these great ideas.

October holidays — 2024

• October 1st — International Coffee Day. A great day to share a free cup of coffee with your readers, or to share recipes, memes, and tips about this morning staple.
• October 6th — National Mad Hatter Day. Ever wondered what the 10/6 on the Mad Hatter’s hat means? 10 shillings and 6 pence — the cost of the hat!
• October 7th-13th — The Children’s Trust Pyjama Week. This comfortable week is held annually in the UK to raise funds for children with brain injuries.
• October 7th — National Inner Beauty Day. Recognize the inner beauty of your customers and employees.
• October 10th — World Mental Health Day. Raise awareness with your readers about mental health and community resources.
• October 16th — Dictionary Day. Share fun, little-known words related to your business. Make a game of it in your shop or offer a discount if your customers know the “word of the day”.
• October 21st — Back to the Future Day. Celebrate the day Doc and Marty landed in the future by doing fun flashbacks or sneak peeks from your business.
• October 25th — International Artist Day. Support a local artist by showcasing their work in your shop, your newsletter, and on your social media.
• October 18th — Loud Shirt Day. From our friends in Australia, this day raises money for children with hearing loss. I love this… out loud!
• October 31st — Halloween, National Caramel Apple Day, and Magic Day. Pick a holiday, any holiday.

 

October newsletter ideas

With fall in full color, corn mazes, and kids in costumes, there’s no better time to embrace the season and your community.

October newsletter ideas for running contests

Seasonal activities are everywhere this time of year. So, tap into what’s happening in your community.

• Bring the fun. Purchase a few tickets to a local corn maze, haunted house, or other season-themed event and then hold a contest for your readers to win the tickets. 
• Create something special. Partner with a local event or a related business to combine your products or resources to create something special for the season/month.
• Support your community. Partner with a local food bank, farm, grocery store, or charity to create a fundraiser that can start with paying to pick apples, to making apple deserts, all the way down to a bake sale. Better yet, partner with a school to teach children the process of farm-to-table.

 

October newsletter ideas for Halloween

Halloween dominates the month of October so join in the fun and celebrate all things Halloween-ish with your readers. 

If your business isn’t directly tied to Halloween, then be a resource for your readers by:

• Doing some research. Create a comprehensive list of activities and events happening in your area that you can share with your readers. Share the list on social media as well, and invite your readers to add activities that you might have missed.
• Creating a checklist. Help your readers out by creating a fun checklist of things they’ll need to “survive” Halloween. This can be anything from practical suggestions on how to trick-or-treat with little ones to funny suggestions like purchasing twice as much candy as you think you’ll need, so there’ll be some left for the trick-or-treaters.
• Curating content. Content curation isn’t just for social media. You can curate content from other sources and use it in your newsletters and on your website. Just make sure to follow content curation best practices and cite your sources properly.

TIP: 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!

October newsletter subject lines

• “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” — National Mad Hatter Day (Oct. 6th). Do you know the answer?
• “Have I gone mad?” — National Mad Hatter Day (Oct. 6th). Great for announcing a sale.
• “It’s time to kick some butt!” — National Kick Butt Day (Oct. 9th). When you want to motivate your readers to take action.
• “It’s my party” Preheader: “and you’re invited” — It’s My Party Day (Oct. 11th). Great for anything you want to celebrate, an event, a sale, whatever!
• “I don’t believe it” — International Skeptics Day (Oct. 13th). Great for announcing a sale, something new, or even something controversial.
• “Go beyond bold” Preheader: “Be gaudy!” — Wear Something Gaudy Day (Oct. 17th).
• “Great Scott!” — Back To The Future Day (Oct. 21st). Great for sharing what’s new and exciting.
• “Knock knock” — National Knock Knock Joke Day (Oct. 31st). Hey! Why not?

For more October holidays and ideas on what you can do to share them with your customers, download the graphic below. And if you haven’t started already, it’s time. Start planning your 2024 holiday marketing now.