2020 - Important Dates for Your Calendar

A new year is upon us. If 2020’s going to be successful for your business, then you’ll need to know what to expect. In this post, I’ll give you a heads up about a few marketing opportunities (and other things) that you’ll need to know about.

January

All month: January sales

Everyone in the UK is looking for a post-Christmas bargain. On January 1st, their email inboxes will be full of offers from everyone they’ve ever spoken to, from personal trainers (new year, new you) to hairdressers (new year, new do) to building supplies wholesalers (new year, new screws).

If you’re going to make some serious cash in January, you need a campaign ready to go. Preferably without the subject line “new year, new X.”

You’ll also want some scarcity emails for month’s end – “only a week/two days/six hours/nine minutes left” kind of emails, to really jostle your customers into action.

25: Burns Night/Chinese New Year

If lots of your customers are Scottish, or of Chinese descent, or both, January 25th might be a good time for some seasonal content to connect with them. It doesn’t have to be salesy. A nice blog post will show them you care.

31: Online tax returns are due.

If you’re running a business, you may well need to return your self-assessment tax return.

If you’re running a small accountancy firm, you might want to have a few emails ready to remind people to provide you with the right information. (Learn more about our email copywriting services here)

February

14: Valentines Day

At the risk of sounding cheesy, February’s always a good time to show clients that you love them. Any stock left over from the January sales can be re-purposed as a V-Day present, although you may want some fresh advertising copy so you don’t repeat yourself.

Mid-Feb: Half-term in England

Half-term is always a great time to tailor your messages to busy parents, especially if you’re selling things like holidays, days out or adventures.

There’s also an opportunity to show how your products and services can save time this month, as parents will be rushed off their feet and looking for ways to claw back the seconds so they can spend more time with their kids.

25: Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday

There’s not much you can do with your marketing on pancake day, I’m afraid. I’m just putting it here because I always forget it.

If you’re running a business, it’s a risk that applies to you too. And I’ve eaten too many fridge aisle chilled crepes at one minute to midnight to let you take that risk alone.

March

08: International Women’s Day

Unless you’re selling something niche, the chances are that somewhere around 50% of your customers will be women.

That doesn’t mean IWD is a day to pander to them, or condescend. But it might be a time to help out a women’s charity, showcase the work of women in your industry, or offer a discount on products targeted towards your female audience.

09: Programming for Primaries 2020

If your business operates in the digital sphere, getting involved with a workshop for primary school children will help to raise your local profile. And who knows, maybe you could discover the prodigy who’ll take your company global in 2035!

Find out more here.

20: International Day of Happiness

Didn’t know that was a thing? Me neither. But this might be a good opportunity to put up a limited time offer to make your customers happy.

Don’t forget to promote it with a blog post.

April

Various: Holidays Aplenty

Good Friday Bank Holiday is on April 10th, Easter Monday April 13th. School holidays tie in with Easter too, so there’s plenty of scope for holiday themed ads, offers and posts.

All Month: Stress Awareness Month

If you run your own business, you’ll face more stress than your salaried friends and family would expect.

So this month, make sure you take a few days off, around the bank holidays. Recharge your batteries.

And if you’re worried about letting your business slide, prepare with some pre-written emails or blog posts you can schedule, so you come back to a few fresh enquiries or improved search rankings.

May

08/25: Bank Holidays

Two more bank holidays for your calendar. If you’re selling directly to customers, now’s a good month to see how your products tie in to what they’ll be planning with their long weekends.

Think relaxing in the garden, walks in the park, trips to the beach, and lazy afternoons in the pub. Then send an email explaining how your products or services can make all of that even better!

25: Towel Day

I’m only a freelance copywriter because I wanted to be Ford Prefect from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Towel day commemorates Adams’ life and work.

If you’ve a particularly nerdy audience, and you want some Hitchhiker’s in-jokes to run a Towel Day offer, I’m the hoopy frood you need.

Late May: Summer Half Term Holidays

See my advice from February. It’ll apply here too.

June

03 June: Massage at Work Week

Massage experts need websites too. I know, as I’ve written for them.

If you don’t provide massages, you may still be able to hop aboard the bandwagon by positioning your products or services as calming, relaxing, and beneficial for the mental well being of your customers.

It could be a stretch, but it’s certain to pique your audience’s interest!

10: Employer Branding Awareness Week

EBA week is all about growing your company by creating a brand.

If you’ve spent the year so far trying to reach out and attract customers, now might be a good time to consider how you market yourself to potential employees and partners. Perhaps with a dedicated blog post or email campaign.

12 Onwards: Euro 2020

Even if you don’t like football, or you’re Scottish, international football tournaments give the British economy a boost. So fire up some footy-themed marketing materials and see if you can hit the back of the net.

JUNE 19 2020: CREATIVE NORTH PRESENTS COLLABORATION

It’s the conference I run. It’ll be great. Information and tickets can be found on the Creative North copywriting conference website.

21: Bring Your Dog to Work Day

Here’s your ticket to some free social impact. Take a picture of your dog in the office, and share it on Facebook and Twitter. Guaranteed hit.

July

06: International Kissing Day

It’s a bumper day for the breath mint and lip gloss industries!

But if you’re selling something different, it’s time to dust off your Valentine’s strategy (if it worked) and give it a freshen up. Keep it light-hearted and fun, we’re talking about a quick snog here, not deep and abiding love.

12: Euro 2020 Final, Wembley

Just a warning. In the unlikely event that England play in this game, 603 Copywriting will be closed on the Monday.

14: The Happiest Day

Statistically speaking, July 14th is the day we’re at our happiest. No idea why, it’s just one of those things.

When we’re happier, we’re more likely to spend money on frivolous purchases that’ll put a smile on our faces, so if you can plan a little outreach campaign with articles or emails, you might find that July 14th makes you very happy indeed.

Late July: School Summer Holidays

Take what we said about school holidays in February, and double it. Because it’s the summer holiday season, and stressed parents will be very interested by everything you have to say about getting a moment’s peace/treasured memories (delete as applicable).

August

Early: Football Season Starts

One last chance to re-use the football puns you paid for ahead of Euro 2020. There’s real value in sport-adjacent content this year.

08: International Cat Day

Here’s your ticket to some free social impact. Take a picture of your cat doing something stupid, and share it on Facebook and Twitter. Guaranteed hit.

31: Bank Holiday

It’s the year’s last bank holiday, so see what worked earlier this year and repeat it now. Just freshen up the content first.

September

Early: Back to School

It’s Christmas for stationers and backpack manufacturers. Back to School offers can run from mid-August, and ramping them up as you reach the first week of September should help you grab attention from very frazzled parents.

Throw in next-day delivery, and you’ll really make an impact.

05: International Day of Charity

If your business has cash or time to spare to help out a charitable cause, you shouldn’t feel bad about telling the world (and your potential customers) about it.

An email, blog post, or dedicated charity page on your business website will show your business is serious in its support, and will help raise awareness of your chosen charity.

If you feel bad about advertising your charitable efforts, just remember. If it wins you more business, you’ll have more money or time to help them going forwards.

October

05: Self Assessment Registration Deadline

If you’ve set up your business this year and are self employed or a sole trader, or you’re registering a partnership, you have until October 5th to register.

Accountants and financial planners will also want to let potential customers know about this deadline with a quick email or widely-shared blog post.

Mid: School Holidays

By October, you’ll know the drill.

31: Halloween

Scarily good deals!

OK, Halloween lines can sometimes be a little cheesy, but they’ll also help you connect with customers that like to dress up in late October and get drunk/hand out sweets/take their kids to ask for sweets (delete as applicable).

Just make sure you plan ahead, and give your chosen copywriter enough time to get the truly ghoulish puns out of their system. And don’t be haunted by a potential missed opportunity.

I’m sorry.

November

All Month: Movember

If you’re a man, Movember allows you to reap the same benefits of pet-themed days by having amusing pictures to share, all while supporting a good cause.

A Movember blog to explain why you’re joining in, followed by a few pictures on Twitter and Facebook can help you reach a wider audience.

19: International Men’s Day

Unless you’re selling something niche, the chances are that somewhere around 50% of your customers will be men.

That doesn’t mean IMD is a day to pander to them, or condescend. But it might be a time to help out a men’s charity, showcase the work of men in your industry, or offer a discount on products targeted towards your male audience.

27: Black Friday

If you’re selling online, Black Friday may be one of your most important trading days.

Make sure you take advantage by prepping multiple emails to be sent through the day, with time-sensitive offers.

Amazon really demonstrates the best practice for Black Friday, sending emails every few hours with one or two loss-leaders (that sell out instantly) to pique interest, and then a larger number of short flash sales to prompt orders throughout the day..

December

All Month, Seriously: Christmas

By the time December starts, you should have your Christmas offers and advertising materials prepped. Pages on your website, emails, blog posts.

For postal orders, the last posting day is typically four to six days before Christmas, so you won’t need any emails to send after about the 20th. 

By preparing well in advance, you’ll find that business ramps up throughout the month, leaving you free to enjoy your own Christmas with friends and loved ones.

Missed Anything?

If there’s an opportunity for 2020 that’s not appeared on this list, please leave a comment below. I’ll share the best ones on this post, and credit you with the idea.