
They say a relaxed mind is a creative mind, but it’s hard to stay relaxed when you’re running a business—let alone in September when everyone’s switching gears. Lucky for you though, there’s a slew of events and themes in September that you can use for easy and creative marketing. And I’m not just talking Labor Day or Back to School….
So in this post, I’m going to equip you with over 50 unique ways to market your business in September, along with real examples from businesses just like yours. Argh ya ready? (Couldn’t resist).
Holiday lists
Ideas based on
September is National Suicide Prevention Month.
Here are just some of the many holidays and national days of September. You can see a full list of days and dates at the bottom of this post.
Side note: Check out our Labor Day Instagram captions ideas.
There are plenty of opportunities to be proactive with diversity, equity, and inclusion this month. In addition to the ones featured below, there’s also Love People Day, Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and Intergeneration Month.
Just One Human Family Day occurs every September 12 and it’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a day to remember that no matter where we come from, what language we speak, what we look like, what our abilities and beliefs are, or how we identify ourselves— at the end of the day, we are all just one big human family living on this planet, all deserving of compassion from one another. You can incorporate this into your business marketing by:
Women in business are a force to be reckoned with in today’s economy. This holiday occurs on September 22.
📘 Free guide >> The 30 Best Ways to Promote Your Business
National Hispanic Heritage Month, which actually runs from September 15 – October 15, is a time to celebrate the history, culture, and contributions of Latinx and Hispanic Americans. Here are some ways to recognize it in your marketing:
Your business doesn’t necessarily have to be in an industry directly tied to any of the September awareness causes. Here are some ideas for incorporating September causes into creative, low-budget marketing.
It comes as no surprise that September is National Self-Improvement Month. It’s the second new year of the year when people get back into their routines after summer. Here are some ideas for marketing around this evergreen topic:
There are several ways to engage your audience and your employees with cause-based marketing in the name of childhood cancer awareness. You could:
With September being Food Safety Month, this is an opportunity for health specialists and restaurants to promote their services, publicize their best practices, and reassure customers.
You could also tie it in nicely with the back-to-school theme, like with the example below:
National Wilderness Month celebrates the anniversary of the Wilderness Act, which was pivotal in the conservation of American land and the creation of national parks. Here are some ways to use it in your marketing:
So August is actually the official National Back to School Month, but who are we kidding. Any type of business can participate in the back to school season. You can:
We’ve got plenty more with these 31 Easy Back-to-School Marketing Ideas That Work for Any Business.
Reffering back to my intro, yes—National Talk Like a Pirate Day is a thing and it occurs on September 19. But I’ll let you come up your own ideas for that day (I am THIS close to throwing in a pirate pun). Let’s talk about some of the many other special days of September.
If it weren’t for Labor Day, the first Monday of September would potentially be the worst Monday of the year. Here are some ideas to try out:
For more awesome ideas, check out these Labor Day Social Media Posts, Promotions, & Marketing Ideas To Celebrate.
This day is dedicated to the 2,977 victims of September 11. Here are some ways to show your support:
Opening night for the NFL falls in September. Celebrate the season opener with some creative marketing for your business. Here are some ideas:
The autumnal equinox (for the Northern Hemisphere) occurs in the last week or so of September, which means that the number of daylight and nighttime hours is the same. This celestial holiday (yay) marks the official end of the summer (sad).
But the first day of fall is a beautiful second new start granted to us each year—hence why September is the new January. So it’s a great opportunity to publish content around fresh starts and fall collections.
And since this day happens at the end of the month, you can run a countdown series all month long.
You may also be interested in using any of these 157 authentic fall hashtags.
Positive Thinking Day falls on September 13 every year and never gets any less versatile. Any business can use this holiday for just about any reason: to cheer up, motivate, encourage, compliment, thank, help, inspire, or [insert any positive verb your heart desires here]. Dentists can connect this to smiles, physical therapists to recovery, interior designers to decorating, and the list goes on.
National Working Parents Day falls on September 16. If your audience includes working parents, humanize your brand and acknowledge their hard work. And don’t forget about your parent employees!
Good Neighbor Day, on September 28, is a good time to do some outreach across your Instagram, LinkedIn, or geographically local network. Acknowledge fellow neighboring businesses on social media to encourage a sense of community, or come up with a contest where followers or employees can nominate good neighbors for a grand prize.
National Read a Book Day is a creative way for preschools, tutors, and other education-oriented businesses to market themselves. If your business isn’t related to education, read a book related to your industry and share your insights and learnings on your blog or social media profiles.
This is also a good time to give back to your community by reading a book to children or the elderly. Volunteering is not only an honorable thing to do, it will make you feel good and as a bonus, likely increase brand awareness in your local market.
September 5 is the International Day of Charity. Choose a local charity to support and get your employees involved, whether in person or virtually.
Or, if you’re already supporting a charity, feature them on your blog or social media profiles and invite your followers to support them as well.
You can, and should, populate your own Q&A section on your Google Business Profile. This helps you to get ahead of common customer questions and increase their confidence in choosing your business. Take this time to address of any questions that may be particularly relevant for fall, such as:
If you have a seasonal business, make sure to reflect any changes in your hours on your Google listing. When it comes to local marketing, the details are key.
Are your business’s local listings in need of updates for fall? Find out with LocaliQ’s free listings grader!
Our friends at LocaliQ share some great September newsletter ideas, but here are just a few:
Hopefully these September marketing ideas and examples have given you some material to work with for your blog, social media profiles, websites, and other free marketing channels.
For a year’s worth of marketing ideas, check out this marketing calendar template from LOCALiQ.
For more monthly marketing ideas, browse our collection…
As promised, here’s the full list of September social media holidays, courtesy of National Day Calendar:
September 1
No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day
Lazy Mom’s Day – First Friday in September
Food Bank Day– First Friday in September
College Colors Day – Friday before Labor Day
September 2
National Tailgating Day
Tailgating Day – First Saturday in September
World Beard Day – First Saturday in September
September 3
Skyscraper Day
National Housekeeper’s Week
September 4
Labor Day – First Monday in September
September 5
Cheese Pizza Day
Be Late For Something Day
September 6
Read A Book Day
September 7
Beer Lover’s Day
Grateful Patient Day
September 8
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day
Ampersand Day
September 9
Teddy Bear Day
September 10
Swap Ideas Day
Pet Memorial Day – Second Sunday in September
Hug Your Hound Day – Second Sunday in September
Grandparent’s Day – Sunday after Labor Day
September 11
Patriot Day and Day of Service and Remembrance
Boss/Employee Exchange Day – Monday after Labor Day
September 12
Just One Human Family Day*
Hug and High 5 Day *
Day of Encouragement
September 13
Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day
Celiac Disease Awareness Day
Bald is Beautiful Day
Day of the Programmer – 256th Day of the Year
Hug Your Boss Day – Changes Annually
September 14
Parents Day Off
Live Creative Day
Sober Day
September 15
Tackle Kids Cancer Day
Online Learning Day
September 16
Working Parents Day
Mayflower Day
September 17
Professional House Cleaners Day
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Dance Day – Third Saturday in September
Gymnastics Day – Third Saturday in September
Boys’ and Girls’ Club Day for Kids – Third Saturday in September
Puppy Mill Awareness Day – Third Saturday in September
Responsible Dog Ownership Day – Third Saturday in September
CleanUp Day – Third Saturday In September
September 18
Air Force Birthday
HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day
Wife Appreciation Day – Third Sunday in September
September 19
Talk Like A Pirate Day
National Voter Registration Day
September 20
Care for Kids Day
September 21
Miniature Golf Day
International Day of Peace
IT Professionals Day – Third Tuesday in September
World Gratitude Day
September 22
American Business Women’s Day
Car Free Day
September 23
Celebrate Bisexuality Day
Autumnal Equinox – Changes Annually
September 24
Punctuation Day
September 25
Tune-Up Day
Research Administrator Day
September 26
Compliance Officer Day
Situational Awareness Day
September 27
Day of Forgiveness
Women’s Health & Fitness Day – Last Wednesday in September
Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
September 28
Drink Beer Day
September 29
Coffee Day
VFW Day
Brave Day – Fourth Friday in September
September 30
Love People Day
Family Health and Fitness Day USA – Last Saturday in September
Kristen is the Senior Managing Editor at WordStream, where she helps businesses to make sense of their online marketing and advertising. She specializes in SEO and copywriting and finds life to be exponentially more delightful on a bicycle.
See other posts by Kristen McCormick
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