Guest Post: Blogging By The Calendar by Anne Goodwin

Today is a guest post from Anne from Annethologist (link at the end). If you haven't had a chance to visit Anne's blog yet, here is a little more about her!

Anne Goodwin writes fiction, short and long, and blogs about reading and writing, with a peppering of psychology. Her debut novel, Sugar and Snails, was published last month by Inspired Quill.

Anne's post has some great ideas about how to use holidays to promote posts. Read on, and all shall be revealed!

Blogging by the calendar: making use of national and international commemorative days by Anne Goodwin

 

 

If you’re a blogger, and active on Twitter, you’re probably aware of the value of using hashtags to promote your posts. But have you thought about scheduling your posts to coincide with the plethora of commemorative days on the national and international calendar? If you do a special post for Christmas, Valentine’s Day or the annual carnival in your hometown, you’re halfway there. But there are lots of lesser known “international something days” you could blog to, each with their Twitter hashtag to introduce you to other fascinating posts on the theme as well as providing a vehicle to promote your own. With a blog about reading and writing, peppered with psychology, let me show you some that I’ve drawn on, and if these don’t grab you there are plenty more out there that might.

International Women’s Day on 8^th March is probably the easiest for me to blog around: this year I wrote about my five favourite heroines from my recent reading and even included a poll where my followers could vote for their own favourite. I’ve also done World Book Day on 6^th March – although, given the nature of my blog, perhaps not as often as I ought. A more obscure one, although definitely worth publicising, is Moebius Awareness Day on 24^th January to highlight the neurological condition in which children are unable to smile; I’d been so moved by their plight I’d written a short story on the subject, so my Smile Please! was an obvious next step.

You can still join in the commemorations even for posts published on a different day. I try to remember to promote my review of Peter Matthiessen’s novel, In Paradise, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on 27^th January, and of Eve Makis’ The Spicebox Letters on 24^th April, Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. If these don’t fit with your blog, there are over forty other United Nations International Days marking important aspects of humanity to draw on. A potentially jollier one is World Tourism Day on 27^th September although, being me, I’ve managed to put a serious slant on my post on this theme.

September’s a busy month for writerly special days: with National Punctuation Day in the US on 24^th, and International Translation Day on 30^th (the feast day of St Jerome, translator of the Bible). But my focus this year will be on World Suicide Prevention Day on 10^th September, as my recently published debut novel features a suicidal child.

If all this seems a bit heavy, let me introduce you to my favourite: World Toilet Day on 19^th November. Don’t be shy, access to safe and hygienic toilets is one of the most important health and human rights issues of our time. It’s also where you’ll find the most entertaining, moving and uplifting blog posts ever, as supporters and activists mine their creativity to draw attention to the theme. I showcased my favourites in my post last year, prompting another blogger to challenge her followers to compose tales of toilets in exactly 99 words.

If you care about connecting, then don’t overlook these commemorative days. Use the hashtags and you’ll discover more about the subject. If you’re lucky, you’ll commandeer other bloggers to share your enthusiasm for the cause. And for most of these special days you can download a badge to brighten up your post. What’s not to like?

 

Great advice or what! Time to show Anne some love. Visit her blog, follow her on Twitter, and of course, leave her some comments below! And don't forget to check out her book!