Many regions in the Northern Hemisphere begin seeing signs of spring in March, so people who live there smile when flipping their calendar to the third month of the year.

Not where I live.

We often get our worst snowstorms during the first week of March. And signs of spring? Bwahahahaha!

March bright spots

Even so, no matter what your climate, there’s still plenty to look forward to in March.

There’s March Madness, the annual U.S. multi-week college basketball tournament (go Xavier Musketeers!).

And even people with zero Irish ancestry embrace all things green – including beer – and enjoy corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day.

There are also so many unconventional, unique, and often downright irreverent holidays and special occasions to celebrate. And you can use them to bring attention to your book.

How to leverage March book promotion opportunities

What’s the best way to take advantage of so many fun March book promotion opportunities? Once you identify those occasions that are a good fit for your book or promotion goals, how can you use them?

Here are a few examples to get you started.

March 2, Old Stuff Day

This occasion reminds me that I’ve been practicing Swedish death cleaning since before that term entered our current lexicon. Been there, done that, still doing it. There are opportunities here for authors of books about:

• Antiques
• Selling on eBay
• Home organizing
• Garage, tag, and estate sales
• Restoring and repurposing flea market and other finds
• Downsizing
• Decluttering

If you can give advice for making the most of “old stuff” or getting rid of it, use this occasion as a news hook for tip sheets, social media images, podcast interviews, and other promotion opportunities.

March 3-9, Celebrate Your Name Week

So many authors can find ways to use this special week. Fiction writers can celebrate their characters’ names by explaining to newsletter subscribers of social media followers how they decide on character names.

Is there a story behind your given name? Share it on social media. Write a blog post about when and how to use pen names as an author. There’s lots of potential here.

March 19, Poultry Day

Farm animals are common in children’s books. If you’ve written one that includes chickens, you’ll love having fun with this occasion.

Create and share on social media and in your newsletter a list of your favorite children’s books featuring poultry (including yours, of course). Record yourself reading your book and post it as an Instagram Reel and TikTok video. Collaborate with your local children’s librarian to schedule a poultry-book-themed children’s reading hour.

Your March book promotion opportunities

Here’s a partial list of the March madness marketing opportunities you can add to next month’s book promotion calendar. Get the full list on the Holiday Insights site. (And while you’re there, look ahead to other months.)

• Celery Month
• Craft Month
• March 3-9 Celebrate Your Name Week
• March 10-16 National Bubble Month
• March 1 National Pig Day
• March 1 Peanut Butter Lovers Day
• March 2 Old Stuff Day
• March 7 National Crown Roast of Pork Day
• March 8 Be Nasty Day
• March 9 Panic Day
• March 9 International Fanny Pack Day
• March 10 Academy Awards
• March 10 International Find a Pay Phone Booth Day
• March 10 Middle Name Pride Day
• March 16 Everything You Do is Right Day
• March 18 Awkward Moments Day
• March 19 Poultry Day
• March 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
• March 20 Proposal Day
• March 25 International Waffle Day
• March 26 Make Up Your Own Holiday Day
• March 30 Take a Walk in a Park Day
• March 31 World Backup Day

Be sure to check out the list of book-related occasions during March in our 2024 literary calendar, too.

Which of these crazy March occasions speak to you? How will you use next month to help generate conversation and call attention to your book in a lighthearted way?

Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Associate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a couple of pennies (at no extra charge to you).

In his play Julius Caesar, Shakespeare writes, “A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.”

Caesar had plenty to worry about in March. But us? We have much to look forward to.

As we end the first quarter of the year, those of us in the northern hemisphere can start thinking about winter slowly fading away. There’s March Madness, the annual multi-week college basketball tournament in the U.S. And let’s not forget about St. Patrick’s Day, when people pretend they have Irish ancestry.

March also offers a rich list of unexpected, whimsical, and quirky occasions you can use to bring attention to your book.

How to capitalize on crazy March occasions

The crazy March occasions list below offers so many fun book promotion possibilities.

If you’re not sure how to go about pairing your book with any of them, use these examples for inspiration:

• Jen Ruiz, author of The Solo Female Travel Book: Tips and Inspiration for Women Who Want to See the World on Their Own Terms, can link her book to March 1, Plan a Solo Vacation Day, by writing and distributing a tip sheet with advice for staying safe on a solo vacation or a similar topic.
• Do you write children’s books? Create interactive website content for March 3, If Pets Had Thumbs Day. Write a fun short story or design a downloadable word search or coloring page. Promote it widely on social media.
• I don’t know about you, but the resurgence of fanny packs caught me by surprise. A trend-aware fashion pro with a book – say, Laurie Brucker Amerikaner, author of You Are the Style! An Every Girl’s Guide to Getting Dressed, Building Confidence, and Shining from the Inside Out – can create a series of Instagram images or a reel showing how to wear them now. Help the rest of us avoid looking like Melissa McCarthy in “Tammy,” please!

Whimsical March occasions you can use

Here’s a partial list of the fun March marketing opportunities you can add to next month’s book promotion calendar. Get the full list on the recently redesigned Holiday Insights site.

• March 1 Plan a Solo Vacation Day
• March 1 World Compliment Day
• March 3 I Want You to be Happy Day
• March 3 If Pets Had Thumbs Day
• March 7 National Cereal Day
• March 8 Be Nasty Day
• March 9 Get Over It Day
• March 9 Popcorn Lover’s Day
• March 10 International Day of Awesomeness
• March 11 International Fanny Pack Day
• March 11 Worship of Tools Day
• March 14 Learn about Butterflies Day
• March 15 Everything You Think is Wrong Day
• March 15 Ides of March
• March 16 Everything You Do is Right Day
• March 18 Awkward Moments Day
• March 18 Supreme Sacrifice Day
• March 19 Let’s Laugh Day
• March 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
• March 20 International Day of Happiness
• March 21 Tea for Two Tuesday
• March 22 As Young as You Feel Day
• March 29 Smoke and Mirrors Day
• March 30 I Am in Control Day

Be sure to check out the list of book-related occasions during March in our 2023 literary calendar, too.

Which of these crazy March occasions speak to you? How will you use next month to help generate conversation and call attention to your book in a lighthearted way?

There’s lots to look forward to in March, isn’t there?

It brings the first official day of spring, a good excuse to cook corned beef and cabbage, and the U.S. men’s college basketball tournament known as March Madness – reimagined this year because of COVID-19.

March madness isn’t limited to the NCAA tournament, though. March offers authors a collection of quirky, unexpected, and downright whimsical book promotion opportunities you can use to bring attention to your book.

How to capitalize on March madness marketing opportunities

The list below offers so many fun occasions you can link to your book for marketing purposes.

Not sure how to go about pairing your book with any of them? Here are a few examples to get you started.

• March 1, World Compliment Day, could be a good fit for my friend Kate Hanley’s How to Be a Better Person: 400+ Simple Ways to Make a Difference in Yourself – and the World if Kate recommends giving compliments when they’re deserved. Perhaps your novel’s protagonist struggles to accept compliments, or you’ve written a children’s book that stresses the importance of positivity. Lead by example – spend time that day handing out compliments on social media.
• National Salesperson Day on March 5 is tailor-made for anyone who’s written a book about sales, including my favorite sales expert, Bill Cates, and his most recent book, Radical Relevance: Sharpen Your Marketing Message, Cut Through the Noise, Win More Ideal Clients. (Full disclosure: I edited the book.) If selling is your topic, blog about your favorite salespeople or list the traits top salespeople possess.
• Romance writers should have a lot of fun with Proposal Day on March 20. Write and distribute a tip sheet offering marriage proposal dos and don’ts, or blog about the most romantic proposals you’ve seen on Instagram. Business book authors can use this one, too, by offering business proposal-writing advice on LinkedIn. 

Your March madness marketing opportunities

Here’s a partial list of the March madness marketing opportunities you can add to next month’s book promotion calendar. Get the full list on the Holiday Insights site.

• March 1 National Pig Day
• March 1 Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day
• March 1 World Compliment Day
• March 2 Old Stuff Day
• March 5 Multiple Personality Day
• March 5 National Salesperson Day
• March 9 Panic Day
• March 10 Middle Name Pride Day
• March 11 Worship of Tools Day
• March 12 Plant a Flower Day
• March 13 International Fanny Pack Day
• March 14 National Potato Chip Day
• March 15 Dumbstruck Day
• March 18 Awkward Moments Day
• March 20 Extraterrestrial Abductions Day
• March 20 National Quilting Day
• March 20 Proposal Day
• March 22 National Goof Off Day
• March 26 Live Long and Prosper Day
• March 28 Weed Appreciation Day
• March 29 National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day
• March 31 Bunsen Burner Day
• March 31 National Crayon Day
• March 31 World Backup Day

Which of these holidays speak to you? How will you use next month to help generate conversation and call attention to your book in a lighthearted way?