January is often perceived to be a calm month for marketers. After a flurry of holidays—Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve—there’s nothing to celebrate in January. Or is there? For savvy marketers, it offers a terrific opportunity to engage with their audience. While everyone is slowly waking from their holiday slumber – competitors included – you have a chance to reconnect with your readers and work on improving your relationship with them in the new year. Sure, January has nothing comparable to December occasions. But you can still find something if you’re looking closely enough.

That’s why we’ve put together this guide with email marketing campaign ideas you can try in the first month of the year. Take a look at our list, pick a few holidays that are closer to your audience or industry, and craft an email around them. Watch how your readers get engaged while everyone else in the space is still recovering.

Day Holidays and Events to Look for in January 

Jan 1

• World Day of Peace;
• Global Family Day;
• New Year’s Day.

Jan 2

• World Introvert Day;
• National Cream Puff Day (US);
• Science Fiction Day (US).

Jan 3

• Drinking Straw Day (US).

Jan 4

• World Braille Day;
• National Spaghetti Day (US);

Jan 5

• National Bird Day (US);
• Three Kings Parade (Spain);

Jan 6

• National Cuddle Up Day (US).

Jan 7

• Christmas (Old Style).

• Jinjitsu (Japan);
• Tricolor Day (Italy).

Jan 8

• International Typing Day;
• Gynaikokratia, a women's festival (Greece).

Jan 9

• National Apricot Day (US).

Jan 10

• National Guard Day (Kazakhstan);
• Children’s Day (Thailand);
• Bittersweet Chocolate Day (US);
• Houseplant Appreciation Day.

Jan 11

• International Thank You Day;

• Global Parity at Work Day;
• Children's Day (Tunisia);
• Kagami Biraki (Japan);
• German Apple Day (Germany).

Jan 12

• National Youth Day (India);
• Coming of Age Day (Japan);
• National Clean Your Desk Day (US);
• Marzipan Day (US);
• Yennayer (Berber New Year), (Algeria);
• Kiss A Ginger Day (US).

Jan 13

• St. Knut’s Day (Sweden, Finland);
• Make Your Dream Come True Day (US);
• National Rubber Ducky Day (US).

Jan 14

• International Kite Day;
• State Flag Day (Georgia);
• National Forest Conservation Day (Thailand);
• World Logic Day.

Jan 15

• Wikipedia Day;
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day;

• Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia);
• Teacher's Day (Venezuela);
• National Strawberry Ice Cream Day (US).

Jan 16

• Teacher’s Day (Myanmar and Thailand);
• National Nothing Day (US);
• National Religious Freedom Day (US);
• International Hot and Spicy Food Day.

Jan 17

• National Dairy Day (Thailand);
• Kid Inventors' Day (US).

Jan 18

• Foundation Day of Lima (Peru);
• World Snow Day;

• World Religion Day;
• Winnie the Pooh Day.

Jan 19

• National Popcorn Day (US);
• Martin Luther King Jr. Day;
• Blue Monday.

Jan 20

• National Cheese Lover's Day (US);
• Penguin Awareness Day;
• Tamborrada (Spain).

Jan 21

• National Hug Day (US);

• Grandmother's Day (Poland);
• Flag Day (Quebec);
• International Sweatpants Day.

Jan 22

• Grandfather's Day (Poland);
• National Blonde Brownie Day (US);
• Unity Day (Ukraine).

Jan 23

• World Freedom Day (Taiwan);
• National Handwriting Day (US);
• Bóndadagur (Iceland).

Jan 24

• International Day of Education;
• Unification Day (Romania).

Jan 25

• Burns Night (Scotland);
• National Nutrition Day (Indonesia);
• National Police Day (Egypt);
• Tourism Day (India);
• World Leprosy Day.

Jan 26

• International Customs Day;
• Australia Day;
• Engineer’s Day (Panama);
• Republic Day (India).

Jan 27

• National Geographic Day;
• Family Literacy Day (Canada);
• Up Helly Aa (Scotland);
• National Chocolate Cake Day (US);
• International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Jan 28

• Data Privacy Day;
• National Blueberry Pancake Day (US);
• International Lego Day.

Jan 29

• National Corn Chip Day (US);
• Prosecutor's Day (Moldova).

Jan 30

• School Day of Non-Violence and Peace;
• National Croissant Day (US);
• Saudade Day (Brazil);
• National Fun at Work Day (US).

Jan 31

• Street Children's Day (Austria);
• International Zebra Day;
• National Backward Day (US);
• National Hot Chocolate Day (US).

Optimization Tips on How to Create Emails Faster

Even with carefully planned January marketing ideas, you may feel a sudden impulse to reach your customers and share great news. For example, you want to introduce a new team member, your brand has been shortlisted for an award, you’ve started collaborating with new partners, or just returned from a cool winter conference. The faster you create a new email, the more value it will have in terms of relevancy and up-to-dateness.

So, you’ve come up with a smart copy and have some original images as support. Now it’s time to compose a January email, and this is where ready-made templates step in. Those sending campaigns on a regular basis already have their own library of custom templates that require minimal redesign or editing. But even if you choose to use a new one, there are some tips to speed up the creation process.

Choose a ready-made template

Numerous platforms offer ready HTML email templates, including Yespo CDP. We have a library of over 1,500 templates that you can use for free. Select the one that matches your campaign and fill it with your own content. You can edit the layout as you like, adding or removing blocks and structures. It’s easy to do in a drag-and-drop editor without touching a single line of code.

Save the custom design as a template

You can build a newsletter, reactivation email, congratulations message, sales, promotions, etc,. long before the event.

Don’t wait until the last moment and carefully consider the design, CTA location, and color patterns. Once you’ve got the job done, save it as a template to reuse later. Next time, you can simply insert a copy, or opt for more extensive editing, changing colors or text position, adding dynamic elements or video, etc.

Create and save default modules

Certain elements appear in every email: your logo, social media icons, contact details, signature, links, and unsubscribe option. Save them as modules and drag them to any part of the template – ready-made or a custom one – should you decide to change the layout or opt for a new design.

You can also save such modules as synchronized ones. A synchronized module automatically updates information across all emails that include it. Any container, structure, or line in an email template can be saved as a module and synchronized, meaning you do not need to edit each campaign manually. Use synchronized modules to simultaneously update elements present in all email templates.

Create multilingual copies within one template

Not many companies offer multilingual functionality, but Yespo CDP has this option built right in the editor. It lets you create, save, preview, and edit copies in unlimited languages within one template, and switch between them with a click. All you need to do is prepare creative email marketing ideas in the corresponding language and insert them in the necessary block.

What’s more, Multilanguage saves marketers time not only during building but also during analysis and result review, as the reports with performance statistics for each copy are stored in one place.

Use the editor smartly

Take time to explore all options in the editor you use. Insignificant at first glimpse, they may be real time-savers in the long run. For example, in our editor, you can insert emojis with one click. You can also edit any image, customize video buttons, and preview both mobile and desktop versions in one window.

If you’d like to use AI to optimize your marketing, you can do so right within Yespo CDP.. We’ve introduced a set of AI-powered tools to simplify many routine tasks: from grammar checks to changing tone of voice to headline optimization. Now you can leverage the latest technological advances without logging into third-party tools.

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January’s marketing calendar offers plenty of chances to engage your audience. You don’t need to blast your list with random emails every day. This approach will only harm your relationship. And often, it will be inappropriate. Imagine a store selling fitness equipment emailing about National Spaghetti Day. Or writing about World Snow Day for an audience of a beauty brand. At the same time, National Spaghetti Day is a perfect opportunity to connect with an Italian restaurant. And World Snow Day might be a good occasion for an email from a sports apparel brand announcing its new winter collection. 

Keep an eye on the market, know your audience, and understand what’s relevant to them. They will appreciate and respond to the genuine connection you’re fostering. And with Yespo’s smart email editor, doing this becomes much easier. All you need is one good idea. And our vast library of templates, convenient drag-and-drop email builder, and a set of AI assistant features will make this idea come to life.