56 Free & Creative September Marketing Ideas for Any Business

Good Neighbor Day Fourth Sunday

Labor Day Instagram captions ideas.

September marketing ideas to celebrate diversity, equity & inclusion

September 17

Just One Human Family Day

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:

  • Sharing the collateral: Share the lyrics or the YouTube video of the song “We Share Just One Planet” on social.
  • Do an earthly act of kindness: Reach out to someone and do something kind for them. Better yet, do something kind for the planet with them, like plant a tree or pick up trash.
  • Swag: Sport the t-shirt or stickers to show your support and post on social.

Teddy Bear Day

American Business Women’s Day

Hug Your Hound Day – Second Sunday in September

  • Compile a round-up: Find 10 women leading the way in your niche and write a round-up of them in a blog post. Tag them on social when you promote the post—they might share with their audience!
  • Run a stat-themed sale: For example, women started 49% of new businesses in the US last year. Send out a promotional email offering 49% off of select products, or run a $49 special.
  • Run a poll or quiz: Find some interesting stats about women in business and turn them into a poll or quiz or interactive post series for your followers. Like “What percentage of businesses are owned by women globally,” for example.

Hispanic Heritage Month

Compliance Officer Day

  • Recognize Latinx influencers: Do some digging to find Latinx influencers or historical figures in your niche or neighborhood. Depending on their level of celebrity, share information about them, interview them, or spotlight them on social.
  • Mark your calendar. The independence anniversaries of Latin American countries is the reason behind it’s start date. You can share a different fact or stat about each country on its respective day.
    • September 15: El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.
    • September 16: Mexico
    • September 18: Chile
    • October 12: Dia de la Raza/Columbus Day
  • Donate: Consider donating to the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, Latinos for Education, the Latino Equality Alliance, or other organization dedicated to Hispanic community support.

Coffee Day

September marketing ideas for monthly awareness

Dance Day– Third Saturday in September

Self-Improvement Month

As promised, here’s the full list of September social media holidays, courtesy of National Day Calendar:

  • Create a video with your own self-improvement tips.

september marketing ideas labor day giveaway

  • Share your favorite self-improvement books and ask your followers to comment back with theirs.
  • Write blog posts on goal-setting or listicles like “X Ways to Improve Your [memory, credit score, leadership skills]” or “How to Improve Your [X] in 5 Minutes.”
  • Run a 30-day challenge on Facebook or Instagram

september marketing ideas good neighbor day

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Boss/Employee Exchange Day – Monday after Labor Day

  • Post eye-opening stats about childhood cancer on social media.
  • Register your company for the Great Cycle Challenge and get your employees out on their bikes. Not only will you be fighting kid cancer, but you’ll be promoting good health and friendly competition among your employees. Encourage photo sharing so your audience can follow along throughout the month.
  • Host a fundraiser and sell T-shirts to support a particular child or the cause in general.

september marketing ideas childhood cancer awareness

Food Safety Month

Situational Awareness Day
September 9
Live Creative Day
Parents Day Off

Wilderness Month

CleanUp Day– Third Saturday In September

  • Share your favorite hiking trails and ask your followers for theirs.
  • Post photos from your own wilderness adventures.
  • Share some eye-opening stats or a quote by John Muir.

september marketing ideas fall theme

Back to School Month

september marketing ideas patriot day It comes as no surprise that September is National Self-Improvement Month. It’s the second new year of the year where people get back into their routines after summer. Here are some ideas for marketing around this evergreen topic:
Mayflower Day

September marketing ideas for holidays & national days

September 27

Labor Day

September 24 Boys’ and Girls’ Club Day for Kids – Third Saturday in September
Women’s Health & Fitness Day– Last Wednesday in September

Patriot Day

Grandparent’s Day – Sunday after Labor Day

  • Make it a day of service for your team.
  • Display flags in and outside your store.
  • Encourage your audience to take a moment of silence at the times of the attacks

College Colors Day – Friday before Labor Day

NFL Opening Night

Read A Book Day

  • Engage customers on Facebook by asking about their favorite teams or running a trivia contest.
  • Decorate your storefront, restaurant, or studio in team colors.
  • Run a football-themed special.
  • Offer discounts on game days or when your team wins.
Image source

September 28
September 23
September 21

Positive Thinking Day

september marketing ideas working parents day

september marketing ideas positive thinking day

Working Parents Day

Voter Registration Day – Fourth Tuesday in September
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….

Good Neighbor Day

And since this day happens at the end of the month, you can run a countdown series all month long.
September 29

Read a Book Day

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!
September 16

International Day of Charity

september marketing ideas food safety
september marketing ideas - latino equality alliance
American Business Women’s Day

september marketing ideas day of charity

International Day of Peace

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.

appear first.

Love People Day

Publish Google posts

September 15

local marketing, the details are key.

One final idea: Send out a September newsletter

september marketing ideas day of charity

  • Run an email-exclusive summer clearance promo to boost engagement.
  • Include an inspirational quote for Positive Thinking Day.
  • Let customers know if you’ve changed your hours for fall.
  • Provide some of your most helpful blog posts for staying somewhat focused before the long Labor Day weekend.

Stand out this fall with these free & easy September marketing ideas

Care for Kids Day

Ready for even more ideas?

HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day
September 7

September marketing holidays and national days (full list)

Day of the Programmer – 256th Day of the Year
Hug and High 5 Day *
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.
September 5 is the International Day of Charity. Choose a local charity to support and get your employees involved, whether in person or virtually.
We’ve got plenty more with these 31 Easy Back-to-School Marketing Ideas That Work for Any Business.
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:
Wife Appreciation Day – Third Sunday in September
september marketing ideas college specials
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses Day
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.
V-J Day
Tune-Up Day
September 11
For more awesome ideas, check out these Labor Day Social Media Posts, Promotions, & Marketing Ideas To Celebrate.
You could also tie it in nicely with the back-to-school theme, like with the example below:
Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day – Last Friday in September
For a year’s worth of marketing ideas, check out this marketing calendar template from LOCALiQ.
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:
Responsible Dog Ownership Day – Third Saturday in September
Grateful Patient Day
September 26
Family Health and Fitness Day USA– Last Saturday in September
Car Free Day
Patriot Day and Day of Service and Remembrance
Day of Encouragement
Professional House Cleaners Day
This day has been recognized around the world every September 21 since 1981. Post an inspiring quote or image, participate in a fundraiser, or run a little peace sale like Niji Nursery did:
September 6
September 19
Gymnastics Day– Third Saturday in September
Food Bank Day– First Friday in September
This day is dedicated to the 2,977 victims of September 11. Here are some ways to show your support:
Pet Memorial Day – Second Sunday in September
There are several ways to engage your audience and your employees with cause-based marketing in the name of childhood cancer awareness. You could:
Just One Human Family Day*
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.
Hug Your Boss Day – Changes Annually
September 13
Air Force Birthday
Kids Take Over The Kitchen Day
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.
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.
Our friends at LOCALiQ share some great September newsletter ideas, but here are just a few:
Within your Google My Business account, you can create posts that publish directly to your listing about special offers and promotions. These posts will appear whenever your listing appears on Google Search and Google Maps.
Ampersand Day
Celiac Disease Awareness Day
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day
Sober Day
September 2
Women in business are a force to be reckoned with in today’s economy. This holiday occurs on September 22.
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:
Bald is Beautiful Day
Day of Forgiveness
Beer Lover’s Day
Talk Like A Pirate Day
September 8
Punctuation Day
Cheese Pizza Day
IT Professionals Day– Third Tuesday in September
September 1
September 4
September 5
September 22
Opening night for the NFL falls in September. Celebrate the season opener with some creative marketing for your business. Here are some ideas:
September 14
Labor Day – First Monday in September
September 20
September 12
Lazy Mom’s Day – First Friday in September
September 30
No Rhyme (Nor Reason) Day
Autumnal Equinox – Changes Annually
september marketing ideas 30 day self improvement challenge
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.
Online Learning Day
september marketing ideas - one human family day
You may also be interested in using any of these 157 authentic fall hashtags.
September 25
The most efficient way to improve your local online presence is by optimizing your Google Business Profile.
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.
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 a honorable thing to do, it will make you feel good and as a bonus, likely increase brand awareness in your local market.
World Beard Day – First Saturday in September
September 18
Drink Beer Day
September 3
september marketing ideas self improvement
Research Administrator Day
september marketing ideas food safety
Brave Day– Fourth Friday in September
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.
Puppy Mill Awareness Day – Third Saturday in September
For more monthly marketing ideas, browse our collection…
Tailgating Day – First Saturday in September
Tackle Kids Cancer Day
september marketing ideas wilderness month
Working Parents Day
Swap Ideas Day
Family Day – Fourth Monday in September
September 10
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:
VFW Day
Celebrate Bisexuality Day
Be Late For Something Day