August has its own vibe. It may not have a major worldwide holiday like February or December, but maybe it doesn’t need one. It’s got a lot going on as it is. 

In the Northern Hemisphere, it’s the last chance to go on a vacation or finish up back-to-school shopping before dropping the kids off at the bus stop or their dormitory. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the end of winter, a low season for travel and tourism, catching its breath before the prime weather returns. August marks the 2/3 point of the year in a world that measures business success by quarters. 

Heck, even the word ‘august’ itself means venerable, magnificent, worthy of respect (hello, annual Perseid meteor shower).

Then, consider that eight is an infinity symbol tipped on its side. In many cultures, eight is a number of luck and prosperity, balance and symmetry, a Mobius strip of never-ending connection between you and your customers. Maybe August is whatever we want it to be. So let’s make it a marketing success for you and your business with these August holidays and newsletter ideas. (Psst, buddy. Wanna buy an eight?)

August holidays — 2025

  • August 1 — DOGust 1st: Shelter Dog Universal Birthday (Global). You already celebrate your rescue dog’s Gotcha Day. Give them an official birthday, too! They’re worth it.
  • August 1 — International Beer Day (Global). Celebrate responsibly, and don’t forget to tip your servers where it’s customary.
  • August 2 — National Coloring Book Day (US) and National Water Balloon Day (US). Double the fun, regardless of how old you technically are.
  • August 4 — Assistance Dog Day (Global). Honor the four-legged heroes who never take a day off.
  • August 4 — Picnic Day (Northern Territory, Australia). No beating around the bush: grab a blanket and some snags, and celebrate the fine art of doing nothing outdoors. 
  • August 4 — Civic Holiday (Canada, excluding Quebec). It’s a federal holiday, and some provinces and territories have additional celebrations associated with it. 
  • August 6 — Farmworker Appreciation Day (Global). Thank the people who grow your food.
  • August 6 — American Family Day and National Friendship Day (US).
  • August 6 — Cycle to Work Day (UK). 
  • August 8 — International Cat Day (Global). Your cat wants to remind you that this is every day.
  • August 8/9 — National Pickleball Day (US/Canada). A sport so popular it needs a whole weekend in North America. 
  • August 9 — International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (Global). Learn about the humans who live as one with their land and ecology, away from modern society and conveniences.
  • August 9 — Garage Sale Day. One of my favorite ways to take care of myself, my neighbors, and my community — upcycling opportunities abound!
  • August 10 — World Lion Day (Global). Lions are basically oversized house cats with a better hype team. Discuss.
  • August 12 — International Youth Day (Global). Celebrate young potential and the future.
  • August 13 — Left-Handers Day (Global). Here’s to the 10% who move through a world mostly made for righties. 
  • August 14 — World Lizard Day (Global). Cold-blooded creatures can still warm hearts.
  • August 15 — Check the Chip Day (US). Keep your pet’s microchip information updated.  
  • August 16 — International Geocaching Day (Global). If you like to hunt for treasure, you have got to try this! Better yet, set up a geocache at your location or get together with other businesses in the area and create a story or series of caches for people to find.
  • August 19 — World Humanitarian Day (Global) and World Photography Day (Global). Making the world better, one good deed and one perfect shot at a time.
  • August 21 — National Poet’s Day (US). Celebrate the word artist who wield allegory, iambic pentameter, and rhyming “orange” with “door hinge” with aplomb and style. 
  • August 22 — Be an Angel Day (Global). The perfect reason to do something unexpectedly nice.
  • August 24 — Pluto Demoted Day (Global). The controversial day astronomers sent the cosmic breakup text: “It’s not you, it’s your lack of gravitational dominance.” 
  • August 25 — National Kiss and Make Up Day (US). Let go of grudges, petty spats, and hard feelings. 
  • August 25 — National Park Service Founders Day. #FindYourPark.
  • August 26 — Women’s Equality Day (US). Mark the day American women got the right to vote in 1920.
  • August 29 — More Herbs, Less Salt Day (Global). Easy peasy: a lemon squeezy is a common stand-in for sodium. 
  • August 31 — Eat Outside Day (Global). Takeout on your front steps counts as dining al fresco, too.

August awareness themes

If you’re pressed for time, these August weeklong or monthlong observances give you more time to send a campaign.

Global:

US-Focused 

United Kingdom:

August newsletter ideas

In honor of August’s place in the calendar, here are eight useful approaches to August campaigns:

1. Honor Friends and Companions

From Be an Angel Day and International Beer Day to Pickleball Day, Kiss and Make Up Day, and its many days for dogs and cats, August has a lot of potential to celebrate being with your favorite two-and four-legged beings.

Switch up your usual “refer a friend” strategy and try “bring a friend” instead. Create an event, promotion, or opportunity that’s genuinely fun to share. Think wine tastings, workshops, or group discounts that make more sense with a friend.

Ask your customers and staff about their thoughts on friendships. What makes a good friend? How do they stay connected across distances? Use those responses to create content that feels human and relatable.

Or use Kiss and Make Up Day to send a “let’s start fresh” discount to customers who have gone quiet or to help friends reconnect over your products or services.

2. The Wellness Reality Check

National Wellness Month and More Herbs, Less Salt Day are great hooks, but instead of “New Year, New You” energy, make August wellness more like “Hey, stay hydrated and take a nap.”

Provide realistic wellness tips on social media that people can easily achieve, so they get that endorphin boost. Come up with simple swaps that don’t require a lifestyle overhaul, like “park in the lot far from the door,” or “eat lunch away from your desk.” Not “sign up for a triathalon.”

Customers connect with authenticity, not perfection. Share how your team handles stress, wellness struggles, or maintains work-life balance.

Offer wellness-related products or services that remind people that today is always a good place to start. It’s about progress, not perfection.

3. Celebrate Creativity and Play

With days like National Coloring Book Day, National Poet’s Day, and Even Pluto Demoted Day, you and your customers have permission to get creative and playful.

Set up crayons and coloring books in your business. Or create downloadable coloring pages related to your business. Adult coloring is huge, and people love shareable content. 

Encourage impromptu poetry creation with whiteboard prompts, notepads, and fun pens. Give away a rhyming dictionary to every twentieth customer. Write playful poetry in your subject lines or social media posts. Even bad poetry can be endearing when it’s genuine.

Ask customers which planet they would demote instead of Pluto and the reason for their choice. 

If those ideas don’t align with your business, bring customers behind the scenes into your business’s creative processes instead. How do you design products? How do you brainstorm? People love seeing how things get made. Or hold an online or in-person session on creative ideation, design thinking, or even a crash course on Canva or another app that helps people make something new.

4. Encourage Their Love of Animals

DOGust 1st, International Cat Day, Assistance Dog Day, World Lion Day, World Lizard Day, and Check the Chip Day tap into people’s universal desire for happy, four-legged content.

Share customer pet stories, especially if they relate to your business. The dog who loves shopping with their owner at your store, or the cat model who lounges on your handmade blankets.

Donate a percentage of a day’s sales to local animal shelters or wildlife organizations or sponsor an animal-centered fundraiser. It’s good for the community and shows your values in action.

Create pet-friendly content or offers. Even if you’re not a pet business, you can acknowledge that many of your customers are pet parents. Use Check the Chip Day to remind pet owners about safety while subtly connecting it to your business values around care and preparation, if those apply.

5. Encourage Kindness and Service

Be an Angel Day, World Humanitarian Day, and Farmworker Appreciation Day celebrate the good people do for each other. Thank the people in your supply chain who often go unnoticed. Publicize a worthy non-profit in your newsletter that you believe in.

Create opportunities for customers to be kind to each other, like a “pay it forward” campaign or a way for customers to support community members in need. Give each employee a small discretionary “do good” budget they can use to surprise customers with complimentary goods or services — no reason needed, other than to spread kindness.

6. Adventure and Discovery

International Geocaching Day, Picnic Day, Cycle to Work Day, Eat Outside Day, and National Pickleball Day encourage people to explore and try new things.

Create “adventure challenges” for your customers. It doesn’t have to be extreme — maybe visiting three new local businesses, trying a new walking route, or having a picnic in an unexpected spot. Do a “Guess Where” contest and offer a prize where you post images in your town of hidden corners, unnoticed architectural details, and familiar landmarks photographed from new angles. Give hints (or geo coordinates) where customers can find them.  Hide a “golden ticket” in your business for a lucky customer to find.

Create content that invites customers to discover more about your business. Share hidden gems within your product lineup, highlight lesser-known services, or showcase offerings that might surprise them.

7. Recognition and Equality

Women’s Equality Day, International Youth Day, and Left-Handers Day are great opportunities to celebrate a broad audience of people who have had to, or continue to, navigate a world that has not always accommodated them. This can also extend to any customers who might feel overlooked or underserved by mainstream businesses.

Consider ways you can acknowledge them, perhaps with special discounts, gifts, BOGOs, or freebies. Perhaps you spotlight women-made products or services; give space in your business or on your social platforms to youth creators in your community; or hold a handwriting demonstration or contest for people to use their non-dominant hand. If you’re a restaurant, comp a beverage to the lone left-handed diner in the party who always has to sit at the end of the table so they don’t bump elbows with their neighbor. 

Taking the recognition theme further, if Farmworker Appreciation Day doesn’t align with what your business offers, you can adapt the spirit of it to thank the people who make your business possible. Think of suppliers, delivery drivers, cleaning crews, or anyone who helps behind the scenes. Share genuine appreciation for your team, and tell the world about what you truly value about the people you work with.

8. Leverage the Name

“August” is named after Augustus Caesar, but no need to rent a toga! The name has been enjoying a recent surge in popularity as a unisex baby name. Give a month-long discount or special gift to the Augusts, Augustas, Augustuses, Agostos, Augustins, Augies, Gusses, and Gussies out there.

Consider ways to use the dictionary definition of venerable and deeply respected. Maybe your business goes back a century. Or maybe you sell rare vintage goods and antiques. Or maybe you support a local museum. Are there ways to tie your company or organization to a timeless heritage? 

TIP: Whatever holiday you highlight in your newsletter this month, whether you issue a challenge, offer advice, or ask your readers to share, include a custom hashtag — along with a corresponding post on social media — so you can easily find and like what they post!

August newsletter subject lines

  • “Eight months in and you’re still awesome” —  General appreciation
  • “Your dog called. They want a birthday party” —  DOGust 1st
  • “How to celebrate today? Here, hold my beer.” —  International Beer Day
  • “Let’s get creative (crayons optional)” —  National Coloring Book Day
  • “Meow’s the time to celebrate our feline overlords” —  International Cat Day
  • “Today’s kind of a big dill 🥒” —  National Pickleball Day
  • “Your pet’s tech needs an update too”  —  Check the Chip Day
  • “Today, focus on the good stuff ” —  World Photography Day
  • “X marks the spot… somewhere out there” —  International Geocaching Day
  • “Small kindness, big impact” —  Be an Angel Day
  • “Wellness reality check time” —  National Wellness Month
  • “Picture this…” —  World Photography Day
  • “Lefties are all right!” —  Left-Handers Day
  • “Peace, love, and moving forward” —  National Kiss and Make Up Day
  • “Herb your enthusiasm!” — More Herbs, Less Salt Day
  • “Eight ways to make today better” —  General positivity
  • “Because everyone deserves appreciation. Like you.” — Various appreciation days

Plan out the rest of your year with our Online Marketing Calendar! It includes a free template and list of holidays to help you stay organized and set up for a successful year.