January typically inspires the best of intentions in all of us because it is a time of new beginnings. Starting over fresh. It’s when we decide to make all the changes we said we’d do last year, but never did. Every good thing starts with a plan, and your content marketing is no different. Begin 2019 with a solid plan for choosing and scheduling content. The calendar is a great place to begin for ideas, which is why we always include major (and some fun) events on the calendar in our list of ideas and suggestions.
We’re also including a bonus group of material for 2019! After the calendar and birthday ideas for January, you’ll discover a huge list of 110 blog post titles that you can use with your content. These are types of titles that are proven to inspire interest in Internet users more than just a typical, boring title. We hope you bookmark this page to refer to the list again and again.
 

Holidays and Occasions

Seasonal topics can generate a lot of interest in the days and even weeks surrounding them. Here are some of the things happening in January and possible ways you can create content around them.
 

New Year’s Day – January 1

Some great ideas to use surrounding New Years are:

• Recipes for traditional New Year’s Day foods
• Recipes for favorite New Year’s Eve drinks
• List of local businesses hosting a countdown
• List of apps to track resolutions
• List of best remedies for a hangover

Trivia Day – January 4

The possibilities here are more than trivial! Use these suggestions to spark your own creativity.

• Holiday trivia
• US Presidents trivia
• Local business trivia
• Local history/celebrity trivia
• Strange laws in your state or area
• Trivia that concerns your industry or business niche
• Movie trivia
• Music trivia
• Sports trivia

Martin Luther King Jr. Day – January 21

This national holiday honors the man and all he fought for on behalf of others.

• Volunteer opportunities in your area
• History of MLK Day
• Education and your own tribute

Opposite Day – January 25

Take this fun day to the limits with as many examples of opposites as you can imagine!

• Share what you day would be like if you did the exact opposite of your daily routine
• Take a poll of favorite opposites
• Share a list of best places to grab breakfast after noon
• Post a fun photo/video of your family or team participating

General Topics

General topics can be reworked and revisited over and over again in different formats and on different platforms. Some topics that might be popular in January are:

• Recap of the positive things that happened in your city in 2018
• Great indoor activities
• This day in World/US/state/local history
• Highest-rated gyms/exercise locations
• Where to shop organically
• Request a caption for a winter photo
• Local events/festivals
• City’s best coffee houses

Helpful Topics

While you don’t want your content to be boring, helpful information on a variety of topics can still play an important part. People often start thinking about buying or selling a home after the holidays. Here are some topics readers might engage with:

• Creating a budget/financial plan
• Frequently asked questions about preparing taxes
• Home maintenance checklist
• Winter staging ideas
• First-time home buyer programs

Celebrity / Notable Birthdays

January 1, 1752- Betsy Ross, designed first U.S.flag
January 1, 1895- J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Director
January 2, 1920- Isaac Asimov, Science Fiction Writer
January 3, 1892- J.R.R. Tolkien, Author of “Lord of the Rings”
January 3, 1956- Mel Gibson, actor, director
January 7, 1800- Millard Fillmore, 13th President, (1850-1853)
January 7, 1964- Nicolas Cage, Actor
January 8, 1935- Elvis Presley, King of Rock ‘n Roll
January 9, 1913- Richard M. Nixon, 37th President (1969-1974)
January 10, 1945- Rod Stewart, Rock Singer
January 12, 1944- Joe Frazier, heavyweight boxing champion
January 12, 1951- Rush Limbaugh, Ultra-conservative radio talk show host
January 12, 1954- Howard Stern, radio and TV “shock jock”
January 12, 1955- Kirstie Alley, TV Actress
January 14, 1741- Benedict Arnold, traitor in American Revolutionary War.
January 14, 1919- Andy Rooney, author and commentator on “60 Minutes”
January 15th, 1929- Martin Luther King Jr., Civil Rights Activist
January 16, 1853- Andre Michelin, inflatable auto tire inventor
January 17, 1706- Benjamin Franklin, inventor, statesman, writer
January 17, 1899- Al Capone, notorious 1920’s gangster
January 17, 1928- Vidal Sassoon, British hair stylist, fashion designer
January 17, 1942- Mohammad Ali, heavyweight boxing champion
January 18, 1779- Peter Roget, author of Roget’s Thesaurus
January 18, 1782- Daniel Webster, politician and speaker
January 18, 1882- A.A. Milne, author of Childrens’ storybooks. Created Winnie the Pooh and friends.
January 18, 1904- Cary Grant, Actor
January 19, 1807- Robert E. Lee, Civil War Confederate Army General
January 19, 1809- Edgar Allen Poe, Author and Poet, most notably horror stories
January 19, 1946- Dolly Parton, buxom country western singer
January 20,1930- Edwin “Buzz Aldrin, Astronaut, walked on the moon
January 21, 1824- Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, Confederate Army general
January 23, 1737- John Hancock, politician, first to sign the Declaration of Independence.
January 25, 1981- Alicia Keys, singer, Grammy winner
January 26, 1880- Douglas MaCarthur, WWII General
January 26, 1955- Eddie Van Halen, singer, rock band
January 27, 1756- Wolfgang Mozart, one of the greatest musical composers ever
January 27, 1832- Lewis Carroll, wrote “Alice in Wonderland”
January 28, 1936- Alan Alda, Hawkeye Pierce in Tv series “M*A*S*H”
January 29, 1843- William McKinley, 25th U.S. President (1897-1901)
January 29, 1945- Tom Selleck, Actor, “Magnum P.I.
January 30, 1882- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd U.S. President, elected to four terms (1933-1945)
January 30, 1922- Dick Martin, comedian
January 31, 1919- Jackie Robinson, first Afro-American to to play in Major League Baseball
 

Great Blog Post Headlines

These headlines are proven performers backed by research. Steve Rayson from BuzzSumo did a meta-analysis of which headline elements are most common in viral posts, and the five elements that showed up most were:

• Emotion
• Content
• Topic
• Format
• Promise

Each of the headlines you see below contain a combination of these elements. They are grouped into sections for easier use.
 

How-to

1. How to Get [benefit] Out of [topic]
2. How to [benefit] When You’re Not [topic]
3. How You Can [benefit] Almost Instantly
4. How to Become [benefit] When You Feel [negative outcome]
5. How to Use [topic] to [benefit]
6. How to Turn Your [topic] Into [benefit]
7. How to Turn [topic] Into [benefit]
8. How to Build a [topic] You Can Be Proud Of
9. How to Take the Pain Out Of [topic]
10. How to do [topic] In Under X Minutes
11. How to Make People Line Up to [topic]
12. How to Get [benefit] In Under X Minutes
13. How to Skyrocket Your [benefit] With [topic]
14. How to Shortcut [benefit] By Using [topic]
15. How to Avoid Looking Stupid When Asked About [topic]
16. How to Turn [topic] Into [benefit] Every Time
17. How to [topic] for [benefit]
18. How to [benefit] Like [case study or example]
19. How to Create [benefit] for Your [topic]
20. Exactly How to [benefit] Right Now (Step-by-Step)
21. How to Master [topic] In X Steps

Lists

22. X Hacks to Accelerate [benefit]
23. X Ways to Avoid [negative outcome]
24. X Mind-Blowing Benefits of [topic]
25. X Factors for Getting [benefit]
26. X [benefit] Techniques That You Didn’t Know About
27. X Elements of The Perfect [topic]
28. X Examples of [benefit] from [case study or example]
29. X Experts Reveal How to [benefit]
30. X Little Known Ways to [topic]
31. X Questions Answered About [topic]
32. X Free Ways to [benefit]
33. X Underground Tips On Achieving [benefit]
34. X Tips on How to Avoid [negative outcome]
35. X Tactics for Knocking [topic] Out of the Park
36. X Proven Methods for Accelerating [benefit]
37. X Tricks for [benefit] More Often
38. X Simple [topic’s] You Can Create (Even If You’re Not a [job title])
39. X Principles for [benefit] with [topic]
40. X Shocking Mistakes Killing Your [topic]
41. X Surefire Strategies for [benefit] Even If You’re Worried About [negative outcome]
42. X Examples That Will Help You Overcome [topic]
43. X Ways to Get [benefit] That Won’t End Up In [negative outcome]
44. X Valuable Lessons from [your industry] Experts

Getting a Benefit

45. A Simple Way to [benefit] That Works For [job title]
46. Where [benefit] Is and How to Get It
47. Why I [topic] (And Maybe You Should Too)
48. An Open Letter to [job title’s] Looking for [benefit]
49. [topic] Your Way to a [benefit]
50. Discover the Secrets Behind [benefit]
51. How to Fast-Track [benefit]
52. The Secret to [benefit] Is Revealed
53. Get [benefit] Without Losing [topic]
54. Imagine [benefit] Without [negative outcome]
55. If You Can [topic] You Can [benefit]
56. Improve Your [benefit] In [time]
57. See How Easily You Can [benefit]
58. Give Me [time] and I’ll Give You [benefit]
59. [topic]: Get More [benefit] Than Your Competitors
60. The Quickest and Easiest Way to Get [benefit]
61. The Exact Process We Use to Get [benefit] Without [negative outcome]
62. Here’s a Quick Way to [benefit]

Avoiding a Negative Outcome

63. The Unfortunate Truth About [topic]
64. Why You Need to Stop [topic] Before It [negative outcome]
65. Never Suffer From [negative outcome] Again
66. The Hidden Risk In Your [topic]
67. If You Don’t [topic] Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later
68. [topic] May Be Causing You to Lose Out On [benefit]
69. To People That Want to [benefit] But Can’t Get Started
70. Get [benefit] Without [negative outcome]
71. Why you shouldn’t [topic]
72. What Your [topic] Won’t Tell You And How It Can Save You [topic]
73. The Sooner You Know [topic] The Better
74. No [negative outcome] Just [benefit] Everyday
75. Get Rid of [negative outcome] Once and For All
76. Why [topic] Fails and [topic] Succeeds
77. Forget Everything You Know About [topic]
78. What Your Competitors Wish They Knew About [topic]
79. Warning: Ignoring [topic x] Could Seriously Damage Your [topic y]
80. Why You Are Wasting [resource] and What to Do About it

Facts, Statistics, and Examples

81. How [big number] Got [benefit] in [time]
82. [case study or example] Reveals X Ways to [benefit]
83. How [big number] Got [benefit] Without [negative outcome]
84. The [benefit] That [case study or example] Is Talking About
85. [topic] Hacking With [case study or example]
86. Join [big number] of Your Peers That Got [benefit]
87. Like [case study or example] You Can [benefit]
88. Why [big number] of People are Starting to [topic]
89. X% Of People Got [benefit] From [topic]
90. Here is a Method That is Helping [case study or example] to [topic]
91. How [case study or example] Increased [benefit] In X Days
92. How I Got [big number] [benefit] Using [topic]

General

93. Take X minutes to get started with [topic]… you won’t regret it!
94. What Everybody Needs to Know About [topic]
95. Don’t Try [topic x] Without [topic y] First
96. You Don’t Have to be [respected expert] to Achieve [benefit]
97. The Ultimate Guide to [topic]
98. The Definitive Guide to Getting [benefit]
99. Everything You Ever Need to Know About [topic]
100. The Only Thing You’ll Ever Need to Master [topic]
101. Who Else Wants [benefit]?
102. Your Competitors Don’t Want You To Read This [topic]
103. Answered: Your Burning Questions About [topic]
104. Do You Know the X Warning Signs of [negative outcome]?
105. How Many Times Are You Willing to [negative outcome] Before You Try This?
106. What’s More Effective [topic x] or [topic y]?
107. How Do You Get [benefit] Without [negative outcome]?
108. The Smart [job title’s] Guide to [topic]
109. Revealed: The [topic] Strategy No One Has Told You Yet
110. Smart [job title’s] Should Do [topic]

Do you have great ideas for January content for the coming year? Why not share your ideas with our readers in the comments below? Happy New Year and keep writing!