👋 Good-bye to tried-and-true: How to create innovative marketing campaigns

This week’s must-reads:

• Set holiday schedule expectations with this template.
• Steal this framework for customer acquisition.
• See how delegation is becoming easier and easier.
• And why you should start preparing for the holiday season now.

STARTER PACK

Template of the week: Holiday Schedule Policy

Imagine: You’re driving to work on a soft white cloud, watching the local elephants water their gardens and Superman wave hello on his way to the Daily Planet. Everything is literal sunshine and rainbows — that is, until you walk through the office doors and realize no one is there. Because it’s the Fourth of July, and you forgot to remind everyone that they actually did need to work today.

Thank goodness it was just a dream — but this could quickly become a real-life nightmare if you don’t prepare.

👉 So, if you work in an industry that sometimes requires holiday work, share this Holiday Schedule Policy template with your team. It covers working hour expectations for the roles that do (and don't) need to work on commonly observed holidays, holiday pay details, and more. That way, there’s no confusion, no need for questions, and no more nightmares.

‍Check out our entire template archive of free and customizable policy, process, and role starters. New to Trainual? Get a demo.

INSIDE THE PROCESS

Everything you need to hear about creative marketing

We’re coming to you this Wednesday with some very exciting news:
Inside the Process is officially available for your podcast-streaming pleasure! Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube (for those who enjoy the video accompaniment) — just sit back and disappear into episode after episode of business solutions.

Wha… you don’t know Inside the Process?!
Then let us introduce you to your new favorite podcast: Our hosts (and Trainual superstars) Mallory Glessner and Shawn Jensen chat with some of the brightest business minds and unpack their specialized insights to help you improve and level up the work you’re doing.

Think of Inside the Process as your go-to consultant (without the thousands of dollars in fees). Covering business best practices, company culture, leadership, and more — helping you take action and grow your business.

And to prove it:
Check out the newest episode, where our hosts chat with Marc Thomas, an experienced marketer specializing in growing B2B software businesses and the mind behind the popular Positive Human blog.

Tried-and-true marketing techniques aren’t as effective as they used to be — which is why Marc is a huge advocate for continuous innovation and creativity in the marketing process. He explains how innovation can actually be iterative with his “Rinse & Repeat” framework — leading you to some compelling and successful new marketing campaigns.

🎧 Learn more about the “Rinse and Repeat” framework.

TRAINUAL TIPS & TRICKS

Your Delegation Planner™ feedback is already alive and kickin’

Have you been delegating what’s on your team’s plate with the Trainual Delegation Planner? If so, you’re probably experiencing benefits like more employee engagement and productivity, optimized resource allocation, streamlined operations, and more.

Sound too good to be true? Well, think about it: As you gauge employee strengths, passions, and goals alongside business responsibilities (and how long they take to execute), who should be in charge of what becomes oh-so-clear. 

Not only does this help you delegate what’s on your own plate (bless up), but you can make sure everyone has a reasonable workload and is in charge of things they like, are good at, and align with their career path. (If that’s not a business leader’s dream, we don’t know what is.)

And a little birdie told us that while you love the Delegation Planner, you’d love it even more with some enhancements. Don't worry, we got you with these improvements:

• View the Delegation Planner in fullscreen mode.
• Find your most recently assigned subjects first when connecting content to responsibilities.
• See who made the last change (and when it was made).
• Experience sticky time commitments as you drag and drop.

👉 See it all in action.

🔥 Tip: Sign up for Trainual U (free!) to get access to our exclusive Delegation Planner strategy guide, which has all the best practices you need to delegate responsibilities like a pro.

T-MINUS 149 DAYS

Countdown: The holiday shopping season’s coming fast!

149. 150. 152.
Those are the number of days until Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, respectively.

Okay, it’s not that dire.
But considering the importance of the holiday season for end-of-year goals, you can understand why we’re bringing this up now. In fact, two out of three small businesses say that holidays are important for their business’ financial health. And no matter your size, you can’t argue about the success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday for sales.

So, don’t caught off guard once your Thanksgiving turkey’s on the table — set yourself up for success right now! Here’s how:

1. Plan your key dates, promotions, and special events now. These choices will affect your key metrics and expectations for the end of the year.
2. Need inventory? Order today. If you ship goods from overseas or you plan to have a lot of stock for the holidays, get them sooner rather than later. Not saying there will be another Suez Canal blockage, but… *knock on wood.*
3. ‍Build your social media presence. You should continuously try to do this, but growing your audience now means having a wider customer pool when the holidays arrive later. Those coveted holiday sales won’t happen if you don’t have prospects to market to!