🛠️ Gratitude: The key to a marketer’s sanity this holiday season

What up, marketers. Welcome another 1-1-1 edition of Adam’s Letter. Thank you to the 926 marketers who use this newsletter to earn more and further their careers. We’re marching to 1,000. Share this with someone you’re thankful for!

Big Idea: Embrace the Cliche. Be Grateful.

Thanksgiving week officially kicks off the holiday season. Parties! Events! Discounted Specials! Deals! Cheers! Merriment!

Also known as the marketer’s hellscape.

For many marketers, Thursday signifies the start of a 45+ day sprint to maximize revenue and oversee the most significant capital campaigns of the year. While it can be “the most wonderful time of the year” personally, it is often the most stressful time of the year professionally.

As cliche as it sounds, the key to fully embracing this season and being able to both enjoy it + produce what we need to in our work is a simple concept: gratitude.

Here’s how I plan to keep myself sane while enjoying the holidays as well.

Strategy: Help Others Express Thanks

Everyone has thankfulness on their mind as they head into the holidays. As marketers, we need to use that.

Let's look past metrics and CTA, and brainstorm how the sentiment of appreciation, positive testimonials, and the goodwill generated by expressing thanks contribute silently yet significantly to the success of your marketing initiatives.

Here’s a quick exercise that can help you best leverage the season:

1. Sit down with a pen and paper and think through every stakeholder you interact with: including clients, partners, vendors, employees, etc.

2. For each group, brainstorm how you can help them express their gratitude (e.g. employee testimonials for their coworkers)

3. Create a simple capture device to collect the gratitude. Some ideas here:

   • could be as simple as a google form with 1 question and answer

   • during my vaynermedia days, employees were encouraged to tweet about the coworkers they were thankful for using the hashtag #vaynerthanks so we could see each others comments and review them over time

   • an email blast that asks for a one line response is often the simplest form of this. prompt the user for a simple response, “reply with the 1 person/event/circumstance/idea you’re thankful for this year.”

4. Once you’ve captured responses, turn this into a content series. Some examples:

   • could be user-generated content on social (like #vaynerthanks)

   • a series of testimonials or quote cards that drip throughout the season

   • a full “episode” of short video clips of your partners expressing thanks for employees, etc.

While the season is hectic, everyone is looking for a way to feel good and rise above the typical product-pushing. Use this impulse to stand out instead of blending in.

Example: The Gratitude Checklist for Marketers (with templates)

Let’s make it simple.

Sometimes, “gratitude” is too ambiguous to wrap our arms around. Here’s a checklist of ways to express your gratitude through the holiday season.

Stop reading and start doing them…right now.

1. Thank-you emails with a Personal Touch

Crafting thank-you emails doesn't have to be time-consuming. Writing a simple note can inject a personal touch. Pick 5 people to send these to. Template:

2. Acknowledge Team Efforts

Taking a moment to acknowledge your team's efforts is a powerful morale boost. Pick 3-5 people on your internal team you want to highlight. Write a quick slack post about how they’ve benefitted you/the company. Post it. Bang.

3. Hand-written Client Appreciation Campaigns

This might take you a few extra minutes. Go to walmart. Buy a pack of 10 thank you cards. Right out a hand-written note to the top 10 clients who support your business. Here’s the template:

4. Recognition on Social Media

Express gratitude publicly. A simple acknowledgment or shoutout adds authenticity to your brand, resonating with your audience amidst the digital noise. See the strategy section above if you’re not sure how to do this.

Most of all - I want you to know, I’m thankful FOR YOU. This newsletter and the conversations I’ve gotten to have with all of you as a result has been a highlight of my year. I’m deeply thankful.

note: we’ll be off next week for Turkey Day.

Happy Thanksgiving!