Brand planning season is quickly drawing to a close–are you ready for the fourth quarter madness? 

In past years, what was it about Q4 that made it so unbearable? Was the it the unexpectedly high workload, the limited availability of writers to get the job done, the clashing priorities of planning for the Holidays vs. getting things done at work? 

Let’s resolve to make Q4 different this year. We are afforded the time over the next 2-3 weeks to get our ducks in a row before our clients return back to pavilion after Labor Day and send an urgent message to get a project done by tomorrow–or worse yet, yesterday. 

Urgency is going to arise as it does every Q4, but it doesn’t have to be stressful–as a matter of fact, I believe that we can actually ENJOY the ride if we have a Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C up our sleeves.

Seek out the status of ALL projects that still need to be started, or have yet to be finished (think way back to a lingering project that your team started in January). This may require some communication with team members (who may still be on vacation), so now is the time to begin digging up the information.

Match-up the projects with internal writers. Be cognizant of writers’ skill sets and availability over the next quarter (it’s helpful to know if someone has planned a 2-week vacation during Diwali, Thanksgiving, or Christmas).

Match-up projects with freelance writers. Being smart about knowing which projects to assign internally vs. outsourcing to freelancers is critical and can save your organization lots of money–at a time when revenue is scrutinized the most. Who are your go-to freelancers? What are their skill sets? Have you recently heard of a new freelancer that’s supposed to be really good, but don’t know her exact skill sets? NOW is the time to reach out and understand the freelancer’s capabilities, so you’re not scrambling later when time is of the essence. Who knows, that freelancer may just knock your socks off, leaving you wondering where she was all this time.

In the famous words of Benjamin Franklin, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Don’t fail. Plan now, when you still have time on your side.

It’s time to make big strides and turn heads–let’s go.