Steal This Stack: Automate Your Learning Campaigns

You don’t need a big budget—or a marketing degree—to create learning campaigns that get noticed and make a difference. In this practical session, you’ll learn how to design an end-to-end experience using free (or nearly free) tools to handle everything from sign-up to follow-up. Whether you’re delivering microlearning, onboarding, or skills training, you’ll see exactly how to connect your content into a seamless, automated system that does the heavy lifting for you.

We’ll walk step-by-step through a live example you can adapt to your own work, plus explore how marketing principles—like clear calls to action and spaced reminders—can amplify results. You’ll leave with a blueprint you can customize using the tools you already have or want to try, and the confidence to launch your own campaign without the usual complexity.

Learn more at https://trainlikeamarketer.com

Transcript

1. trainlikeamarketer.com Steal This Stack trainlikeamarketer.com Mike Taylor Automate Your Learning Campaigns
2. Mike Taylor mike-taylor.org
3. trainlikeamarketer.com • Marketing Mindset Shift
4. trainlikeamarketer.com Marketing and L&D share two core goals: getting people's attention and influencing their behavior.
5. Think Like a Marketer trainlikeamarketer.com
6. trainlikeamarketer.com Would you run one ad and expect it to work?
7. trainlikeamarketer.com What is a learning campaign?
8. trainlikeamarketer.com One & Done Hope & Pray Campaigns Systematic Support
9. trainlikeamarketer.com People rarely change behavior from one exposure Awareness Engagement Action
10. trainlikeamarketer.com Working from an outdated playbook
11. trainlikeamarketer.com Too much time on repetitive/manual tasks Learners get one-shot training that doesn't stick Stretch our limited budget with marketing strategies A working blueprint you can customize Specific tools you can start using today Confidence to pilot your first campaign Problems we're solving: What you will get:
12. trainlikeamarketer.com Who is running any automated learning campaigns? Not Reminders
13. Rate your confidence level (1-10) 1 = I have no idea how to build an automated learning campaign 10 = I could start building one today
14. trainlikeamarketer.com Pilot your first automated learning campaign
15. Why Campaigns? 1
16. trainlikeamarketer.com Why Campaigns Work Traditional One-Off: Learning Campaigns: • One & Done • Knowledge decays quickly • No follow-up or reinforcement. • Limited behavior change Spaced over time • Reinforcement + nudges • Multi-channel delivery (email, chat, SMS). • Focus on actions, not just awareness.
17. trainlikeamarketer.com "Hundreds of studies in cognitive and educational psychology have demonstrated that spacing out repeated encounters with the material over time produces superior long-term learning…" Kang, 2016
18. Spaced retrieval practice is the aspirin of instructional design Will Thalheimer ...it has multiple benefits and very few negative side effects.
19. trainlikeamarketer.com Types of Campaigns DRIP CAMPAIGN Time-based TRIGGER CAMPAIGN Action-based •Send content based on days/weeks •"5 Days to Safety Excellence" •Send based on what someone does •“Completed training? Here's what's next...”
20. How to Build Campaigns 2
21. 02 03 01 trainlikeamarketer.com LMS Rare Clunky Inflexible Expensive
22. 02 03 01 trainlikeamarketer.com LMS Email Marketing Rare Clunky Inflexible Expensive Great Design Dynamic A/B Testing Analytics
23. trainlikeamarketer.com Email Marketing Tools Full Featured Free Version Up to 500 Subscribers Best option for getting started
24. trainlikeamarketer.com Email Marketing Tools
25. 02 03 01 trainlikeamarketer.com LMS Email Marketing Workflow Automation Rare Clunky Inflexible Expensive Great Design Dynamic A/B Testing Analytics Existing tools Super Flexible True learning journeys
26. trainlikeamarketer.com Workflow Automation Connect existing tools Built for non-technical users Huge App Ecosystem Scalable Starting Point: Simple Zaps, Complex Campaigns
27. trainlikeamarketer.com Easy setup Huge ecosystem Quick, simple nudges Visual builder, advanced logic Sophisticated journeys Native in corporate / Microsoft 365 Enterprise integration
28. Plumbing for the internet
29. trainlikeamarketer.com But, I’m not very technical?
30. trainlikeamarketer.com If you can send an email and fill out a form, you can do this.
31. Self-Running Automated Campaigns
33. trainlikeamarketer.com Connect Your Apps
34. trainlikeamarketer.com
35. trainlikeamarketer.com
36. trainlikeamarketer.com
37. trainlikeamarketer.com
38. Trigger FORM SUBMISSION Action SEND EMAIL
39. FORM SUBMISSION SEND EMAIL DELAY 7 DAYS SEND EMAIL #2
40. Start in minutes, save hours Zapier is faster and easier than building your own integration, and you won't need to write any code.
41. Rate your confidence level (1-10) 1 = I have no idea how to build an automated learning campaign 10 = I could start building one today
42. trainlikeamarketer.com How could you use this?
43. Sometimes we like to over complicate learning...but this is one of the best examples of learning I’ve seen for a long time. I’m due a password change soon - so my business auto send useful info (#PerformanceSupport). No LMS - No tracking - just simple, easy learning! Nick Lee @N1ckL33
44. Date-based Example • Password reset • Different date for everyone • Relevant support at the point of need
45. Build Your Campaign Zap 1: Learner finishes course → add to spreadsheet. Zap 2: 3 days later → send reinforcement tip via email. Zap 3: 1 week later → post quiz link in Teams.
46. Don’t buy anything until you’ve run a few successful campaigns. Start small, iterate: The power is in sequencing (onboarding, reinforcement, nudges). Think in “journeys,” not blasts: You don’t need full integration day one—just pull CSVs of learners and upload. Automate later. Integrate lightly (if at all) with LMS:
47. trainlikeamarketer.com Campaign Essentials Have a Clear Goal Know exactly what behavior or skill you want people to change. Use Multiple Touches Don’t stop at one training. Spread it out with short reminders, follow-ups, or activities. Mix It Up Use different formats — a quick video, a short quiz, a story, etc. Keep People Involved Ask questions, give challenges, etc Interaction makes it stick.
48. trainlikeamarketer.com Learn more about learning campaigns and other marketing techniques that can powe up your L&D work