What Are Marqet Playbooks?

Playbooks are perfect for recurring content that should be created whenever your data changes - like new property listings, employee onboarding materials, or regular reports.

What You'll Learn

How Playbooks work
When to use Playbooks vs other Marqet tools
Common Playbook use cases
Benefits of scheduled automation
What's required to use Playbooks

How Playbooks Work

Playbooks automate content creation by monitoring your data and generating projects when conditions are met.

The Playbook Process

1. Scheduled Check

Playbooks run on a schedule - typically every 6 hours - automatically syncing data from your connected sources.

2. Criteria Evaluation

Each time a Playbook runs, it checks your data against configured criteria. For example: "Has Status = Active" or "Is Added Date within last 6 hours".

3. Automatic Content Generation

When records meet the criteria, Playbooks automatically create projects from templates for each matching record. Data from your source populates smart fields in the templates.

4. Delivery to Enrolled Users

Generated content is delivered to designated users who are "enrolled" in the Playbook. They receive email notifications with links to their new projects.

Key Characteristic: Fully Automated

The power of Playbooks is that they require zero manual intervention once set up:

No one needs to remember to create content
No forms to fill out
No manual triggering required
Content appears automatically when your data updates

When to Use Playbooks

Playbooks are ideal for content that should be generated automatically based on data changes.

Perfect For:

Real Estate Listing Materials

When new properties are added to your MLS system or spreadsheet, Playbooks automatically generate listing flyers, social media graphics, and marketing materials for agents.

Why Playbooks: Agents don't need to remember to create materials - they just appear. New listings get marketed immediately.

Employee Onboarding

When new employees are added to your HRIS system, Playbooks automatically create welcome materials, business cards, and onboarding documents.

Why Playbooks: HR doesn't manually create materials for each hire. Consistent onboarding experience for every new employee.

Regular Reports

When data is updated on a schedule (daily sales reports, weekly metrics, monthly summaries), Playbooks automatically generate report documents.

Why Playbooks: Reports are always up-to-date and delivered on time without manual report creation.

Product Catalog Updates

When products are added or updated in your catalog database, Playbooks automatically create product sheets, spec pages, or promotional materials.

Why Playbooks: Marketing materials stay current with product database automatically.

Use Playbooks When:

Content creation should happen automatically without user action
You have a data source that updates regularly
The same type of content needs to be created repeatedly
You want to eliminate manual content creation tasks entirely
Users shouldn't need to remember to create content
Content should be generated on a schedule (every few hours, daily, etc.)

Playbooks vs Other Marqet Tools

Playbooks vs AI Forms

Choose Playbooks when: Content should be created automatically when data changes

Choose AI Forms when: Users should control when content is created by submitting a form

Example:

Playbook: New property added to MLS → materials auto-generate every 6 hours
Form: Agent fills out form when ready to market property → materials generate immediately

Playbooks vs Workflows

Choose Playbooks when: Simple scheduled automation checking data and generating content

Choose Workflows when: Complex multi-step processes with conditional logic, approvals, or integrations beyond basic data monitoring

Example:

Playbook: Check for new listings every 6 hours, generate materials for any found
Workflow: Check for new listings, generate materials, send for approval, then deliver to multiple destinations based on listing type

Learn more: Choosing the Right Marqet Tool

Benefits of Playbooks

Eliminate Manual Tasks

Tasks that used to require someone remembering to create content now happen automatically. Free your team from repetitive work.

Consistent Execution

Content is always created when it should be - never forgotten or delayed because someone was busy or out of office.

Faster Time-to-Market

New opportunities are marketed immediately when they enter your system. No lag time waiting for someone to manually create materials.

Scale Without Adding Work

Whether you have 5 new records or 500, Playbooks handle them all automatically. Volume doesn't create additional work for your team.

Always Up-to-Date

Content reflects your current data automatically. As your source data changes, new content is generated with updated information.

Reduced Errors

Automated data population eliminates manual data entry errors. Information comes directly from your source systems.

What You Need to Use Playbooks

Required:

Connected Data Source

Playbooks monitor data sources, so you need one connected to Marqet. This could be:

Google Sheets or Excel spreadsheets
CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.)
Databases
Other connected systems

Learn more: Connecting Data Sources to Marqet

Templates with Smart Fields

Your Marq templates need smart fields that can be populated with data from your source. Smart fields act as placeholders that Playbooks fill with information from each record.

Learn more: Smart Fields Complete Guide

Marq Team Setup

Playbooks require configuration by the Marq team working with you. The data filtering logic and criteria setup is handled during implementation with your account team.

Why: Proper data filtering and criteria configuration ensures Playbooks generate content at the right time with the right data.

Nice to Have:

Clean data: Source data should be well-maintained and consistently formatted
Clear criteria: Understanding exactly when content should be generated
Defined users: Knowing who should receive generated content

How Playbooks Appear to Users

For enrolled users, Playbooks work invisibly in the background:

User Experience

Email notification arrives: User receives email saying new content has been generated
User accesses content: Email includes link to new projects in their Marq account
Projects are ready to use: Content is fully generated and can be downloaded, shared, or edited

Users don't interact with Playbooks directly - they simply receive the generated content automatically.

Admin Experience

For administrators managing Playbooks:

Activity dashboard shows all Playbook runs and generated content
Settings allow managing templates and enrolled users
Visibility into what content was created and for whom

Learn more: Working with Marqet Playbooks

Playbook Schedule and Frequency

Playbooks run on a schedule to check for new data:

Typical Schedule

Every 6 hours: Most common setting for Playbooks
Daily: For content that doesn't need frequent checks
Custom intervals: Can be configured based on your needs

Why Scheduled (Not Real-Time)?

Scheduled checks balance freshness with efficiency:

Batching: Multiple new records can be processed together
Resource management: Prevents constant system checking
Predictability: Users know approximately when to expect content

Note: If you need real-time triggering (content generated the instant data changes), consider using Workflows with webhook triggers instead.

Getting Started with Playbooks

Playbooks Require Marq Team Setup

Unlike AI Forms which you can set up yourself, Playbooks require coordination with the Marq team for initial configuration.

Why Professional Setup?

Data source connections need proper configuration
Criteria logic must be set up correctly to avoid missing records or duplicates
Data mapping from source to smart fields requires technical setup
Schedule and trigger configuration needs optimization

Setup Process

Schedule a call: Playbooks are blocked behind a call scheduling link in Discover
Discuss requirements: Work with Marq team to define criteria, schedule, and users
Configure data sources: Marq team sets up data filtering and lookup logic
Test and refine: Verify Playbook generates correct content
Launch: Activate Playbook to run on schedule

What You Manage After Setup

Once configured, you can manage certain aspects yourself:

Adding or removing templates
Enrolling or un-enrolling users
Adjusting who receives email notifications
Monitoring activity and generated content

What requires Marq team: Changes to data criteria, filtering logic, schedule, or data source connections.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set up Playbooks myself without Marq team help?

Initial Playbook configuration requires Marq team setup. After that, you can manage templates and enrolled users yourself, but data criteria changes need team assistance.

How often do Playbooks check for new data?

Typically every 6 hours, but this can be configured based on your needs during setup.

What happens if the same record meets criteria multiple times?

Playbooks track which records have been processed to avoid generating duplicate content for the same record.

Can Playbooks work with multiple data sources?

Playbooks typically monitor one primary data source. For complex multi-source scenarios, Workflows may be a better fit.

Who receives the generated content?

Users who are "enrolled" in the Playbook receive email notifications and can access generated projects in their Marq account.

Can I pause a Playbook temporarily?

Yes, Playbooks can be deactivated and reactivated as needed. Work with your Marq team to pause or resume Playbooks.

What if my data source structure changes?

Contact your Marq team to update the Playbook configuration when data source structure or fields change.

Next Steps

Learn How to Work with Playbooks

Once your Playbook is set up, learn how to manage it:

Working with Marqet Playbooks - Dashboard, settings, and management

Understand the Fundamentals

Get better results by understanding how Playbooks use smart fields and data:

Compare All Marqet Tools

Not sure if Playbooks are right for your use case?

Choosing the Right Marqet Tool - Compare Forms, Playbooks, and Workflows
Marqet Overview - Complete platform guide

Ready to Get Started?

Contact your Marq account team or support to schedule a call and discuss setting up Playbooks for your organization.

Need Help?

If you have questions about whether Playbooks are right for your use case or want to discuss setup, contact Marq support or your account team.

Visit our Help Center for more articles and resources.