In its ongoing effort to move beyond early adopters and gain traction with a broader consumer audience, Springpad’s update includes some starter guides to help you get started with its service.  Kicking it up a notch against Evernote, Springpad 4.5 includes a new template catalog that lets you jump into personal organizing without having to go through the hassle of putting a custom notebook together from scratch.

The feature aims to infuse Springpad’s popular service with the “approach and knowledge of industry experts” to help users become more productive in specific tasks such as picking out gifts, planning special events and cooking. The templates are offered in categories like home improvement and entertainment, with each collection including entries from notable media personalities and brands seeking to reach out to their audiences.

A fresh strategy for mainstream users

What’s appealing about the new Springpad templates is that they almost act as independent applications for various categories or tasks.  For instance, one template will jumpstart your recipe collection, while another is designed to tighten up your home’s storage strategy.  Instead of Evernote’s approach of launching separate mobile apps to simplify organization for foodies and other demographic groups, Springpad is hoping to branch off certain components from its core tools to meet these specific needs.

For consumers, the update makes Springpad simpler to get started. For partners, the ability to serve complementary content to mobile users presents an opportunity to increase viewer loyalty, improve engagement, and gain a better view of how fans interact with their brands. Insight into audience demographics and behavior can prove valuable in boosting ratings and attracting advertisers.

• For users & brands

The release really addresses two components of Springpad’s growth strategy, appealing to both users and brands.  Springpad will need to burn this candle on both ends, hinting at a monetization strategy through its appeal to commercial interests.  The 4.5 launch is only the latest step towards bringing more brands into the mix, as Springpad hopes its consumer-trusted initiatives will attract more mainstream users.

What’s so brilliant about this approach is that Springpad, and its brand partners, are essentially eating their own dog food, leveraging Springpad’s productivity tools to educate consumers and convert them into long-term users.  Case in point, Springpad’s unveiled a microsite to accompany today’s launch, contextualizing templates for the holiday season.

Template this!

Templates are available on holidays.springpad.com and on partner sites and Facebook pages. The launch lineup includes notebooks from Peter Walsh, Jeffrey Phillip and Liz Gumbinner.

“We’re thrilled to announce this first-of-its kind approach to organization for people who want to live more productively, but need a simplified way to get started,” said Jacqueline Hampton, CEO of Springpad. “Many of our users want easy access to information and knowledge from industry experts and brands they trust.  “We’re excited to partner with these trusted resources to give people what they need to stay organized this holiday season and beyond.”

The addition of templates comes just two months after the release of Springpad for  iOS 7. The reoptimized app features a streamlined interface with customizable fonts, new formatting options, automatic note synchronization and support for AirDrop, among other enhancements.

Indeed, Springpad has been hard at work evolving its productivity app for the masses.  But it’s important to keep in mind that advanced users, should they want to use Springpad’s new templates, will likely desire more custom options.  Springpad’s head of business development Jeff Janer has noted that this is something they’re considering for future iterations of the new templates.

Contributors: Maria Deutscher