What are some things one can do outside of their job to accelerate their career in product marketing?

Are there certain certifications, courses, volunteer work, etc. that are beneficial for a product marketer to pursue outside of their normal work?

Answer

8 Answers

Product Marketing Career Path

Indy Sen

Canva GTM Advisor/Fractional Leader/Author | Formerly Google, Salesforce, Box, Mulesoft, WeWork, Matterport, Canva • 7y

Such a great question. I think the best thing you can do invest in yourself and "sharpen the saw". This is especially critical earlier in your career. A couple of approaches: 1.) Read - My mom has this saying: Books are like software updates for your brain. Yes, not all business books are spell-binding page turners, but you'll quickly see that your brain will free associate and you'll draw on differents nuggets, often at opportune times. I've stumbled on frameworks for example that helped chart ...Read More

3,124 Views
Mary Sheehan

Adobe Head of Lightroom Product Marketing | Formerly Google, AdRoll • 8y

Pragmattic marketing is excellent, I also recommend product marketing community events as well: http://productmarketingcommunity.com/

Also, practice makes perfect. If you have friends who need PMM help but can't afford to hire someone yet, offer to help them with their launches, messaging, etc. They will love it, you will get more experience, and it's a good resume builder to boot. Win / win!

1,167 Views
Jeffrey Vocell

BFC Software Head of Product Marketing | Formerly Narvar, Iterable, HubSpot, IBM • 8y

I think Mike cov ered one of the most important skills, but there are certainly others. A few recommendations: Take a look at the Pragmatic Marketing courses. Most of their courses are geared towards product managers (PM), but they do have a "launch" course which is good. Also, even if you attend one of the more general PM-oriented classes it can give you valuable perspective in working with product teams. Look for events in your area! Depending on where you live there may be a ProductCamp, or a ...Read More

1,072 Views
Mike Flouton

Boxford Capital Managing Partner | Formerly Barracuda, SilverSky, Digital Guardian, OpenPages, Cybertrust • 8y

Become an excellent public speaker and networker. If you're not consistently getting 5/5's on your speaker evaluations, get some training or join a group like Toastmasters. I would probably master this skill before working on any others in my free time.

948 Views
David van Schravendijk

Extreme Networks Director of Product Marketing • 7y

Great answers so far. I would also recommend chatting live with other PMM's to see how they advanced in their careers. There is so much context you get in a phone conversation or coffee meeting that you can't get via an online text discussion.

In case you want to see what types of people are available to meet, you can use Interviews.Tech

923 Views
Joe Malenfant

Ping Identity Director of Product Marketing • 5y

2 things to add in addition to the responses already here: Be a visual communicator in addition to written and verbal. The old addage 'a picture is worth 1,000 words' applies so much to product marketing. It's not just what we say, it's how we say it, and what visuals are there to support and represent what you are trying to communicate. I'll add Sirius Decisions framework in addition to Pragmatic. I have done both, and depending on the company Sirius can be better. Good to know the interconne ...Read More

515 Views
Kevin Ferguson

Kevin Ferguson Founder, Storyteller, Product/Digital Marketer & Video Editor • 6y

Great tips so far. I want to piggy back off of Mike’s suggestion on practicing your public speaking through a group like Toastmasters. Toastmasters is a great organization with clubs in almost every city. While they generally have the same structure, the atmosphere may vary from club to club, so I’d suggest visiting a few to find the right fit. Not only will you get a chance to get comfortable with your public speaking, you’ll get feedback on how to improve with your storytelling, body language ...Read More

558 Views
Daniel Palay

KPI Sense Chief Executive Officer • 6y

Write. A lot. About different things. Become a master at using written communications (a blog post, an article, a LinkedIn post, an answer on here) to sell your point of view on something, whatever that may be. Because that's what you're doing in product marketing, whether you're writing for customers, analysts or internal stakeholders, you need to learn what's important to your audience to know, and how they best absorb it.

585 Views