Paul Rudwall

People say that "design is art, with a purpose." I believe the same can be said about messaging. It's storytelling with a purpose. To be effective, you need to know what that purpose is. To start, I think you need a solid understanding of a few things: Product: What are you trying to sell? Audience: Who are you trying to sell it to? Pain Point: What's the problem you're trying to solve? "From" Mindset: What is their current perception of their problem and what you're selling? "To" Mindset: What ...Read More

At its simplest, I think product marketing typically focuses on "What does this product do?" whereas solutions marketing typically focuses on "How do they come together for you?" Taking a step back, I think the need for solutions marketing arises when a company transitions from a single-product company to a multi-product company. At this stage, you typically begin to run into situations where different types of customers require an expanding number of different permutations of products, services ...Read More

Product and Solution messaging are different (and complementary) sides of the same coin. To answer this, I think it will help to loosely define how I look at some of these terms: Product Messaging: What is this "thing" and what does it do? Portfolio Messaging: How do all our "things" (products, services, integrations, etc.) come together to make 2+2=5? Solution Messaging: How do all these "things" (products, services, integrations, etc.) come together for you? Note that here, I've used portfolio ...Read More

It may sound pedantic, but I think the two most helpful things you can do are to 1) Read and 2) Write. Read: There are so many good writers out there. And, you can pick up a lot from them - whether they write fiction, non-fiction, speeches, messaging, or copy. If you make time to read, you can learn a lot. And, don't just read... read with purpose. Dissect their styles and try to identify what makes their writing compelling. Write: Like anything, writing is a skill. Nobody is born a great writer ...Read More

To move to verticals, you need verticals large enough to support a dedicated GTM strategy and distinct enough to justify dedicated resources. Essentially, is the vertical unique enough to need its own Sales and Marketing team, and is the opportunity significant enough to warrant full-time attention? At Docusign, we face this question frequently. While virtually any company can use our technology, certain verticals like Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Public Sector, and Real E ...Read More

There's no one right way to do this, but there are a lot of ways to get it wrong. So, rather than a definitive answer, here are some dos and don'ts. Don't: Throw it Over the Fence: Posting something to an intranet site, posting it to Slack, or sending out an email is never enough. Start with the assumption that nobody will read what you send, then determine how to deliver the message. Once it's been delivered, post it wherever people will be able to reference it later. Assume The Same Thing Will ...Read More

If you're new to Product Marketing, start by grounding yourself in the fundamentals of messaging and positioning. In my view, these form the foundation of everything else in PMM. A PMM wears many hats, but at its core, the role is about taking a complex subject and simplifying it in a way that resonates with your buyer—leading them to choose your product over a competitor's. Product Marketing is often essential when the benefits or differentiation of a product aren't immediately obvious, which m ...Read More

One of the biggest challenges in marketing is creating hard-hitting messaging that's relevant to a wide range of audiences. The bigger the surface area you apply force to, the harder it is to break through (it's a lot easier to pop a balloon with a pin than with the palm of your hand). Messaging is no different. My advice is: Focus on What Moves the Needle: You can't be everything to everybody, so you will need to make some calls. Figure out what's important to your business and only focus on th ...Read More

My two superpowers are storytelling and my experience in sales. These skills have been invaluable in my career, and I encourage everyone to identify their own strengths and lean into them. Every PMM brings a unique background to the role, and it’s those differences that can set you apart. The Power of Storytelling Storytelling is a skill that can be learned, and in my (admittedly biased) opinion, it’s often the difference between a good PMM and a great one. Can you clearly articulate the problem ...Read More

There is absolutely a risk in drawing a conclusion too quickly. Moreover, I'd contend it's much harder to get a signal on whether messaging resonates than most people think. We all like to be happy with our work, so it's easy to fall victim to testing our message with "friendlies" who know how we think and will give us feedback we want to hear. So, my first recommendation is to do more testing than you think you need, and make sure you have some vocal skeptics in the mix. You don't need to accep ...Read More