What’s a great product marketer if not a great storyteller?
Samanee Mahbub, our guest today, really exemplifies that. She’s been a product marketer inside 4 startups (yes, 4!), including time at Slack and Zapier.
To really make my point, she’s also the host of StoryTell, a monthly storytelling event in New York City, and is a LinkedIn ghostwriter for leaders you probably follow. She also spends time working part-time with startups to help them stand up their product marketing foundations from the ground up.
Personally, I really needed Samanee’s advice about writing online — I find myself chanting her “ship it and move on!” mantra every time I start to overthink a LinkedIn post (I’m fun, I promise!). Hope you enjoy.
Drop 1. Effective product marketing is actually just great storytelling
There’s an old adage: if you build it, they will come. I think most people know that’s not true. I think stories is how people come: if you can tell a compelling story, if you can appeal to the emotion, they will come… Don’t be afraid to be human in your copy. Marketing jargon goes way above people’s head. Speak to their problems in language they’ll understand.
Take it back to your team:
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What’s the emotional appeal you’re making to your audience? Is it at a 3/10? What would turning it up to an 8/10 look like?
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Is there a “Star Wars moment” in your product marketing? How are you speaking directly to your customer in language they understand, using references they care about?
Drop 2. Break your product launch down into a check-list
We started with existing customers who would benefit from the new product idea, and built the prototype with them. And my process became, “Why does this matter for you? And what do you need to know?” My goal is to hold their hand, and eliminate confusion.
Take it back to your team:
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How might you prototype a new product with existing customers who you think would benefit from it?
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What “tier” is this new launch for you? (We like this article). Is it the big kahuna? Or a bit less important? What choices do you need to make across web, social, email and product to make it work?
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When your team is building sales enablement, do teams sit side by side and ask each other what the other needs? Or do they work in silos?
Drop 3. Fear of posting online? Ship it and move on. People think about you far less than you think.
I think a lot of us struggle with perfectionism and want to sound just right, but I want you to get it to 90%, and just ship it. Content is just to show a little bit of your credibility. The goal is just to get the conversation, not to teach every single thing you know.
Take it back to your team:
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Are you comparing your content to others? The best content is written from the heart, reflecting on your authentic experiences. People want to hear from other people, not from brands.
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Where does perfectionism or fear get in the way of sharing online? How can you challenge yourself to “ship it and move on”?!