Wow, it’s been a minute since I dusted off this little corner of the internet, my plot of digital real estate. This blog has gone through so many iterations (all in my head)—from a blog discussing crypto and NFTs (LOLz) to a blog about commoditizing creativity in a capitalist society (Isn’t that what we all do, really? By the way, for the avid readers of this blog, I’m sad to say I didn’t finish the book I set out to write. Don’t worry, it will haunt me for all eternity until I get it done.). But this newest rendition of my Substack is worth mentioning because I’m sticking to it. This version is about product marketing through the lens of motherhood, two topics I am navigating in real-time and which have some interesting—if not hilarious—parallels.
What this new On Brand blog is
If you’re an existing reader, I understand if you find this pivot to be jarring and maybe unrelatable. You may not be a parent or have no interest in product marketing. But before you unsubscribe, let’s go through what you can expect from this blog revamp.
Both parenting and product marketing, as far as I can tell, is truly about empathy (for your baby, customer, or otherwise). At its core, product marketing is meant to bring a product or service to a person or group of people looking to somehow enhance their lives for the better hopefully. Children are not much different. As parents, our job is to bring support to a little person we’re suddenly in charge of to ensure they thrive. Empathy drives both professions of product marketing and parenthood.
To make this even more complex, I’m going to expand my observations of product marketing beyond tech. Though product marketing work usually involves marketing a tech product, I find the tools necessary to bring a product to market—storytelling, listening to the customer, and providing a stellar go-to-market experience—are universal across industries. And with the sudden seismic shift the tech industry has been feeling these past few months, it’s important to think outside the tech bubble to see how and where these skills can be used. I’m going to explore where product marketing techniques can apply to my new business venture, On Brand Photography.
So if you’re into learning about ways to incorporate product marketing skills into your current job or business venture, complete with a kick of parenting parallels for some added fun, read on! If not, I understand and hope you got enjoyed what you read so far.
What this new On Brand blog is not
This blog is not parenting advice. As a new mom of 3 months, I’m just as clueless as anyone about how to raise children. I’m learning on the job just like all parents who have come before me. Rather than calling this advice, I’d say this blog is a collection of observations from a new user. Be leery of anyone who claims to be an expert on a product that just came on the market (I’m looking at your ChatGPT bros).
This blog is also not going to be packed with product marketing jargon and flimsy advice like “just do market research” and “find your customer persona” because neither of these actually tell me how to do it and throwing out generalizations like this is not a very good customer experience if I’m being honest. I’ll try to make each blog post specific and actionable.
Finally, as I mentioned, I’ll try to tie in some product marketing ideas in industries other than tech, using my new photography side hustle as an example. But this won’t be solely a guide to starting a business. Product marketing is just one small portion of what is needed to run a business. If you’re interested in learning more about business development, I’ll try to find resources to help you out!
On Brand: Let’s collaborate!
Thus concludes the On Brand rebrand. I can’t wait to get started sharing my observations on product marketing and parenting, and I hope you get something out of it as well. This brings me to my final thought on this, which ties in nicely with a product marketing tool for improving a product and understanding customer needs. I’m about to do some market research and ask for your feedback. (P.S. When product marketing blogs out there say, “Just do market research” collecting customer feedback is one way to do it. Boom. Product marketing tool activated.)
I’d love your feedback on this new pivot. What are you most excited about learning? What specific topics do you want to know about? How can I help you get the most out of this blog? Is this whole thing totally weird? Let me know!
And finally, one more product marketing tool to mention is the call to action, a simple but effective nudge to get your users to do something. My 3-month-old is an expert at this. He screams his calls to action daily: Feed me to make me stop crying. Hold me while I sleep to give you peace of mind about how much rest I’m getting daily. Open my diaper to learn more about my digestive system!
So here’s my call to action (CTA for the product marketing pros out there). Please forward this email/blog to someone who might find this useful. I’d love to reach an audience of empathetic product marketing parents out there (or product marketers who find parenting entertaining. Or business owners who would like to learn more about product marketing tools to use for their business).
And my second CTA: If you’re in the Seattle area and need a portrait refresh or a product photographed for your business, email me at onbrand.photo@gmail.com to learn more about how we can work together!