Hello hello 👋🏽,

Welcome to the 10th edition of Marketers Help Marketers!

As I was working on this edition, I found it so freaking hard to believe that this newsletter is already into double-digit editions.

A big thank you for sticking with me on this journey. Your feedback and enthusiasm make this newsletter what it is.

Today, we're diving into one of the hottest marketing career paths - product marketing management (PMM).

The majority of my conversations with marketers (particularly early career folks) over the past couple of years have focused on one common theme: their interest in breaking into product marketing roles.

So, it made sense to cover this as a topic on the MHM podcast and newsletter.

I recently chatted with Siddhartha Kathapalia, one of India's early product marketers.

Additionally, he’s also an ex-Product Marketing Alliance ambassador and mentor of a popular Product Marketing cohort run by GrowthSchool (now in its 14th batch, you may have spotted him on their IG ads!).

Siddhartha has watched PMM evolve firsthand.

Let’s break down what it really means to be a Product Marketer and how you can navigate this exciting career path.

Product marketers have one primary goal:

Drive adoption of a product or feature.

PMMs work across three main areas:

Your focus depends on your organization's stage:

• Early-stage companies usually prioritize revenue

• Mature companies focus on lead generation and awareness

This typically determines the KPIs you will own.

Siddhartha described a "product marketing loop" that PMMs constantly operate within:

• Building the product: Collaborating with product managers and designers to define features.

• Demand generation: Executing strategic marketing activities to attract leads.

• Revenue realization: Converting those leads into paying customers through sales enablement.

• Feedback and metrics: Analyzing user data and feedback to refine product offerings and go-to-market strategies.

Effectively navigating this loop ensures constant improvement and market fit.

Now that you have some understanding of what work product marketers do, the next thing to understand is whether this is something that works for you as a career.

Product marketing might be for you if you:

• Enjoy making sense out of chaos.

• Thrive working with multiple people/teams simultaneously.

• Like jumping between strategy and execution.

But here's the catch – it's usually not a first job.

According to Siddhartha, you need 2+ years of experience (often 6+ years now).

The reason for this is simple: you need to understand that the world is complex. And you're one part of a bigger machine.

Product marketing is a hugely cross-functional role involving multiple teams, so your work ex. is a moat when it comes to working here.

This is the million-dollar question for many. How do you get into product marketing?

Siddhartha laid out three key things you’ll need:

✨ Strong command of language (preferably English)

You'll write everything from 5-word taglines to 10,000-word guides. Clear communication is non-negotiable.

How to build this skill:

• In your current role: Volunteer to write launch emails, sales collateral, or customer case studies.

• Practice daily: Rewrite existing company content to be clearer and more compelling.

• Stretch projects: Offer to create internal training materials or process documentation.

✨ Experience in digital marketing

Understand performance marketing, email, CRO, events – the whole landscape.

How to build this skill:

• In your current role: Shadow the demand gen team during campaign planning.

• Volunteer for: Email campaign creation, landing page optimization, or event coordination.

• Side learning: Run small experiments for your team (A/B test subject lines, optimize internal forms).

✨ A sense of metrics

Know what good (and bad) looks like. If someone claims 25% CTR on Google Ads, you should know that's unrealistic.

How to build this skill:

• In your current role: Ask to see campaign performance dashboards and learn what each metric means.

• Practice regularly: Track one key metric for any project you work on.

• Stretch projects: Volunteer to create monthly performance reports for your team.

Many marketers worry about transitioning into PMM because they lack the specific job title.

But Siddhartha made a solid point -

Most companies want to hire PMMs who are already PMMs.

But nobody wants to hire a first-time product marketer.

How do you break this cycle?

Leverage your existing experience. Here’s how you do it:

• Highlight relevant experiences: 

  If you've supported sales, contributed to marketing campaigns, or helped shape product strategy, these are all PMM skills.

• Make those experiences the star of your CV:

  Instead of: "Wrote blog posts and ebooks."

  Try: "Developed launch content for Feature X, resulting in 20% increase in MQLs and providing sales with talking points that improved demo-to-close rate by 5%."

  See the difference? This is how you make your work ex. transferable.

• Internal transfers: 

  Your easiest path might be transitioning internally within your company. Companies are more likely to trust you if you've already proven your capability in another role.

On a slightly different but related tangent, I came across this post from the founder of Chili Piper on how their product marketer made a case for promotion. It’s really good, take notes. 👇🏽

One great thing about product marketing is the diverse range of career paths it opens up.

It is like a launching pad.

Siddhartha himself transitioned into entrepreneurship. Here are possible trajectories:

• Sales and revenue leadership: PMMs closely collaborate with sales, making this a natural progression. You can become a revenue leader or head sales.

• Strategic marketing roles: Deep product marketing experience positions you to become a Marketing Head or VP of Marketing. Your holistic understanding helps manage diverse teams effectively.

• Product management: Understanding market needs deeply equips you to become a Product Manager. You'll lead product development strategies, shaping what and why to build.

• Entrepreneurship: Product marketing equips you with the skills to start your own business, navigate chaos, and work cross-functionally.

One thing is clear that: product marketing has a lot of moving pieces.

You'll juggle multiple projects, work with difficult stakeholders, face ambiguity daily and own outcomes you don't fully control.

But if you thrive in organized chaos, love being the connective tissue, and want to impact every part of business?

Welcome to product marketing.

Quick recap – actionable steps to become a PMM

• Audit your current role for PMM-adjacent work.

• Start building those three core skills mentioned above.

• Network with product marketers in your company (and outside).

• Document your cross-functional wins.

Remember, every product marketer started somewhere else.

And your unique background is your superpower.

Want the full conversation on everything product marketing careers with Siddhartha?

I hope this edition has brought you some clarity and a deeper understanding of how to get started in product marketing.

I’d love to hear what you thought of this edition. Reply back or DM me on LinkedIn.

Have an amazing week ahead! ✨

Your marketer friend,
Mita ✌🏽