Category: Books

A seasonal series that profiles recent books in the field.

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Episode 140: Infusing your Content with your Voice, with Alison Ver Halen

Alison ver halen

Regardless of when you’re hearing this, it’s safe to say that you’re running into content generated by AI. There is a lot of good brought by chat tools, but there’s one thing we want coming through in our content – that is to sound human. What engages people is content with personality, content that evokes a response. And that’s what today’s guest will break down for us.

When Alison Ver Halen found herself between jobs, her roommate’s dad, who was an attorney, offered to give her things to do around his office until she got back on her feet. One of the things he needed was someone to write blog posts for his law firm. He knew she had a strong writing background, so he offered her the gig, and she was more than happy to get paid to write.

After six months, he told her she had brought in $75,000 worth of business for his law firm, just from the blog posts she was writing for him.

After a while, she started writing for an associate of his, and then for some friends of hers. She did get another day job, but she kept writing on the side, and her client list kept growing until she knew she couldn’t do both any more, so she quit the day job to devote herself to writing full time, and she’s never looked back.She heads a Chicago-based agency called AV Writing services, in which she produces content for clients, with the help of her dog, Bobbi.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Headline Analyzer 

Alison’s LinkedIn profile

Alison’s Twitter profile

Alison’s Instagram profile

Her book Content Marketing Made Easy

Alison’s Workbook to accompany Content Marketing Made Easy (ungated)

Hard to imagine one of the ‘Friends’ lines spoken by another character; their voices are so unique.
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Episode 139: What Google Analytics 4 Makes Possible, with Mark Edmondson

Mark Edmondson

We’re ending our series on advancing analytics today. We’ll focus on the software that, for many marketers, is at the core of this field: Google Analytics. It was introduced in 2005 as a read-only tool that tracked basic info on websites. The name has stayed the same over these last 18 years, but so much else of Google’s technology landscape has changed: they have released many other tools:  Tag Manager, Google Data Studio, now Looker Studio, ways for API’ing between systems in and outside of Google, and most importantly a place where it can all be managed – Google cloud.  

The new Google Analytics GA4 was born of this environment.It’s been criticized as being immature since it lacks features that were in the old UA interface. However, if judged by how well Google integrated it into their stack and how much those with technical skills can do with it, we would rate it as ready for prime time. Add to that the fact – in a matter of weeks Google teams won’t have to maintain two analytics tools, and they’ll get to focus exclusively on just one – GA4.  

We can debate Google’s motives for tightly integrating GA4 with the whole Google cloud. I’m not wading into how good or evil it is to give away a product and hope users try the paid cloud platform that comes with it. But I’ll say that using Google Analytics with these other pieces lets you do much more with your data that you couldn’t do with the old GA. And when tools directly or indirectly  make money for Google, that incents them to keep those tools and keep improving them. I’ll leave it at that. 

Our real question is how do  we economically benefit from the available tools. And that’s what our guest is going to tell us. His book which came out in early 2023 is called “Learning Google Analytics: Creating Business Impact and Driving Insights”  The business impact spoken of there doesn’t mean using GA4 as a standalone lookup tool. Using it like that and ignoring what’s possible, would make the rest of the whole Google stack seem (to quote from the Movie ‘Contact’, “like an awful waste of space” 

Our guest knows the value of integrating Google’s tools for many world-wide brands, as he’s done through digital agencies on his own as a GA consultant since 2008.  Mark Edmondson has helped turn the out-of-the-box Google Analytics into a package that automatically describes, predicts and activates better marketing outcomes. He currently works at Devoteam as their Principal Data Engineer. 

Mark grew up in Cornwall, UK before gaining his Masters in Physics at Kings College London. He now lives in Copenhagen with his wife and two children, enjoying playing music and cycling around the many lakes.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Mark’s blog

The ‘jewel in the crown’ of Google Cloud: BigQuery

What it means to implement Server-Side Google Tag Manager 

Episode Reboot. Mark’s takeaway: ‘Moving all the useful data to one place has had the most transformational effects on a client’s digital maturity,’

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Episode 137: Data Storytelling with Looker Studio – Sireesha Pulipati

Sireesha Pulipati

You have strategized and run a program with positive results, you would think that you simply show leadership your data and then you can sit back while they lavish you with praise.

Not quite.

If it isn’t packaged right, it won’t have that hoped-for impact. Remember Maya Angelou said ‘people will forget what you said…what you did….but will never forget how you made them feel.’ That feeling is conveyed through stories. To find and tell those stories, you need business intelligence and data visualization tools. I sought out a Googler who’s an expert in their tool for doing this: Looker Studio.

Sireesha Pulipati is an experienced data analytics and data management professional. She has spent the last decade building and managing data platforms and solutions, and she is passionate about enabling users to leverage data to solve business problems. 

Sireesha holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Her work history spans multiple industries – healthcare, media, travel, hospitality and high-tech 

She is currently at Google as a technical lead, helping with the business intelligence and analytics strategy for internal teams.

She is the author of the newly-published book Data Storytelling with Looker Studio

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Google Looker Studio

Google Looker Studio Pro

This host has loved stories, all the way back to when he read them to his kids.

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Episode 136: Building Analytics Teams, with John Thompson

Building Analytics Teams

John Thompson is the author of the 2020 book Building Analytics Teams, and a 35-year technology executive in the fields of data, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). 

He is Global Head, Artificial Intelligence (AI) at EY.  John was an Executive Partner at Gartner. He was the global advanced analytics and AI function at  biopharmaceutical company CSL Behring, where he led an analytical applications team.

John has built start-up organizations from the ground up and he has reengineered business units of Fortune 500 firms to reach their potential. He has directly managed and run – sales, marketing, consulting, support and product development organizations.

He has been a technology leader with expertise and experience spanning all operational areas with a focus on strategy, product innovation, growth and efficient execution.

Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Ferris State University and a MBA in Marketing from DePaul University.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Tom Davenport

Data Science modules on Coursera by U Michigan’s Dr Charles “Chuck” Severance

Shawn Rogers

Diagram showing work of analytics being approached in either an artisanal or a factory style; used with permission

Episode Reboot. John’s book  “Data for All” published in 2023

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Episode 134: Revenue Operations, with Chris Hummel

Chris Hummel

This is the fourth part of our series on Revenue Ops.

Chris Hummel is a Managing Director of the Revenue Enablement Institute. 

He has been fortunate to hold numerous executive and c-level roles, including serving as the Global CMO at two Fortune 500 companies. While leading sales, product and marketing teams at world-class companies including Oracle, SAP, Schneider Electric, Siemens, United Rentals, he sat in the executive chair and board room meetings where we confronted key issues of performance, growth and transformation in several industries: construction, industrial, software, energy & automation, IoT, the public sector, healthcare, and other technologies. Living and working outside the US for 14 years in Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia has helped develop his global fluency.

In 2022, he co-authored the book, “Revenue Operations: A New Way to Align Sales and Marketing, Monetize Data, and Ignite Growth” which consolidated lessons from more than 100 CXOs. While so many of the challenges were similar, these leaders were rarely exposed to the learning of their peers.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Ciena

Juniper Networks

Chris’ email

You can purchase your copy of Revenue Operations from Amazon.

His fellow partner at the Revenue Enablement Institute is Steve Diorio. You may also be interested in a previous podcast episode with their associate, Neil Hoyne

RevOps System diagram, used with permission
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Episode 132: From Backroom to Boardroom, with Debbie Qaqish

Ep 132 Debbie Qaqish

This is the second episode in our Revenue Ops series. 

As Partner and Chief Strategy Officer of The Pedowitz Group, Dr. Debbie Qaqish has helped marketing teams drive revenue growth, foster customer centricity and lead digital transformation. With a focus on revenue operations, the customer experience and a personalized, omni-channel marketing mix, Dr. Debbie has established herself as a thought leader and digital pioneer, spearheading the overdue shift of traditional marketing strategies to what she coined as “revenue marketing” in 2011. Since then, marketing operations became her area of expertise, devising strategy-to-execution plans that earn marketing a seat at the table.

Dr. Debbie has published over one hundred articles, blogs, podcasts, webinars and white papers and in 2021 published “From Backroom to Boardroom”

Dr. Debbie earned her doctorate in 2019 from the University of Phoenix.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Dr Debbie Qaqish’s personal site

To receive The “From Backroom to Boardroom” eBook, send an email to Debbie 

Steve Woods

PayCor

MarTech stack appearing in book, used with permission
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Episode 128: High Tech Marketing Simplified, with Ted Marena

High Tech Marketing Simplified, Ted Marena

This is the last episode we’re covering in our series around product marketing books. The books in the three previous shows gave foundational advice that would benefit any product manager or  product marketing manager in their career. But there’s a single vertical that has idiosyncrasies setting it apart from other industries, and you should know about them if you’re going to market these kind of products. 

The industry that does things differently is High tech – and today’s book not only explains how to market these products, it boils it down into simple steps that you can apply on the job.  

Ted Marena has been in the tech sector for  over 25 years, working his way from engineering to sales and onto marketing roles.

Marena came out with the book “High-Tech Marketing Simplified” in 2022. It builds upon his initial book “Marketing Simplified.” He earned a BSEE from the University of Connecticut and a MBA from Bentley University. I caught up with him in the High Tech mecca of Silicon Valley where he lives with his wife & sons. 

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Ted’s email: ted.marena@gmail.com

Get EducaTed by Ted – YouTube channel

High-Tech Marketing Simplified book on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/High-Tech-Marketing-Simplified-Insiders-Experience-ebook/dp/B0BC83D4PC/

High-Tech Marketing Simplified book on Kobo – High-Tech Marketing Simplified eBook by Ted Marena – EPUB | Rakuten Kobo United States

If you are a fan of Tesla, check out Ted’s product reviews – Tesla Owners Silicon Valley – YouTube

“Moore’s Law” coined by Gordon Moore of Intel

Raspberry Pi

Avoid the problem of marketing “Trombone Oil” or a product with too small a niche audience (illustration used with permission).

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Episode 127: The Launch with Yasmeen Turayhi

The Launch with Yasmeen Turayhi

Product Marketing Managers go through trying times, but possibly the moments where these stresses are most concentrated are when their function is initially being formed, and of course when a new product is being launched. Key decisions are made at these times, and they are extra stressful when you have to make those decisions in a vacuum, without a formulated strategy to guide its development.  

Our guest’s book takes you through a dry run of this whole process. It gives you questions that begin at the genesis of a product, following through topics that you ought to readily answer at that particular stage. 

By testing how well you’re able to answer those questions, you can catch any gaps before they turn into stress-inducing all-night work marathons.

Yasmeen Turayhi is an authority on  product management. She’s taught Bootcamps and workshops for Global companies and universities such as Harvard and MIT, and been a mentor at Founders Institute.

In addition to her three books on this subject,  she has also written dramatic screenplays, one of which was feted at International Film Festivals in Beirut and Hollywood. She is the host of “Gateways to Awakening” a podcast dealing with wellness, personal development, and higher consciousness.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Yasmeen’s twitter profile

Yasmeen’s LinkedIn profile

Yasmeen’s Instagram profile

Yasmeen’s Medium profile

Yasmeen’s book “The Launch”

Yasmeen’s Latest book, “Breaking into Product Marketing”

Jobs To Be Done framework

Ed Catmull’s book Creativity, Inc.

Evelyn Watts

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Episode 126: Lean B2B, with Etienne Garbugli

Lean B2B Etienne Garbugli

Unicorn, Incubator, Angel, Seed round, Pitch deck, CAC & CLV. These are all buzzwords used by startups. 

There is one word that’s used in startup culture which, unlike the buzzwords, is grounded in reality. Its methodology nudges them to design products that fit the dire needs of the early adopters, and then ride a wave of growth as the wider mainstream market adopts it. 

We call this methodology Lean and from Eric Ries on down, there have been some great founders who have taken time  out and written down how they have implemented lean.  Today’s guest is one of those people. He thought there ought to be a book explaining the differences in the lean approach when you’re in B2B. 

The resulting book,  “Lean B2B: Build Products Businesses Want”, guides those of us in these kinds of startup companies just as well as direct to consumer folks are helped by the best lean books out there that revolve around B2C. I know that B2B product Marketers, especially those trying to  generate demand for new products, will be keen to hear the methods in this book.

Etienne Garbugli is a five-time entrepreneur and in three of those, he was a Founder. Feeling he should help  other entrepreneurs and innovators build products for this market, he released Lean B2B initially in 2014 and the second edition in 2022. He is also the author of the books: Find Your Market, The SaaS Email Marketing Playbook, and Solving Product.

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Etienne’s Twitter profile

Etienne’s LinkedIn page

Etienne’s Medium page

Lean B2B Book website

LeanB2B podcast

Dixon & Adamson’s ‘The Challenger Sale’

Sean Ellis PMF survey

John Cutler, creator of ‘Your Customer’s World’ Venn diagram:

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Episode 125: Loved, with Martina Lauchengco

Loved, with Martina Lauchengco

This episode is the first in a series on product marketing. In my opinion, this is one of the toughest roles someone can have in a company. As its two-word name suggests, it sits in no-mans land between other well entrenched corporate functions. Yet, to get external clients to fall in love with what you make, you’ve got to have good product marketing. 

As squishy as the concept of Love is, it’s what today’s guest chose as the theme for her book on Product Marketing, which came out in 2022.   

Martina Lauchengco is the product marketing partner at SVPG (Silicon Valley Product Group) and a partner at Costanoa Ventures, a boutique early-stage venture capital firm. Those positions combined have her advising Fortune 500 companies and early-stage startups on product marketing.  Her writing has been featured in TechCrunch and VentureBeat. Prior to this Martina worked at Microsoft and Netscape after receiving her BA and MA from Stanford.

She lives in San Francisco with her husband and two kids, and lectures at nearby Berkeley in their engineering graduate program.  

People/Products/Concepts Mentioned in Show

Pocket vs Instapaper

Questions Product Marketing Managers should ask about users:

  • What are they trying to do?
  • Do they recognize and prioritize this problem?
  • What is motivating them to solve the problem?
  • What compels them to take action?
  • What in this product delivers the most value?
  • Who is most likely to value and buy this product?
  • What starts the journey toward acquiring the product?
  • How might a product get discovered and become more desired over the entire journey?
  • How might we reduce friction in acquiring the product?

Malcolm Gladwell

HEART metrics: 

  • Happiness 
  • Engagement 
  • Acquisition 
  • Retention 
  • Task Success 

The book’s Amazon page: “Loved: How to Rethink Marketing for Tech Products”

Martina on LinkedIn