Life Lesson

Great product marketing is not a straight line—it’s a constant rhythm, an inhale and exhale of strategy. Expand, contract. Think big, then tighten. Cast wide, then refine. It’s the paradox that separates amateurs from professionals: the ability to zoom out and dream, then zoom in and execute.

Here’s how this plays out across multiple dimensions of product marketing:

1. Audience: Speak to Everyone, Sell to the Right Ones Expand
   • Understand all potential users—every industry, every persona, every niche that could benefit from your solution.
     Contract: Zero in on who actually converts, stays, and gets the most value. The biggest impact comes from the right few, not the most many.
2. Positioning: Start Broad, Then Sharpen the Edge Expand
   • Explore multiple value propositions. How does your product matter in different contexts? How does it fit across categories?
     Contract: Sharpen the message. What is the most compelling narrative? What resonates best with your ideal customer?
3. Go-to-Market: Cast the Net, Then Pull It Tight Expand
   • Test different channels, industries, and segments. Experiment. See what sticks.
     Contract: Double down on what works. Not all strategies deserve scaling—only the ones that drive meaningful growth.
4. Content Strategy: Go Big, Then Get Precise Expand
   • Create broad, awareness-stage content that educates the market. Make noise. Start conversations.
     Contract: Nurture the best leads with hyper-targeted messaging, case studies, and personalized engagement.
5. Product Evolution: Innovate, Then Specialize Expand
   • Think big—what’s possible? What could change the industry?
     Contract: Build what actually drives adoption and retention. Solve real problems, not just exciting hypotheticals.
6. Impact: Make Waves, Then Go Deep Expand
   • Aim for high-visibility wins—brand awareness, large-scale adoption, market penetration.
     Contract: Drive deep, lasting impact with select accounts, top-tier customers, and strategic partnerships.

Product marketing is never just one thing, one direction, one focus. It’s the constant rhythm of expanding and contracting—of big thinking followed by sharp execution. If you only expand, you get lost in possibilities. If you only contract, you miss opportunities. True expertise lies in knowing when to do which.

Stay Positive & And The Best Way To Learn… Is To Do

Acting as if you’re the expert … because you are … is critical to every kind of interaction.

It all comes down to aligning expectations.

If you offer a SaaS product, anyone calling, whether it’s a prospect or customer is going to assume you are the expert.

This means things like…

• Sending the correct form for them to complete
• Providing a recommendation of workflow with ability to customize from there
• Speaking in outcomes not just capabilities

People don’t need another instruction manual. They need a guide.

Stay Positive & Play Into Your Expertise, Not Around It

To parent well is to live in constant contradiction. You push them to be more independent while knowing they still need your hand. You expect maturity but brace for meltdowns. You set the bar high but build the safety net beneath it.

It’s a dance between challenge and support, responsibility and grace. You give them the tools to get smart, but you lead them with wisdom. Otherwise, you end up with tomatoes in your fruit salad—technically correct, but fundamentally off.

And that’s exactly why parenting and marketing are skills. Both require guiding people through contrasts, navigating oxymorons, and balancing conflicting obligations. Set the expectation. Provide the foundation. Lead with wisdom.

Stay Positive & Set The Bar High (But Don’t Let Them Smack Their Head On It)

Today isn’t as good as any other; it’s actually the best because it’s here right now.

It’s the best to use to it’s fullest, to connect with others, to breathe life into a passion.

It’s the best day to have fear take the bench seat. Send the worry over there, too.

Today is the best if we choose it to be.

Stay Positive & No Need To Procrastinate

The first best scenario is that you’re data drive. You see data first and you make decisions based on it.

The second best scenario is that you make a decision and then attach data to support that decision. (Still sort of data-driven, but doesn’t hold up stating so in a Board Meeting.)

There is no third best scenario so long as there is no data to drive a decision or support one. In fact, the sole focus ought to become on how to acquire the data to make better decisions.

Stay Positive & We’re All Marketers (And Data Leveragers)

It’s a true statement… but only if it helps you. It’s not meant to stop you in your tracks.

If it is, perhaps it’s better to think of it like this: It only gets different.

Different challenges. Different rewards. Different lessons.

That sounds a little more fun, doesn’t it?

If the narrative about progress isn’t working for you… change the narrative.

Stay Positive & It Only Gets More Interesting Is A Great One, Too

At first…

You’ll be afraid.

At first…

You’ll want to bail. Not tell anyone. And you’ll be uncomfortable.

At first…

Then the next action you take will adjust those emotions.

If you lean in again, you’ll feel more confident.

If you try again, you’ll likely try differently and it’ll be more comfortable.

If you give it another go, you’ll put fear in the corner.

That’s all to say, actions dictate the emotions you’ll feel. Not the other way around.

Stay Positive & Take 2. Go.