Category: marketing-titles

Are you gearing up to launch a new product? Hope you’ve done your homework. Of the 30,000 products introduced every year, only 5% (or 1,500) will actually succeed.

There’s no such thing as too big to fail. Look at Google Glass, New Coke, or Colgate Beef Lasagna. 

Even if your products are positively game-changing, failing to position them will result in failure.

This is where product marketing specialists come into play. Well-versed in business intelligence and fast on their feet, they do the heavy lifting of researching, proof-testing, and positioning your products.

And best of all, they get results. It’s one of the reasons why they’re so in-demand.

But product marketing specialists don’t just market products. There’s a wide variety of tasks and skills required to get the job done right. 

So what exactly do product marketers do? And how can they benefit your organization? 

Let’s break it down.

What Is Product Marketing?

Businesses define product marketing in all sorts of ways. 

Let’s start with some definitions from actual product marketers:

Liaisons between product engineers and end clients.

— Marvin Chow, Vice President of Global Marketing at Google

Imbuing meaning into the company’s brand through developing a cohesive product portfolio.

— Priya Doty, Ex-Vice President, Product Marketing at IBM Z and LinuxONE

Expressing the value of your solutions to customers.

— Carol Carpenter, VP of Product Marketing at Google Cloud

The voice of sales teams and prospective customers during product development and release.

— Meghann York, Global Head of Product Marketing at SAP CX

Product marketing changes from business to business and is more executional than strategic.

— Aaron Brennan, Product Marketing Ambassador and Mentor at PMA

How do we condense all these quotes into a simple definition?

Said simply, product marketers position products to attract leads, satisfy customers, and encourage long-term growth.

💡Note: Expectations for product marketers may look different from one organization to the next.  But if a company is hiring for a role that focuses on product development and positioning, you can assume it’s a product marketing specialist role.

Examples of Product Marketing

Corporate giants use product marketing specialists to find the right pitch (and market) for new releases. These Fortune-500s spend millions of dollars finding the perfect differentiators for their products.

Let’s look at some examples:

• For New Balance, it’s about selling classic sneakers that ‘reinvent’ athleticism. 

• For Evernote, it’s a focus on ease of use for personal users.

• For MailChimp, it’s reinforcing that their software makes life easy for ‘growing businesses.’

Types of Product Marketers

This article mostly discusses product marketing specialists, but there are a few other product marketing roles you should know.

They include:

• Associate product marketing specialists. As a rule of thumb, product marketing associate positions are for entry-level professionals (below two years of experience). Product marketing specialist positions are for those in their mid-career (three to six years of experience).
• Senior product marketing manager. These are typically specialists with seven to 12 years of experience and are generally in charge of the product marketing team.
• Freelance product marketers. These are usually contract professionals with mid to senior-level experience, which makes them a great fit for short-term gigs.

Who Works With Product Marketers?

Product marketing specialists execute most strategies by working alongside other sales and marketing titles

The most common ones (based on how closely-together they work) are:

• Customer success teams (3.1%)
• Sales enablement crews (6.2%)
• Sales departments (15.4%)
• Marketing professionals (like Heads of Growth) (32.5%)
• Other specialists on the product marketing team (38.7%)

What Does A Product Marketing Specialist Do?

Good question.

Since the product marketer is a relatively new role, definitions and expectations differ from business to business. Because of this, it’s often misunderstood — only 5% of product marketers today believe their roles are fully understood by employers, despite the amount of literature circulating on the web. Because these experts may be required to take on different tasks according to the company, it’s difficult to know what to expect.

Product Marketing Specialists Responsibilities

Product marketing specialists primarily assist in the development of pre, go-to, and post product launch strategies. This typically leads to A/B testing, KPI tracking, and other measurements of success.

In PMA’s State of Product Marketing Leadership 2023 report, product marketers say they’re most responsible for:

• Product positioning
• Go-to market strategies and execution
• Sales enablement
• Product vision
• Achieving revenue goals
• Competitive intelligence
• Pricing and packaging
• Product design
• Product design

Most product marketing specialists are employed to support the product marketing manager, although smaller organizations may not use the same titles. 

Ultimately, these experts help marketing teams, sales teams, and product developers align their work effectively.

Product Marketing Specialist Skills

With such extreme variance between employers and projects, the product marketing specialist needs a wide range of skills.

Here are the ones most PM specialists value most:

• Go-to market strategy and execution
• Messaging
• Value prop development
• Positioning
• Writing skills and content creation
• User experience
• Sales enablement
• Competitive analysis
• Persona creation

Keep in mind pricing and packaging knowledge is also a part of this matrix, although it may be more or less relevant depending on the specific role.

How Much Do Product Marketing Specialists Make?

In-house product marketing specialists have a salary range of $63,000 to $126,000 depending on skills and experience. 

Freelance and part-time workers also charge based on experience. These may vary according to your country or location, but you can typically expect:

• Entry Level: $25 to $50 per hour)
• Mid-Level: ($50 to $100 per hour)
• Senior: ($100 to $150 per hour)
• Executive: ($150+ per hour)

Does Your Company Need A Product Marketing Specialist?

Product marketing specialists are a net positive in almost any industry. They’re perhaps most hired by growing startups, established brands, and enterprise SaaS companies.

Even developer tools and cloud platforms need positioning before launch, which is why tech and engineering firms hire product marketers in droves.

But not every company needs to hire a full-time product marketer, especially not if their funds are stretched thin. 

Product marketers might not be the best investment for your company if:

• You don’t have a fully formed marketing department.
• You have a small or nonexistent sales team.
• You’re relying on another professional (like a Head of Content) to manage your product marketing strategy.
• You only have one product and don’t plan on launching more.
• You’re not changing your sales cycle in the future.
• You don’t have space in the budget for a new hire.

In contrast, you may be ready to hire a product marketing specialist if:

• You have a long sales cycle. Product marketers are exceptionally good and streamlining B2B sales cycles.
• You already have a Chief Marketing Officer (or at least a head of marketing). Corporate decision-makers are complemented well by top-level product marketing strategies, especially when they are holistically incorporated across multiple channels and touchpoints.
• You’re interested in starting an omnichannel or multichannel marketing schema. Product marketing specialists can help you juggle the specifics.

At the end of the day, choosing to hire or not hire a product marketing specialist is entirely up to you. 

Just be sure to weigh the pros and cons, consider future opportunities, and position yourself for sustainable growth.

Choosing The Right Marketing Specialists

If you’re ready to invest in a product marketing specialist, expect to reap the rewards in very short order. 

Where can you find professionals like these? We suggest looking in less traditional places:

• Product Marketing Alliance. This really is the end-all-be-all if you’re looking for highly skilled roles. 
• r/ProductMarketing. Not a bad spot for finding mid-level product marketing specialists.
• Use your network. You’d be surprised how many resources go untapped in professional networks.

Of course, hiring full-time internal roles isn’t possible for every company. It might make sense to start small instead.

First, look at who’s already on your team. Maybe your Head of Content or Head of Marketing has the experience to manage small tasks for now.

Then, consider a consulting firm. They may be pricey, but they’re cheaper than hiring a full-time professional.

Finally, explore professional ghostwriters and content marketing agencies. These experts can help you position your content and drive product campaigns on an ad-hoc basis.

On that note, if you’re looking for video tutorials, technical guides, and social media collateral, Draft.dev may be an interim partner for your product marketing needs. By working alongside thousands of SMEs and experienced marketing professionals, we help technical decision-makers, software developers, and platform engineers find value in your product.

You can schedule a Discovery Call with our team and chat more candidly about your needs.

Product positioning can make or break your business. A whopping 40% of all new products fail, so you simply can’t afford to botch the early launch.

But there’s no need to stress about doing everything right on your own. That’s why thousands of companies hire a director of product marketing — to ensure their product stands out from the crowd.

A director of product marketing should be a key player for any business. The work they produce is indispensable for growing brands, especially startups and scaleups.

But what exactly is a director of product marketing? And are they a good fit for your organization?

We’re going to take a closer look so you can make a decision for yourself.

What Is Product Marketing?

Let’s begin by defining our terms.

Product marketing refers to creating, implementing, and testing a marketing process on products, a line of products, or products not yet released. The primary focus is on customer positioning, such as finding ways to resolve pain points through advertising, marketing, and product implementation. 

Most product marketing strategies are cross-discipline in nature. This means they cover a variety of tasks, including:

• A/B testing (think packaging, pricing, and positioning)
• Content marketing (like blogs, articles, and social media)
• Market research (such as a competitive analysis)

When used correctly, long-term product marketing strategies lead to lifelong customers, brand ambassadors, and of course, a successful product launch.

You just have to find the right director of product marketing to bring said strategy to life.

💡 Case Study: PepsiCo

Let’s put product marketing into context by looking at PepsiCo, one of the most recognizable conglomerates in the US.

To position their products as highly desirable, the brand:

• Heavily targets younger demographics
• Uses repetitive advertising to create a consistent brand voice and USP
• Leans on prior data and brand interactions to make new products (like bubly burst)

What Does A Director Of Product Marketing Do?

Directors of product marketing are responsible for marketing processes at all stages of product development. Strategy and planning are their primary objectives, followed by data analysis after products hit the shelves. 

Product marketing directors can take leadership and supervisory roles during the go-live and post-reception phases of product development. As you’ll see below, they often work with a team of professionals to meet critical deadlines and measure campaign impact.

Who Do Directors of Product Marketing Work With?

Directors of product marketing usually own the entire creation and implementation of product strategy. You can think of them as brand scientists, or the liaisons between hard data and creative imaging. 

In order to make the magic happen, these professionals must collaborate with other strategy and marketing experts.

The most common collaborations occur between directors and:

• In-house or freelance marketing writers
• Advertising and creative specialists
• Technical marketing managers
• Consumer behavior specialists
• Market research analysts
• Product developers
• Product marketing managers (PMMs)
• Product managers

Keep in mind product marketing managers are not the same thing as product managers — one is tasked with marketing the product while the other focuses on creating it.

💡 What’s a Product Manager vs a Product Marketing Manager?

Said simply, product managers create products. In contrast, product marketing managers market said products.

You can expect a product manager to:

• Build a product roadmap
• Own the production strategy
• Act as a project manager with multiple stakeholders

On the other hand, a product marketing manager will:

• Encourage consumer interest in the product launch
• Perform various marketing activities
• Measure the success of each campaign

A director of product marketing should have experience with both skill sets. Many of their responsibilities tap into both professions, as you’ll see below.

What are the Responsibilities of a Director of Product Marketing?

If you’re planning on hiring a director of product marketing, or if you’re interested in taking a job in the field, you might expect to be tasked with some of these marketing responsibilities:

• Developing solid product positioning and consistent messaging for customers.
• Overseeing product launches, as well as customer movement from awareness to adoption.
• Collaborating with C-level executives and experts, including a head of marketing and head of growth.
• Absorbing and sorting data to develop meaningful insights for future use.

How Much Do You Pay a Director of Product Marketing?

Thanks to their familiarity with data and an ability to work under pressure, directors of product marketing are paid top dollar for their services. 

You might expect an average annual salary of $172,383 (depending on where you live). The lowest end of the spectrum hovers around $90,000, while the highest earners gross over $534,000 per year.

These are just general ranges, however. As product-led marketing becomes the norm rather than the exception, the average director’s salary will only continue to rise.

What Skills Should a Director of Product Marketing Have?

Directors of product marketing typically have some level of experience in both sales and marketing. Research and analytical skills are extremely important, as well as a showcased history of successful strategy implementation.

The most frequently requested skills in product marketing job descriptions include:

• SaaS
• Data management
• Business intelligence
• Product management and implementation
• Familiarity with technical industries
• Social media
• Marketing strategy
• Vendor management

Product marketing directors with hands-on experience have a few other things to add:

[Directors of product marketing] got to have a mix of traits tied to strategic thinking, cross-functional execution, and of course, messaging acumen.

— Leo Castro, ex-Director of Product Marketing at BigCommerce 

An excellent product marketer is customer-obsessed. They’ve built a set of practices that keep them regularly in touch with customers and ultimately produce significantly more effective messaging and content.

— Jordan Greene, ex-Senior Director of Product Marketing at Outreach 

The best PMMs are trilingual: they can speak product, client needs, and sales.

— Stephen Kane, Product Marketer at Altruist

Where Product Marketing Directors Work

Before we talk about the reasons to hire a product marketing director, it’s a good idea to understand the types of brands and industries that need them most. 

Product marketers are heavily associated with B2C organizations, but B2B and SaaS also have a need for highly trained experts. 

They’re also heavily recruited in technology or software development fields, especially by brands such as Microsoft, Salesforce, and Google.

There’s currently an enormous industry for product marketers at organizations like:

• ScreenCloud
• Remote
• Unbounce
• Auctane
• HackerOne
• PayPal
• Gong
• Privy
• HighSpot
• Vanguard
• Momentive.ai

When To Hire A Director Of Product Marketing

Any organization should consider consultations with a product marketer, especially in its beginning phases. However, if there is any doubt about overhead or size, or if your business is struggling to allocate funds into different areas, you may want to hold off until a future date. 

Your company might be in desperate need of a product marketing director if:

• You consistently struggle to launch new products. This is especially relevant if you launch dozens of products per year.
• You need better insight into customer awareness and acquisition. You’ll need an experienced director with knowledge of the B2B marketing funnel.
• You can’t leverage enough data to make meaningful insights. A director of product marketing can help you do so at scale.
• You require a secondary marketing team specifically for products. This is especially relevant for 
• You plan to release a flagship product within the next few years. If you’re a seed-level startup, you may need the expertise of a qualified product marketing director.

Keep in mind you may need to hire more than one product marketing professional. Complex products may require product marketing specialists, while rapid innovations and frequent product releases may require the help of a product marketing agency.

To summarize: if you operate in a highly complex market, or if your leads require a very long sales cycle, a director of product marketing may be a strategic hiring decision.

Of course, it’s not necessarily the best strategic decision for every business.

You might want to avoid hiring a director of product marketing if:

• You don’t yet have a stable product management team. Newer organizations or startups with limited capital might find it hard to justify more than $100,000 per year (plus benefits) on a full-time product marketer.
• Your team is still relatively small. You should focus on hiring the most effective professional for your stage of growth (such as sales to boost your bottom line).
• Your business doesn’t launch a frequent stream of products. A single product is usually enough to manage in-house for a time.

If any of these points apply to your business, you may want to wait to hire a director of product marketing.

Where to Hire a Director of Product Marketing

A good product marketing director can get your products into the public eye. A great product marketing director can help you build sustainable strategies for years to come.

But professionals like these don’t grow on trees — and in today’s competitive hiring environment, knowing where to look is key to success.

Here’s where to find highly qualified product marketing directors:

• Start with your network. As many as 80% of job positions begin and end in your personal circle.
• Consider nontraditional job boards. Try posting on subreddits like r/ProductMarketing or reaching out to candidates or influencers on LinkedIn. 
• Look at career-specific hiring boards. DevRel Careers, for example, works in the technical/developer recruitment niche.

Is Hiring A Director Of Product Marketing Worth It?

A director of product marketing can be a powerful element of any late stage marketing strategy — keyword being late stage. If you’re a startup, a small business, or a company that doesn’t deal with high volumes of product, it might not make sense to hire a full-time director right away. 

It might be more economical for your business to manage product releases in-house (or contract with freelancers to help with basic tasks).

You could also turn to a team like Draft.dev to produce tutorials, social media, and video content for your upcoming releases.

What could this look like for your growing brand?

Here’s our visual style guide to get you started.

Have you considered hiring a head of growth? This relatively new role is in high demand, even within mega-corporations like Uber, Dropbox, and Google.

Startup founders from all tech-related verticals should be paying attention and, if it makes sense, consider hiring one. These superstar employees may be in short supply, but the results they bring to the table are increasingly valuable (especially in our startup-driven world).

We’re going to look closer at heads of growth so you can decide if it’s right for your team. 

Let’s consider:

• What a head of growth is
• Characteristics of a head of growth
• Your head of growth and customer insights
• What type of companies need to have a head of growth
• When to consider hiring a head of growth
• Are you ready for what’s coming?

What Is A Head Of Growth?

A head of growth is focused on growth and growth alone.

Their unique role sits at the intersection of marketing and product development, which varies from company to company. Their sole focus is to hit growth targets, meaning their primary concerns are customer acquisition, activation, retention, and upsells.

Your head of growth should have key responsibilities in three main areas of work: growth hacking, growth management, and growth nurturing.

1. Growth hacking refers to strategies regarding the reach of your company. It may involve new marketing initiatives, A/B testing, or experimental trials to discover what works and what doesn’t. In this role, your head of growth is focused on scaling your company as quickly and sustainably as possible.
2. Growth management is a twofold term. On one hand, your head of growth may be responsible for managing other marketers, freelancers, or strategic planners. On the other hand, they may be heavily involved in KPI measurement and other ROI metrics. They keep a finger on the pulse of what works (and what doesn’t) so they can pivot your strategy for lead generation.
3. Growth nurturing refers to the use of new or existing strategies that retain current customers. This task may be shared with other members of your marketing department.

Your head of growth may also manage a growth team.

Let’s take a look at what this means below.

What is a Growth Team?

A growth team refers to a group of growth marketers using data and statistics to solve problems with scaling. They’re typically comprised of four or more experts who have sales, marketing, or product backgrounds.

Growth teams aren’t the same as sales, marketing, or product teams. Their one and only goal is to develop, test, and measure solutions — they’re not focused on anything other than growth.

That’s why you should expect the following from a growth marketing team:

• The execution of growth strategies such as landing page, CTA, or video testing.
• A strong focus on lead generation by solving customer-related obstacles (such as a confusing UI, for example).
• Either diving into one part of the sales funnel or all parts at once. This broad yet deep expertise is a major part of the growth marketing role.

As powerful as a growth marketing team can be, it’s not the right fit for every business.

Could it be the right move for you? You can check the criteria at the bottom of this guide.

Head of Growth vs Growth Manager vs Chief Growth Officer

A head of growth can go by many names — growth hacker, technical marketer, and director of growth are some of the most common.

However, a head of growth is not the same as a growth manager or Chief Growth Officer.

Let’s break it down into smaller pieces:

• Chief Growth Officer (CGO): This is typically a member of the C-Suite tasked with finding opportunities for growth, revenue, and market presence. It’s currently the fastest-growing role in the US, which only reinforces the importance of acquiring a growth expert for your team.
• Growth manager: A growth expert in charge of a growth team (which we covered above). They may be considered a head of growth on their own, or work alongside one while managing a department.
• Head of growth: A role that falls between the C-suite and team director position. 

To summarize: a head of growth can work inside or outside the C-suite. A CGO is an established executive, and a growth manager focuses on team management slightly more than task management.

It’s a good idea to evaluate your company and determine which role makes the most sense for you.

Characteristics Of A Head Of Growth

Not everyone is cut out to be a head of growth. They aren’t really a part of your marketing team, after all, and they aren’t necessarily part of the product development team. In truth, they’re a hybrid — they have a foot in each department.

Before hiring a head of marketing, consider some of the elements needed in a potential candidate. 

• Heads of growth are extremely creative, and partner their natural talents with data and analytics. 
• They also choose their tech stack carefully. After all, they need particular tools to perform their research tasks, which range from split tests to KPI reporting.
• The head of growth is an expert in finding acquisition opportunities (think owned media, earned media, and paid media). 
• They offer superior management and leadership skills that ensure your team is pulling in the same direction. 
• As your company’s growth objective evolves, your head of growth will communicate changing parameters to their team, internal audience, and all industry partners.

In the early days, your company’s objective may be user onboarding and outreach. A few years later, it may be time to switch focus to user retention. The goal of your head of growth will be to mark the right time to make the switch, create strategies focused on pivoting, and ensure teams incorporate the appropriate goals in their campaigns and strategies.

Your Head Of Growth And Customer Insights

The nature of growth is always changing, which is why your head of growth must be tuned into customer insights at all times. The should be somewhat familiar with audience listening tools like HootSuite, TweetDeck, and SocialMention.

A good head of growth also has a working knowledge of your retention rates, knows where they’re going, and can identify problems in the funnel. They should also know how to improve negative growth and turn the ship around if needed.

Heads of growth could be just about anyone with a scientific, analytical mind. Yet keep in mind there’s no substitute for experience. Your head of growth will have a large say in campaigns that get launched, so they need to have the seniority necessary to make changes as needed.

What Type Of Companies Need To Have A Head Of Growth?

The head of growth may be a relatively recent position, but companies have always needed help with handling the challenges of scaling. 

Startups and scaleups almost always require heads of growth. Because when (not if) your business hits a snag, you need a professional to help find your footing.

Only 10% of all startups succeed every year, and a lot of that has to do with market differentiation. This is where your head of growth comes in — they know exactly how to put your brand in the spotlight.

Tech-based startups may get more use out of heads of growth than other industries, especially since their fields typically involve complicated jargon that doesn’t always connect with consumers. In this case, heads of growth create new campaigns that help leads understand company offerings. Tech-based industries like SaaS businesses and app-heavy programs benefit the most from this strategy. There are several heads of growth popularized in these industries, including:

• Brian Balfour (formerly HubSpot)
• Sean Ellis (formerly Eventbrite)
• Andrew Chen (formerly Uber)

Some startup founders feel they need a head of growth straight away. And sure, young businesses do need a strong strategic vision to succeed. But they also need time to be flexible, lean, and risk-averse — then leverage volatile solutions that scale with their own growth.

Professional marketers recommend younger businesses wait a while before hiring full-time heads of growth. While they mature, they can start to develop an inbound marketing strategy. This focuses their channels on growth and development. 

An example of inbound marketing includes content writing, which Draft.dev specializes in. Our team helps startups find freelance content writers to create content for software devs and technical audiences.

When To Consider Hiring A Head Of Growth

If you can’t retain a head of growth right away, when is the best time to hire? There are a few benchmarks you may want to hit first:

• Do you already have a marketing or sales team in place? A head of growth without a marketing team will be limited in what they can achieve. If you don’t have something set in stone, it will be important to flesh out your departments first.
• Do you have enough funds for a head of growth to work with? This applies to your department budget, salary qualifications, and current tech stack.
• Are there in-house teams currently executing (and struggling to maintain) the role of a growth hacker? If so, hiring another full-time professional could be an expensive redundancy for your business.
• How good is the communication between your marketing team and sales team? If it’s not the well-oiled machine you wish it could be, a growth hacker may be able to help. The ultimate goal of your head of growth isn’t to play middleman between different teams, but their presence may kill two birds with one stone.
• Are you lacking a ‘T’ shaped marketing professional? ‘T’ shaped experts are described as being knowledgeable in many fields, but deeply skilled in just one. For example, your head of growth will be familiar with many assets of marketing, but extremely skilled in growth and retention.

How can you leverage a head of growth in the most effective possible way?

It’s best to hire other sales and marketing employees first. 

Heads of growth do their best work surrounded by a team of experts. These pros can help them identify KPIs and execute on existing campaigns. 

Said differently: it’s best to hire a head of growth once your startup is more mature.

Here’s a list of marketing roles so you can see if you’re ready for a head of growth.

Are You Ready For What’s Coming?

No matter what industry you’re in, you’ll find a wealth of value in hiring a full-time head of growth. The only question is: does it make sense right now?

That depends on where your business is at.

If you aren’t in a position to spend money on a full-time worker, or if you’re not ready to springboard into heavy growth initiatives, it might make sense to take a step back. There are many ways to develop a winning growth strategy, particularly with content and inbound marketing. Freelance writers are a great way to do this without the cost, commitment, or management.

Draft.dev can help with technical content and video tutorials so you can spend more time focusing on growing your brand.

Curious to learn more? Just schedule a discovery call. We’d love to learn more about how we could hack your growth strategy.

If you want to see your business grow, you need to invest in your marketing team. And for smaller startups just finding their feet, this could mean hiring a head of marketing.

There are more than 66,000 heads of marketing currently employed in the United States. They were once considered a ‘luxury role,’ but have since become a core hire for both startups and enterprise brands.

A head of marketing is even more integral in the finance and tech industries. If you’re scaling a SaaS or a fintech platform, hiring a head of marketing could be a no-brainer.

Hiring a head of marketing also demonstrates your understanding of direction and leadership. Not only is your head of marketing a driving force for ROI, but they can also maintain the cohesiveness of your communications.

Let’s take a closer look.

Why Do You Need a Head of Marketing?

There are many moving parts in a growth marketing team, which means there are many opportunities for something to break down. If your business manages technical writers, product marketing specialists, and social media experts, you’ll need a driving force to keep everyone on the same page.

This is where your head of marketing comes into play.

By balancing timelines, deadlines, and creative briefs, your head of marketing can keep everything running smoothly. They can also drive campaigns with a growth mentality, facilitating purpose-driven content for leads.

The key responsibilities of a head of marketing include:

• Creating a buyer’s journey or sales funnel on your site
• Driving conversions by tracking the ROI of initiatives
• Managing in-house and freelance workers
• Writing content briefs or outlines
• Brainstorming new initiatives

But how do you find a head of marketing, and when should you start looking for the right person?

It mostly depends on what your company needs.

First, let’s define what a head of marketing actually does.

What is a Head of Marketing?

A head of marketing is a senior staff member charged with managing a business’s marketing activities. They may report directly to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), or in some cases actually be the CMO. 

Since the head of marketing is an eclectic role, the work they do can take a variety of forms. 

This may include:

• Creating or overseeing the creation of customer personas
• Monitoring company messaging
• Evaluating market positioning
• Understanding threats and opportunities
• Managing the rest of your marketing team

The overall goal is to help your business succeed by focusing on lead generation and building your marketing funnel.

But most heads of marketing don’t do this alone. In fact, they typically rely on a growth marketing team to maximize their results and proof test new ideas.

What is a Growth Marketing Team?

Grow marketing teams are a subset of marketers focused on growing your marketing funnel. Their overall goal is to test new ideas and identify hiccups in your lead generation strategies.

Heads of marketing typically lead growth marketers, which is one of the reasons they’re sometimes called ‘chief growth officers.’ Growth marketers report directly to the CGO, who then reports their findings to senior management.

You should know you’re not required to separate your growth marketing team from the rest of your staff. Most startups ask existing marketers to experiment with growth strategies alongside other their duties.

And keep in mind growth managers are not the same as heads of marketing. We wrote a comprehensive guide to help you tell the difference.

💡 Related: What is a Head of Growth?

Your Head of Marketing and KPIs

While your head of marketing may work on some creative output, their primary task will be to establish KPIs. This requires a firm understanding of your business objectives, as well as strong familiarity with common BI platforms.

First, your head of marketing collects information about campaign spend, ROI, and KPIs. Then, they report their findings to senior management so they can develop an action plan. 

This process looks different in every business depending on its hierarchy or management structure.

There are three different approaches your company might take:

• The head of marketing establishes KPIs for the marketing team, which are then communicated to executives.
• Senior management establishes an overall business strategy, which helps the marketing lead create a digital marketing strategy to achieve goals.
• Both sides work together to establish metrics, budgets, and expectations.

You should choose the reporting or accountability framework that makes the most sense for your business.

💡 Related: Developer Content Strategies That Work (and Scale)

When Should You Hire a Head of Marketing?

Timing is critical for hiring a head of marketing. 

If your business hasn’t yet turned a profit, you may want to rely on an internal role. 

If your company has already found its footing, it may be time to hire a full-time marketing head.

But before you start writing a job description, you should answer these questions with members of your C-suite:

1. Should My Marketing Head Be Hired Before Other Members of the Team?

If your business has a small or concise marketing team, you can hire a head of marketing at any time. This employee may act more as a CMO and work alongside senior management to keep the department’s work in line with goals.

If your marketing team is already well established, adding a new senior leader may not be a bad idea. If your marketing team doesn’t exist at all, it would be good to hire a head of marketing as the first member of the team.

2. Should My Marketing Team Be Built Before the Sales Team?

The best way to answer this is by looking at data — namely, understanding which departments drive the most conversions. Do your cold calls have a greater impact than your organic inbound traffic? Your answer will sculpt your growth marketing plan going forward

If you don’t already have a marketing or sales team, it might be beneficial to hold off hiring any full-time personnel. Instead, you should rely on freelance work or hire an agency until your company is ready to expand.

Here’s a list of other marketing roles and titles you might want to consider before making a decision.

3. Does My Company Need A Head of Marketing?

The right time to hire a head of marketing is before your company needs one. It’s best to set yourself up for success and avoid putting new employees in difficult starting positions.

You may be ready to hire a head of marketing if:

• Your business revenue could accommodate a full-time employee (as well as their benefits, training, etc.).
• Your company is a SaaS or hardware-focused industry that relies on product launches.
• Your internal departments are unable to execute marketing strategies on their own.
• You’re looking to establish or build a marketing department.

If you don’t meet any of the above criteria, your company may not be ready to hire a full-time head of marketing.

You should avoid hiring a head of marketing if:

• Your sales team is getting the most conversions and therefore requires the most attention.
• You’re too small to accommodate a full-time employee.
• You’re unable to scale quickly. A full-time head of marketing could inundate you with leads you’re simply not ready to handle.
• You can’t afford to pay their salary. The average head of marketing in the US gets paid $153,894 per year.

Does this latter category describe your business? You may want to consider some alternatives to a head of growth.

Agencies like Draft.dev vet applicants to find the most qualified freelance writers. By focusing on quality rather than quantity, we help technical businesses craft holistic approaches to scaling developer content.

Finding the Right Candidate

If you’re going to spend money on a marketing head, you’ll want to make sure they’re a good fit for your team. Since this is the leader in charge of your KPIs, they should be skilled in their field and familiar with your industry.

Where To Find A Head Of Marketing

Start by asking friends, coworkers, and networks about qualified marketers who may be interested in your role. 

Note that referred hires can be five times more effective than non-organic hires. They also cost less to hire, stay longer at their companies, and are more satisfied in their roles.

You could also post job applications through LinkedIn, Monster, or Indeed. Just keep in mind this could be extremely time-consuming. Every publicly posted job averages more than 250 applications, taking hours to screen, interview, and reject.

You could instead rely on DevRel Careers, a dedicated platform for developer marketing jobs. You can post jobs for free to a select group of talent who have years of experience in technical niches.

How To Interview Candidates

It’s best to schedule face-to-face interviews whether you’re planning to host in-person or online. This makes it easy to ask hard-hitting questions and engage with the candidate on a personal level. 

In a similar vein, look for candidates with hands-on experience working in your industry. This doesn’t have to be a perfect match, but five years or more is typically the starting line.

If candidates have adjunct industry experience, don’t cross them off the list just yet. Unique industry knowledge could provide a unique perspective, encouraging your company to try things your competitors can’t, don’t, or won’t.

Regardless of your candidate’s background or experience, they should feel confident about seamlessly transitioning into your role. As you interview, be open and transparent about your expectations. What will the role entail? What sort of expectations should they have? What are your expectations for their success?

Being open and up-front will help you identify a well-suited candidate.

Making the Right Choice for Your Business

Strong marketing teams require strong leaders. For thousands of technical brands, this includes a head of marketing.

But with so much at stake for making the wrong hire, finding the right professional matters more than ever.

If you think hiring a head of growth is the next step for you, you should start planning for change right away. Make sure the timing is right, and always choose the right candidate, even if it means prolonging the hiring process. 

Not looking to hire a full-time head of marketing? We’d love to talk with you. Learn more about Draft.dev and our growth marketing process by booking a discovery call.

Trying to market a business is one thing, but marketing a technical business? That’s another thing entirely. A whopping 63% of tech startups fail in the first five years, mostly due to marketing mismanagement and ineffective strategies.

This is why technical marketing managers matter more than ever.

Technical marketing managers aren’t your average marketing lead. Instead, they’re a powerhouse of multiple disciplines and highly trained in their technical field(s). They have a working knowledge of your product and industry, as well as a deep knowledge of your target audience — which typically includes developers, devops, and software engineers.

The average technical marketing manager juggles a wide variety of tasks:

• Designing, writing and publishing technical content
• Sharing content via LinkedIn and Reddit
• Conducting campaign analyses and assessments
• Performing work on Ceros and Atlassian Confluence (among others)
• Managing developer relations (if you don’t have a dedicated role)

Demand for technical marketing managers is steadily on the rise. Digital marketing as a field is set to grow 13.1% between 2024 and 2032. Combined with the growing number of tech startups in the US (with more than 13,000 new brands per year), the need for experienced technical marketing managers is here to stay.

Whether you’re trying to hire or become a technical marketing manager, we wrote this guide to help you build a plan. First, we explain what they are, what they do, and the tools they need to succeed. Then, we describe some hiring triggers and reasons why you may want to wait.

Looking for a place to get your first gig? Or looking to post a job opening? We also explain how DevRel Careers can help you get started for free.

What is a technical marketing manager?

The technical marketing manager is responsible for creating and managing content that educates and persuades technical audiences. This includes tasks such as developing technical content strategies, creating white papers, writing product documentation, and managing social media channels.

There are a few ‘bare necessities’ required for technical marketing managers:

• They must be familiar with your role, product, and target audience. If they’re not, they won’t know how to best approach your target market.
• They must have experience writing technical content. This doesn’t have to be on a large scale; even a few well-written social posts are proof enough of their skill.
• They must be familiar with technical marketing tools. We’ll chat more about this later.

How does a technical marketing manager’s role differ from a digital marketing manager? For one thing, their level of experience is different. Most technical marketing managers have hands-on experience in your industry. Some digital marketing managers, however, have never worked outside the marketing industry. 

Plus, many technical marketing managers focus heavily on content creation. Content might be a focus of the digital marketing manager, but they may have more experience working with PPC, SEO, and earned media.

Perhaps the biggest differentiator of all is the marketer’s approach to your target audience. Traditional marketing strategies rarely (if ever work) for technical audiences. The technical marketing manager knows this all too well — they’re not going to waste time on tactics that don’t work.

To summarize: the technical marketing manager uses developer marketing tactics, not just traditional marketing approaches. This usually means writing great technical content, but also includes open-source development, building a network, and focusing on developer content strategies that scale.

Characteristics of a technical marketing manager

Most technical marketing managers didn’t start in marketing. Many of them began as software developers or engineers, then moved into the role as their skills developed.

For this reason, you’d be hard-pressed to find two marketing managers with the same skill set, experiences, or backgrounds. There are, however, a few key characteristics shared by top talent in the industry.

This includes:

• A strong understanding of technical concepts. This is especially applicable to technical concepts within your company (especially the jargon used by your team and its audience).
• Excellent writing and editing skills. Managers should be able to communicate your message in simple, accessible terms. Low-fluff writing is also key. The fewer words they use, the better.
• The ability to use technical marketing tools such as Atlassian Confluence and Ceros. If they’re not familiar with the tools in your stack, they should be able to learn quickly and get a working knowledge fast.
• The ability to think strategically and creatively. There’s no such thing as a straight line in marketing, and when it comes to developer audiences, this is even more applicable. The technical marketing manager must be flexible and think outside the box.
• A technology-related education and career background. This may include a Bachelor’s degree in a technical field such as computer science, engineering, or information technology. Higher-level marketers may have a Master’s degree in another technical field or marketing itself. 
• At least five years of experience in technical marketing or a related field (such as developer relations). Depending on the position or length of time in question, this experience could serve in place of formal education.

If you want to become a technical marketing manager, you should start with the experience side of the equation. First, you can try your hand at technical writing or look for opportunities within your current position. Then, you can join a community of technical marketers willing to share experience in developer relations. 

Do you love the thought of writing, but feel uncomfortable about navigating the technical side? A career in content marketing management may be what you’re looking for.

Tools technical marketing managers use

There’s some overlap between the platforms used by digital marketing experts and the tools required by technical marketing managers. There are several, however, that are completely unique, and require a working knowledge to successfully complete a campaign.

That’s why most technical marketing managers are familiar with these five integral platforms:

1. Atlassian Confluence: Essentially Notion for software developers. Technical marketers use it to build resource centers and publish technical guides for customers.
2. Ceros: Specifically designed for technical content creation. This enables technical marketers to give contextual feedback, design dynamic landing pages, and build interactive content.
3. Google Analytics: The quintessential measurement tool for any seasoned marketer. A technical marketer may want to build custom events, import external data, and create specific audiences to track campaign effectiveness.
4. HubSpot: Digital marketers usually rely on HubSpot for the email automations and product libraries. For technical marketers, HubSpot is a gold mine for blog hosting, content strategy, and automatic social posting.
5. LinkedIn Marketing Solutions: The best technical marketing managers don’t just know your audience, but also know how to reach them through the platforms they use most. LinkedIn is one of the most powerful of these.

If you’re not familiar with any of the above, you’re not disqualified from becoming a technical marketing manager. Most of these platforms are simple to learn, and there are hundreds of training videos online.

When do you need a technical marketing manager?

You may be ready to hire a technical marketing manager:

• If you are launching a new product or service. This applies to established companies as well as new brands.
• If you are trying to increase brand awareness in the technical community. You may be an unknown quantity looking to build connections, or an existing brand trying to rebuild its reputation.
• If you are looking to generate leads from technical audiences. You may have tried traditional marketing tactics in the past and saw no improvement in your KPIs. 
• If you want to improve your website’s search engine ranking for technical terms. This requires well-written content, keyword strategies, and social promotion.

On the other hand, you may not be ready to hire a technical marketing manager if:

• You don’t have the budget to support a full-time employee. The average salary for a technical marketing manager is around $129,902 per year, so if you’re not ready for this expense plus benefits and hiring costs, it’s best to stick with a freelancer or agency.
• You have an internal team performing the same tasks as a technical marketing manager. No need to duplicate their efforts unless you need to delegate more tasks.
• You have a strong influx of new customers and good WOM marketing. Scaling before you’re ready could come with growing pains, so you may want to wait until your business is ready to grow.

Not sure where to start with hiring a technical marketing agency? We wrote this guide to help you vet your options.

Ready to become (or hire) a technical marketing manager?

The technical marketing manager can be an ace-in-the-hole for technical startups and established brands. Not only can they get more eyes on your product, but they can also nurture customers into passionate brand ambassadors.

Plus, the future is bright for those pursuing a role in technical marketing management. Demand is increasing, the salary is competitive, and the opportunity for career development is virtually endless.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum, DevRel Careers can help. On this platform, companies can post their marketing positions to hundreds of qualified applicants all over the world. Applicants can easily create a profile online then upload their resumes for review. 

Ready to get started? You can submit your resume or post a job for free at any time.

If you’re looking to promote your business online, you need to focus on generating content. And for hundreds of businesses looking to scale their efforts, content marketing managers are the perfect people for the job.

Content marketing managers do what their title implies — they manage content produced by your business. But not only are they responsible for writing, editing, or producing content, but they’re also charged with managing other employees to keep the flywheel turning.

Content marketing manager roles are steadily on the rise, despite the appearance of generative AI and countless algorithm updates. Zippia projects a 10% yearly growth rate between 2018 and 2028, as well as 33,700 new jobs for a variety of experience levels. The average salary has also increased to $84,566, which means now is the best time to hire a professional or become one yourself.

Are you looking to hire a content marketing manager? Or curious about forging a new career path? This guide explains everything you should know about content marketing managers, including what they are, what they do, and when to hire one for your business. 

We also provide a few unique details depending on what you’re looking for. If you’re a startup or growing enterprise, we highlight several hiring triggers so you can make informed decisions about when to start interviewing. If you’re interested in exploring the profession or switching careers, we explain how to make the leap (and how to get experience if you don’t have any).

Let’s get started.

What is a content marketing manager?

A content marketing manager is responsible for creating and managing content to attract, engage, and convert potential customers. This includes tasks such as developing content strategies, creating blog posts, writing social media posts, and managing content calendars. 

Content marketing managers have a different area of interest than traditional marketing managers. They’re primarily interested in the development of content, whereas traditional marketing managers may look at multiple pieces of the puzzle.

You can think of content marketing managers as ‘V’ or ‘W’ shaped professionals — they have deep experience in one or two specific tasks. Traditional marketing managers are usually ‘T’ shaped by default, since they tend to know a little bit about everything (like PPC, PR, OOH, and the other marketing acronyms).

Since content marketing managers aren’t strictly writing professionals, they also can help your business generate a variety of digital assets. You could task your content manager to head up many different initiatives, like:

• Technical guides
• Blog articles
• Video tutorials
• Social media collateral
• Podcast creation
• Infographic design
• Ebooks and white papers
• Case studies
• Webinars and courses
• Newsletters
• And more

Content marketing managers may have experience with one or two of these, but they’re unlikely to be a jack-of-all-trades (unless you hire a unicorn). They do, however, know how to delegate tasks well, and can coordinate content production activities between freelancers, agencies, and in-house professionals.

Keep in mind a content marketing manager is not the same thing as a head of content (or a head of growth for that matter).

A content marketing manager focuses on the daily operations of content, including content production and the people who make it happen. In contrast, a head of content focuses on the brainstorming, administration, and measurement of content. They’re unlikely to get involved with day-to-day processes.

A head of growth may be somewhat interested in content production, but they tend to have a wider lens on the overall customer journey. They may work side-by-side with your content marketing manager to refine an approach or support a new campaign. However, don’t expect your head of growth to fill the shoes of a content marketing manager (or vice versa).

Characteristics of a content marketing manager

Content marketing managers hail from a variety of backgrounds. One could be a longtime freelance writer with a degree in journalism. Another could be a CTO with a knack for writing content. In either case, it matters more about the individual’s skills and expertise than their degrees, certificates, or alma mater.

Whether you’re looking to hire or become a content marketing manager, be sure to look for the following traits:

• A strong understanding of content marketing principles. Apart from demonstrating excellent content creation skills, these professionals must know what it takes to publish and promote their work. Any candidate with a background in management is a major plus, since you can count on them to upskill your team and iterate on existing processes.
• Familiarity with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You can’t expect your content marketing manager to have the experience of a dedicated SEO professional. However, they should be familiar with the basic principles, especially when it comes to UX and user intent.
• Excellent writing and editing skills. Even if your content marketing manager doesn’t write every day, they still need to be good communicators. They should be able to catch errors and mistakes and inform other stakeholders so it doesn’t happen again.
• Ability to use content marketing tools or CMS programs such as HubSpot and WordPress. Familiarity with Ahrefs and SEMrush (as well as other SEO platforms) is another big plus. Be sure to ask your interviewed candidates about the platforms they’re familiar with.
• Ability to think strategically and creatively. The journey of content creation rarely looks like a straight line. Balancing multiple professionals and multiple deadlines means there’s bound to be a snag along the way. A great content marketing manager can roll with the punches and find loopholes and opportunities to prevent the problem from happening again.

Keep in mind the average content marketing manager has more than 15 years of experience. If you’re looking to break into the industry as a newcomer, don’t try to beat them; join them. 

Finding a mentor or a group of content marketers can help you get a feel for what to expect. It’s also a great way to gauge your interest in the career path, especially if you’ve never written professionally before (or managed people who do). 

Does putting out fires sound tedious to you? Don’t like the idea of juggling multiple content projects? You may want to consider a different career — like freelance writing — instead.

When do you need a content marketing manager?

The best time to hire a content marketing manager depends on your business goals. 

You may want to hire a content marketing manager if:

• You are launching a new product or service. You need to get the word out about your business.
• You are trying to increase brand awareness. This is especially true for startups and small businesses.
• You are looking to generate leads. You need to put more potential customers in your sales funnel.
• You want to improve your website’s search engine ranking. You may be tinkering with your SEO after the Helpful Content Update or looking for ways to rank above your competitors.

You may not want to hire a content marketing manager if:

• You don’t have the budget to support a full-time professional. Remember: the average salary of a content marketing manager is $84,566. If you don’t want to pay this plus employee benefits, it may be wise to look for a freelancer or marketing agency.
• You already have an in-house staff member interested in the role. You may be able to hire internally, saving the time and effort of a lengthy interview process.
• You can’t handle more customers or leads. Scaling too quickly without the right infrastructure could put significant strain on your business operations.

Keep in mind some organizations never hire content marketing managers. Some rely on in-house pros, while others lean into freelancers or agencies.

Could a content marketing agency be a good fit for your team? On one hand, you could generate professional-looking, high-quality content for a much more affordable price tag. On the other hand, you won’t have a full-time, in-house professional focused 100% on your company’s content strategy.

Be sure to weigh the pros and cons before landing on a decision.

Ready to become (or hire) a content marketing manager?

Content marketing managers are the intrepid explorers of a brave new world of content creation. Despite curveballs like SGE, HCU, and generative AI, these seasoned professionals feed your flywheel of content and ensure online users can find your business.

If you’re looking to become a content marketing manager, now is a great time to consider your options. AI has only heightened the demand for quality content, and if you have the itch to create, you may want to consider getting your foot in the door.

Not ready to hire? Tentative about a career leap? Draft.dev can help. We specialize in technical content so startups can get the work of a content marketing manager without having to pay for a full-time professional.

We also work with hundreds of experts all over the world to create quality content for the businesses we serve. We’ve helped dozens of professionals launch their content marketing management careers with the bylines and writing experiences they need to succeed.

Regardless of where you sit on this spectrum, Draft.dev is ready to help. Just book a Discovery Call today to speak with a member of the team.

If you’re in the SaaS or PaaS industry, you’ve no doubt considered hiring a UI designer. These talented employees are the backbone of a product design team as a good one can help you create interfaces that encourage end users to get more value out of your product.

This fast-paced role may not be new, but it’s picking up steam around the world. With digital designing jobs growing 16% by 2032, now is a great time to join the industry or hire a professional to serve on your team.

UI designers juggle many responsibilities, like:

• Creating wireframes and prototypes
• Gathering competitor data
• Identifying issues with existing UI
• Ensuring platform accessibility
• Building a UI style guide

This, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Experienced UI professionals — usually paid far beyond the US average of $77,692 — may be tasked with overhauling entire platforms or overseeing teams of designers.

This guide can help you make an informed decision about becoming (or hiring) a UI designer. Once we cover the role’s responsibilities and characteristics, we explore potential hiring triggers when you need to hire one for your team. 

Are you already prepared to hire (or be hired) as a UI designer? We provide a helpful (free!) resource for getting started at the bottom of the guide.

What is a user interface designer?

User interface designers, usually referred to as UI designers, are responsible for creating the visual elements of a product or service. This includes tasks such as designing the layout of screens, brainstorming the look and feel of icons, or even developing an overall aesthetic for the product.

UI designers don’t just work on PaaS or SaaS platforms, although it’s true they’re almost ubiquitous in these fields. You can also see UI designers involved with the development of physical products, including microwaves, car panels, Bluetooth speakers, and more.

There are three main goals of a UI designer: to build ‘sketches,’ to implement changes, and to listen to user feedback. This creates a near-infinite loop of designing, publishing, and refining, typically in regards to user interface content like:

• Colors
• Pictures
• Dynamic content
• Responsive design
• Typography and kerning
• WCAG 2.2 guidelines

This makes more sense when you look at official definitions. A user interface, by definition, is any place where people and machines interact. Knowing how to build an intuitive design for all user interfaces is a key component of any successful business. Do it right, and you can see a steady stream of users and dozens of five-star reviews. Do it wrong, and there’s a good chance you face a slow death by a thousand cuts (aka one-star reviews). A whopping 90% of users report deleting apps with poor design, which means hedging your bets with a professional designer is always in your best interests.

What if your business employs a user experience (UX) designer? Is that enough to stem the tide?

Yes and no.

Although the role of a UI designer sounds similar to a UX designer, these two roles are not the same. The former focuses on the look and feel of a product, while the latter cares about the overall flow and experience. 

Let’s say you’re building a website to promote your budding brand. Your UX designer would be the first one on the scene, mapping out the user journey and designing the flow for each screen. Once your UX professional has constructed a preliminary outline, your UI designer can start fleshing the scaffolding with colors, images, dynamic content, and more.

As a side note, it is possible to find a unicorn managing both UI and UX design. Just keep in mind they’re in high demand — and demand high salaries in return.

The characteristics of a UI designer

Not everyone has what it takes to be a UI designer. This discipline requires a keen eye for detail and an inherent sense of collaboration. You also need an intuitive sense of other people’s perspectives so you can create simple interfaces with the lowest possible learning curve.

Every great UI designer has these basic characteristics:

• Strong understanding of visual design principles. These are both inherent and learned skills acquired by paying close attention to users. The most important principles include minimalism and control, especially for new users or less technically proficient individuals. Knowing your audience and what they expect from your product is a great way to gauge the correct layout of your product. 
• Strong sense of user intent. Good UI designers understand the purpose of your product and implement design elements tailored to specific audiences. Think of the differences between Canva and Photoshop. While both are designed to create custom images, one is for professional designers while the other is mainly for small business owners. The UI for each is extremely different, and yet expertly tailored to individual audience needs.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills. UI designers typically work alongside UX designers while building products or platforms. Senior designers may even manage teams of multiple designers, especially in the initial stages of building wireframes and prototypes. UI is an inherently collaboration-heavy field, which means those who enjoy working with others are well-equipped for this career. 
• Ability to use design tools such as Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD. The average UI designer spends most of their time creating drafts for leadership review. This means they need a great deal of experience using Framer and MockFlow, or at least some hands-on experience with Marvel and UXPin. A basic understanding of industry standard tools allows the UI designer to thrive in any environment. 
• Ability to think critically and creatively. Not all UI problems are easy to fix, especially when collaborating across different teams. The best designers know how to champion their ideas without railroading others or discounting innovations. Iteration is key in the development of good UI, and a UI designer should understand this well.
• Ability to perform a competitor analysis. If you can’t beat them, join them, especially when it comes to UI. A seasoned UI professional should be able to analyze competitors and evaluate your platform based on the fundamental principles of design. What is your competitor doing well? How could they improve? You can use these insights to refresh your own UI or consider possible updates in the future.

This is just a surface-level overview of the UI professional’s characteristics. There could be greater or fewer expectations than what’s listed here, depending on the role and the business in question.

There are also many different ways to get into UI design. Many individuals forge their own path, most without formal UI degrees.

If you’re looking for trusted certificates to either upskill or pivot, you may want to check out courses from the UX Design Institute or the UI Design Certification from BrainStation. As always, experience trumps theory. Dipping your feet into an internship or test project could be a better teacher than coursework alone.

When do you need a UI designer?

The benefits of hiring a UI designer are a no-brainer in many industries. Not only do you get extra support for your UX designers, but you also have a full-time expert focused on upgrading the sensory experience of your product.

Here are some other reasons you may need a UI designer:

• You’re redesigning or expanding an existing product or service. You need to stand out in a crowded marketplace and offer more streamlined features.
• You’re experiencing usability problems with your product or service. You want to slow the frequency of low reviews and get rid of lukewarm testimonials.
• You’re ready to improve the look and feel of your product or service. You know there’s more potential just waiting for your product.

Of course, not every business requires a UI designer. Perhaps you lucked out with a UX/UI unicorn, or maybe you can’t afford the salary of a senior UI designer. In either case, you may not want to hire a UI designer if:

• You’re a younger business with a more limited budget. You may want to start with contractors or freelancers first.
• You’re not operating in a saturated industry. Less competition lowers your need for picture-perfect design.
• You have someone on-staff who’s interested in working with your UI. You may be able to delegate work in-house or restructure your team to accommodate the excess.

Again, deciding to hire a UI designer is an extremely individualized decision. It mainly comes down to understanding the needs of your business and finding the right talent to fill the role.

Ready to become (or hire) a UI designer?

A UI designer could be just what you need to convert users into brand ambassadors. It could also help you stand out from the crowd and give you a leg up in a competitive industry.

On the flip side, UI design is an excellent vocation for those with a gift for design. If you have an eye for UI and want to re-define your career, there couldn’t be a better time to ride the wave.

Not sure where to look for jobs in your area? Or struggling to find good talent for your role? We invite you to check out the free resources at DevRel Careers to start the next chapter of your UI designer journey.

Product managers are the unsung heroes of the tech industry. They are the ones who are responsible for bringing products to market, but they often get overlooked in favor of the engineers and designers who build the products. However, product managers are essential to the success of any product, and they play a critical role in the product development process.

In this blog post, we will define what a product manager is and discuss the responsibilities of a product manager. We’ll also discuss why every company needs a product manager and provide some tips on how to hire a great product manager.

So whether you are a founder looking to build your first product or a CEO looking to take your product to the next level, this blog post is for you.

What is a Product Manager?

Product managers play a critical role in any organization that develops and sells products. Product managers define the vision and success of a product from conception to launch and beyond. They work with a variety of stakeholders, including engineers, designers, and marketers, to bring a product to market that meets the needs of customers and achieves the company’s business goals.

Essentially, product managers must understand user needs, identify opportunities, and direct the creation and optimization of products. To do this, they must:

• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure that all team members are on the same page and working towards the same goals.
• Be a decision-maker using strategic thinking and guidance from the product team.
• Work with product, engineering, customer support, and sales teams to ensure a strong product launch and ongoing success.

Product managers typically sit at the intersection of the technical and business teams. Their positions can vary in seniority, but they are generally considered to be mid-level to senior positions. Within a technical team’s hierarchy, product managers typically report to a vice President of Product or a Director of Product.

Characteristics of a Product Manager

To be successful, product managers need a deep understanding of the product development process, the market, and the customer. They also need to be able to gather and analyze customer feedback, collaborate effectively with engineers and designers, and communicate effectively with stakeholders.

Successful product managers are:

• Customer-centric: Passionate about understanding and meeting the needs of their customers. They should be able to gather and analyze customer feedback to inform product decisions.
• Strategic: Be able to think strategically about the product and the market to develop the product vision that meets the needs of users and the company’s business goals.
• Technically savvy: Have a strong understanding of technology to communicate effectively with engineers and other technical stakeholders.
• Collaborative: Work effectively with a variety of stakeholders, including engineers, designers, marketers, and sales reps to build consensus and get everyone on the same page.
• Decisive: Be able to weigh the pros and cons of different options, and make quick and effective decisions that are in the best interests of the product and the business.
• Data-driven: Collect and analyze data on user behavior, market trends, and competitor activity to inform decisions.
• Resilient: Need to be able to deal with setbacks and learn from mistakes.

By no means a requirement, but there are a few product manager certifications to be aware of when assessing qualified product managers.

• Certified Product Manager by Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM)
• Product Manager Certification by Product School
• Professional Scrum Master Certification by Scrum.org
• Product Management Certification by Pragmatic Institute

Exceptional product managers are a dynamic blend of skills, qualities, and attributes that can be as diverse as the companies, industries, and products they serve.

When Should You Hire a Product Manager?

The best time to hire a product manager depends on several factors, including the size and complexity of the product, budget, and experience of the team. In general, it is a good idea to hire a product manager as soon as the product starts to take shape. This will help to ensure that the product is developed in a way that meets the needs of customers and achieves the company’s business goals.

How can you determine when you need a product manager’s expertise? To get a clearer picture of your timeline, consider the following triggers:

You might want to consider hiring a product manager if:
Your product isn’t performing well in the market. Poor sales, lackluster customer feedback, or low adoption rates could indicate a need for professional product management to improve your product’s quality and market fit.
You’re experiencing difficulties in coordinating and prioritizing product development. Your team needs help to streamline the development process and allocate resources.
Your team lacks a clear product vision, strategy, and roadmap necessary to guide product development.
You’re looking to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace and outperform your market alternatives.

Also, keep in mind that not every company necessarily needs to bring a product manager on board right away. Hiring a product manager can be a significant financial commitment for smaller startups. The salary for a qualified product manager can vary but typically ranges from $80,000 to $150,000 per year, depending on experience and location. If you’re not financially prepared to hire a full-time staff member, you might want to consider starting with a part-time or contract product manager to meet your immediate needs. You might be able to have someone within your existing product development team to serve as an interim solution.

Looking to Hire a Product Manager?

Hiring a great product manager is an investment that is well worth making. Product managers play a critical role in any organization that develops products. When hiring a product manager, look for candidates who have a strong track record of success, and a deep understanding of the product development process, the market, and the customer.

If you think it’s time to hire a full time product manager or curious about the market, check out DevRel Careers. By hiring a great product manager, you can give your company a competitive advantage and increase your chances of success in the marketplace.

Today’s customers aren’t looking for just any old product — they’re hunting for the best-looking, most intuitive solution for their needs. If you want any hope of standing out from the crowd, you need a competent UX designer to serve on your team.

The UX designer is a sought-after professional with a strong sense of collaboration and empathy. Rather than focusing on tools, features, and services, the UX designer asks: ‘is this the right move for our customers?’

To effectively uphold your customers’ best interests, the UX designer must tend to numerous responsibilities:

• Interviewing or surveying customers to learn more about their needs.
• Evaluating product and service prototypes to look for points of confusion.
• Auditing your existing products and services to find room for improvement.

This, of course, is a high-level overview of what a UX designer can do. More experienced professionals can do much more — and kick-start your business into a customer-centric future.

This guide explains the ins and outs of what you should know about user experience designers. We define their expectations, characteristics, and best-suited industries so you can make educated decisions as an employee or employer. 

Looking to hire (or get hired by) a great fit for your niche? We explain where you can find relevant listings at the bottom of the guide.

For now, let’s start by defining our terms:

What does a user experience designer do?

A UX designer ensures products and services are effective, efficient, and enjoyable for end users. This typically includes tasks such as conducting user research, designing wireframes and prototypes, and testing designs with users.

The ultimate goal of the user experience designer is to satisfy existing users and appeal to future customers. To do this, they need to:

• Listen to clients and record their feedback. This allows them to sift through positive and negative comments so they can take action on the most applicable points.
• Chart every last touchpoint on a customers’ journey. In the technical world, this means mapping out their navigating on an app or website. In non-technical industries, this could mean storyboarding, evaluating restroom placement, or even assessing the location of package copy.
• Collaborate with coworkers to find solutions for users. Once the UX designer has spotted a problem, they need to work alongside others (like the product manager or head of content) to determine the best next steps.

We typically think of UX designers as employees in technical positions. But as you’ve seen, this isn’t the case in every circumstance. Architecture, healthcare, and even food and beverage companies require the help of UX designers to keep an eye on product development.

UX designers still usually operate within a technical team’s hierarchy. Their level of seniority depends on their employer’s needs, which means they can serve in junior or senior positions or even report directly to the C-suite (like a CXO). They often work alongside user interface designers, software engineers, and other developers working on products for customers.

Characteristics of a UX designer

Successful UX designers need a good eye for detail and a passion for research and data. While they’re focused on ensuring the success of their employer, they do so by supporting the success of the end user.

This means the best UX designers have:

• A strong understanding of user-centered design principles. The best UX designers have a deep understanding of end user expectations for your products or services. To meet (and hopefully exceed) these expectations, they must look out for consistency, hierarchy, and context, among other things. 
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills. UX designers can’t work in a vacuum, and knowing how to communicate with other team members is paramount for success. They may need to sit in C-suite meetings or collaborate with employees outside their wheelhouse.
• The ability to use design tools such as Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD. A cursory understanding is usually enough, since not every company uses the same tech stack. That said, a professional who’s familiar with the tools of your trade is a valuable investment indeed.
• The ability to think critically and creatively. A UX designer needs equal parts grit and grace, especially while presenting unpopular findings. While the dev team or documentation specialist may not see anything wrong with a certain feature, the UX designer may — and then need to present customer research alongside their credible suggestions.
• Genuine empathy for users. UX designers need to put themselves in the shoes of your end users and their persona(s). Looking through the lenses of both consumer and collaborator, they should authentically feel your customer’s pain points and look for user-centric ways to solve them.
• A background in data. UX designers have a strong understanding of data and its analysis. Not only do they need to know how to collect quantitative and qualitative data, but they should be able to parse valuable insights from any less interesting data.
• The right personality for the job. The best UX designers are good at listening, have a love for learning, and never back down from a challenge. Many of them possess an analytical nature and think critically about the big picture of customer retention.

Keep in mind UX designers don’t need any certifications to carry out their roles. However, it never hurts to get more education, especially when it comes to hyper-specific technical industries. A few common examples of UX certifications include the Google UX Design Professional Certificate, the NN/g UX Certification, and the Bentley University UX Certificate Program.

There’s a very small number of full UX degrees available, even at the Masters level. Generally speaking, UX designers have some form of college education, including a Bachelors’ education in computer science, information technology, or graphic design.

When do you need a UX designer?

There’s no denying UX designers have a positive impact on the teams they serve. However, they don’t make sense for every industry, and they’re not always the best choice for every team.

For starters, many companies outside of the tech world don’t need to hire a UX designer. Vertices like construction, agriculture, and real estate may be hard-pressed to find a regular use case. Other industries, including hospitality, healthcare, and education, may find a rare application every now and then.

The biggest barrier to hiring UX designers is the high cost of their salary. These days, the average salary of a UX designer is roughly $94,351, although entry-level professionals start around $83,131. They can work up to as much as $126,265 or more at senior level. This may be more than some companies are willing to spend, especially younger businesses with skinnier budgets.

However, the benefits of hiring a UX designer greatly outweigh the up-front costs. Research from McKinsey & Company shows how design-driven companies have higher revenues and performance metrics than other companies focused on other priorities.

Plus, many sources suggest investing just $1 into UX yields a return on investment of $100 — a net increase of almost 200%. This easily covers the expense of their salary and covers training costs for junior employees.

So what does all this mean for your growing business?

You may want to hire a UX designer if:

• You are redesigning or expanding an existing product or service.
• You are experiencing usability problems with your product or service.
• You make enough income to support a mid to senior-level UX designer.
• You’re noticing excessive user churn and want to get to the bottom of it.
• You’re launching into a competitive industry and want to stand out.

On the other hand, you may not want to hire a full-time UX designer if:

• You don’t make enough income to support a full-time professional.
• You’re in an early stage of business growth (you’re not working on products).
• You don’t operate in an industry or niche requiring UX design.
• You don’t have excessive churn (or don’t have a product where churn is a problem).
• You’re not marketing in a saturated or hyper-competitive industry.

If you can’t currently afford a full-time UX designer, consider hiring a contractor or freelancer to bridge the gap. There are some extremely talented freelance professionals who can steer you in the right direction. And good news: UX designer careers are expected to grow 16% between 2022 and 2032, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a professional at a more accessible starting salary.

Looking to hire (or be hired as) a UX designer?

As we’ve learned, the main purpose of a UX designer is to help your company grow. But unlike documentation managers or heads of growth, their focus is on the customer — not just your product. 

Recruiting a talented UX professional is an excellent way to start involving your customers in the decision-making process, even if indirectly. And if you’re currently in a technical profession and wanting to make the switch to a new career, UX design may be a great fit for your personal and professional traits.

Looking to hire a UX designer for your team? Or wanted to get hired by a company in your niche? You can check out DevRel Careers for free to find dozens of suitable roles and top industry talent.

Whether you sell physical products or digital services, you need a way to keep tabs on t specs, measurements, and technical details. It’s not always feasible to do this on your own — especially as a growing small business owner — which is why hiring a documentation manager could make the most sense for your brand.

The documentation manager is truly a class all its own, requiring tireless efforts to keep good records for your brand. A few of the documentation manager’s most common responsibilities include:

• Updating user guides with more relevant information.
• Creating support docs for both technical teams and general users.
• Managing technical writers to turn specs into helpful and valuable content.

Documentation managers are a staple in SaaS companies, but have become increasingly common in other industries as well. It’s not uncommon to see them working for B2B and ecommerce brands, or even HR departments in larger corporations.

Keep in mind this just scratches the surface of what a documentation manager can do. Whether you want to become one or hire one for your team, you should know what to expect before getting in over your head.

This guide explains everything you should know about the role and work of a documentation manager. After we define the expectations and responsibilities of the job, we describe the characteristics you should look for in a well-suited professional.

Thinking about hiring a documentation manager for your team? We also list off some hiring triggers and explain how to find the right one for the job.

Now, let’s take a closer look at each of these topics, beginning with the first and most foundational question:

What is a Documentation Manager?

Documentation managers are responsible for creating, managing, and maintaining the documentation of a company’s products or services. This includes everything from user manuals to API documentation, as well as troubleshooting guides to help customers diagnose problems.

The role of a documentation manager is threefold:

1. To manage compliance. If your products and services aren’t up to code, you may be running afoul of the law. This becomes an even more serious problem when facing lawsuits or customer complaints.
2. To keep tabs on documents. Tracking down and organizing your documentation is anything but a thrilling task. However, the right documentation manager can manage it all on your behalf. This includes organizing existing documents, as well as updating old documentation to match current needs.
3. To facilitate a better understanding of your offering. Great technical documentation can help salespeople and end clients make more informed decisions about your product, service, or platform.

Documentation managers do perform different tasks depending on their industry. Healthcare documentation managers work with sensitive HIPAA documents, for example, and may need to secure patient files and track doctor’s orders. Working for a B2B SaaS, on the other hand, likely requires curating support docs or creating technical written work.

Speaking of written work, documentation managers are the primary professionals in charge of your other technical writers. Although they can (and do) create content on their own, they’re more likely to work alongside others to boost content production and increase workflow speeds.

The documentation manager typically takes a senior position within a company. They may work alongside a head of content to update or refresh specific content. They may also coordinate with your head of growth to create documentation for new products and services.

Either way, you should look at your documentation manager as a member of your senior team — not an entry-level employee reporting to higher-ups.

Characteristics of a Successful Documentation Manager

Documentation managers are organized individuals who are well-spoken and detail-oriented. Although there’s no such thing as a degree in documentation management, they should have a portfolio of written technical documents and at least some experience working in your industry.

A few other must-have characteristics include:

• A strong understanding of your product or service. The best documentation manager has the perspective of your customers and unique knowledge of your niche or specialty. Knowing what you offer as a company (as well as what your audience is looking for) can help technical content connect better with clients.
• Excellent writing and editing skills. A documentation manager is a good communicator above all else. In addition to creating tutorials for customers and organization systems for your brand, they should be able to catch missing information and fix inaccurate details in existing documentation.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Documentation managers should be able to operate remotely and stay self-motivated while finishing projects. However, they also need to assign work to other technical writers and answer any questions posed by members of the team.
• Experience with compliance and management. Legal, healthcare, and financial businesses may need to follow strict rules to stay compliant with the law. Other organizations, including SaaS and VoIP, need to communicate legal compliance guidelines to their users or subscribers. 
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. The larger and more recognized your business becomes, the more documentation you need to write. You need a documentation manager who can juggle more than one project and prioritize tasks in order of importance.

Keep in mind you also need technical writers who share many of these skills and attributes. Hiring like-minded individuals makes running your business easier, as well as more efficient for your documentation manager.

Trying to find a technical writer for hire? We wrote this complete guide to get you started.

When do you Need a Documentation Manager?

Hiring a documentation manager comes with all sorts of benefits. That said, it may not be the best idea right now. Not only are they expensive to vet, hire, and train, but they may require you to hire additional freelancers to support future projects.

The average salary of a documentation manager starts at $97,294 — six figures per year when you factor full-time benefits. Plus, hiring freelance technical writers to support your documentation manager may cost you several hundred dollars per project (depending on experience levels). 

If you don’t have the capital to support a long-term documentation manager, or if you’re not creating enough content to keep them busy, you may want to temporarily pass on a hire and settle for a freelancer.

But let’s say you do have the capital to hire a documentation manager. How can you know if you’re ready to bring someone on board?

It largely depends on:

• If your company is developing new products, services, or expanding into new markets.
• If you are experiencing rapid-pace growth and need to scale your documentation team.
• If you want to ensure that your documentation is high-quality and up-to-date.
• If you have a specific business niche, structure, or model that requires an in-house expert to write documentation.
• If you don’t have any in-house techs writing and updating product documentation.
• If you work in a restricted or heavily monitored industry where incorrect documentation may result in catastrophe.
• If you need someone to lead your team of technical writers and assign, correct, and strategize new content for your site.
• If you want a pro to prepare for the worst with audit trails and business continuity planning.
• If you need a full-time professional to coordinate with product managers and write documentation for new updates, changing features, and future releases.
• If you manage a remote team that needs a better way to manage, access, secure, and distribute its documentation.

Remember: not every company needs a documentation manager. There are multiple workarounds and out-of-the-box solutions (like technical content agencies) you can use to fill in the gaps. But if your business is scaling quickly or serving lots of technical customers, it may be time to hire a professional of your own.

Finding the Right Documentation Manager for Your Team

The documentation manager is an indispensable role for any documentation-heavy field. Whether you’re looking to create more technical content or spruce up the support docs on your site, these professionals can kick-start a strategy that pulls your brand to new heights.

It’s true that not every business is ready to hire a full-time documentation manager. However, many are ready to start making technical content. If you need a temporary bridge between freelancer and full-time hire, you can turn to Draft.dev for high-quality content aimed at software engineers.