Allison Whaley Shares Her Tips On Best Ways To Market Digital Products

What motivated you to work in marketing?

I love getting to know and understanding people–what drives them, how they think–so marketing was a natural fit for me. At one point in my career, I worked for a Fortune 500 company, and my favourite part of that role was participating in large consumer research projects–interviews and focus groups with people from across the country.

What are some of the best ways to market digital products?

Email remains a hugely successful way to convert prospects and drive return sales for customers. For new digital products, referral programs can be a great way to drive sales.

What are the secrets behind a successful email campaign?

Targeted messaging and clear call to actions (CTAs). Don’t send your entire email distribution list the same message; personalize the content based on that user’s previous buying history, demographic information, or on-site/in-app activity. Make sure the action desired–your call to action–is clear and easily accessible.

Can you tell us about Product Gym?

Product Gym is a product management school in New York City, now expanding to San Francisco and London. It was started as an alternative to General Assembly and Product School, as a course that not only teaches working professionals how to be a product manager, but also helps them navigate this career switch by offering career coaching and interview prep, with the goal of actually helping students land product management jobs.

What motivated you to become an instructor?

I love teaching. I taught undergraduate classes at NYU while I was getting my MBA, and worked as a tutor when I was younger. And I’m passionate about the tech space, so helping other people leave jobs they don’t like to work in a space that I find rewarding and exciting is such a pleasure.

What is the favourite part of your job? What’s the most challenging?

My favourite and most exciting part of my day job is building products–envisioning them, designing them, bringing them to consumers. I love the entire process, from conception to launch to monitoring. The most challenging part of my job is prioritisation. There are so many projects to pursue in any given moment, and knowing how and what to prioritise is not always obvious.

Do you have any role models in your industry?

My roles models are personal role models. I’ve had several managers who I’ve stayed in touch with over the years–as I’ve watched their careers grow, I’ve learned a ton and tried to apply that to my own life.

Name 3 apps on your phone that you use every day:

Instagram, Gmail, Spotify

Name a Website you read daily:

New York Times

What’s your favourite piece of technology or gadget that you couldn’t live without? 

My airpods. I was late to the game in getting them–received them as a Christmas gift last year–but now I can’t live without them.

How do you stay on top of the latest trends and technologies?

I read a lot, and I try to stay connected to a network of people working in tech and product marketing in New York City. I’m part of a couple of Slack groups for product marketing professionals and I attend Meetup groups.

How do think technology is going to change people’s lives?

Technology will provide people with access to activities and things that were previously inaccessible–think how easy it is to call people across the globe now or have an affordable car come to your door right when you need one. At the same time, consumers are increasingly grappling with the hold that technology has on their lives.

Cal Newport writes about this in his book Digital Minimalism, “Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key is using it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you.”

Cal Newport

We’re moving into a world where consumers both love technology and deeply depend on it, yet worry about its presence in their lives. We need to build products that clearly align to consumer values.

Do you have any plans for the future?

In terms of my career, I’ll be starting a new role at the startup Policygenius this spring. In my personal life, my husband and I recently bought a van that’s outfitted to have a mobile home inside, so we hope to do some camping and road trips this summer.

About Product Gym

Product Gym is a 6-week part-time program focused on training you to generate more phone screens, onsite Interviews, and offers. Our classes are led by rockstar Product Managers, Engineers, Designers, Data Scientists, Product Marketers, and Technical Recruiters specialized in helping you land the RIGHT Product Manager job.https://productgym.io/