Amplifying Your Voice

Written By Clement Kao

Product management cannot thrive as a profession unless we share our unique voices and experiences as product managers. Thankfully, there are lots of ways to get your voice heard in the global conversation!

I’ve condensed my experiences into this guide to help you step into the spotlight and share your wisdom with others.

I’ll walk you through how to leverage guest publications to share your perspectives, and I’ll show you how to pitch yourself to curators and publishers. I’ll also discuss how to work through imposter syndrome.

So, let’s first talk about what exactly a guest publication is, and why it’s mutually beneficial for you to be featured on one. 

What is a guest publication?

I define “guest publications” as media that are focused on the featured guest, rather than the publishing organization. 

Podcasts, speaker events, videos, and articles can all be forms of guest publications. The goal of the guest publication is to provide a platform for the guest to share their voice, rather than to directly increase the publisher’s revenue.

Most guest publications are written from the guest contributor’s perspective in first person, though it doesn’t always have to be the case. You can always ask the publisher to write about you in the third person (i.e. using your name and pronouns instead of using “I”) if you prefer.

Now that we know what a guest publication is, let’s discuss the benefits you receive by becoming a featured guest.

How do you benefit from getting featured by guest publications?

Guest publications help product managers amplify their positive impact in a variety of ways.

First, by contributing to a guest publication, you crystallize your thoughts and clarify your best practices as a product manager.

Many times, we work off of instinct when we’re tackling product problems, and that instinct is sometimes quite difficult to articulate.

But, when you have the opportunity to share your perspectives and your frameworks, that opportunity enables you to craft a clear stance that you otherwise might not come up with.

I strongly believe that I’ve become a better product manager and product leader by sharing my perspectives with others through guest publications. Without the forcing function of guest publications, I likely would not have reflected on my experiences as deeply, and therefore I wouldn’t have extracted critical learnings from my work that I could apply to future situations.

Second, by getting featured on guest publications, you increase your visibility to others, which is valuable in many ways.

A potential hiring manager may come across your guest publication, which then convinces them to reach out to you to discuss opportunities to transition into their organization.

A potential investor or cofounder may discover you, which then leads them to contact you about new initiatives and ventures.

Or, a potential mentee may find your publication insightful, which then drives them to ask for your guidance.

By increasing your visibility in the product management world, you amplify your ability to make a positive change in the world.

Third, most guest publications give you the space to promote causes that you care about. It’s a solid way to drive awareness for charities, projects, and initiatives that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Typically, you’ll have a dedicated “about me” section or a “projects I’m currently working on” section within a guest publication. Those are great places to share about the causes that you care most about!

And finally, guest publications link back to your websites and handles.

Backlinks are valuable because they inform various search engines about your websites and handles, and that causes search results to prioritize your sites over other ones.

In other words, getting featured doesn’t just help you amplify your impact in the short run. It also has lasting benefits since more and more people will find out about you and your initiatives.

So, it’s valuable for product managers to be featured on guest publications. But, why do guest publications even exist in the first place? What benefit do publishers receive by featuring guests, especially when it won’t drive immediate revenue growth for them?

How do guest publications benefit by featuring you?

A common misconception about guest publications is that “I have to be at least as famous as previously featured guests.” Honestly, that’s not true.

While some publications are more selective than others, the vast majority of guest publications would love to have you. Here are three reasons why they can’t wait to feature you.

First, publishers are constantly focused on their audience’s engagement levels, and guest features are a powerful way to drive engagement within an existing audience.

Publications from new guests enable them to share fresh new content with their audience, and that leads to better retention in the long run. By sharing a variety of perspectives, publishers increase the chances that their content will resonate, leading to stronger brand awareness.

Second, thoughtful new content drives search engine optimization for publishers. The more quality content a publisher has, the higher their results appear across all search results. This practice is called search engine optimization (usually abbreviated as “SEO”).

In turn, that makes their content easier to access for a global audience, which then helps them share helpful resources while strengthening their pipeline of prospective customers.

Finally, publishers would love nothing more than to tap into your network.

Featured guests usually share their featured media pieces with their own network, which then helps the publisher get in front of a new audience that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

Why exactly am I sharing the specifics about how publishers benefit by featuring you?

It’s because I want to break the myth that publishers don’t want to hear from you. Too frequently, I hear people say that “publishers are too busy” or “they probably don’t need my contribution.”

Believe me, they’d love nothing more than to feature you (and your friends and colleagues) alongside their own content!

High-quality guest content is key to many publishers’ content strategies. Don’t feel embarrassed or awkward about pitching them on your idea - after all, they’re not doing you a favor! Rather, you’re doing them a favor by providing them with valuable, relevant new content.

So, we’ve established that guest publications are win-win for both you and the publisher. But, let’s not forget that the global PM industry also benefits from your voice.

Let’s break down how your guest content will help a global community of product managers excel at their craft.

How does your guest publication contribution help grow the PM industry?

The fundamentals of product management are rarely taught in high schools or colleges.

While a small number of higher education institutions do teach product management, these courses tend to be selective or expensive, which makes it difficult for the average person to learn about product management.

And, on-the-job product management resources are typically scarce too. Most product organizations are focused on their businesses, which causes an underinvestment in their product talent.

Unlike mature industries like accounting, sales, or marketing, the industry of product management lacks industrywide standards, best practices, career trajectories, or training programs.

By getting your specific perspective published, you’re increasing the body of knowledge that’s available in the public sphere.

You’re enabling people from all over the world, in all sorts of industries and backgrounds, to learn about product management.

You’re creating accessibility by sharing your knowledge, and you’re creating a more equal world that has a more diverse cast of product managers.

And, here’s the kicker.

Even if you publish about a topic that’s been covered before, you’re still increasing accessibility, because your specific perspective will resonate better than the current materials out there for some segment of the world. 

Different people resonate with different content. Some people prefer podcasts, and some prefer articles. Some people prefer humor, and others prefer hard numbers.

People from different cultures and backgrounds will react differently to various content, and that means that your unique perspective matters.

In other words, don’t worry about publishing a novel thesis or a breakthrough idea that’s never existed before. The point isn’t whether your topic is original or not.

Rather, the point is that it’s your perspective, and your specific perspective is going to help someone who was previously stuck.

Being featured in a guest publication isn’t just good for you or for the publisher. It’s good for the industry.

Many times, when people consider whether or not they should try to get a featured publication, they feel that they’re being selfish or vain.

You’re neither selfish nor vain. It’s virtuous to be featured, and people all over the world need and want to hear your voice. 

So, let’s talk about how exactly to get your voice out there!

Best practices for pitching yourself to guest publications

I’ve used the framework below to convince publishers to share my voice alongside theirs.

You’ll notice that it’s mostly in line with “how product managers ship products,” so this framework should feel familiar!

  1. Identify your target audience

  2. Focus on a specific pain

  3. Come up with a solution to the pain

  4. Decide on the medium for your solution

  5. Find a guest publication that fits

  6. Pitch the publisher

Let’s dive into each of these steps.

First, identify your target audience. The biggest predictor of “will this content flop or not” is whether it’s targeted at a specific audience or not. Who exactly do you want to benefit from your knowledge?

Are you looking to help aspiring product managers? Are you aiming at college students or working professionals?

Or, are you focused on individual contributor product managers who are tackling the day-to-day craft of product management? If so, are you looking to share your knowledge with entry-level PMs or with more senior talent?

Or, are you focused on people managers, such as directors of product or chief product officers? If so, what sort of product organization maturity are you targeting: early-stage startups, mid-stage firms, or publicly-traded companies?

Don’t feel bad about focusing on a narrowly-defined segment. Paradoxically, by targeting a specific segment, your perspective will be a lot more compelling, and in turn that attracts other segments to seek your knowledge.

As an example, I wrote this article about how to use your development budget with a focus on entry-level individual contributor PMs. But, it turns out that “managers of PMs” also found this content valuable!

So again, make sure that you focus on a target audience. It’s the most important part of crafting compelling content.

Second, identify a targeted pain to solve. Your target audience needs help with lots of problem areas, but you have to pick just one to focus on. You don’t want to go after too many different pains at once, or else your pitch will become unfocused!

If you find that you’re passionate about lots of different pains, that’s a great situation to be in! Log those pains in a separate document, and use these other pains as the breeding ground for separate guest publications in the future.

Third, find a solution to the pain. At the end of the day, every piece of content is a solution.

As an example, a list of ideas solves the pain of “I don’t know how to get started”, and a list of benefits solves the pain of “I don’t know how to convince people that this idea is important.”

A framework solves the pain of “I don’t know how to structure this problem”, and a personal story or a template solves the pain of “I don’t have a concrete idea of how other people solved this problem.”

How exactly will your idea make it easier for product managers to succeed?

Fourth, select a type of media to deliver the solution. Different people have different preferences and personal strengths, so be sure to find a media type that maps to your style.

Here are some examples of how different kinds of media might suit different kinds of guests:

A comparison of articles vs. podcasts vs. presentations for guest publications

Fifth, find a guest publication that fits. A guest publication is a combination of audiences, topics, and media types, so you’ll want to find one that aligns with your target audience, your proposed solution, and your preferred media type.

The great news is that there are literally thousands of guest publications out there! No matter what your audience, topic, or media is, you’ll have many options for publications to pitch to.

Finally, pitch the guest publication on your solution. Reach out with a short message that covers the following key points:

  • What is your idea?

  • Why is it valuable for their audience?

  • Why are you a credible expert?

Here’s a template you can use (all names and ideas are fictional):

Hi Annabelle,

I’d love to join your podcast PM Daily News to discuss “how to manage uncertainty.” Product managers make decisions every day under uncertain circumstances, which causes stress and anxiety. I’ve created a four-step framework for managing this uncertainty, which will help your listeners confidently tackle larger scopes of work on the job.

I’ve personally used this framework to ship a high-visibility initiative for my company, and it’s been incredibly helpful for me and my teammates. I’d love to have the opportunity to share this framework with your audience.

If this is something you’d find valuable, I’m more than happy to tackle next steps with you!

Cheers,
Constance

Keep in mind that many publishers are juggling a variety of initiatives, and sometimes they’ll forget to respond. If you don’t hear back from them in a week, reach out with a friendly reminder. 

Also, there’s nothing wrong with reaching out to multiple publishers at the same time. After all, no one is guaranteed a 100% hit rate.

Early on, you might start with a 5% hit rate; as you become more seasoned, you might see a 30% hit rate. Even the most famous PMs won’t see 100% hit rates, so don’t let silence or rejection get to you - it’s all about iterating and finding a good fit.

Speaking of implementation, let’s talk about what happens after you’ve been accepted as a guest contributor! How exactly do you create something that’s valuable and compelling?

Resources for performing well

Guest publications generally come in three form factors:

  • Writing, e.g. articles or essays

  • Interviewing, e.g. video interviews, podcasts, or fireside chats

  • Presenting, e.g. speaker events or lectures

Each of these different form factors warrants their own dedicated deep dive. While we plan on covering these later in depth as separate standalone resources, here are some great resources in the meantime to kick off your journey.

(Note that we are not affiliated with any of these resources and we do not officially endorse any of them, but we do think the advice within is sound.)

Resources for writing well

Resources for interviewing well

Resources for presenting well

So, you’ve read up on the relevant resources, and you’ve got the material that you need to go. But, if you’re like me, you probably have a nagging voice in your head that’s telling you something like this: “Am I really good enough to be a featured guest?”

Don’t worry - it’s a natural reaction. This reaction is called the imposter syndrome, and I’ll walk you through how to work through these emotions.

Getting past imposter syndrome

First things first: just about everyone has imposter syndrome.

In fact, the more visibility you have, the worse imposter syndrome gets.

Don’t believe me? Here are some fun listicles on famous people who have imposter syndrome:

The reason why people experience imposter syndrome is because your subconscious mind is trying to protect you. It knows that you’re planning on stepping up, and it’s freaking out because it doesn’t know what to expect.

The problem with imposter syndrome is that it’s holding you back. It’s too focused on potential risks, and not focused enough on the positive impact that you’ll make.

Here are three approaches I use to mitigate my imposter syndrome.

To scale back imposter syndrome, I’ve personally found that it helps to “make the situation smaller.” In other words, my imposter syndrome is usually worried about “I need to help 100 people at this speaker event, and I need to make sure all 100 people get PM jobs after my talk.”

To calm its nerves, I reframe the situation this way: “It doesn’t matter how many people come to the talk. If I can make a single person’s life just a little bit easier, that will be enough.”

Another way to “make the situation smaller” is to pretend that you’re sharing your knowledge with a past version of yourself.

You know exactly what would’ve been helpful for your past self. And, that knowledge then builds confidence that your work has value for others who were in similar situations to your past self!

In other words, don’t let perfection be the enemy of good work. Focus on making a small positive impact for just one person (even if it’s your past self), and the rest will take care of itself.

Another thing that helps is to treat your featured content as practice for a future one. Whether it’s a talk, a podcast, or an article, you’re just doing a practice round to tackle another one in the future.

By treating your content as practice, you give yourself the space to improve, and you gracefully accept that your upcoming featured content doesn’t need to be perfect.

Finally, find people to provide constructive feedback before you do it for real.

Ask friends, family, and loved ones to practice your presentation with you, or ask them to review a draft of your video or article before you officially publish it.

They’ll help you with improving your craft and making sure you put your best foot forward. And, many times, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by their positive feedback! 

Remember that you’re usually your own worst critic. It’s reassuring to know that even if you’re not personally proud of something that you’ve created, one of your loved ones is proud of it.

With that, we’ve fully covered how to amplify your voice through guest publications. It’s your turn to take action!

Closing thoughts

I want to see more voices in the global product management discussion. Your voice is valuable, and we all would benefit by hearing from you!

The most difficult part about this entire process is getting started. Once you’ve completed your very first guest publication, you’ll find that subsequent ones are significantly easier to tackle.

First, take the time to identify the big idea that you want to share, and clarify which audience would stand to benefit the most from your idea.

Then, find a publication that best matches your desired audience and topic, and reach out to them to explore a collaboration.

Once they’re interested, give them an outline of your proposal, and work towards a go-live date together.

I can’t wait to see your upcoming guest publications as a product manager!

Thank you to Pauli Bielewicz, Mary Paschentis, Goutham Budati, Markus Seebauer, Juliet Chuang, and Kendra Ritterhern for making this guide possible.

Clement Kao
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