Grow Some Martech of Your Own
Posted January 27, 2023
Eager to learn new martech skills? Don't wait for opportunities — create your own!
Validation from a trusted source
I'm a big fan of Search Engine Journal. I follow them on LinkedIn, and I learn a lot from their posts. So imagine my delight when their recent webinar, Link & Blogging Strategies for 2023 included a shoutout for experimenting with your own projects. Huzzah! I've been doing that since I built my first website. When I became interested in blogging, I created my own blog in Blogger. When WordPress became popular, I used it to build a new site and blog.
Get the gist & go for it
Not every platform lends itself to self-teaching — AEM is one I've read about but couldn't find an affordable way to learn. But there's a long list of tech and tools I've read about, thought through ways I could use them, then grown my skills by implementing them on my own sites:
- Hosting & domain registration
- Blogging — this is my 25th post in blog number three
- Installing Google Analytics — when the IT department at a previous job wouldn't let me see our analytics, I added the snippet to my own site and monitored my own data
- Securing my site with an SSL Certificate — I've never monetized a site, but I learned how to add that handy little padlock in the browser URL window
- Experimenting with too many languages to count
In addition to growing my knowledge, learning about these tools and technologies benefits me in interviews because I can cite tangible examples of problem-solving and learning from mistakes. Not every employer appreciates go-getters, but I want to work for those who do.
Personal & professional benefits of DIY martech
Whether you're tired of the IT guys talking over your head or eager to stand out on a competitive team, building personal projects can help you:
- Learn the lexicon (and earn the right to snicker along at the guy who uses Java & JavaScript interchangeably)
- Make informed decisions about what's worth learning because you've taken it for a test drive
- Gain a better understanding of how various components work together
- Get more comfortable with mastering new tools, which never stop coming
- Earn the reputation of someone eager to learn rather than the weakest link
For me, the most valuable aspect of my personal tech tinkering is the professional confidence it's given me. It might not permanently exterminate my imposter syndrome, but it helps me shut it down before it paralyzes me into inaction. For example, we're using a new tool called iCapture to collect trade show leads at work, and I'm tasked with recommending what to do with those leads that — instead of being manually loaded into Pardot post-show — will flow in dynamically, bringing with them new ways to segment customer requests and better ways for customer service to manage them and build business.
At first, I was a little overwhelmed with the new dashboards and connector requirements and fields that don't perfectly map. But there are helpful, experienced team members to whom I can ask questions, and once I told myself "So what if you've never used this tool? You've imported leads ... you've segmented lists ... you've seen data sync between Pardot & Salesforce. This is just a new way to skin an old cat*," I was fine. So bring it on! Automated, turnkey lead capturing, here we come.
*No actual fur babies were harmed for this post. 🐱