From Slide Deck Artist to Revenue Driver
Why most PMMs are expensive fiction writers and the 3-step ladder to becoming revenue insurance.
Quick Insights 🔎
Startup snippets
Dubai Goes Crypto 🪙
Dubai just became the first government in the world to accept crypto payments thanks to a deal with Crypto.com. Taxes, fees, fines you name it, you can now pay it in crypto.Shakers Raises €14M to Blend AI + Talent 🤖👥
Madrid-based Shakers just raised €14M to help businesses build AI-augmented teams on demand. For startups, this points to a clear trend that the future isn’t hiring more it’s plugging in the right humans plus machines, fast.Google’s Backing AI Startups 💰
Google just launched a new program to fund early-stage AI startups by offering cash, compute, and mentorship. Google wants a front-row seat to the next OpenAI before it goes rogue.
Startup mental model 🧠
STP or die.
STP is what turns spaghetti-against-the-wall campaigns into actual strategy. Segmentation then targeting then positioning. Skip the order and you end up shouting at everyone and convincing no one. The Product Marketing Playbook calls STP the skeleton of every fintech launch. Flesh it out first or the campaign limps from day one.
Reality Check ✅
Your PMM just spent 3 months on messaging frameworks. Revenue impact: $0. Here's why 90% of product marketers are expensive fiction writers.
Look, I get it. Every PMM starts with good intentions.
They want to craft the perfect story, build beautiful frameworks, run those positioning workshops. But here's what separates the 90% writing fiction from the 10% driving revenue:
The 90% think product marketing is about storytelling.
The 10% know it's about systematically driving adoption.
Now go get some caffeine.
In this breakdown:
✅ The three stages of real product marketing: Rookie, Operator, Strategist
✅ How to go from messaging decks to launch systems
✅ Why product marketing is revenue insurance
✅ The simple framework to earn your seat at the roadmap table
The Product Marketing Ladder
Rookie → Operator → Strategist.
I call this framework the Product Marketing Ladder.
Most teams get stuck on the first rung, thinking great messaging is the goal when it’s just the start.
1 . Rookie mode
Goal → prove you understand the user’s pain better than they do.
Cheat Sheet punch‑list
Value Proposition → write one real customer frustration and one crisp product promise. If it looks or feels like brochure fluff you are not done.
Positioning Statement → fifteen words or fewer. “For remote dev teams who drown in JIRA, Flowtask is the inbox that ships projects on time.” Copy that on the war‑room wall.
AARRR scorecard → track Activation and Referral first. Early retention tells leadership that product marketing is more than pretty decks. Activation = user links a bank account and makes the first transaction.
“Users who activate within the first 24 hours are 3× more likely to convert to paid.“ Mixpanel
Your CEO will listen to one metric → speed to signal.
Show that your first campaign delivered a statistically real lift in Activation and doors open. People will remember your name.
Why it matters
I once saw a startup hire a PMM to 'do messaging' no roadmap access, no product context. Three months in? Still no activation lift. Turns out, if you’re not tied to the funnel, you’re just writing unpopular fiction.
Ignore Activation and you are answering Glassdoor questions by next quarter.
2 . Operator mode
Goal → design a system that spits out launches that systematically drive results.
Launch tiering
Tier 1 – Flagship Launch
Major product or feature.Requires:
→ Full-funnel campaign
→ Analyst briefings
→ Legal and compliance review
→ KPI dashboard reportingTier 2 – Mid-Level Launch
Moderate updates or enhancements.
Requires:
→ Targeted campaign (email, blog, limited paid)
→ Internal enablement (sales, support)
→ Performance trackingTier 3 – Micro Launch
Small updates (e.g., UI tweak, toggle, in-app banner).
→ Light-touch comms only
→ No campaign or formal tracking
Messaging House
Roof = one promise customers screenshot.
Pillars = three proof points.
Foundation = actual data or client quotes with links.Keep the doc in Notion, comment in line, quit the Slack ping‑pong.
“Great messaging is about what the customer can now do that they couldn’t before.” April Dunford
Localization that does not suck
Playbook example:
Localized product pages consistently outperform English-only ones. Think higher conversion, lower bounce, and better trust signals. Use a tool like DeepL or Lokalise for the first pass, then have a native speaker refine tone and phrasing.
It’s the cheapest way to look local and feel premium.
Why it matters
Operator PMMs get invited to roadmap meetings. Fire‑fighter PMMs get invited to exit interviews.
3. Strategist mode
Goal → choose the game, not just the tactics.
PESTLE scan every quarter
The EU just floated new open‑banking clauses. If your compliance slide is older than sixty days you are betting the company on wishful thinking.Jobs‑to‑Be‑Done sequencing
Map every core “job” a buyer hires your product for. Stack rank by urgency, not vanity. Revolut won early by obsessing over “send money home tonight” while legacy banks bragged about contactless cards.Category design
Don’t be “another spend card.” Kill a villain. See Ramp’s “Burn your expense report.”
Why it matters
Strategists write the investor memo that raises the next round. Everyone else writes Jira tickets.
From beginner to advanced in ninety days
Day 1‑30 → live in customer interviews, steal their exact phrasing, ship a value prop that would survive on a billboard.
Day 31‑60 → template your launch process, trim reviews to the few who can veto, publish the Messaging House in public view.
Day 61‑90 → run a PESTLE off‑site, pick one regulatory shift you can ride, craft a category narrative that nails it.
Do that and you’re no longer “marketing.” You are revenue insurance.
Final thoughts
Product marketing is the translation layer between code and wallets.
Learn the Uncharted Product Marketing ladder, speak buyer not jargon, and the market quits ignoring you.
No PMM dreams of being the slide deck person. Step up, speak buyer, and own the roadmap. Or get used to being introduced as 'the one who helps with messaging.’
Keep winging it, and you will join the 80% of launches Gartner loves to quote for being forgettable.
Until next week, keep building, no fairytales required.
Martin, Chief Ranter at Uncharted
p.s. If you enjoyed this, please hit the Like button below ♥️
Are you sure Jobs-to-be-Done is level 3? Seems rather fundamental to me.