With over 20 years in the education sector, Charity Dodd has blended her passion for teaching and learning with her knowledge in product marketing and content management to better serve her company and their customers.

Currently, she is the sole and first Product Marketing Manager at Aeries Software, a leading Student Information System (SIS) provider for school districts. 

How did you find out about PMA courses? 

I was very fortunate to discover the PMA Slack community, which opened my eyes to the wealth of resources and information available through the PMA. Within that vibrant community, I learned about the extensive selection of courses listed on the PMA website.

Why did you choose the Persona certification course? 

As a new employee at my company, I was tasked with creating buyer personas to guide our product messaging and positioning. While I planned to eventually complete PMA's Core Certification, the Persona course stood out as an urgent need. 

I realized it would provide the depth of understanding I required to develop accurate, impactful personas. The certification completely changed the way I looked at developing our personas.

Why did this certification stand out above market alternatives? 

The PMA Persona Certification differentiated itself through the incredibly valuable templates and resources included in the course materials. Combined with PMA's sterling reputation as an industry leader in product marketing, I felt confident this was the clear choice.

Which aspects of the certification did you find the most valuable?

Without a doubt, the templates and resources included in the course provided the most value. Just as importantly, the certification did an excellent job explaining how to effectively utilize personas, with realistic examples of how they should directly inform content strategy, positioning, and more.

How have you transferred the insights and knowledge gained into your day-to-day practice? 

Before taking this course I had an idea of how we would create our personas, but after completing this course, I had a better understanding of how many personas I should begin with along with the components that I should be using and processes for creating them so that they would be more accurate and helpful. 

I now have an evidence-based game plan tailored to our business that will directly feed into positioning and messaging, and enable sales and marketing to better connect with what motivates buyers.

How has the certification enhanced your product marketing credentials? 

My confidence in spearheading persona initiatives and explaining their value across the organization has grown exponentially thanks to this course. I can discuss the purpose and tactical application of personas at both a strategic level and in everyday tasks like content development. 

Has this experience helped you to network?

Being a part of the PMA Community is what led me to my current position. Through the Slack community, I have built a network of amazing connections with whom I can talk and ask for feedback, help, and suggestions, and share my knowledge and resources as well. 

How has this experience impacted your professional growth? 

This course gave me the confidence to take ownership of the persona process at my company and develop the expertise to educate colleagues on their immense value. 

If you hadn’t signed up for the Persona certification, what impact do you think this would’ve had on your career? 

While not having the certification wouldn't have directly impacted my career, I believe it would have significantly limited my effectiveness in creating personas in my current role.

I wouldn't have had the depth of persona expertise or the tools to create truly insightful personas tailored to our business needs, and I don’t think I would have the true knowledge to say WHY departments should be using personas. 

What would you say to fellow PMMs considering signing up for the Persona certification? 

Do it! Find a way to make it happen. It will change the way you think about personas. In turn, will change the way you create them, think about them, train others, and communicate to others about personas. 

Any final thoughts? 

I am devouring these courses. I am fortunate to have my company pay for my Pro+ membership which allows me to do so. I would love to see PMA create some sort of payment plan to make the courses accessible to those who cannot afford to pay or don’t have their companies supporting them like I do. 

I took a program to become certified in SEL/Wellness/Yoga for educators and they set up a payment plan where the funds came out automatically until the course was paid for. It was very helpful, otherwise, I wouldn’t have completed the program. Just food for thought.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity! 

Are you ready to join Charity and become Persona Certified?

​​Whether you’re new to personas or wanna level up your existing efforts, this course will take the most robust look at how to create, disseminate, and leverage your personas to drive real business impact.

This course is being created by our in-house content and product marketing guru Bryony Pearce and will include guest lectures from the likes of ProfitWell, G2, IBM, Monese, and Sumo Logic.

By the end of this course you’ll be able to:

🔥 Create, build, and deliver personas that actually work.

💪 Streamline the persona process by focussing only on extracting and mining data that drives bottom-line impact.

🚀 Take your entire company’s product, marketing, sales, and customer-focused efforts to the next level.

🎯 Get everyone in your org rallied around your personas and clearly demonstrate the tangible value they deliver.

🔮 Understand where and when personas should be used and provide clear use cases to key stakeholders across the business.

🏆 Show off your shiny new certificate to everyone in your network.

Get Persona Certified