This is why marketing is hard

So how to learn marketing? Why no one tells me what EXACT THINGS to do??!?!?! ๐Ÿ˜ค๐Ÿ˜ค๐Ÿ˜ค Well, it is because of learning marketing โ‰  learning coding. Coding is a process with a predictable output. If you use CSS โ€œopacity:0โ€ an element disappears. It happens every time for every student. In contrast, marketing is not a technical science. It is a dynamic field that combines art, creativity, analysis and science. Unlike coding, marketing outcomes can vary based on 100000 factors: audience, timing, competition, platform, channel, brand perception, cultural context, execution, budget etc. This is why marketers often speak in principles rather than exact steps. They might say "understand your audience" instead of "use these exact words." The 1st one adapts to various situations, while the 2nd might only work in specific contexts. This is why effective marketing requires adaptability, critical thinking, and continuous learning rather than following a set of instructions. This is why no one gives you the answers. Only clues to find them. And this is why marketing seems so "hard" ๐Ÿ™‚ - - - โœจ My ๐• https://x.com/alexanderisorax ๐Ÿ“ง My newslttr: https://10k.isora.me/

Replies

CY Zhou
Absolutely, Alexander! Marketing is all about understanding and connecting with your audience, which can be incredibly challenging but also immensely rewarding.
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Rowe Morehouse
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Marketing is harder than coding. So many hard-to-define variables that go into a black box. Measuring it is hard too.
Rowe Morehouse
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@alexanderisora I would agree, I do both all day long.
Alexander Isora ๐Ÿฆ„
@rowemore I think to understand this one has to try both
Amit Gawande
So well said - you got me at predictable (engineering) vs unpredictable (marketing)!
Rihab Zaidi
Pls say it louder for the people in the back who expect marketing to be a logical science and give immediate results.
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Kostya Bolshukhin
I couldn't even replicate principles that worked for me to get some attention on LinkedIn with my co-founder It's really a maze you had to run with eyes closed while your hair is on fire!
Alexander Isora ๐Ÿฆ„
@kostyabolsh every time is like the first time
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Pachi Parra
Now you can imagine how hard is my job, that is a mix of Marketing and coding haha But it is fun
Eric_Jin
Marketing is all about learning through practice. The experiences and summaries of others are important, but sometimes they may not apply to your situation and thus may not be effective. So you can refer to the methods of others, but you must continuously experiment and make mistakes in practice to find the right path for yourself. Communicate more with those who are doing well, and you will gradually develop your own thoughts and ideas.
Andreas Sohns
Marketing is a mix of art and science and its always evolving Understanding your audience and staying adaptable are key.
Elly
SlashPage
I agree with you soooooooo much!!!!
Alexandra Goss
Haha, I love the way you put it, that's very true. I find that a lot of my techie clients get frustrated easily when they try something and it doesn't yield immediate results The thing is, though, the more you do marketing, the more predictable it gets as you gather enough insights to make data-driven educated guesses Also, while there's no one-fits-all marketing solution, there are generally safe, tried-and-tested paths that would make sense for most early-stage companies
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Alexandra Goss
@my3_murthy Trust me, not just techies ๐Ÿ˜… pretty much every client I've worked with wanted me to commit to certain KPIs Which is fair enough, I, for one, don't always understand everything they do. And I think it's our job to educate and manage expectations
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Tatiana Vdovychenko
In marketing, we discuss not only principles, which are key, but also strategies that you can rely on if you don't fully understand or want to delve into them. Here is a good article on the subject: https://jetsoftpro.com/blog/10-e...
Benny
Totally agree and it's almost a switch to different sides of the brain if you're coming from an engineering background.
Jabari Zuri
I loved your explanation style, very easy to digest. By any chance have you been a teacher๐Ÿ˜…
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Alexander Isora ๐Ÿฆ„
@jabari_zuri thanks for the kind words, made me smile!
Salar Davari
Couldn't agree more. ๐Ÿ˜Š
Cedric Mathias
So true, people think marketing is easy but actually its very difficult because you always have to think out of the box to stay ahead of the customers and get yourself ready with new trends everytime.
Gurkaran Singh
Learning marketing is like navigating a choose-your-own-adventure book, where understanding the principles guides your decisions rather than a step-by-step manual. It's the wild west of creativity and analysis, not just CTRL+C and CTRL+V! ๐Ÿš€
Milli Sen
Well said. It's also a lot of experimentation and staying up to date with what's trending and what works.
Alexander Isora ๐Ÿฆ„
@millisen Yes. In programming, I can use a PHP framework from 2016 and jquery and i can build a working app. In marketing I have to invent new every day
Yvik Ye
I totally agree. Marketing is a long-term effort that requires a lot of time for implementation and improvement. It demands most of your time and constant thinking, which can be exhausting. However, this process also offers valuable experiences, making it a meaningful journey in your career. As you can see, I keep posting and engaging here to gain more exposure for our products, and I enjoy it. If anyone is interested in what product is worth this effort, just check this link๐Ÿ˜ https://www.xspiral.com/
Natalia Toth
My father, who's an electrical engineer, always surprised me by saying that he finds economics a much more complicated science than engineering :D Marketing is a discipline of economics, so I agree with you 100%. Generally, any field that has to do with human behaviour is hard because the results of your actions are never predictable and depend on a hundred factors. The job of a good marketer is to study the target market as well as possible and try to find the optimal strategy to conquer it. But no matter how accomplished you are, there will always be failures because human behaviour (and market conditions) is non always predictable.
Alexander Isora ๐Ÿฆ„
@natalia_toth Great addition, Natalia. Marketing is working is humans. Humans are unpredictable. It adds complexity.
Ruby
The struggle is part of the journey, and you're not alone in feeling this way lol