On the show today, I have Alex Eaton, Director of Product Marketing at UserEvidence.

Before joining UserEvidence, Alex worked in product marketing at Help Scout and Lessonly.

What you’ll learn:

1. The 3 traits that separate great product marketers from good ones—and why “execution” is the most underrated
   

2. How Alex avoided a messaging disaster at UserEvidence—and the simple question that unlocked the right positioning
   

3. Why most messaging gets overlooked inside companies—and how Alex ensures people actually use it
   

4. A tactical breakdown of messaging docs that get read—why yours should be under two pages
   

5. The “gut tension” test Alex uses to know when messaging isn’t ready yet—and how to push past it
   

6. How to tailor messaging for multiple personas without breaking consistency
   

7. The role of customer evidence in brand messaging—and why UserEvidence leads with faces, not product shots
   

8. How to enable sales without being the “messaging cop”—Alex’s exact approach to feedback, coaching, and internal buy-in
   

9. What Alex learned from working with messaging consultants like Fletch—and when to bring in outside help
   

10. The mindset shift from “being right” to “driving outcomes”—why collaboration beats ownership in product marketing

And so much more.

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In our conversation, we cover:

00:00 – Intro & Welcome

00:51 – What Separates Good from Great Product Marketers

03:32 – How to Get Teams to Rally Behind You

06:19 – The Anxiety of Surface-Level Messaging

07:48 – Execution Over Strategy: Getting In the Weeds

09:23 – How Alex Nearly Blew the Messaging at UserEvidence

12:02 – The Phrase That Almost Made It: "Evidence-Based Content Platform"

13:57 – The Simpler, Stronger Message: Customer Evidence Platform

14:56 – Rolling Out the Messaging: Site, Deck, Personas, and More

15:43 – Connecting Problem and Solution: From Evidence Gap to Platform Fit

17:36 – Working With Fletch on Messaging: Why External Voices Matter

21:37 – Simplifying Messaging for Global Understanding

23:23 – Leading With Customer Stories in Messaging

25:51 – Becoming the Best at Customer Evidence—In Their Own Marketing

27:31 – Leading With Personas, Not Product

28:26 – Why Real Faces > Stock Photography

31:32 – The "Two-Page Messaging Doc" Philosophy

34:06 – How to Layer in Nuance After the Message Sticks

36:24 – Giving Feedback Without Micromanaging Sales

41:43 – Enabling Sales to Use the Message Consistently

44:53 – Tailoring Messaging for Personas Without Losing Focus

50:11 – Final Takeaway: The Power of Gut Tension

51:36 – What’s Living All About?

53:13 – Where to Connect With Alex

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👉 Where to find Alex

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexeaton1/ 

👉 Where to find Josh

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-chronister/ 

Substack: https://onmessaging.substack.com/  

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUdKBktrLJWzNMDS45fh_Bg 

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🎙️ Referenced

Mark Huber: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markehuber/ 

Jillian Hoefer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianmacnulty/ 

Evan Huck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanhuck/ 

Ray Rhodes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-rhodes-a0672568/ 

Anthony Pierri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonypierri/ 

Robert Kaminski: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heyrobk/ 

David Ogilvy: https://www.amazon.com/Ogilvy-Advertising-David/dp/039472903X 

Jason Oakley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oakleyjason/ 

UserEvidence: https://www.linkedin.com/company/userevidence/ 

Lessonly: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lesson-ly/ 

Gong: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gong-io/ 

Help Scout: https://www.linkedin.com/company/help-scout/ 

Fletch: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fletch-pmm/