Earlier this year, along with launching The Measured Marketer, I’m very proud to say that I also became a Certified Practising Marketer (CPM) and member of the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI). I got the certificate to prove it!
Us cool cat CPMs must complete a 100-hour Professional Maintenance Program, or PMP for short, over the three-year membership period in order to retain our status. That breaks down to 33.3 hours a year; 40 minutes a week; or, just 8 minutes per day during the working week. Easy peasy!
Professional Maintenance Program
So what’s my PMP looking like for 2016? And how, as a new start-up, will I be able to afford over a week’s worth of training and development this year?
Well my caring friends, thank you for asking – but development doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t (always) have to be the latest conference with ‘innovation’ in the title in uber-cool Melbourne (although if you’re my husband reading this – sometimes a trip to Melbourne to stay on top of the latest trends is essential, I promise …!!!). It also doesn’t have to be delivered as a structured course over eight-weeks or a three-year masters program.
I’m not saying to those thinking about a career in digital marketing to not worry about university qualifications – or not worry about furthering your studies by attending relevant courses – yes – totally do that – I certainly have and it’s put me exactly where I am today… but my development plan for 2016, as it is every year, to ensure my CPM status remains valid, and that I retain my knowledge and thirst for growth, will focus on constant industry scanning and self-teaching.
It’s about signing up to free industry publications, white-papers, blogs, social media feeds and news alerts. Oh, not those ones that want your email address for free?, you say. Yes – totally those ones! The good ones anyway. There is so much amazing content out there! Sure, you have to do a little weeding (and keep on top of the endless emails) but it’s totally worth it.
I’ve been focused on self-teaching since working in London in the early 2000’s when digital marketing was just becoming ‘a thing’ and I cannot tell you how much I have learnt by keeping on top of what’s happening in the industry; having some knowledge on the latest and greatest digital tools and systems; and having the tenacity to roll up my sleeves and trial that new software system or marketing tactic in front of the television of an evening, implementing the ones that add value.
Documenting my PMP
Well yes, I’ll be upfront… I did go to that essential conference in uber-cool Melbourne in February – but I’ve decided that on top of reading my daily article (or seven – my inbox does get slammed!), I’m going to blog about my learnings on a weekly basis for you also! It’s a great way for me to put a little structure and focus into my development – by making sure I summarise my favourite lessons from the week. It’s a gift for you, an official log of my activity for AMI, a gift for my clients who will benefit from my learnings – and for me, a whole lot of personal growth… the greatest gift of all!
To make sure the AMI are comfortable with my approach, I’ll also be logging my hours through my accounts package Freshbooks. This system allows me to set up clients, projects and tasks and allocate time to each. For every article and post I write, I’ll ensure I track the time and I’ll be able to report how much time gets spent on my development over the twelve months. I’m guessing 100 hours will be a piece of cake!
Each week, the blog will list the best articles that I’ve read from the week, where I’ve sourced them and perhaps my own insights and experiences where I’ve either tried something similar – or have had a great success (or fail).
I’ll share the love through social media and post via TMM blog and subscriber newsletter database. Let me know what you think, any suggested readings or pages I should follow and whether the information is actually helpful!
Follow the hashtag #TMMgrow for all relevant posts and updates.
Yours in learning,
Jacqui 🙂
