The Best Newsletters & Podcasts for Product Management
Stay ahead in product management with our expert-curated list of the best newsletters and podcasts. Gain insights, trends, and tips from industry leaders to level up your skills and career.
Posted March 13, 2024
Table of Contents
What is Product Management?
Product management is a field within the business industry that involves overseeing the development, marketing, and improvement of a product or line of products. The product manager is responsible for guiding the product through its entire lifecycle, from concept to design, launch, and beyond.
Working with a variety of teams such as engineering, design, marketing, and sales, a product manager ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards a common goal. As the "voice of the customer," the product manager advocates for the needs of the target audience and ensures that the product meets those needs.
Product managers are responsible for a range of tasks, including conducting market research, creating a product roadmap, prioritizing features and enhancements, defining product requirements, overseeing the creation of prototypes and final products, and analyzing data to measure success and identify areas for improvement.
A career in product management can be exciting and fulfilling for those interested in the intersection of business, technology, and design. It requires a mix of analytical and creative skills, along with strong communication and leadership abilities. If you're passionate about bringing innovative products to market and shaping the future of industries, product management may be a great fit for you!
Due to the design-forward, innovative heart of their role, product managers need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends, information, and technological developments. Following relevant newsletters, listening to informative product podcasts, and following those “in the know” on social media are key to success in these roles!
The Top Product Management Newsletters, Podcasts, and Experts
Newsletters
Lenny’s Newsletter – Offering paid and free tiers, Lenny's Newsletter discusses how to build product, drive growth, and accelerate your career in product management. His Substack is one of the most popular on the platform and his newsletter has over 300,000 subscribers. Formerly, Lenny was a Product Lead at Airbnb for 7+ years.
Best For: Anyone interested in product and growth
PM Learning Series– This newsletter is published via LinkedIn and gives advice from industry leaders and experts. It's run by Shyvee Shi, a Product Manager at LinkedIn.
Best For: Aspiring or early-career PMs
Inside Intercom – This is a weekly newsletter that reports on the newest developments in product management, sales and marketing, and startups.
Best For: PMs or those in a related role that function within the larger tech ecosystem
Product Managers at Work – Two former PMs from Facebook/Instagram and Tesla/Google give actionable advice on becoming a better PM with this Substack newsletter.
Best For: People trying to break into product management or build product skills
Bring the Donuts – Ken Norton, former Director of Product Management at Google, executive coach, and speaker, writes frequently on the intricacies of working in product management and how to level up.
Best For: Product leaders
Mind the Product (Prioritised) – A weekly newsletter that curates the best articles, podcasts, and videos on product management, design, and development. It covers topics like user experience, growth hacking, and agile methodologies.
Best For: Product managers, product leaders, and product enthusiasts at all experience levels
Product Coalition – This is an online community built on Medium that publishes interesting, relevant articles about a variety of topics related to product. They send out a weekly newsletter with the roundup of the most popular articles.
Best For: Anyone working with or interested in product
ProductHQ – PMHQ's newsletter has been running for five years and built a community of 35,000+ professionals. The newsletter covers stakeholder navigation, product strategy, tech, and data.
Best For: Those working in product management at any experience level
Morning Brew Emerging Tech – A 3x/week update on all the most important technologies shaping the future of business.
Best For: Anyone interested in taking advantage of new technology for growth
This newsletter is slightly different. Instead of sending product tips or strategy, it sends a daily roundup of the best products out there right now.
Podcasts
Product Mastery Now
- Best For: Current PMs
- Host: Chad McAllister
- Started: 2017
- Rating: 4.9 (62)
- Listen here
McAllister interviews current product professionals on their successes, failures, and lessons learned to help other PMs grow in their careers and create products that customers will love.
This is Product Management
- Best For: Aspiring PMs and product enthusiasts
- Host: Feedback Loop
- Started: 2019
- Rating: 4.7 (147)
- Listen here
The TIPM team conducts interviews across many different industries and relates them to the product team, including arts, science, strategy, and more.
The Product Podcast
- Best For: Those who work with product at any level of experience
- Host: Product School and Carlos Conzales de Villaumbrosia
- Started: 2017
- Rating: 4.3 (148)
- Listen here
The Product School brings on guests from Google, Facebook, Amazon, and dozens of other top tech companies to talk about setting career goals, collaborating with diverse teams, knowing when to pivot, and other product-related topics.
Rocketship.fm
- Best For: Anyone who works in tech, especially entrepreneurs and product managers
- Started: 2014
- Rating: 4.5 (223)
- Listen here
This podcast is designed to bring stories that inspire and insights that change the way you think about product and business.
Inside Intercom
- Best For: Those in startups, product management, design, or marketing
- Started: 2015
- Rating: 4.6 (73)
- Listen here
These shorter, digestible episodes cover a variety of topics and bring on many guests from different backgrounds and industries.
Bonus: Other Notable Podcasts
There are a few podcasts that have excellent episodes but have been publishing less frequently. We recommend listening to the older episodes of these: 100 PM, Build with Maggie Crowley, and Fearless Product Leadership.
Product Leaders to Follow
To stay up to date on the most recent product management trends and forecasts, it can be helpful to follow those who are at the head of the industry. Here are several product management leaders and thinkers who post interesting and relevant content.
- Lenny Rachitsky worked as a Product Lead at Airbnb for seven years and has since become a self-employed investor and content publisher. He has a unique perspective on product growth, startups, and product management.
- Chloe Shih worked as a Product Development Lead at Facebook before becoming a Lead PM at Tiktok. She currently works as a Product Manager at Discord, where she focuses on helping creators monetize on the platform.
- Diego Granados has had an impressive career, working as a PM at both Cisco and Microsoft before landing his current role as a Senior Product Manager at LinkedIn. He focuses on helping others land product roles.
- Cherie Luo, a popular content creator on Tiktok, has used the platform to empower those from underrepresented backgrounds to break into the product management and tech fields. In LinkedIn’s Nano Tips series, Cherie provides advice for aspiring product managers.
- Ken Norton, a former Director of Product Management at Google, discusses how to become a leader in the field of product management.
- Gibson Biddle, the former VP of Product at Chegg and Netflix, posts about product strategy, management, and building culture.
- Marty Cagan founded and is a Partner at the Silicon Valley Product Group. He is also the author of “Inspired: How to Create Tech Products Customers Love,” and specializes in building effective product teams and products.
Final Note
Product management requires constant adaptation to the changing needs of customers and companies alike. Subscribing to a variety of newsletters for product, listening to podcasts focused on becoming a more successful PM, and connecting with successful entrepreneurs and innovators in the field is the key to holding your own in such an evolving role.
The best way to break into the industry, prepare for recruiting and interviews, or level up in your PM career is to work with an expert Leland product management coach. Here are some of our most popular ones, browse all of them here.
Read these articles next:
- The 25 Best Entry-Level Associate Product Management (APM) Programs
- How to Develop Product Sense as a Product Manager
- 20+ Free Product Management Resources
- Tips From an Expert: How to Prepare for Your Product Management Interview
- Top MBA Programs for Product Management
- Cracking the MI-GSO PCUBED Interview: Questions You Should Prepare For
Leland provides you with the content, community, and coaching that you need to build your dream product management career and reach other ambitious goals. Sign up today to gain access to additional free resources, community events, small group classes, world-class coaching, and more.
