CXL Growth Marketing Minidegree Review Part 1
As I write this entry, a smile is plastered on my face by the fact that I have officially received the Growth Marketing Specialist certificate. After hours and hours of watching videos and thousands of words for essays, I have finally done it. Was it easy? Definitely not. Before this minidegree, I legitimately had no idea about the things that were tackled in the different courses. In fact, there was even a time when I thought about just ending the program, thinking to myself is it even worth it? The answer is yes, for not only do I have cool certification posted on my LinkedIn account right now, but I also got the opportunity to experience a very exciting time with CXL. I learned about all things growth marketing, all of which I have written about in my previous blog entries and will be summarizing in this week and the next’s entry.
Before I begin the summary, I would like to express my gratitude to the people at CXL, especially Peep Laja, for the opportunity I had been given to take the minidegree under their scholarship program, that of which I would not have been able to afford during this time. It is a great program for people like me that want to learn and get certified for better career opportunities but cannot afford otherwise.
To be honest, CXL was not the only website I checked for certification programs. There were a bunch of others that seemed really inviting, but the costs were too high. CXL does not come cheap either. And now knowing the content they offer, I would have paid the full price had I not been given a scholarship and I could actually afford it. IT IS WORTH IT.
Aside from the technical stuff, there are concepts that are taught at CXL that we usually only gather with long-term work experience. And for someone like me who is relatively young with not much work experience and is already looking for a career shift, the minidegree with CXL could not have come at a better time. Their minidegree is like a big fat can of tuna that is full to the brim, overflowing with information that you rarely need to toss out.
Although I really appreciate the technical knowledge I got especially regarding Google Analytics and A/B Testing, what I appreciate the most are those little pieces of advice or technique that would often sound useless and irrelevant compared to their technical counterparts. These little pieces of information are those that have been derived based on experience. They were not taken out of the manual book of Google Analytics specifically instructing us to do something because that is how they are supposed to function. No, these are information that have been tried and tested, techniques that we would not have been able to realize if we had not been working in the field for many years. With useful tips like these, when I actually start working as a Marketer, I would not be taken by surprise by the challenges anymore. And when these challenges do arise, I would know what to do. Why? Because the instructors at CXL have shared their techniques with me, techniques they have acquired based on long-term experience.
Take instructor Paul Boag’s course, for example. He taught the subject of User-Centric Marketing, one of the courses I enjoyed the most. He tackled different subjects such as using Top Task Analysis, How to Run a Customer Journey Mapping Workshop, and many more. Every little piece of information was for me, very useful, and I did not have a hard time understanding how they could be applied to the actual tasks once I started working. But the thing I valued most from his course were the bits of advice he personally experienced having success with. For me, they are simply GOLD.
Next, there is instructor John McBride. He was one of the very first instructors I encountered in the minidegree. Although his course was relatively short and was not technical, it introduced me to the world I was now entering. His words were simple but informative, and like I said about the CXL minidegree earlier, were like a big fat can of tuna. Every word he said about his subject left me excited for the whole minidegree ahead of me. I also like the fact that while being one of the very first instructors I encountered, he was also one of the last ones. He had another course amongst the final ones, and I think it was a good way to close the minidegree.
Moving on, there were two more instructors that really made their respective courses interesting: Lindsey Christensen, and Alexa Hubley. I have already made it clear several times that I like it better when the courses are short, so I really appreciate that these two ladies’ were just that. Their courses, for me, were perfect in every way. No information to skip, no words to repeat. Every single information they gave out was practical. They did not need to lengthen their videos just to deliver the topic. They were able to do it within just a couple minutes. Of course, I would like to take more classes from them about Marketing Strategy and Project Management in the future, but for now, I am glad I got certificates and was able to get a glimpse, brief as it maybe, into the two fields. Someday, I would like to be involved in Project Management. That is a guaranteed goal.
Lastly, I also enjoyed the EXCEL course with instructor Fred Pike. Just like the aforementioned classes in today’s entry, his was no nonsense, as well. His course, although it was purely technical, was delivered in a relatively shorter amount of time than most of the other courses in the minidegree. This, according to him, was because he listens to the students when they ask for our feedback. However, this is not the only reason why I loved the course. It is because of the simple fact that his teaching method actually made me finally understand pivot tables. I know, for some it may seem incredulous, especially if they were aware that I knew my way around Excel pretty well. For years now, it has always been mind-boggling for me. I have watched countless videos online and even asked someone to teach me personally, but for some reason, Fred’s short course really made me understand. For that, I am VERY thankful.
