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Hey, Marketing Pals!
Last week was a doozy. It began with a tough reentry after a family trip to the West Coast, school starting back up for my kiddos, and the passing of a national legend, Dolly Parton. Still mourning that one over here.
Dolly’s Imagination Library has been part of my life ever since having kids. It’s one of her philanthropy’s simplest, most brilliant ideas: making sure every child has access to books.
Both of my kids have been getting a book in the mail every month since they were just a few months old. It’s something they’ve come to expect, and our sweet little book fairy (aka Dolly) always delivers.
If you have kids under 5, sign up here—it’s free and it’s magical.
You’re probably wondering how this relates to marketing. Honestly? It doesn’t, not directly. But stick with me for a second: Dolly built one of the most beloved, trusted brands in America by simply showing up as herself, consistently, for decades. Rhinestones, kindness, wit, and people loved her because it felt authentic and sometimes even relatable. That’s the kind of brand loyalty none of us can buy with just an ad budget. We can only earn it by being real. Rest easy, Dolly, and thanks for the lesson.
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Your WirED Marketer,
—Melissa, Senior Director, Marketing at Education Week
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✨ In this edition you’ll find:
- Free webinar: What will school districts need in 2036?
- What’s your AEO strategy? 3 tips to get started.
- Straight talk: What edtech products do students say are worth using?
✨ What’s Trending: ✨
In the last 30 days, EdWeek readers (K-12 leaders and educators) have been devouring content in the “give me perspective” category. Per Smart Octo, this user needs category helps readers form their own opinions—it’s where analysts and experts explain complex matters.
Why should you care? Because when you’re developing content for your buyers, you should think about what type they’re actually seeking.
Our top 3 “give me perspective” articles this month:
- A new phonics debate shows how the ‘science of reading’ movement is evolving
- The ‘science of reading’ movement is evolving. Is math next?
- Schools brace for growing backlash to classroom screen time
So, think about ways to give your readers perspective when promoting your products and services. Per Jacqueline Woudstra of Smart Octo, it’s about showing the workings, showing the differing viewpoints, and letting them (the reader) reach their own conclusions. For companies selling a product or service, it’s a great transparency play that will help gain trust.
DO THIS 👇
Read up on how Gen AI is disrupting buying decisions, then work on your AEO strategy…stat.
As a marketer, I understand the desire to pour most of your time and energy into lead gen strategies. But here’s the thing: Gen AI is changing the way people purchase, and we ed marketers can’t just rely on what used to work.
The International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that 62% of traditional B2B demand-generation will be AI-led by 2028. Yes, this data point is not exclusive to K-12, but we know that district leaders are not so dissimilar to other industries—after all, most people’s research starts with a simple Google Search these days. And Google Searches often result in a Google AI Overview, front and center, towering over other search results.
According to HBR, “Gen AI has introduced a fundamentally different dynamic. Buyers access a much broader set of potential vendors, but they also eliminate options far more quickly. Among B2B tech buyers in the U.S., for example, 75% now complete their purchase journey in 12 weeks or less compared to 11 months in 2024. The funnel widens at the top and narrows earlier.”
I know it feels daunting, so start by doing these 3 things:
- Start by seeing how you’re showing up in search. Think of a typical prompt that you would expect your company to show up for in the results. That’ll give you a sense for benchmarking.
- Read this article: How Gen AI is Disrupting B2B Buying Decisions.
- Remove the form in front of one of your best pieces of gated content. Bonus points if it’s an explainer or something that breaks down a confusing topic.
(Weird) Quick Poll 📊
In the last edition I asked you all, would you rather every email you send end with “Sent from my iPhone” or have a weird zoom background (Little House on the Prairie) and 51% of you picked the weird zoom background. Interesting group of people you all are. 😂
This week’s poll:
In about half of these newsletters, I include a quiz like this one on buyer personas. If I stopped creating new quizzes, would you miss them?
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| KEEP CREATING THEM |
| STOP CREATING THEM |
What We’re Reading 📚
[Article] What Education Products Do Students Say are Worth Using? We Asked Them
A few takeaways:
- Don’t let Android users be an afterthought. If your app or platform is buggy, laggy, or logs students out on Android, you’re quietly losing a huge chunk of your audience.
- “Being able to [access tools] without facing friction beforehand is really important.”
- Free, genuinely useful content still wins student loyalty—no gimmicks required. If you’re building tools or resources for students, “free and actually helpful” beats “free with a paywall waiting around the corner.”
EdWeek Market Brief subscribers can read the full article here.
Events on Our Radar 🎯
Free Webinar: The K-12 Market Future cast: What will school districts need in 2036?
Typically, EdWeek Market Brief webinars are only for paying enterprise subscribers, so this here, my friends, is a unique opportunity. In other words, take me up on this and register!
Tuesday, September 15 at 2 PM ET
We’ll discuss the forces that are shaping the future of K-12, from the proliferation of AI and advances in research to the push for limits on screen time and the rise of alternative schooling options. Our guests will dust off their crystal balls and delve into what current trends and data are showing, and the tools, products, and services districts and schools will need to thrive in the not-so-distant future.
Meet an EdMarketer👋
While at ISTE this year I met Homaira outside of a session we both were planning to attend. Well, fast forward 45 minutes, and we were still talking and never made it to the actual session. I was all in.
Homaira is one of those people that has infectious energy, and you feel like you know after just your first convo. So, naturally, I asked her to be interviewed for the newsletter and here we are!
Homaira Kaufman is a National Account Manager for Belkin’s Business Division. Here’s what she had to say.
You’re often one of few women in the room, in a field that also skews young. What specific tactics do you use to make sure your voice is heard, and your strategy is meaningfully considered?
“This might sound cliché, but one thing I’ve learned is that being heard does not always mean being the loudest person in the room. I’m a big believer in bringing your authentic self to everything you do while also understanding your audience and who you’re trying to influence. That is a skill I have really worked on over time, whether I’m communicating internally with leadership or externally with customers and partners.
For me, influence can start with simply showing up and being part of the conversation. I try to come prepared, understand what matters to the people in the room, and know when to speak up, but also when to listen. I’m also a big believer in being a lifelong learner. I’m always looking for ways to upskill, take on new opportunities, and keep growing, while also becoming more aware of when constantly saying yes can start to lead to burnout.
There is also a real advantage to multigenerational teams. Different generations bring different experiences, perspectives, communication styles, and strengths. I’ve found that the best leaders don’t try to make everyone operate the same way, they learn how to harness those differences. Especially as women, I think there is a lot of value in recognizing what each of us brings to the table and creating space for those strengths to contribute to the overall success of the organization.”
You work for a big company, Belkin, but on a small team supporting K-12 sales. What’s your best advice for being a small fish in a big pond?
“Sometimes in a large organization, it can be easy to feel like a small fish in a big pond. But I’ve learned that standing out doesn’t necessarily come from trying to be the loudest person or constantly promoting yourself, although personal branding is great to show your expertise or bring visibility around your work. It comes from how consistently you show up and the value you bring to the people you work with.
In EdTech, trust and credibility are huge. Districts are making decisions that affect students, teachers, IT teams, and entire school communities, so who they choose to work with matters. A great product is important, but the person representing that product matters too. Customers and partners remember who listened, who followed through, who understood their environment, and who helped solve a problem. For me, that is where you stop feeling like a small fish in a big pond because over time, people begin to know what they can count on you for.
I try to be authentic, responsive, useful, and consistent. If I’ve learned something that could help someone else, I share it. If I advocate for something, I try to model it myself.”
You work with school IT teams, districts, and channel resellers — juggling a lot of different stakeholders with different priorities. What’s your best negotiation or relationship-building tactic when those groups don’t agree?
“I’ve been fortunate to work in a very entrepreneurial culture, which has allowed me to operate in a somewhat hybrid role across end users, distributors, and resellers. That has given me a much better understanding of the full workflow not just what one stakeholder wants, but why they want it and what pressures they may be responding to.
When different groups don’t agree, my first instinct is not to push harder for one position. It is to understand the priorities underneath each position. A school district may be focused on student experience, deployment, support, or budget. A reseller may be thinking about timing, margin, inventory, or ease of execution. Internally, there may be another set of priorities altogether.
Once you understand those motivations, it becomes much easier to find common ground and build a solution that works for more than one side. This industry moves incredibly fast, so you also have to be comfortable with change, confident in your abilities, and willing to keep learning. I try to approach those relationships with a growth mindset, empathy, and authenticity. And I think uplifting the people around you matters too. Collaboration tends to work much better when people feel like you are trying to help everyone win, rather than just win the argument.”
Say What?! 🦜
What we’ve heard at the watercooler, on social, out and about…
“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”
— Dolly Parton
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading.
Your WirED Marketer,
Melissa AND team, because every marketer knows, it takes a village.
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We can help you develop a successful campaign tailored to your unique marketing goals. To learn more, contact Advertising & Marketing Solutions Director Mike Bell at mbell@educationweek.org.