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Hey WirED Marketers,
Last Tuesday was back-to-school night, and as a PTA member and room parent, I was all in—front row, nodding like I owned the place. This is 42: excitement measured in curriculum handouts instead of cocktail menus. One minute you’re bar hopping with 10 of your best pals; the next you’re the overzealous PTA mom hanging on every word at back-to-school night. But I digress.
When teachers talked about curriculum and assessment, I realized something: your products were everywhere on the agenda, quietly shaping what students experience every day. This was a reminder, because some days as EdMarketers are frustrating and may have you questioning your career choices, but you’re doing work that actually makes its way into schools. And that is very cool.
A reminder, if your campaigns feel behind the scenes, remember they’re influencing real classrooms, educators, and students.
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Your WirED Marketer,
—Melissa, Senior Director, Marketing at Education Week
P.S. — 📩 Did someone forward you this email? Sign up here.ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀
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✨ In this edition you’ll find:
- The top search terms on EdWeek.org + why you should care
- A 30-min webinar with actionable tips for all EdMarketers
- A hot tip from reporter Alex Ng on impactful conversations
✨ What’s Trending: Top Search Terms on EdWeek.org
What if you knew exactly what superintendents and district leaders were searching for right now?
You can! You’re welcome. 😉 We pulled the most-searched terms on EdWeek.org—and these aren’t casual clicks. They’re the questions and challenges that leaders are actively trying to solve.
- AI (by a landslide)
- Special Education
- Science of Reading
- Chronic Absenteeism
- Assessment
- Math
- Kindergarten
- Curriculum
- Mental Health
- Dress Code
Date range: August 2025 (full month)
DO THIS | Actionable advice on marketing edtech 👇
If your product has even a tangential AI connection, now’s the time to surface it. Build campaigns around how AI supports teachers and leaders (and students!) but don’t oversell or hype up something it’s not. Authentic, practical use cases will win every time.
These search terms aren’t just topics—they’re potential signals of buyer intent. If you can align your messaging, campaigns, and sales narratives to meet leaders where their curiosity is already focused, you’ll move from interrupting their attention to answering it.
Consider content marketing opportunities. Weave your products and services into what others are doing. Do you have thought leadership content on a particular topic? Partner with an organization (like EdWeek for example, see what I did there? 😏) to include your content alongside theirs so that during moments of intent with buyers, they’re seeing your brand front and center.
Events on our Radar 🎯
[In-person] The EdWeek Market Brief Summit | November 3-5 | Denver, CO | Join us to hear from school district leaders about their most pressing needs and gain insights from your industry peers about strategies that work.
[Virtual] How to Engage K-12 Leaders & Elevate Your B2E Marketing | Free | October 10 | During this quick 30-minute webinar we’ll break down how to reach K-12 leaders on social media and other channels with content that actually resonates and drives engagement with your brand.
What We’re Reading 📚
- [Article] What is GEO for AI, and Why Are K-12 Companies Talking About it?
- [Article] Mastering the Art of the Cold Open in Storytelling
Meet A K-12 Professional👋
Alexandria Ng, Staff Writer at Edweek Market Brief
Alexandria Ng is a staff writer on the powerhouse team of EdWeek Market Brief reporters. She covers product development and innovation (read: edtech galore), data privacy, and AI. She’s all over the agenda at the upcoming Market Brief Summit—just another reason to join us. Here’s what she had to say.
3 words to describe yourself:
“Organized, Observant, Conscientious.”
What do you wish every EdMarketer knew?
“Sometimes, going off-track in a conversation is where the real insights lie. As a reporter, it can be easy to come into the conversation with a set agenda and a list of questions. But often, when the discussion takes a turn in a direction I did not expect, I end up uncovering interesting sides to the story that I wouldn’t have known otherwise. Those moments not only foster a deeper understanding of a story’s context, but also help build meaningful, long-term partnerships.”
What topic are you currently following closely?
“Ohio recently became the first state to mandate that all public schools have a policy for artificial intelligence in place. This move has me closely watching to see how other states respond and whether they will follow suit with similar mandates. It’s a fascinating direction that will shape how schools across the country approach the integration of AI.”
What’s keeping you up at night?
“EdWeek Market Brief serves a specialized, yet vitally important niche in the K-12 market. What’s keeping me up at night is how to best serve our audience of vendors and business leaders during this exceptionally tumultuous time amid political and economic uncertainty. Business models and sales strategies are going to have to keep up with the increasingly complex landscape, and our job is to provide leaders with a clear window into what’s going on, to in turn, move the needle for students and educators.”
Say What?! 🦜
What we’ve heard at the watercooler, on social, out and about…
“Traditional marketing talks at people. Content marketing talks with them.”
—Doug Kessler, Velocity Partners
That’s all folks. Thanks for reading. See you again in 2 weeks.
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.