One of my CAC Academy subscribers recently suggested something that I loved, and I want to share it with you.
They’re building a learning pathway in Niche Academy—essentially a series of modules grouped together to help learners build skills in a more structured way. They asked if I could recommend a set of my marketing tutorials that would work well as a “starter” pathway for library staff.
I thought it was such a smart question.
Because one of the challenges with marketing training—especially in libraries—is that it’s often consumed in pieces. A webinar here, a tutorial there. Helpful, but not always connected.
What this subscriber was really asking was: If someone wants to get better at marketing, where should they start—and what should come next?
So I pulled together a few different options, depending on your role and what you’re trying to accomplish.
Pathway 1: Building a Strong Marketing Foundation
This pathway is best for someone who wants to understand how all the pieces of marketing fit together.
Start with the big picture, then move into planning, and finally into execution.
- You Can Build a Library Marketing & Communications Plan
- Getting (and Keeping!) New Library Customers
- Transforming Your Library’s Content Planning
- More Than Programs: Marketing Library Services, Collections, Spaces, and More
- Social Media Strategies for Your Library (or Email Marketing)
- Creating an Integrated Marketing Campaign
What I like about this sequence is that it mirrors how marketing actually works. It doesn’t jump straight into tactics. It builds a foundation first, which makes everything else more effective.
If you’re short on time, you could stop after the first five and treat the campaign session as a capstone.
Pathway 2: Practical Marketing Skills for Everyday Work
This pathway is a little more tactical and works well for frontline staff or anyone who is actively creating content and promoting programs.
- Getting (and Keeping!) New Library Customers
- Best Practices for Creating & Marketing Programs
- Transforming Your Library’s Content Planning
- Social Media Best Practices for Libraries
- Creating an Integrated Marketing Campaign
Optional add-on:
- Simple but Scroll-Stopping Library Videos Using Google Earth Studio & Canva
This sequence is grounded in the day-to-day reality of library work. It connects directly to the kinds of things staff are often asked to do right away.
Pathway 3: Strengthening Brand and Communication
This pathway is useful for libraries that are thinking more broadly about positioning, consistency, and how they show up in their communities.
- Strengthen Your Library’s Brand
- Building a Consistent Brand Experience
- PR & Communications for Libraries & Leaders
- More Than Programs: Marketing Library Services, Collections, Spaces, and More
- Getting (and Keeping!) New Library Customers
This one is less about individual tactics and more about alignment—how messaging, visuals, and communication practices work together to shape how people understand your library.
A Small Shift That Makes a Big Difference
The biggest takeaway for me from this exercise is this:
It’s not just what you learn. It’s how it connects.
When learning is structured as a progression, it becomes much easier to apply. Each piece builds on the last. Things start to click in a different way.
So whether you’re using CAC Academy, Niche Academy, or just sharing resources internally with your team, it might be worth thinking about how you can group and sequence learning in a more intentional way.
That simple shift can make the learning—and the work that follows—much more effective.
If you’d like help building a pathway for your team, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to talk through what might make the most sense for your goals.
