If you have the opportunity to step back and evaluate where/how to grow as a product marketer (after 2 years self taught in the field), what would you advise to focus on?

I would start by taking a hard look at all the things I felt I accomplished over those two years (writing a list helps!). Next start bucketing them into categories of skills (positioning, GTM, content writing, etc.), then have a little retrospective of how well you felt you did on the things you accomplished. I think you’ll naturally start to see areas where you yourself (given the time to reflect) feel like you knocked it out of the park or could maybe take a different approach or do things a bit differently.

Understanding the latter will give you the ability to reach out and find resources, mentors, colleagues that can help bolster the skills you want to focus on learn new ways to approach projects than you have in the past.

I think the one thing that most PMMs that are early on in their careers should focus on is storytelling. Conveying the value of a solution in a clear, concise and compelling way is incredibly important, but it's table stakes. Doing the same by telling a story takes it to another level, and makes it much more memorable. Some PMMs are natural storytellers, but most aren't. Most need to work at it. But the payoff is high as storytellers are highly valued.

Competitive intelligence and the buyer's journey. Spend time understanding how your market perceives your competitors' offerings in relation to your own. Talk to buyers who went your way as well as those who selected a competitor. You will establish enormous credibility with Sales and Products and your primary job - to understand and communicate the unique, differentiated value proposition of your product - becomes exponentially easier.