If you want to become a better product manager, get on Slack.
No, really.
Slack communities for product managers are fantastic resources for discussing best practices, learning new ways to attract, and retain your users, telling jokes only PMs will understand, and making connections with the field’s best and brightest.
We’ve got seven groups for you to check out. Some of them are specifically for product managers, others (like #7) are more broad but still highly relevant.
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1) Product Manager HQ
Product Manager HQ is the the world’s largest Slack community of its kind. With more than 1,200 users—including PMs from Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Slack—and hundreds of daily conversations, this group is a good option for anyone who wants to log in and participate every day. There’s even a daily digest of the best conversations.
Currently, Product Manager HQ has around thirty channels. You can get interview advice in #pminterviews, find open gigs in #pmjobs, and swap software suggestions in #pmresources. Plus, with your membership you’ll receive discounts to product events and tools.
Joining costs $25. However, as the community creators point out, many companies will let you expense it as professional development.
Screenshot courtesy of Product Manager HQ.
2) #testing
The name says it all: #testing is a Slack group for any and things testing. There’s a great mix of members, from engineers and QAs to designers and, of course, product managers.
With 10 channels and 670 users, #testing will suit anyone who’s looking for a fairly tight-knit community. You can ask questions, get feedback, find and post jobs, and make connections.
#testing is free and open to anyone.
3) Mind The Product
Mind the Product is a Slack group from the same people behind the popular blog and conference. There’s always a great discussion going on—get comments on your product in the #feedback channel, find meetups in #producttank, and discover new stuff to read in #reading-list.
Writers will appreciate the #freshcontent channel, meant for promoting and sharing your latest posts. There’s also a chat room specifically for the MtP conference; if you’re planning on going, hanging out in here is an awesome way to connect with other attendees in advance.
You don’t have to pay to join.
4) Startup Study Group
There are more than 3,500 users and 600 channels in this Slack group for startup founders, venture capitalists, product managers, designers, developers, marketers, writers, students, and more. The sheer number and diversity of its membership makes SSG a solid option if you want general startup or tech advice.
However, if you want to talk PM shop specifically, there’s a channel devoted to product management. It only has around 100 users, giving it a nice, communal feel.
You might also be interested in the #shamelessplugs channel. Hey, we all do it—might as well be open about it!
SSG welcomes people from all backgrounds and is free.
5) Women In Product Management
Merci Grace, product manager of Slack’s Growth team, founded this Slack community because, as she explained on Medium, “Engineering roles at technology companies are overtly gendered… Product roles are covertly gendered.”
This group gives female product managers a place to network, swap advice, and share their unique perspectives and experiences.
According to Grace, there are currently more than 700 members. If you’re a woman in product, you should definitely check it out (joining is free).
6) #Product-Talk
This option is a little different—it’s a Slack channel for product managers shared between groups.
#Product-Talk is part of Slackline, a platform that connects different Slack teams together so communities and companies can collaborate more easily.
There are currently 62 different teams who subscribe to #Product-Talk.
Along with this channel, Slackline has 15-plus other community channels, including #frontend, #makershunt, and #technical_ly. Every channel you join will show up like a traditional channel in your team’s Slack. Cool, right?
Joining #Product-Talk (or any of the community channels) is free. However, if you want to create your own shared channel—maybe between your company and a partner organization—subscription plans start at $29/month for up to 5 shared channels.
7) Customer Retention And Happiness
As a product manager, you probably spend 90% of your time on projects somehow related to customer retention and happiness. This Slack community will give you a place for discussing the strategies you’ve used, discovering fresh techniques, and of course, networking with like-minded folks.
With four channels and approximately 130 members, this group doesn’t usually have a ton of activity. But it’s perfect for checking in occasionally and chatting with everyone from customer support managers and marketing professionals to, of course, other product managers.
Joining is free and open to all.
As you can see, these Slack groups make it possible to collaborate with and learn from other PMs without ever stepping away from your computer screen. Happy Slacking.
Join over 300 product marketers and product managers in Drift’s Slack group. If you’re customer-driven, this is the Slack group for you.