topic Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)' in HubSpot Academy Support

New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

Abhishek1996 — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 14:14:13 GMT

Hi HubSpot Community,

I'm a complete beginner to marketing and have started my journey with the free Inbound Marketing Certification course. While the content is excellent, I've hit a roadblock with the practical exercises.

The course workbook and tools like the "Make My Persona" tool are designed with the assumption that the learner is a marketing professional working for a specific company. Since I am not currently employed in this field, I don't have a real company or customer data to use for these exercises.

My goal in taking this course was to learn the fundamental concepts and practice them, much like on other educational platforms. However, without a way to complete these practical steps, I'm feeling confused and unsure how to proceed effectively.

Could anyone please advise on the best way to approach this? For example:

Should I create a fictional company and a fictional buyer persona to practice with?
Is there a recommended way for students and beginners to adapt these exercises to a learning context?
Any other tips or resources for someone in my position would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help and guidance

Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

KKatzen — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 15:02:57 GMT

The easiest way is to create a fictional company. The best way is to find a small company that's willing to work with you a bit to create them these resources. Lot's of people are more than happy to help someone just starting out in their career, especially if it means they get some free work. You can find people like this by messaging people on LinkedIn, or by going to local networking events and asking around. Those are typically filled with small business owners that may not have this part of their marketing done already.

The middle ground if you can't find a real business to work with you, is to choose a real business near you, and imagine you are them instead of choosing something completely fictional. Then it's potentially something real you might be able to share with them, and get feedback from them on what you got right and what you got wrong.

Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

alexisgm — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 07:55:55 GMT

Hi there - I'm new to the Inbound Marketing on Hubspot too. My advice, having been a mentor on other platforms, is to choose a company whose marketing you admire and complete the workbook "as if" you were that company's newsest marketing assistant. Hope you are moving along with your learning - keep going!

Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

GGreco0 — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 11:28:20 GMT

Ciao anche io sono nella stessa situa. Cosa diresti di condividere tips pratiche e progetti?

Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

Abhishek1996 — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 12:25:21 GMT

Hi! Thanks for your message.
I’m sorry, I don’t speak Italian.
Could we please continue in English?

Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

Abhishek1996 — Sat, 13 Dec 2025 12:37:51 GMT

Thank you for your response.

Right now, finding a real business to collaborate with is challenging due to the way businesses operate in my region, which is quite different from more developed markets.

I come from a different educational background, and I’m currently taking this certification mainly for learning and knowledge-building purposes, as I’m genuinely curious to explore new areas.

I’d really appreciate any realistic and situation-specific guidance or suggestions.

Re: New learner: request for help throughout the course 'Inbound Marketing(5 hours)'

BérangèreL — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 15:43:40 GMT

Hi @Abhishek1996, yes, you’re welcome to use a fictional example!

While we don’t have specific resources or tips on working with fictional examples, we encourage you to get creative with your approach.

Thank you, and have a wonderful day!
Bérangère