Top SaaS Customer Education Resources [Communities, Podcasts, Books]

When we started HubSpot Academy back in 2012, there wasn’t a playbook for what we were building.

There were no company-led academies to learn from. Salesforce Trailhead hadn’t launched yet. There were no templates, no frameworks, and certainly no customer education Slack channels.

Fast forward to today, and the landscape looks entirely different.

Customer education is no longer a fringe experiment. It’s a core part of the SaaS growth engine. In fact, a Forrester report commissioned by Intellum found that 90% of companies have seen a positive return on their customer education investments.

With that growth has come an explosion of support for the profession: thriving communities, insightful podcasts, hands-on meetups, and playbooks from those who’ve built before you.

If you’re building or scaling an education program, these are the resources we trust, recommend, and often reference in our own work with SaaS Academy clients.

Communities

Customer Education Slack

A go-to hub for over 2,800 customer education professionals. Channels include certifications, onboarding, data and analytics, jobs, and more. If you're in customer education, this is a must-join.
Join here

E-Learning Heroes (by Articulate)

Focused on instructional designers and course creators. Great for design tips and troubleshooting. You don’t need to use Articulate to benefit.
Visit E-Learning Heroes

Elearning Designer's Academy (by Tim Slade)

A community for instructional designers looking to level up. Includes a paid course, community forum, and access to Tim’s frameworks.
Learn more

CEdMA (Customer Education Management Association)

Geared toward education leaders at tech companies. Offers research, events, and peer collaboration. Individual memberships start at $200/year.
Explore CEdMA

In-Person Meetups

More cities are organizing local customer education meetups. Some are formal, others casual, and all are valuable. A few we’ve seen active:

• Austin: Customer Training & EdTech

• San Francisco: Customer Education Meetup

• Seattle: CE Builders Group

• Portland: PDX Customer Education Meetup

Check LinkedIn or Meetup.com for updated schedules.

Podcasts

CE Labs: Customer Education Labs

Hosted by Adam Avramescu and Dave Derington, this podcast is foundational listening for CE professionals. Industry guests, frameworks, and deep dives.
Listen on Spotify

The Accidental Trainer (by ATD)

For L&D pros crossing into customer education. Alexandria Clapp hosts conversations on career growth, skill-building, and trends.
Explore episodes

Leading Learning Podcast

Created for organizations delivering continuing education or professional development. Deep thinking on lifelong learning strategy.
Listen here

Talented Learning

John Leh brings an analyst’s lens to the extended enterprise learning market. Topics include LMS trends, AI, personalization, monetization, and more.
Visit Talented Learning

Books

These are on our shelf and often in our slide decks:

• Customer Education: Why Smart Companies Profit by Making Customers Smarter – Adam Avramescu

• Customer Education: Why Smart Companies Profit by Making Customers Smarter – Barry Kelly & Daniel Quick

• The Customer Education Playbook – Daniel Quick & Barry Kelly

• Onboarding Matters – Donna Weber

• The Accidental Instructional Designer – Cammy Bean

• The Business of Belonging – David Spinks (for community-led education strategy)

Final Thought

Customer education has evolved, and so have the tools, communities, and conversations supporting it. Whether you’re hiring your first instructional designer or scaling a global academy, these resources will help you stay sharp, connected, and inspired.

Have a favorite that’s not on this list? Reach out to us and let us know. We’re always on the lookout for what’s next.