The Business Value of Developer Relations  ## Metadata - Author: [[Mary Thengvall]] | [[3. Resources/Authors/Mary Thengvall|Mary Thengvall]] - Full Title: The Business Value of Developer Relations - Category: #books - Kindle: [Open in Kindle](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FKFQ1NK) - Document Tags: [[DevRel]] ## Document Notes ## Highlights - In order for the DevRel team to succeed, however, they must be fully supported by the company. From having a clear set of business goals and expectations to having the right tools for the job, they need to know that their work is seen as valuable and is therefore not only allowed but actively encouraged by the stakeholders in their company. ([Location 96](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=96)) - Table of Contents Part I: What Is the Value of a Technical Community? Chapter 1:​ An Introduction to Community Establish the (Flexible) Boundaries Why Do You Want a Community?​ What Do You Hope to Accomplish with a Community?​ Who Makes Up Your Community?​ Which Segment of The Community Do You Want to Focus on First?​ So, Do You Need a Developer Relations Team?​ Be Willing to Make Changes Chapter 2:​ Selling Community to Your Company Gathering of the Stakeholders What Are You Trying to Accomplish?​ Your Version May Vary Setting Expectations Trouble in Paradise All Aboard Chapter 3:​ Keeping a Pulse on the Community The Role of Social Media in Community Building Establishing Voice Choosing Platforms Working Together Technically Speaking Focus on Developers Elevate and Amplify Personal Brand vs.​ Company Brand Chapter 4:​ Measuring Your Success Storytelling Is Part of the Job Description Checks and Balances Trust Your Gut, But .​ .​ .​ It’s Not All About the Data ROI Is a Difficult Metric for DevRel Qualitative + Quantitative =​ Sweet Success Online Engagement Multichannel Endeavors In-Person Connections Anecdotes vs.​ Facts Time-to-value Quick Wins and Weekly Reports Finding Your Specific Metrics:​ Libby Boxes Pirate Metrics Setting Objectives Building a World-Class Developer Relations Team Chapter 5:​ Building a Developer Relations Team Draw Your Mall Map What’s in a Name?​ Team Title:​ Developer Relations Strategic Lead:​ Developer Relations Manager Technical Contributor:​ Developer Advocate Cruise Director:​ Technical Community Builder Developer Experience Manager Technical Ambassador Technical Engagement Manager DevRel Project Manager Full-Time Engineer Who’s First?​ Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses Make the Investment The All-Important Question of Where Marketing Engineering Customer Success Product Training or Content Division Internal Consulting Firm Community Department Geographic Location Where Does That Leave Us?​ Set Them Up for Success Part II: Building and Engaging with the Community Chapter 6:​ Finding Your Community Relationships 101 Don’t Start from Scratch Open Source Communities Read vs.​ Write Communities The “Stickiness” of Open Source Communities The Person in Charge of the Community The People Around Them Feeling Like They Belong Open Source Is an Investment Giving Back to the Community Chapter 7:​ Building a Healthy Community Finding Your North Star:​ Community Mission and Vision Setting Expectations:​ Code of Conduct Keeping Topics on Track:​ Community Guidelines Providing Stability:​ Community Rituals A Gathering Place Go with the Flow Community Advocates Diversify Build a Partnership Communicate Prepare Scale The Question of Compensation A Stitch in Time Saves Nine Chapter 8:​ In-Person Events:​ The How, Why, and Where What Are You Trying to Accomplish?​ Brand Awareness Feedback Engage with the Community Test the Waters Maximize time, Minimize travel Conferences, Conferences Everywhere Navigating the Maze of Meetups… ([Location 171](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=171)) - A group of people who not only share common principles, but also develop and share practices that help individuals in the group thrive ([Location 494](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=494)) - Without a diverse group of customers, you’ll wind up with biased feedback, which at best can result in a product that doesn’t meet the needs of particular customers and at worst can actively offend the community you’re trying to interact with. ([Location 505](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=505)) - Note: Diversity in feedback and workforce brings a more robust product and community to market. - Each of these questions ties into a concrete business value that aligns with a company goal: reducing churn, having a better product roadmap, reducing customer acquisition cost, recruiting employees, and more. The real question isn’t whether DevRel is capable of contributing value, but which particular value it should focus on at this point in time. ([Location 512](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=512)) - Giving yourself an all-inclusive view of community is great, but it can cause problems when your team is suddenly tasked with reaching “anyone and everyone who could possibly use or is already using our product.” ([Location 516](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=516)) - Note: Narrowing down to an area of focus matters for our jobs and goals. - Why do you want a community? What do you hope to accomplish with a community? Who makes up your community? Which segment of that community do you want to focus on first? ([Location 523](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=523)) - Do you actually need a Developer Relations team to accomplish those goals? ([Location 525](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=525)) - your why drives how you will interact with your community. ([Location 529](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=529)) - the question isn’t whether you’re choosing to create a community or not, but whether you choose to be an active participant in fostering the community that already exists. ([Location 531](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=531)) - your why determines how you choose to interact with this community. ([Location 533](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=533)) - The why doesn’t have to be quantitative metrics—it can be abstract—but it should be aligned with the organization’s goals and explain the purpose behind each community-related endeavor at the company. ([Location 533](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=533)) - Note: Metrics are always wanted, but not always the best indicator on community management or performance - what sets a community apart from a group of customers. ([Location 574](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=574)) - it’s difficult to have a true community without having folks who want to develop and share practices that help others thrive. ([Location 576](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=576)) - True communities have a desire to help each other, whether through contributing to open source SDKs, example code, and documentation or by mentoring other community members. ([Location 577](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=577)) - narrow it down to your primary community: the one that will have the most impact on and benefit for the company, and your secondary community: those on the outskirts who dip their toes into the deeper community issues on occasion. ([Location 601](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=601)) - What problems can you solve? What tools can you build? How can you make their experience better? Why is someone choosing to leave your tool and pursue another option? Even these “exit interviews” can be valuable learning experiences. ([Location 624](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=624)) - A successful product is one that can appeal to developers through its ease of use, attractiveness of the tool, and “stickiness” of the community—and simultaneously win over decision makers with pricing, business solutions, and practicality. ([Location 641](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=641)) - Regardless of whether you’re building an established community of customers or simply engaging a particular market segment, connecting with your customers on a regular basis to make sure you’re on the right path is essential. ([Location 648](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=648)) - the “need” for Developer Relations depends on the company-defined goals: maybe you’re trying to break into a new geographic region or connect to your community beyond the confines of cubicles and desks, or perhaps your goal is simply to build brand awareness. Before committing to a Developer Relations team, make sure you have a clear understanding of the objective. ([Location 675](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=675)) - the primary goal of Developer Relations is not lead generation. ([Location 743](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=743)) - the Developer Relations team should never carry a quota related to a particular number of leads or the amount of money they’ve contributed to the pipeline. The second that any developer community realizes your Developer Relations team simply wants them to sign on the dotted line, you’ve lost credibility with them. ([Location 748](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=748)) - Tags: favorite - Developer Relations is both the very top and very bottom of the funnel—responsible for brand awareness as well as for making sure customers are taken care of. ([Location 750](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=750)) - DevRel is the people building the train tracks. Marketing builds the train station. Engineering builds the train. Sales drives the train home. It's essential to have each part or the train goes nowhere. ([Location 755](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=755)) - Who outside of your immediate department is involved with the project? What team may be affected by the project’s outcome? Who gains (or loses) from the success of the DevRel team? Can you clearly identify the benefit of this relationship for the DevRel team? If your relationship with this stakeholder improves, does it positively impact your team? ([Location 767](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=767)) - Are you looking to build a community of people who are drawn together solely because of your product? ([Location 806](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=806)) - Are you looking to help your company more clearly communicate with your developer audience? ([Location 819](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=819)) - Using the open source community as a way to stay connected to the rest of the customer base can be helpful, as they may be inclined to quickly build out features they’re waiting for rather than wait for the company to implement them. ([Location 829](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=829)) - There’s a fine line between being the advisors and experts regarding the community and being relied on or crucial to every project. This is where documentation is key. As you’re gathering data (whether quantitative or qualitative), make sure it’s being communicated back to the relevant stakeholders so they can make their own decisions regarding messaging, training, and positioning. ([Location 871](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=871)) - Note: It matters that my input is received, but that I am not personally responsible for every facet beyond that. - Having a Developer Advocate embedded in the local community (even if the product isn’t open source) can make a tremendous difference in everything from closing large deals to negotiating conference sponsorships to general brand awareness. ([Location 878](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=878)) - in addition to building relationships with the community, it’s our job to inspire, encourage, and excite the company about the community. ([Location 917](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=917)) - Developers hate being marketed to, and they have an incredibly sensitive awareness meter (or BS meter) for when they’re being pandered to.   2. If a company is genuine in its outreach and actually cares about the community in obvious, quantifiable ways, it can build a large following on social media sites and use it as a valuable platform to promote their product. ([Location 986](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=986)) - Interesting news or ongoing studies Important developments in related areas Relevant events and/or calls for papers (also known as CFPs — the open calls that conference organizers put out to find speakers for events). Community members who have received accolades for their work Potential partnerships Problem areas that your company might be able to solve with a new feature (quick wins—more about these in Chapter 4) Ways to elevate the developer community that is active in or around the languages your product is built in, the technologies you use, or the topics your product falls into (for example, SaaS, PaaS, APIs, DevOps, and so on) ([Location 992](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=992)) - Looking for what topic is most important to your biggest customers? Create a list for the developers at that company. Interested in a big-picture look at the technology landscape? Pop over to your list of technology thought leaders. Want to know what your competitors are doing? Take a look at that particular (likely private) list. Hoping to find some retweetable content for a slow Twitter afternoon? Have a list of your company’s developers and another of your top community members on hand to see what’s new and interesting to them. ([Location 1046](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1046)) - The ongoing relationship that develops between your social media manager and your Developer Relations team will benefit the entire company. The social media manager will learn the best accounts to follow in order to gain insight into the community, which then benefits the Developer Relations team, who can use that information to strike up conversations with community members, who will feed more information and resources into the conversation, which can then be handed back over to your Product and Engineering teams, who will then take the information into account when determining priorities and core projects. ([Location 1055](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1055)) - Changelog Work with Product to craft tweets about changes that have occurred, which are posted in the weekly changelog. When patches are made, pull requests accepted, and new versions released to the client libraries, schedule three to five tweets about the changes. ([Location 1105](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1105)) - Note: I can start sharing updates from plugins, themes, hosting, and more. Demos about what has changed or is possible - Announcements and operations changes to the API When these occur, work with the person driving the overall communication to make sure the tweets are accurate and correctly represent the change. Schedule three to five tweets (depending on the timeline), increasingly in “pay attention!” mode, until the date when the change is made. ([Location 1108](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1108)) - Events When our name goes up on an event site for a sponsorship, schedule around five tweets about the conference and our sponsorship between now and the date of the event. Find the Twitter account and hashtag for the event and follow it. Add the conference Twitter account to the private list of upcoming events so we can keep an eye on those tweets and reply to, quote, or retweet them when applicable. ([Location 1111](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1111)) - Set out a basic template with writing prompts. For example: What’s the problem you’re trying to solve? How did you discover the problem? Why is this interesting to other people? How did you solve the problem? How can other people relate to it? Don’t worry about the tone and grammar. First focus on telling a story. Remember, done is better than perfect. There’s always room for edits and rewrites down the road, but getting a first draft down so that you have something to work with is essential. ([Location 1135](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1135)) - Dev.to12 is a perfect example of a syndication site that benefits the community as well as the company. With its ability to use canonical links to attribute any traffic back to the original website, you can benefit from the page views and resulting Google-fu while also taking advantage of the fantastic community of curious and engaged developers. ([Location 1148](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1148)) - you’ll want your Developer Relations team to continue to foster their own community. After all, their network is a large part of the reason why you hired them—when you hire them, you automatically acquire their following. However, if they begin to neglect that following, you lose some of the value they can provide for your company. ([Location 1154](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1154)) - What’s going well? What’s going poorly? What should you be doing differently? ([Location 1254](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1254)) - Those who measure things with their brain are looking for the raw data: the number of pull requests on your GitHub repos, the number of engagements on Twitter. This is a quantifiable way to point to the health of the community and, therefore, the value that your team is contributing. Those who measure with their gut have an overall impression of the community’s needs and the right (or wrong) thing to do based on time spent talking with them day in and day out. It’s not a quantifiable thing per se, but it’s no less valid of a measurement and should be taken with the same consideration, particularly if it’s a shared sentiment. ([Location 1263](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1263)) - Note: Ideally I’d like to have stats for both quantifiable and intuitive metrics - A large part of the reason why DevRel teams are created is because we have a unique set of skills that allow us to communicate with Marketing, Product, Engineering, and Sales, as well as our community of developers. ([Location 1309](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1309)) - going through the hashtag soon after your talk, you can often see which tweets are a direct result of your talk. Collecting these tweets into a Twitter Moment offers you an easy way to reference them down the road, as well as publicly showcase your involvement in a particular event, which can be a nice bump for your personal brand. ([Location 1402](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1402)) - Types of people in attendance Geographic demographics Types of developers (front end or back end, specific language preferences, and so on) Job titles (managers, individual contributors, or C-suite or VPs) Sponsor interactions (did people spend a good amount of time in the expo hall?) Caliber of talks (sessions as well as keynotes) Overarching themes from the sessions or hallway track General impression of the conference ([Location 1424](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1424)) - Business Development/Partnerships: A potential company to integrate with or list as mutual partners Marketing: A customer to feature in a case study or a community member who’s willing to write a blog post about an interesting way that they’ve used your product to solve a problem Product: A customer who’s willing to give extensive feedback about a new feature or who’s interested in beta testing features before they’re released Engineering: Someone who’s stumbled on a particularly hard-to-solve bug and is willing to help Engineering get to the bottom of it ([Location 1430](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1430)) - “An anecdote is nothing more than a short story about something. But anecdote has become an epithet. “That’s just anecdotal” is a common way of dismissing qualitative data. . . . It’s just an anecdote when told in isolation and heard by amateurs. But I’m a professional anecdote collector. If you know how to listen, systematically collect, and rigorously analyze anecdotes, the patterns revealed are windows into what’s going on in the world. It’s true that to the untrained ear, an anecdote is just a casual story, perhaps amusing, perhaps not. But to the professionally trained and attuned ear, an anecdote is scientific data—a note in a symphony of human experience. Of course, you have to know how to listen.” ([Location 1460](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1460)) - Once you’ve convinced developers to sign up for an account, you have a limited amount of time to show them the value of your product. No one wants to spend a lot of time or effort setting up and learning a product that might not even do what it claims. ([Location 1502](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1502)) - Awareness: General knowledge of the product and what it does Acquisition: Users coming to the site from various channels, resulting in a sign-up Activation: Product implementation (for example, makes first API call) Retention: Continual use of the product Revenue: Pay for usage (for example, subscribe or buy product) Referral: Refer others (become brand ambassadors) Product: Provide feedback or contribute to the product ([Location 1546](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1546)) - input metric you’ll run into—what could you implement that might influence your outcome? ([Location 1571](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1571)) - What’s going well? What could we be doing better? What should we do differently going forward? ([Location 1626](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1626)) - The first three titles I list (DevRel Manager, Developer Advocate, and Technical Community Builder) are ones that I feel strongly should be a part of every Developer Relations team. ([Location 1797](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1797)) - (Developer Experience Manager, Technical Ambassador, Technical Engagement Manager, DevRel Project Manager, and Full-time Engineer) are relevant for some teams but not others. ([Location 1798](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1798)) - You’re looking for someone who may or may not have a technical background but who can speak the lingo and keep up with the conversation. They know the right questions to ask and have experience with technical products. They don’t necessarily have day-in-and-day-out coding experience, but they know the basics and can follow along with simple instructions enough to know whether your Getting Started guide is clear and easy to follow. They’re also able to take a “forest” view of the situation rather than getting stuck in the weeds of sample apps, bug fixes, and community forum wrangling. ([Location 1823](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1823)) - having regular check-ins with Marketing, Product, Support, Sales, and Engineering. ([Location 1827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1827)) - The title Developer Advocate covers two of the biggest questions in the community space : What are your qualifications? What do you do? ([Location 1832](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1832)) - One note of caution when hiring for this role: although it’s tempting to require that this individual produce several pieces of technical content per month, as well as speak at conferences regularly, as well as keep up with all the latest and greatest code developments, as well as take a deep dive into the product code base and create sample applications and SDKs , you need to be conscious of the fact that there are easily three full-time jobs within that job description. ([Location 1870](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1870)) - I very specifically call these folks ambassadors, not evangelists. The word evangelist implies a religious affiliation, which has a negative connotation in many countries and can make it difficult to even get in the door at some businesses, let alone build credibility. ([Location 1910](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1910)) - The term Technical Ambassador , on the other hand, distinguishes this role from Developer Advocate and establishes this individual as an ambassador of goodwill on behalf of the company. ([Location 1917](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1917)) - Though this might at first glance seem very similar to the Developer Advocate role, this role has more of a sales focus than a community focus. These are the folks who excel at speaking on large stages and selling not just the product, but the importance of the product to the larger technical community. ([Location 1918](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1918)) - Your Developer Advocates are the folks who will connect easily with the developer community, selling them on the what and why and life-changing ease of your product, but the Evangelists will sell the leadership (VPs and C-suites) on the importance of your product for the longevity of their business. ([Location 1920](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1920)) - This could be the person who handles all your events logistics, making sure everyone submits CFPs in time, that all the boxes are checked for various sponsorships, and that the swag inventory is kept up-to-date. ([Location 1946](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1946)) - They could also handle all the overarching project details for a larger DevRel team. Considering how much DevRel tends to cross over into other departments (Marketing, Engineering, Product, and so on), having one point person who knows where all the moving pieces are is invaluable. This person can then be the point person at the regular status meetings for other departments, freeing up the rest of the team to get other work done instead. ([Location 1947](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=1947)) - Are you building tools for your customers? Product might be a good fit. Are you assisting with brand awareness through conferences and sponsorships? Marketing. Are you helping to triage issues that your customers are running into and solve the overarching problems that are causing the support queues to fill up? That usually falls under Customer Success. Are you working on a content strategy that highlights the work that your Engineering team is doing in a way that will both attract developers to your product and build up the personal brands of your engineers? This could fall under either Engineering or Marketing, depending on whose time you’re most dependent on. Are you trying to integrate with as many APIs as possible to get your product up on various websites throughout the industry? Partner or Business Development may be your best bet here. ([Location 2195](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2195)) - it’s up to the Developer Relations team to not only have the community as their foremost focus at all times, but to infuse other departments with that mindset as well. ([Location 2203](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2203)) - The head of the department understands the value of Developer Relations and is willing to fight for them. The team is made up of an awesome group of people who work well together and is able to seamlessly move between teams and roles. ([Location 2219](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2219)) - Who are their favorite people to hang out with (virtually as well as in-person)? What books, articles, magazines, and Twitter feeds are they reading? Whom do they look up to? What are their favorite topics? What do they love and hate about their job? What’s the one thing that would make their professional life easier? What are their priorities? ([Location 2306](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2306)) - This next audience could either be a slightly different market segment or it could focus on the buyer persona. ([Location 2342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2342)) - Figure out where your customers already hang out and meet them at their level rather than force them to find you in an obscure Google search or your latest press release. ([Location 2389](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2389)) - Build relationships with developers across the industry and show them that your company is not only willing but excited to meet their needs, and they’ll take you (and your product) to the next five companies they start working at. ([Location 2399](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2399)) - Don’t make the open source products subpar to your paid products. Offer support to them just like you would to your paying customers. And treat your open source community just like you would your paying customers—with respect and appreciation. ([Location 2529](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2529)) - Sponsoring podcasts and events geared toward new developers can be beneficial as well. If nothing else, the relationships you’ll build with the organizers can pay off tenfold in additional connections. ([Location 2543](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2543)) - You’ll want to be sure that both your company’s name and your personal brand are associated with concepts like inclusivity and diversity, as well as being welcoming and receptive to feedback. ([Location 2628](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2628)) - you want to be empathetic to developers’ needs while also curating a community that is kind, helpful, and includes individuals who are committed to maintaining a welcoming and helpful environment. ([Location 2630](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2630)) - This vision should be forward-thinking and progressive, pointing to where you want the community to be in five or ten years. ([Location 2645](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2645)) - Your mission statement, on the other hand, should be a clear and straightforward statement that reflects your purpose as a team. ([Location 2647](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2647)) - This is where a Code of Conduct comes in handy. This document clearly states what the company expects of these community members and what the consequences are for breaking this contract. ([Location 2695](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2695)) - It’s now your responsibility to make sure everyone on the DevRel team (as well as others throughout the company who are interacting with the community on a regular basis) knows how to respond to Code of Conduct violations. ([Location 2704](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2704)) - Keep this in mind both while writing your Code of Conduct—is the wording clear and straightforward? can you get it translated into other languages for non-English speakers?—as well as when enforcing it, because cultural misunderstandings can be common, particularly in online communities. ([Location 2711](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2711)) - establishing a particular day and time where that is appropriate keeps the group from being overrun with information that may or may not be relevant to a majority of the group. ([Location 2722](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2722)) - Rituals, or traditions, provide a good source of the community “stickyness” I’ve referred to previously. ([Location 2728](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2728)) - Are you looking for a place for people to share what tools or projects they’re building using your service? Having a place on your website where you can highlight these projects is key. ([Location 2745](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2745)) - Are you hoping to take a load off of your Customer Support team by providing a forum for your community to ask questions? ([Location 2749](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2749)) - Are you wanting to build a place for community members to share ideas, ask for resources, and collaborate? ([Location 2757](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2757)) - Are you needing a place to keep track of ongoing work and community feedback? ([Location 2765](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2765)) - Are you trying to create a platform for asynchronous conversation that can be archived for the sake of future community members, where you can float decisions and garner feedback from the community? ([Location 2769](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2769)) - as long as they’re within the guidelines of the Code of Conduct, don’t fight them. How they’re using it is obviously what’s most useful, helpful, and beneficial to them. Instead of struggling to make it be exactly what you want, why not work with them? ([Location 2777](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2777)) - find your community where they are is key. ([Location 2783](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2783)) - Nurturing this group of people organically is the best way to create what is popularly known in marketing terms as an influencer or ambassador program. ([Location 2791](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2791)) - Community isn’t automatic. It takes work. ([Location 2819](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2819)) - Once their questions are answered, why do they stick around to answer others? Make sure you’re syndicating content down to keep them involved. ([Location 2825](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2825)) - What keeps them excited about your product and interested in what’s next on the product road map? Keep them engaged and moving up the pyramid as they become more and more interested in the next phases of your development. ([Location 2826](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2826)) - What problems have you solved for them that inspire advocacy on your behalf? ([Location 2828](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2828)) - Maintain: Make sure you’re encouraging your top community members. ([Location 2834](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2834)) - Engage: Be sure to actively engage anyone and everyone in your pyramid. ([Location 2837](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2837)) - Grow: Continue to grow the community. Engage with new potential community members whenever you can. ([Location 2839](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2839)) - Even if you have a few folks who gravitate toward that position naturally, it takes encouragement and nurturing to keep them there—and wisdom to make sure that the group represents a good cross-section of your customer-base. ([Location 2858](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2858)) - make sure that both paid and free or open source customers are represented. ([Location 2860](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2860)) - Beyond diversifying the types of customers, you’ll also want to do what you can to diversify your community as a whole. ([Location 2866](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2866)) - Developers are more likely to trust people to whom they can relate, so to expand your reach you need a team that includes people with diverse backgrounds: languages, backgrounds, countries of origin, ethnicities, genders; as well as different programming languages, preferred IDEs, and industry experience. Presenting a diverse team as the public face of your engineering efforts may even help inspire a greater diversity in the industry — a win for everyone — so it’s worth trying to create a team with even greater diversity than the company (and industry) that they represent. ([Location 2873](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2873)) - The better relationships you can build with them—actual relationships—the more likely they’ll be to offer feedback, advocate for your product, and help out when the need arises. ([Location 2882](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2882)) - Mozilla Tech Speakers was born as a result of that goal. “We established 3 principles that define the program: ([Location 2893](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2893)) - Open participation: Working collaboratively and communicating openly in a decentralized environment, across time zones and cultures. There are definitely downsides to this model, but as long as they are managed properly, the upsides are huge: we extend our workforce, and volunteers extend their skills, access, and experience. Everyone benefits! ([Location 2894](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2894)) - Psychological safety: People thrive on teams where they are treated well. We’ve built a cohort of individuals that help each other. The Tech Speakers have created their own network effect: helping each other find job opportunities, connect with other community members, and advance each others’ careers. ([Location 2897](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2897)) - Minimum viable program design: Flexibility, feedback, and constant tuning. We set up the first cohort with the intention of being flexible, responding to feedback, and iterating with each cohort. This allows us to meet the needs of the specific individuals in each program and quickly implement feedback as we go. ([Location 2899](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2899)) - start by introducing yourself, ([Location 2915](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2915)) - Amplify the work they’re doing that relates back to your overall community. ([Location 2916](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2916)) - help out when they get stuck on a particular bit of code or need some wordsmithing help on an upcoming blog post. ([Location 2916](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2916)) - they are your priority, ([Location 2917](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2917)) - how do you handle a Code of Conduct violation when the Community Manager or Head of Community is off the grid? Is anyone else on your team prepared to handle an antagonistic community member who may or may not have a valid complaint or issue? ([Location 2944](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=2944)) - Keep in mind that these amplifications shouldn’t be external only—you should be highlighting these accomplishments internally as well. Stakeholders throughout the company will see that the relationships you are building are valuable, and that money is being spent wisely. ([Location 3024](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3024)) - This is also why you need to have an understanding throughout the company that the DevRel team, and only the DevRel team, makes these requests of the community advocates. ([Location 3026](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3026)) - As the community expert, you know the best person to write that article, work on that project, or help out at that event. ([Location 3029](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3029)) - Your community advocates have gotten accustomed to a particular system of work and compensation. If another department steps in and offers something different, the community advocate now knows there are other options available that can undermine the relationship you’ve been building with them. ([Location 3034](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3034)) - Like most things, figuring out the right approach for events goes back to your key goals: Are you trying to increase your general brand awareness? Do you need feedback on the usability of your product? Is the company looking to expand into another geographical region or new audience segment? ([Location 3109](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3109)) - Brand awareness is the most straightforward outcome from speaking at or sponsoring an event. ([Location 3116](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3116)) - metrics around brand awareness are incredibly hard to track. ([Location 3119](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3119)) - Brand awareness can come in a variety of events. Speaking, sponsoring, helping to organize, or hosting an event at your headquarters are all ways of getting your company name out there, and not all of them cost a lot of money or time. ([Location 3122](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3122)) - figure out the best time-to-value proposition, or observe how developers are using your product, events are great places to get hands-on feedback from your potential customers. ([Location 3130](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3130)) - If you’re an API platform, the best place to get this hands-on feedback is at hackathons. ([Location 3132](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3132)) - hackathons aren’t right for everyone. ([Location 3140](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3140)) - There are three keys to engagement at a student hackathon: ([Location 3144](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3144)) - Have an interesting or engaging challenge for the attendees to complete. Most hackathons have sponsored prizes in addition to the grand prize categories. This could be a monetary prize, gift cards, some sort of fun technology (such as drones, robots, or LEGO sets) or something else entirely. ([Location 3145](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3145)) - Don’t spend all of your time at the booth. Walk around the event and observe attendees . Ask about the project they’re working on (even if they’re not using your API). Chances are, there’s a mentoring opportunity or a hack you can show them to make a particular process easier. ([Location 3149](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3149)) - Have great swag that will get picked up and used. Think practical—branded pads of graph paper and pens for brainstorming sessions—as well as your standard swag such as stickers, pins, t-shirts, and so on. The more you can tailor your swag to hackathons, the more popular it will be. ([Location 3157](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3157)) - Bring one of your coworkers from the product team along—having them onsite to hear what people think about your messaging and the use cases that they can think of off-the-cuff can inform the next iteration of your product road map. ([Location 3171](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3171)) - listening to the community, engaging in conversation, and making introductions—can be an incredibly valuable use of your time. ([Location 3187](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3187)) - spend time at the booth meeting community members but also float between sessions and the hallway track. ([Location 3189](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3189)) - use your platform to amplify the company’s announcements. ([Location 3191](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3191)) - It is always okay to back out of a speaking engagement or sponsorship. Conference organizers not only understand, but also often have a waiting list of speakers lined up precisely for this reason. ([Location 3238](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3238)) - I firmly believe that anything more than 50% travel is too much. As community advocates and DevRel professionals, we’re expected to be connecting with our community on a regular basis, but we’re also expected to communicate that information back to our colleagues and contribute helpful content. ([Location 3247](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3247)) - Again, although starting a meetup for your product can seem like a great way to build a presence in the greater developer community, I’d caution against it for a few reasons:6 A meetup hosted by a company about its (usually proprietary) product is easily called out by developers as a sales tactic. Finding speakers for a monthly meetup whose theme is your proprietary product (unless you’re a fully open source company) can be difficult. It can also drain not only company resources but any goodwill you’ve built up with the community. Even if you do have an open source product, limiting your meetup to customers and prospects limits your audience and keeps people from learning from others outside their immediate purview, which is often what people come to meetups to do. If there are already-established meetups talking about similar topics and bringing in a similar group of people to the one you’re trying to start, you’re actively detracting from the organic community efforts already happening in your audience segment. ([Location 3317](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3317)) - Creating a backlog of speakers can be the most stressful part of organizing a meetup. Keep in mind that having one quality speaker per meetup is a perfectly acceptable standard to have. ([Location 3372](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3372)) - Be sure that you encourage diversity in your speakers as well as in their topics. Meetups will often skew toward more intermediate to advanced topics, which is a logical progression, ([Location 3376](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3376)) - “Lastly, diversity matters—not just in gender and background , but also in level of programming. You don’t want to only have experts talking about advanced topics. ([Location 3401](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3401)) - trainings and blog posts on writing a good CFP9 ([Location 3414](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3414)) - Even if you’ve spoken at dozens or perhaps hundreds of conferences, some of the attendees may have come to this conference to hear you specifically, which means your offhand comment about how you just finished your slides five minutes ago can be seen as inconsiderate. ([Location 3443](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3443)) - true burnout2 is a state of chronic stress and frustration at work that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. The problem with constant stress is that it impacts your perception of yourself as well as others. Burnout can also often increase the risk of depression or exacerbate depressive tendencies. ([Location 3505](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3505)) - Most of us start out excited, passionate, and invested in this new career, but the limited resources available combined with the hardships I’ve covered elsewhere in the book can start to rob us of that excitement and energy. ([Location 3521](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3521)) - “What burns people out is not doing hard work, but rather feeling like their work doesn’t matter.”5 ([Location 3526](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3526)) - The number one way to prevent burnout is having clear and open communication from both management and team members. ([Location 3536](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3536)) - If you’re a manager, you have the additional responsibility of not only taking care of yourself, but your team as well. ([Location 3537](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3537)) - Is there too much on their plate? Are they in over their heads with their current tasks? Are there things they’d like to be working on to further their careers? What projects would they like to be involved in going forward? How do they feel about the current team structure? How do they feel about the company culture? ([Location 3544](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3544)) - Even when you aren’t in crisis mode, retrospectives can encourage a culture of open communication and alignment. ([Location 3557](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3557)) - By advocating that your team take time off as necessary and actively encouraging them to do so when they haven’t recently, it becomes clear to them that you prioritize their health over the day-to-day work. ([Location 3571](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3571)) - Part of what sets Developer Relations apart is the fact that they can overlap with so many departments, and that teamwork is part of what makes your team so valuable. ([Location 3582](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3582)) - Tim Urban’s Yearning Hierarchy9 prioritization model comes in handy here. He uses a bookshelf as an analogy for prioritizing projects: The Nonnegotiable Bowl: This bowl sits on top of the bookshelf, protected and guarded, but also front-of-mind and visually prominent. Top Shelf: Which ones are the top priorities that I’m choosing to pursue at 110%? Middle Shelf: What projects are important to avoid completely failing at? Bottom Shelf: These are the projects that it’d be nice to work on, but only if there’s time. Trash Can: What is easy to fall into but should be resisted at all costs? ([Location 3619](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3619)) - The typical Developer Relations professional is expected to be “on”—interacting with attendees at conferences or community members online—fairly often, and sometimes at back-to-back events. Putting our own oxygen mask on first is essential, whether that means setting aside time just for yourself, saying no to personal or professional obligations, or ordering room service in your pajamas after a long conference day. Otherwise, you’re going to be short-selling your community and, more importantly, lining yourself up for burnout. Learn to Take a Step Back ([Location 3673](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3673)) - As community professionals, we get used to being online at all times, solving problems for our community, or up late at conferences, networking and connecting people at events. But it’s not healthy to do this on a regular basis. ([Location 3678](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3678)) - The Developer Relations team often has a unique skill set that can benefit many different departments, as covered in Chapter 5, but we’re not responsible for fixing issues for all the other departments, no matter how helpful we’d like to be. ([Location 3697](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3697)) - “four-hour decompress” a few years ago, borne out of a personal business retreat that he took. He made a commitment to fight off burnout by engaging in this four-hour decompress every week, using it as a time to reflect, evaluate, and recenter his goals and ideas before tackling another work week. ([Location 3708](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3708)) - one of the most valuable aspects of Developer Relations is the ability to listen, observe, and identify trends within the community. It’s not our job to know all the answers, but to amplify the questions and get the conversation started—then sit back and take note of what happens next. ([Location 3742](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3742)) - There’s an important balance here, because DevRel requires you to know a fair amount of information about a lot of different topics. In the realm of T-shaped skills17 DevRel teams are often far stronger on the horizontal bar (collaboration with other areas) than they are on the vertical (depth in any one skill). In other words, you have a broad frame of reference that expands into many different topics and departments, but you don’t spend enough time in any one topic area to grow into a specific vertical. ([Location 3801](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3801)) - Some DevRel professionals get hired because of their “rock star” status in a particular developer community. Though that position is a valuable one to hold, you need to be careful to protect your network from coworkers who see you as an easy way to get access to that group of people, while simultaneously making sure you’re still fulfilling your role at the company to be the cruise director and connect members of the community with your colleagues. ([Location 3985](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=3985)) - The exact information you should include will depend on the goals of your company, but here are a few items that should translate well across all industries: Types of people in attendance Geographic demographics Types of developers (front end/back end, specific language preferences, and so on) Job titles (managers, individual contributors, C-suite or VPs) Sponsor interactions (did people spend a good amount of time in the expo hall?) Caliber of talks (sessions as well as keynotes) Overarching themes from the sessions or hallway track General impression of the conference ([Location 4153](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07FKFQ1NK&location=4153)) ## Related - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/Developer Marketing and Relations|Developer Marketing and Relations]] - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/Developer Relations|Developer Relations]] - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/Developer, Advocate!|Developer, Advocate!]] - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/The Developer Advocacy Handbook|The Developer Advocacy Handbook]] - [[3. Resources/Readwise/Books/Docs for Developers|Docs for Developers]] ## Book Review - [[4. Archives/Book reviews/The Business Value of Developer Relations|The Business Value of Developer Relations - Book Review]]