Going Deepear Into Dev Marketing – Details, episodes & analysis

Flo Merian (ex PMM at Clerk and Mintflify, Ambassador at Product Hunt and v0 by Vercel) talks about marketing on Product Hunt not as a single launch but a continuous series of re-launches. A ton of great insights. Learned a bunch.

Links:

• Flo Merian https://www.linkedin.com/in/fmerian/

• Jakub Czakon https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/
• Examples we shared:

• https://www.producthunt.com/p/appwrite/did-appwrite-do-the-ideal-product-hunt-launch

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/developer-marketing-examples

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/vercel

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/supabase

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/elevenlabs

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/supabase/launches

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/cal/launches

• https://www.producthunt.com/products/specify

• https://www.producthunt.com/forums

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction to the Marketing to Dev Community
• 03:11 Flo's Journey in Developer Marketing
• 06:10 The Importance of Launch Preparation
• 09:01 Navigating External Challenges During Launches
• 12:13 Product Hunt vs. Hacker News: A Comparative Analysis
• 15:02 Leveraging Product Hunt for Long-Term Success
• 18:07 The Role of Relaunching in Product Visibility
• 20:59 Strategies for Staying Top of Mind
• 23:59 The Impact of Ads vs. Organic Launching
• 26:59 Creating a Compound Effect with Launch Weeks
• 36:48 Maximizing Launch Support
• 39:10 Effective Asset Utilization
• 41:35 Long-Term Launch Strategies
• 44:48 Targeting the Right Audience
• 48:58 Optimizing Launch Efforts
• 50:26 Leveraging Community for Launches
• 54:29 Creating Shareable Content
• 57:39 Inspiration from Successful Launches
• 01:02:00 The Power of Co-Marketing
• 01:06:02 Defining Launch Objectives
• 01:09:16 Metrics for Open Source Success
• 01:11:21 Crafting Compelling Headlines and Taglines
• 01:13:04 Visual Storytelling in Product Launches
• 01:21:35 Engaging with Product Hunt Discussions
• 01:31:41 Leveraging Influencers for Product Launches
• 01:42:06 Consistency in Product Launching

Takeaways

• Community building is essential for success in developer marketing.
• Preparation is key for a successful product launch.
• Relaunching can significantly impact long-term visibility and adoption.
• Product Hunt offers unique advantages for developers and indie makers.
• Understanding your audience is crucial for effective marketing.
• Consistency in launching can lead to better results over time.
• Utilizing existing assets can streamline the launch process.
• Engaging with the community can enhance product visibility.
• Ads on Product Hunt can be more cost-effective than other platforms.
• The mindset of the audience differs between Product Hunt and Hacker News. User-generated content can significantly boost product visibility.
• Optimizing outreach efforts can lead to better media coverage.
• Building trust through storytelling is essential for product launches.
• Successful launches often involve learning from industry leaders.
• Crafting compelling taglines is crucial for attracting attention.
• Defining clear objectives helps in measuring launch success.
• Visual assets play a vital role in engaging potential users.
• Engaging in community discussions can enhance product awareness.
• Consistency in launching products fosters long-term growth.
• Collaboration and co-marketing can amplify launch efforts.

Keywords

developer marketing, product launch, Product Hunt, community building, relaunching, marketing strategies, developer tools, indie makers, SaaS, B2B, Product Hunt, user-generated content, marketing strategies, product launch, storytelling, engagement, metrics, visual assets, community discussions, consistency

Aditya Ramakrishnan (PMM at Reo.dev, ex-Stripe, ex-ImageKit) shares his learning from marketing dev tools and technical products on Reddit. Aditya focuses on organic strategies, hard-earned learnings and examples from years engaging on Reddit.

Links⁠

• Example from Storylane https://www.reddit.com/r/ProductMarketing/comments/16piggb/interactive_demo_platform_comparison/

• Example from CRMs https://www.reddit.com/r/CRM/comments/1l5pr1x/looking_for_a_solution_for_service_company/

• Example from API GUI https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPTPro/comments/1bs3sp3/api_gui/

• DevOps Engineer subreddit on promotion https://www.reddit.com/r/devops/comments/1kxn40o/devops_engineer_created_tools_and_appswhat_are/

• Open Source Payments launch post 800 upvotes https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/10bmhpb/announcing_hyperswitch_open_source_payments/

• Reddit Answers feature https://www.reddit.com/answers/194309d8-316d-4466-9cb5-e928f1e86319?q=image%20compression%20apis

• • Tool promotion on StackOverflow example https://www.markepear.dev/example/brilliant-plug-comment-on-stackoverflow
  • Reddit Ads examples https://www.markepear.dev/examples/reddit

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Aditya Ramakrishnan and His Background
• 06:14 The Importance of Developer Marketing
• 12:08 Key Learnings from Marketing at Developer-Focused Companies
• 18:17 The Role of Content in Developer Marketing
• 24:11 Understanding Reddit as a Marketing Platform
• 30:18 Engaging with the Developer Community on Reddit
• 46:18 Navigating Reddit: Getting Comfortable
• 50:09 Understanding Reddit's Unique Culture
• 52:21 Building Reddit Skills: The 80-20 Rule
• 55:19 Leveraging Reddit Tools for Research
• 58:35 Authenticity in Reddit Engagement
• 01:01:29 Effective Product Advocacy on Reddit
• 01:12:24 Collaborative Reddit Strategies
• 01:15:22 Community Monitoring and Tools for Engagement
• 01:17:11 The Role of Marketers in Online Conversations
• 01:19:14 Building a Reddit Muscle for Effective Engagement
• 01:22:14 Establishing a Social Listening Strategy
• 01:24:46 Open House: Sharing Insights Across Teams
• 01:30:23 Metrics for Measuring Engagement Success
• 01:42:10 Reddit Advertising: Strategies and Insights

Takeaways

• Developers consume a lot of content and need to stay updated.
• Brand matters even to developers; they have brand affinities.
• Content marketing should be central to developer marketing strategies.
• Developers are involved in every buying cycle, even if not directly.
• Reddit is a unique platform that requires understanding its culture.
• Engagement on Reddit should be genuine and value-driven.
• Marketers should leverage developers as advocates in communities.

• Active participation in discussions is crucial for success on Reddit.
• Understanding the nuances of Reddit can lead to better marketing outcomes. Providing value is essential in content marketing.
• Authenticity in product advocacy builds trust.
• Marketers should create content guidelines for effective communication.
• Developers play a crucial role in writing authentic content.
• Transparency in promotion fosters trust with the audience.
• Avoiding quotas in community engagement leads to more genuine interactions.

• Social listening tools are vital for understanding community needs.
• Establishing a community engagement process is key to success.
• Reddit advertising should focus on brand recall rather than direct conversions.

Keywords

Developer marketing, Reddit, community engagement, developer tools, marketing insights, content marketing, product advocacy, community engagement, social listening, developer marketing, Reddit strategies.

Demetrios Brinkmann created one of the biggest and most vibrant developer communities that I've seen, MLOps Community. He shares learnings on how he did that and what he'd do differently. Incredible resource for dev tool community managers and founders.

Links

• Demetrios Brinkmann LinkedIn
• MLOps Community

Takeaways

• Get to know people: when people join just talk to them, get to know them, do a 15-minute chat to learn what they want to get from the community, what their expertise is, where they can chip in etc.

• Tag and introduce members: Figure out who knows about what and then @ tag them in the conversations to engage. On top of that intro/connect people who you think could benefit from connecting in DMs.

• Seeding conversations: ask people you spoke to, to ask questions in channels. Sharing good articles could help show the community is not dead but doesn’t really grow engagement.

• Don’t let questions get unanswered: ask people in DMs to answer, tag people etc. Or try and share resources you saw on the subject so as not to leave people hanging

• Share targeted resources: when you get to know members, either manually, or through surveys, share super targetted resources with them. Courses, blogs, podcasts, etc when you have things that are exactly what they want.

• Build community members up. You see a blog post from someone from community, share it in the slack yourself and start the discussion. Then you can invite them to meetups/conferences, talks, podcast. Whatever social capital you have to give.

• Gating community: making sure that folks who get into the community will add/get value from it. Discussions are shaped by the people who are in it so if you have vendors/beginners those are the conversations you’ll see.

• Seeding community: you can start by inviting selected people through LinkedIn/Twitter. I liked the outreach message: “Hey I’ve spent the last 40 days locked in my house [COVID], and wanted to do something productive with my life. And I started this community. If you want to join, let me know”

• Creating a podcast opens doors: high-influence people take calls with you when it is a podcast when they may not have talked to you otherwise

• Be-shameless channel: for some practitioners, it is one of the most valuable channels. It keeps people in the loop on what is happening in the space. And vendor articles or webinars are actually appreciated by some people as the vendors spend 24/7 working with practitioners in the space on their little piece. Plus if there is no be-shameless you will get spam in intro or general.

• Managing sponsors is tricky: at a certain scale, you want to get sponsors to be able to fund the infrastructure and people to keep it vibrant. But you don’t want to sell your soul to vendors and sell your members as leads to them.

• Community of craft vs small exclusive meetups: you need to live this, this is a huge effort, with content, engagement, etc. It may be smarter to build small exclusive and targeted in-person meetups. Quality over quantity. 20-30 people, not recorded, super focused conversations. And the CTA after that meetup is to join the community Slack.

Chapters

• 00:00 Starting the MLOps Community
• 08:51 Values and Culture in the Community
• 15:25 Connecting People and Recognizing Their Work
• 19:05 Maintaining Engagement and Quality Discussions
• 27:40 Building the Community During COVID
• 33:22 Commitment to the Community
• 38:41 Strategies for connecting with new community members
• 42:58 Onboarding new community members and gathering insights
• 46:51 Understanding the different reasons people join the community
• 57:26 The importance of engagement and feedback in community building
• 01:03:51 Creating channels and fostering engagement in the community
• 01:07:40 The Importance of Active Channels and Local Champions
• 01:09:39 The Formation of Local Groups and Meetups
• 01:12:00 Managing Vendors and Sponsors in Community Building
• 01:16:51 The Power of Exclusive In-Person Events

In this episode I go over LinkedIn Ads from Aikido Security. I love their no BS but tongue in cheek approach to marketing and fantastic brand stunts (remember OnlyScans?). I also explained a framework I like that fits quite nicely into this approach.

Links⁠

• Aikido Security in LinkedIn Ads library https://www.linkedin.com/ad-library/search?accountOwner=aikido+security
• Aikido Security https://www.aikido.dev/
• Jakub Czakon ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/
• LinkedIn Framework from Impactable https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqpiSyH7-Y8&list=PLkUlQWMs43Ej774fAkMc7kuTloulOu6zy

Chapters

• 00:00 Understanding Aikido's Advertising Strategy
• 03:13 Layers of Advertising: Cold, Retargeting, and Conversion
• 06:28 Creative Approaches in Cold Layer Advertising
• 09:26 Building Trust: Testimonials and Case Studies
• 12:33 Differentiation and Competitive Analysis
• 15:20 Thought Leadership and Community Engagement
• 18:24 Final Thoughts on Aikido's Advertising Success

Takeaways

• Aikido's ads are effective and engaging.
• Advertising can be broken down into three layers: cold, retargeting, and conversion.
• Creative content is crucial in the cold layer to attract interest.
• Testimonials and case studies build trust in the retargeting layer.
• Differentiation from competitors is key in advertising.
• Thought leadership can enhance community engagement.
• Using various ad formats can improve overall effectiveness.
• It's important to communicate product functionalities clearly.
• Building a strong pipeline is essential for growth.
• Continuous improvement in advertising strategies is necessary.

Keywords

Aikido, advertising strategy, LinkedIn ads, cold layer, retargeting, conversion, testimonials, case studies, differentiation, thought leadership

Adam Frankl is perhaps the GOAT of dev marketing but definitely the Triceratops who was the first VP marketing at 3 dev tool startups that became unicorns. Author of a must read book for dev tool founders - Developer Facing Startup. Had so much fun talking and learning from Adam.

Links⁠

- Adam Frankl https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamfrankl/

- Jakub Czakon https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/

- The Developer Facing Startup (Adam's book) https://www.amazon.com/Developer-Facing-Startup-market-developer-facing/dp/B0D4KGHQML

- Developer Facing Startup Founder's Academy (Adam's course) https://developerfacingstartup.dev/

- Value Proposition Design book ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Value-Proposition-Design-Customers-Strategyzer/dp/1118968050

- Lean Customer Development book https://www.amazon.com/Lean-Customer-Development-Hardcover-version/dp/1449356354

Takeaways

• Technical advisory board tweaks for dev marketers implementing this (including the chief scientist persona, social media marketing)
• Creating authority and actual thought leadership content as a non SME marketer
• Examples of owning the problem midnshare from Neo4j (graph database newsletter)
• Strategic narrative framing for dev tools + example from sourcegraph
• Technology discovery loop for devs (and getting into those loops)
• Dark matter devs and how to solve it with targeting “alpha developers” who in turn speak to other devs
• Free anonymous piece of product + examples from Neo4j and Sourcegraph
• Adjusted value proposition design framework (pains, gains, jobs to be done, AND changes in the environment)
• Why influencer marketing is the thing to do. Why Adam believes that paid flavor of this doesn’t work. And what you should do instead
• When introductory developer content is actually the play
• Creating research-based content factory with an example from jFrog and Tailscale

Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Iteration in Development

04:05 The Role of Feedback in Product Development

06:29 Understanding Intellectual Property in Tech

09:30 The Evolution of AI and Its Interfaces

12:39 The Value of Customer Feedback

14:53 The Journey of a Developer Marketer

17:38 Creating a Technical Advisory Board

20:44 The Role of Problem Framing in Marketing

36:55 Becoming an Expert: The Two Paths

39:06 The Social Nature of Development

40:02 Recruiting Top Talent: Strategies for Marketers

42:16 The Journalist Approach to Marketing

44:07 Building Authority Through Reporting

45:36 Engaging with Your Audience on Social Media

48:17 The Pitfalls of Content Marketing

51:18 Thought Leadership vs. Content Marketing

53:34 Defining Categories in Marketing

55:38 Effective Tab Interviews: Key Questions

01:00:53 Identifying Trends in Development

01:10:17 Understanding the Developer Discovery Loop

01:12:39 Understanding the Alpha Developer

01:17:49 The Importance of Free and Anonymous Products

01:21:53 Listening to Developers: The Key to Innovation

01:29:37 Identifying and Prioritizing Problems

01:36:38 Becoming a Developer Influencer

01:47:09 The Mission to Improve Software Tools

Keywords

podcast, teaching, feedback, iteration, intellectual property, AI, DevTools, marketing, content marketing, thought leadership, thought leadership, tech marketing, developer engagement, market research, product differentiation, developer discovery, community building, content marketing, software tools, startup strategy

In this episode I go over a CISOTOPIA campaign that Wthe security company Wiz ran recently. Basicaly a fake toy store with dozens of funny security puns. Loved it!

Links⁠

• CISOTOPIA https://www.cisotopia.com/
• Wiz https://www.wiz.io/
• Jakub Czakon   / jakub-czakon  

Chapters

• 00:00 Creative Marketing in Security
• 02:48 Engaging Conference Strategies
• 05:04 Innovative Product Concepts
• 07:43 Understanding Audience Connection

Takeaways

• Wiz is known for its humorous branding at security conferences.
• Creative marketing can differentiate a brand in a crowded market.
• Engaging with the community is crucial for brand visibility.
• Top of funnel activities can enhance brand awareness.
• Using humor in branding can create memorable experiences.
• Interactive games can effectively communicate security concepts.
• Understanding your audience is key to successful marketing.
• Playful branding can make technical subjects more approachable.
• Memes and humor can strengthen community connections.
• Innovative ideas can lead to increased audience engagement.

Keywords

cloud security, branding, marketing strategies, audience engagement, innovative ideas, Wiz, CISOTOPIA, security conferences, top of funnel activities, community vibe

I go over all core elements on Polypane's homepage reviewing copy, design, information flow and more.

This was community-requested teardown. If you'd like your homepage/ads/content reviewed -> send it over.

Links:

• Polypane homepage https://polypane.app/
• Dev tool landing page examples https://www.markepear.dev/examples/landing-page
• Jakub Czakon https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/

Takeaways

• DevTools should be clearly defined for users.
• Ambitious language may not add value to messaging.
• Visuals must effectively communicate product features.
• Headlines should be re-evaluated for clarity.
• User experience is crucial in product design.
• Community engagement can enhance product credibility.
• Features should be presented in an easily digestible format.
• Testimonials should connect to a broader community narrative.
• Product differentiation is key to standing out.
• A clear call to action can improve user engagement.

Summary

In this conversation, Jakub Czakon provides a detailed teardown of Polyplane, focusing on its use of DevTools, product clarity, user experience, and marketing strategies.

He emphasizes the importance of clear communication of features, the need for effective visual design, and the value of community engagement and testimonials.

Jakub also discusses the significance of product differentiation and offers recommendations for improving the overall presentation and user understanding of Polyplane.

Chapters

• 00:00Introduction to Polyplane Teardown
• 03:18Understanding DevTools and Its Importance
• 06:12Evaluating Product Messaging and Clarity
• 09:14Feature Presentation and User Engagement
• 12:37Design and User Experience Considerations
• 15:30Community and User Testimonials
• 18:17Product Completeness and Feature Listing
• 21:33Differentiation from Competitors
• 24:31Final Thoughts and Recommendations

Keywords

Polyplane, DevTools, web development, user experience, product design, marketing strategy, responsive design, accessibility, features, testimonials

I this episode I review the homepage of BuildKite, focusing on how the design effectively showcases social proof through mini case studies and uses a platform diagram as an interactive visual in product sections lower down the page.

Links⁠

- Buildkite https://buildkite.com/

- Jakub Czakon https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/

- Justin Gage https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagejustin/

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to BuildKite and Social Proof
• 02:32 Teardown of BuildKite's Homepage
• 05:21 User Experience and Design Elements
• 07:39 Communication of Features and Differentiation
• 10:31 Quotes and Testimonials
• 13:08 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

Takeaways

• BuildKite effectively showcases their product despite its complexity.
• Social proof is front-loaded, enhancing credibility.
• The homepage connects product functionality with customer success stories.
• Visual communication is crucial for user engagement.
• The use of diagrams helps clarify product features.
• A strong differentiation strategy is evident in their messaging.
• User testimonials could be more prominent for impact.
• The homepage could benefit from a clearer 'how it works' section.
• Integrations with other tools should be highlighted.
• Overall, BuildKite's homepage is well-designed and effective.

Keywords

BuildKite, homepage design, product value, social proof, user experience, differentiation, customer focus, visual communication, testimonials, integrations

Itamar Ben Yair is a tech startup LinkedIn ads consultant specializing in TikTok UGC style video ads to the cold audience. He shares his insights on why they work so well, how to do them, how to measure the impact and much more.

Links⁠

- Itamar Ben Yair https://www.linkedin.com/in/itamar-ben-yair-053271174/

- Jakub Czakon https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakub-czakon/

Takeaways

- Bring B2C aesthetics to B2D. Get inspired by people who actually do good ads that drive entire B2C businesses rather than vanilla B2B ads.

- In dev tools, you need more than 5 seconds to explain what the product does. Sometimes way more. TikTok-style video ads with actors catch attention and keep it for long enough so that you can explain what your tool does.

- Startups should focus on cold audiences (prospecting). People who never heard of you. This is where the impact comes from not remarketing.

- If you do something inherently exciting, with a free tier, a good in-feed YouTube ads tactic is to get the influencer to create a piece of content, and distribute that video through in-feed ads.

- Instagram (Meta) ads can be a great way to reach engineers. You find your audience by qualification through a creative. For example start with a generic interest based audience, see who watches 75% of your video ads, find lookalikes to those and serve ads to them. But it only works if your audience on Meta is in 100s of thousands.

- “Every ad should show the product” was a rule at Monday that Itamar has used throughout his career. Even if it is difficult, show the product, talk about the capabilities of the product.

- Optimize ads based on in-platform signals (view % etc), sanity check with sales that leads coming in are good (pipeline).

- Take big bets and see obvious results (or not). Small incremental improvements are hard to see. Don’t scale the budget by 10%, scale it 2x. Make it easy to see that you succeeded or failed.

-Early stage you shouldn’t need any complicated models to see the impact. If you don’t see spikes it is not working

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Itamar Ben Yair
• 03:08 The Importance of Creative Advertising in B2B
• 06:24 Distinguishing Between Paid Search and Paid Social
• 09:27 The Role of Influencer Marketing in DevTools
• 12:28 Targeting Strategies for Engineers
• 15:14 The Challenge of Reaching Senior Developers
• 18:33 The Evolving Landscape of Advertising
• 21:20 The Impact of Privacy Regulations on Advertising
• 24:16 The Reality of Developer Engagement with Ads
• 27:19 Creative Strategies for Effective Advertising
• 30:09 The Future of Advertising in a Cookie-less World
• 33:28 Conclusion and Key Takeaways
• 56:58 The Creative Process Behind Ads
• 01:03:31 Evaluating Ad Strategies for Startups
• 01:10:15 Understanding Audience Engagement
• 01:15:49 Campaign Structure and Measurement
• 01:25:05 The Importance of Incrementality in Marketing

Keywords

B2B marketing, growth consultant, creative ads, influencer marketing, paid search, paid social, DevTools, audience targeting, ad measurement, marketing strategies

I go over all core elements on Deepgram's homepage and playground and say what I like, what I don’t like, and what changes I’d test out. Spoiler alert: their site is awesome.

Links:

• Deepgram homepage
• Dev tool landing page examples

Takeaways

• Deepgram's homepage effectively communicates its product through layered visuals.
• Clear and concise copy is essential for user understanding.
• CTAs should prioritize developer engagement over buyer-centric approaches.
• The playground feature is a valuable tool for user interaction.
• Community engagement is crucial for building trust among developers.
• Enterprise sections should focus on trust and security features.
• Testimonials can enhance credibility and user confidence.
• Highlighting integrations with popular SDKs can attract more developers.
• A well-structured website can significantly improve user experience.
• Continuous testing and iteration are key to optimizing website performance.

• Deepgram Website Teardown: Insights and Recommendations
• Unpacking Deepgram's Voice AI Marketing Strategy

Summary

In this conversation, Jakub Czakon provides a detailed teardown of Deepgram's website, focusing on its design, copy, and user experience.

He highlights the effectiveness of the visual representation of the product, the clarity of the copy, and the importance of CTAs tailored for developers.

Jakub emphasizes the need for community engagement and trust-building elements, especially for enterprise users.

He concludes with overall impressions and actionable recommendations for improving the website.

Chapters

• 00:00Teardown of Deepgram's Homepage
• 03:38Analyzing Copy and CTAs
• 06:31Exploring the Playground Feature
• 09:21Community and Enterprise Focus
• 12:31Final Recommendations and Overall Impressions

Keywords

Deepgram, website teardown, voice AI, developer marketing, API, user experience, community engagement, enterprise solutions, CTAs, product features