I ask dev marketers these questions

Clipboard in hand, you spot them from a block away. Casually, you cross to the other side of the street…

But they’ve thought of that! Another of the “clipboarderati” is covering that part of the block. There’s no passing through the intersection without hearing a question like:

“Can you spare a minute to save the [something that needs saving]?”

It’s always a cause that’s easy to support. The question is designed to get a yes and start a conversation.

This hard sales tactic must work, but it only benefits the one holding the clipboard. You, the pedestrian, probably didn’t start the day with the goal to make a donation—no matter how worthy the cause.

But here’s the tricky part: we all have areas where we’re the ones holding the clipboard, at least metaphorically.

To reach developers, for example, the role of the clipboard is played by our content. To be most successful, it needs to be helpful…

But it also needs to find the right pedestrians.

When I talk to marketers with developer products, I try to help them understand exactly how their product needs developers.

I often ask questions like:

• Who discovers your product?
• Who uses your product?
• Whose problem does your product solve?

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The answer to one or more of those is usually a developer. But often, there’s at least one other audience to consider.

I encourage developer marketers to fully evaluate the other options before focusing on developers exclusively.

It’s hard enough to attract developers with authentic content. You might as well be certain that’s who you need to reach.

How certain are you that developers want your product? Chat with the EveryDeveloper team about it. (Don’t worry, I outlawed clipboards!)