I have a couple screws loose

Sometimes I feel like a fun vacuum.

Perhaps I enter a new strategy project and need to point out how much content is under-performing. Then, I come back home and find a kid hanging on the open front door.

Children can make an amusement park out of anything. And I admit it looks like fun: with a grip on both sides of the door, they’ll swing it open and hang along for the ride.

When it hits the other wall…

They push off and enjoy the return trip!

That’s when I have to be the grown-up. I put an end to these shenanigans that could cause the door to break.

In fact, the door hasn’t been latching lately. We had to do that awkward thing where you lift the door in order to lock it.

Following a few weeks of that, I decided to fix it (another instance where I knew what was broken)…

After tightening the screws, the door no longer sagged.

And its days of being an amusement park ride are over. It needs to focus on its primary job of opening and closing at all the right times.

The same can happen with your team members when they try to contribute content. The primary job takes precedence.

The split focus of contributors can make it tough to meet deadlines. Yet, internal contributors are the most common approach to fill an editorial calendar.

​How to find developer content writers shares some of my experiences—and those I’ve seen with EveryDeveloper clients.

That contribution from an engineer, for example, may be exciting…

Often, either their “day job” or the writing sags like my front door.

The only fix is to make a repair and return your would-be contributor to their primary responsibilities.

​The full article includes other scenarios, both internal and external.

Regardless of where you source your content, it will have more success if it’s connected to an overall strategy. That way, you publish content with the best chance of success.

For help navigating that path of content that will resonate with developers, reach out to our team.