She pushed down the plunger and coffee went everywhere.

Hot brown liquid and gritty grounds were all over the counter.

My daughter had tried to make me coffee and failed spectacularly. And it was all my fault.

For the last year, my fancy single-cup AeroPress has required a very specific touch. First, the coffee needs to filter down for a few seconds. Then, the plunger must be wiggled into position just so…

Nine times out of ten, there’s not enough of a seal. If I continue, coffee will spill over the top.

So, I push slowly…

and attempt to wriggle and jiggle…

and shimmy and shake…

and outright beg the device into the right spot.

My daughter didn’t know this—and I’d have seemed crazy explaining my daily ritual as an AeroPress whisperer.

Recently I spent about $3 to get a new gasket for the plunger.

It works perfectly. No incantations. No coffee volcano.

And part that makes me shake my head: I knew what was broken and I could have fixed it a year ago.

What’s broken that you’re powering through?

Maybe it’s in your kitchen. Or your documentation. Or other developer content.

If your blog posts and tutorials aren’t based on a solid strategy, for example, they can feel like a broken gasket: no matter the effort you put behind them, there’s not much to show for it.

You may already know what’s broken, but aren’t sure how to fix it…

That’s where Developer Marketing Does Not Exist can help. The conclusion includes one action item for each chapter, so you’ll know exactly what to fix and how.

The book has been out for nearly a year. Grab your copy (or buy one) and decide to fix that thing you already know is broken.

And if you’re a startup unsure how to prioritize the many broken things, listen to this short episode of Scaling DevTools. I discuss this topic with host Jack Bridger.