I’m not a marketer, but I am a liar. Mostly I lie to children, as you’ll see in this story.

I’ve spent many a weekend on the couch on YouTube. Mostly I watch magic, practice it, then show it to my kids.

There’s nothing like the amazement on the face of a child who will believe everything you say.

Recently I was practicing what magicians call a “double lift.” Holding the deck, you flip over the “top” card which is secretly the second card down. You turn it/them back over and take the actual top card and place it facedown on the table. After a little practice, I called over my six-year-old and began the deception…

I showed her the “top” card, a two of hearts. I flipped it back over, then dealt the top card face down on the table. “Two of hearts,” I said, to implant the lie.

Then I do some “magic” with a wave of the hand. I even have her blow on the deck, so now she’s an accomplice.

Then I show that the two of hearts has “returned” to the top of the deck!

She. Is. Floored.

And I feel just a tinge of guilt for being so misleading.

But not too guilty, because next I grabbed my nine-year-old…

I used my double lift to show the “top” card. I flipped it back over and dealt it to the table face up. “Two of hearts,” I said. Then… before I could get to the magic… she did something I did not expect.

She picked up the card and looked at it!

Where my six-year-old completely trusted what I said… the nine-year-old did not!

And here’s the thing: developers are going to flip the card every time.

They’re a skeptical bunch, which is one reason a promotional tone will miss the mark.

On the other hand, a focus on education builds trust. There’s a reason education is one of the three elements of the D.E.V. Content Framework.

If you aren’t selling, you have an opportunity to show developers what you know—and they’ll trust you because you’re speaking to their problems.

And that feels like magic.

We’re looking for a few more teams to implement our framework (with EveryDeveloper assistance). If you think that’s you, reach out to our team. No trickery, I promise.