How to Build and Grow a Successful Developer Program

In today's tech-driven world, Developer Relations (DevRel) has become a crucial aspect of many businesses. A well-executed developer program can drive adoption, foster innovation, and create a thriving ecosystem around your product or platform. This article will guide you through the process of building and growing a successful developer program, providing actionable insights and strategies.

Define Your DevRel Goals and Target Audience

Before launching your developer program, it's essential to establish clear objectives and identify your target audience. Are you aiming to increase product adoption, gather feedback, or build a community? Understanding your goals will shape your strategy and help measure success.

Create Comprehensive Documentation

High-quality, easily accessible documentation is the backbone of any successful developer program. Ensure your documentation covers:

• Getting started guides
• API references
• Code samples (that work!) and tutorials
• Best practices and use cases

Regularly update and improve your documentation based on developer feedback and product changes.

Develop a Strong Online Presence

Establish a robust online presence to engage with your developer community. Make sure you go where they go rather than trying to bring them to you.

Remember: Building a successful developer program is not just about putting it together. This is one of those cases where "if you build they will come" does not work.

• Create a dedicated developer portal for your content
• Maintain active social media accounts
• Host a developer blog with regular updates not just about your product
• Participate in relevant online forums and communities

Offer Developer-Friendly Tools and Resources

Provide tools and resources that make it easy for developers to work with your product or something that is related to your niche that will genuione help developers.

To help developers be successful with your platform, you need to provide them with the right tools such as:

• SDKs and libraries for popular programming languages
• Command-line interfaces (CLIs)
• API testing and debugging tools
• Code snippets and templates

You gotta start somewhere with those and I always suggest not using generated code. It's best to have an SDK or library that only covers one programming language to start with than generate 10's of useless libraries developers will hate to use.

The same can be said for code snippets. While the advent of AI is super helpful when it comes to creating code, make sure it's reviewed by an actual software engineer who would be happy to use that code sample if they have to. Less is more here!

Foster Community Engagement

Build a strong sense of community among your developers and make sure they feel special whenever they interact with you or your product. Developers are decision makers when it comes to using developer-first products. So build experiences for them.

On top of it there are other things you can do to make sure developers see you as part of the community and not just someone who's trying to sell to them.

• Host regular meetups, hackathons, and webinars
• Create online forums or Slack/Discord channels for developers to connect
• Recognize, reward and celebrate active community members
• Encourage user-generated content and contributions

Implement a Developer Advocacy Program

Developer advocates play a crucial role in bridging the gap between your company and the developer community

I often say that companies/products can sometimes get tunnel vision when it comes to building products developers realy want. And it's easy to do so as Product owners get out of touch with what developers want when they start to build for the one or two big initial customers for that product.

Hiring a good team of developer advocates will help bring that "developer-first" touch back and open up the doors for several other opportunities where developers feel like they have a say in the product.

Here's what you should look for when hiring advocates and spinning up your program:

• Hire passionate and experienced developer advocates
• Encourage advocates to speak at conferences and events
• Create educational content like tutorials, videos, and podcasts
• Gather and relay developer feedback to product teams

Provide Excellent Support

Offer timely and helpful support to developers using your product:

• Implement a ticketing system for technical issues
• Offer live chat or office hours for quick queries
• Create a knowledge base with frequently asked questions
• Monitor and respond to questions on Stack Overflow and other platforms

Measure and Iterate

Continuously evaluate the success of your developer program:

• Track key metrics like API usage, documentation views, and community growth
• Conduct regular surveys to gather developer feedback
• Analyze the impact of your DevRel efforts on product adoption and revenue
• Iterate on your strategy based on data and insights

Stay Up-to-Date with Industry Trends

Keep your developer program relevant by staying informed about industry trends:

• Attend conferences and events in your field
• Follow thought leaders and influential developers on social media
• Experiment with new technologies and development methodologies
• Adapt your program to meet evolving developer needs

Collaborate with Other Teams

Ensure your developer relations efforts align with other departments:

• Work closely with product teams to influence roadmaps
• Coordinate with marketing on developer-focused campaigns
• Collaborate with sales to support developer-driven deals
• Partner with customer success to improve the overall developer experience

Conclusion

Building and growing a successful developer program requires dedication, strategic planning, and a deep understanding of your developer community. By following these guidelines and continuously adapting to meet developer needs, you can create a thriving ecosystem that drives innovation and success for both your company and your developers. Remember, the key to a successful developer program lies in providing value, fostering engagement, and continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of your developer community. With the right approach and consistent effort, your developer program can become a powerful asset for your business and a valuable resource for developers worldwide.