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I can't tell you how many times I've been at a conference and someone asks me, "So what exactly do you do?" When I say "Developer Relations," I usually get a blank stare followed by "Is that like... marketing?"
Boy, was I wrong to think it was that simple when I first got into this field!
After spending years building DevRel teams at companies like Twilio and Circle, I've learned that DevRel is way more nuanced than most people realize. Let me break it down for you.
What DevRel Actually Means (Spoiler: It's Not Just Marketing)
Here's the thing about Developer Relations - it's one of those roles that sounds straightforward until you actually try to do it. At its core, DevRel is about being the bridge between your company and the developers who use (or might use) your product.
But here's where it gets interesting. Unlike traditional marketing, we're not trying to sell developers anything. Trust me, developers can smell BS from a mile away. Instead, we're focused on genuinely helping them succeed with our tools.
I remember my early days at Twilio when I realized this wasn't about pushing features. It was about understanding why a developer at 2 AM was struggling to implement our API and figuring out how to make their life easier.
If you're thinking about jumping into this field, check out our Ultimate Guide to Landing a DevRel Job - I wish I'd had something like that when I started.
The Real Work Behind DevRel
So what do we actually do all day? Well, it depends on the day, but here's what my typical week looks like:
Monday: I might be writing documentation because our latest API update confused half our community (learned that from angry Twitter mentions).
Tuesday: Flying to a conference to give a talk about something I'm genuinely excited about - not because marketing told me to, but because I think it'll help developers build cooler stuff.
Wednesday: Sitting in a product meeting advocating for a feature request that came up in our community forum 47 times last month.
Thursday: Debugging code with a developer who's stuck, then turning that into a blog post so others don't hit the same wall.
Friday: Analyzing which of our tutorials actually help people and which ones just make us feel good about ourselves.
The reality is, good DevRel is part teacher, part advocate, part community builder, and part product influencer. It's messy, it's human, and it's incredibly rewarding when you get it right.
For startups wondering if they need this, I wrote about Why DevRel is Crucial for Startup Success - spoiler alert: you probably do.
Who Should Actually Care About DevRel?
Not every company needs DevRel, but if you're building something developers use, you're probably missing out if you don't have it.
I've worked with API companies, platform providers, and developer tool creators. The pattern is always the same: the companies that invest in genuine developer relationships win. The ones that treat developers like just another customer segment... well, let's just say developers have long memories.
Here's a controversial opinion: if your success depends on developers adopting your product, and you don't have someone whose full-time job is understanding and advocating for those developers, you're flying blind.
Want to know how to build something developers actually want to use? Our guide on How to Build a Successful Developer Program has the playbook.
The DevRel Job Market (It's Wild Out There)
The field has exploded in the last few years. When I started, there were maybe a dozen companies with dedicated DevRel teams. Now? Everyone wants a piece of the action.
But here's what I've noticed: a lot of companies are hiring for DevRel without really understanding what they want. They know they need "someone to talk to developers" but haven't thought through the strategy.
I've seen too many talented people get hired into DevRel roles only to be asked to hit marketing metrics that don't make sense for community building. It's frustrating for everyone involved.
The best DevRel jobs are at companies that understand this isn't a quick fix. Building developer trust takes time, and the ROI isn't always obvious in the first quarter.
Real Talk: Success Stories That Actually Matter
Let me tell you about two companies where I had the privilege of helping shape their Developer Relations approach, and why their strategies worked so well.
Twilio figured out early that developers don't want to be sold to - they want to be empowered. When I was working with their team, we focused on making their documentation show developers how to build something cool, not just explain what the API does. The DevRel approach I helped develop there wasn't about speaking at conferences for the sake of it; it was about listening to what developers were struggling with and feeding that back to the product team.
I watched this approach turn Twilio from a startup into a platform that millions of developers trust. That doesn't happen by accident.
Circle took a different approach in the blockchain space. Instead of getting caught up in crypto hype, the program I helped build there focused on making blockchain development actually usable for real applications. We spent time understanding what developers needed to build production-ready apps, not just demos.
The result? While other blockchain companies were chasing headlines, Circle was building the infrastructure that developers actually wanted to use.
Both companies understood something crucial that I always emphasize: Developer Relations isn't about making developers like you. It's about making developers successful.
Building Community (The Hard Way)
Here's something nobody tells you about DevRel: building a genuine developer community is exhausting.
You can't just create a Slack workspace and call it a day. Real community happens when developers start helping each other, when they're excited to share what they've built, when they give you feedback that makes your product better.
I've seen companies try to manufacture this with contests and swag. It doesn't work. Community grows when developers feel heard and when they see that their input actually matters.
The best communities I've been part of started small. A few developers genuinely excited about solving a problem together. Everything else builds from there.
What Makes DevRel Professionals Tick
After working with dozens of DevRel folks over the years, I've noticed some patterns in the ones who really excel:
They're technical enough to debug your code at 2 AM, but they can also explain why your API design is confusing to a room full of product managers.
They genuinely care about developers succeeding, even if it means recommending a competitor's tool when it's the right fit.
They're comfortable being wrong in public and learning from it.
Most importantly, they understand that their job isn't to make developers love the company - it's to make the company worthy of developers' trust.
If you're thinking about creating content that resonates with developers, our Developer-Friendly Blog Post Structure guide breaks down what actually works.
Measuring What Actually Matters
Here's where a lot of companies get DevRel wrong: they try to measure it like marketing.
Downloads, sign-ups, and conversion rates tell you something, but they don't tell you if developers actually trust you. They don't tell you if your community is healthy or if your product is solving real problems.
The metrics that matter in DevRel are often harder to quantify: How quickly do developers get to their first success? How often do they recommend you to colleagues? When they hit a problem, do they come to you for help or do they just give up?
I've learned to track both the numbers and the stories. The numbers tell you what's happening; the stories tell you why.
Where DevRel is Heading
The field keeps evolving, and honestly, that's what I love about it.
We're seeing more specialization - developer experience engineers, community managers, technical writers who focus specifically on developer content. The one-person-does-everything approach is giving way to teams with complementary skills.
AI is changing how we create content and support developers, but it's also making the human connection more valuable, not less.
The companies that figure out how to scale genuine developer relationships while maintaining authenticity are going to win big.
The Bottom Line
DevRel isn't magic, but it's not just marketing either. It's about building genuine relationships with the people who use your tools and making sure their voices are heard inside your company.
If you're a developer, good DevRel makes your life easier. If you're a company, it makes your product better. If you're thinking about a career in DevRel, it's challenging, rewarding, and never boring.
The field has come a long way since I started, but we're still figuring it out as we go. And honestly? That's exactly how it should be.
Want to dive deeper into building effective DevRel programs? Check out our insights on Founding DevRel Programs: A Guide to Success and learn from real-world experiences in DevRel Lessons from Helping Startups Build Programs.
Sound familiar? Let me know what resonates with your experience - I'm always learning from the community.