The Dispatch

August 5, 2024 | Edition #3

Argon Labs is a specialized technical and developer marketing firm that helps startups to scale up technology companies build out their content strategy and helps them establish domain authority and presence in their industry.

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Welcome to the latest edition of the Dispatch, where we provide you with the latest musings on technical marketing and developer experience/relations to help educate and inform you on building the best content strategy for your team and organization.

This month, we're diving into the nuances of how to actually sell your product to developers. We got a lot of requests for this one from our community because nowadays, a great product isn't good enough anymore.

With so many emerging solutions in the market for developers across (Gen)AI, CI/CD automation, data infrastructure, etc., the biggest problem is delivering value to not only the end-users but also the decision-makers, especially if you're selling into enterprise customers.

We'll show what aspects of technical marketing may resonate with your target market and how to get them engaged and involved.

Time to dive in.

But first, here are a few things that caught our eye over the past month.

What Caught Our Eye

​The Growing Importance of Software Product Marketing Managers [by McKinsey] - this one showcases the trends and insights into the value of SPMMs and how they can bridge the gap between the technical world and Go-to-Market (GTM).

​Reddit Marketing for B2B SaaS: A Step-by-Step Guide - we highly recommend this one as another channel to reach your audience outside of the general social media platforms. This piece is a nifty guide to show you how to set up your Reddit page (just like LinkedIn) and start engaging with your community. Pro tip: start commenting (a lot) and offering value before deciding to post anything about promoting anything.

​Marketing Lessons from OpenAI, Retool, and Stripe - an inside look on how OpenAI (and others) build out their developer marketing frameworks and what you can learn to build a long-lasting brand.

​Types of Content Developers Prefer - a good summary on what preferences developers have for content consumption and how this varies across geographies and industries. Spoiler alert: developers favor long-form content for learning!

Tips for Amazon Writers (see below) - some great tips from Amazon on how to write effectively. This doesn't only apply to developer marketing, but it applies generally to all areas of business communication both inside and outside of the organization.

Selling to Developers

Selling to developers (technical marketing/sales) is a whole different ballgame compared to selling to regular consumers (general-purpose marketing)

We all know that devs are deeply technical, have an awareness of tools/solutions in the ecosystem, can be bombarded by new solutions on a daily basis, and are always short on time. They don’t fall for flashy marketing or hard sales pitches. Instead, they prefer getting their hands on the product and seeing how it works for themselves.

Meanwhile, ordinary consumers are often more receptive to traditional marketing tactics and emotional appeals. Understanding this fundamental difference is key to adjusting your approach.

Imagine you're selling a new API tool. Before developers make a purchase decision, they want detailed documentation, sample code, and maybe even a sandbox environment to test the API. They learn through hands-on experience and often discuss your tool in forums like Stack Overflow, Reddit, or GitHub.

Easy Access to Product

Developers appreciate when tools are easy to access and integrate.

You can provide SDKs and APIs that are straightforward to use and backed by clear documentation. This simplicity and efficiency in the integration process are highly valued. Additionally, you can offer free trials or sandbox environments allows devs to test your product without any risks, making it easier for them to commit to a purchase once they've seen the value firsthand.

The takeaway here is to minimize friction and barriers to entry as much as possible.

Tailored Content Types

Developers rely heavily on educational and informative content to make informed decisions about tools and technologies. Creating the right types of content can significantly impact their purchasing decisions:

Blogs and Articles: Regularly updated blogs that discuss industry trends, technical insights, and use cases relevant to your product can attract developer attention.

Tutorials and Guides: Detailed long-form tutorials and getting-started guides help developers understand how to integrate and use your product effectively.

Documentation: Clear and comprehensive documentation, including API references and SDK guides, is crucial for developers evaluating your product.

Leveraging Developer Influencers

This can be sometimes overlooked, but just in the same way consumer brands partner with key influencers on Instagram and TikTok, companies are now partnering with influential figures in the developer community and how this can significantly boost your credibility and reach.

You can find respected developers or influencers in your niche and collaborate with them on content creation, webinars, or product endorsements.

Guest blogging and hosting webinars with these influencers can further showcase your product's value to their engaged audiences.

Build Community

Nowadays, you have to build a community around your product - these are now table stakes.

Doing this not only fosters engagement and loyalty but also advocacy among developers. You can set up forums and chat groups (Slack, Discord, etc.) or participate in existing developer communities where users can ask questions, share insights, and provide feedback.

Supporting open-source projects related to your product also helps build goodwill and attracts passionate developers. Also, hosting or sponsoring developer meetups, hackathons, and conferences provides valuable networking opportunities and allows developers to engage with your team directly.

With all of this being said, I think it's clear that in order to stand out, companies now need to build a marketing machine by producing consistent and valuable content.