Welcome! π
Happy Community Manager Appreciation Day everyone (CMAD for short)! π€ Also, happy 2023! π I wound up taking a longer break from the newsletter than I intended due to illness and then massive winter storms that caused an extended power outage. Needless to say, it's been quite the start to the new year! π
Regardless, I'm happy to be back to my normal routines this week in time to celebrate Community Managers around the world. I've long said that Developer Relations is, at its core, community management for a technical audience, so to me, CMAD is a celebration not only of Community Managers, but for all of us who are creating, maintaining, and engaging with communities on a daily basis.
What better way to celebrate than to highlight the top pieces of content from the past few weeks? Let's dive right in.
Best,
Mary (@mary_grace)
DevRel Weekly Patreon
Tidbits π
DevRel Advice Column
I loved the discussions that came out of these two tweets over the past few weeks:
If you could add or improve only ONE #DevRel skill in 2023, what would it be?
twitter.comWhat is #devrel mostly about for you?
Tips for building strategies and getting stakeholder approval
Looking for a little extra help to get things off the ground this year? These three Twitter threads may come in handy:
So you know what Developer Relations is... but why is #devrel so important? Here's seven core reasons to pitch your team to ramp up the budget and team for 2023:
When setting community goals for 2023, remember to be SPECIFIC.
Too many people set goals they can't definitively measure:
β"Improve engagement"
β"Grow membership"
β"Boost retention"and as we all know...
"If it's not measurable, it doesn't exist." - @jonobacon
twitter.com6 DevRel principles for a successful Developer Relations strategy: π§΅
Don't let the best information live only in your forums...
twitter.comHey, community builder
You've likely put a ton of effort into making your community a lively place filled with valuable conversations & opportunities to learn.
But the truth is people outside your community may never see all of that value. π
Here's how to change that. π§΅
Tangibles π€
Start the year off right
Looking for a way to start the year off right by setting expectations, understanding your strengths, and learning more about your limitations? I plan to dig into these two resources next week and hope you will too!
If you're looking for a round-up of great content from 2022, Commsor has a list of top resources from their team.
commonroom.io
A guide to community operations
If your team is starting to scale and you're feeling a little overwhelmed by the day-to-day metrics collection, tool management, and constantly making sure your team is working as efficiently as possible, it might be time for you to consider a Community Operations Manager. This post from Common Room explains what this role is, the pros (and cons) of hiring someone into this role, and what the day-to-day work involves.
commonroom.io
Career Advice (aka how to get started or level up in Developer Relations)
There were a lot of really great "how to get started" discussions on Twitter throughout the last few weeks. Here are a few of my favorites. Click through to see the full threads!
From the outside, the job of a Dev Rel or Dev Advocate may appear to be all fun, food, and travel, but it is far more than that. Here are some pointers for anyone thinking of starting out in this field in 2023.
Are you looking to pivot into #DevRel this year? I've compiled answers to the FAQs I've gotten about DevRel π§΅
Want to be a successful developer advocate?
Make education your main focus and always strive to help developers get the most out of your company's products and services.
-Zona
I get asked quite a bit about why I love Developer Relations. Itβs simple though: I get to help people build things that help other people. Sometimes thatβs by building things myself, but even if itβs just inspiring people to build things, itβs pretty amazing.
Great DevRel is a mindset, not just tactics or strategy or processes.
It starts here: you answer to your audience β not your CEO.
Consistently help and advocate for your audience, and all else falls into place.
twitter.comAs a developer advocate, empathy can help you connect with many people.
Your community might be the only common thread tying them together. Understanding where they're coming from (emotionally, perhaps more than anything else)
Storytime π
DevRel Podcasts and Videos
- DevRelCon Advice with PJ Hagerty and various DevRel practitioners - Community Pulse
- Developing Developer Relations at BigCommerce with Constanze Kratel - Talk Commerce
- Velocity: Community-Led Growth Stories with Jen Lopez - Developer Showcase Masterclass (video)
- DevRel? Open Source? Content Creation? Q&A with Eddie Jaoude (video)
- The Chief Community Officer Hype Machine with Jared Smith - Community Signal
- Hiring A Community Manager with Mary Thengvall - Community Manager Live (video)
- What to Look for in a Community Role with Valentina Ruffoni, Lori Goldman, Alicja Snarska, and Isabel Ruiz - Community Manager Live
Events π
DevRel Events
The new year is still fresh! Lift your eyes from your computer screen for a moment and set your sights on your 2023 goals. Attending conferences and meetups is a great way to learn, connect, and grow, so check out this list of upcoming events around the globe.
raindrop.io
Jobs π©βπ»
DevRel Jobs
It's a new year; maybe you're looking for a new job! Come see what we have in our job collection.
For those of you who are hiring, here's a great thread from Tierney Cyren about the need for a career path that includes higher-level individual contributor paths. It might be worth taking into consideration if you're having difficulty hiring more senior individuals!
raindrop.io