Setting Up Yourself for Success in DevRel ~ A Beginners Guide

Introduction

In most scenarios, 90 out of 100 people in Developer Relations learnt how to navigate the career ladder and responsibility the hard way. Some weren't even successful . This article entails all I've learnt from people that succeeded, made mistakes and those that struggled.

Developer Relations (DevRel) is a branch of tech that seeks to educate, build relationships and awareness around certain tech, innovations and ideas. My definition and understanding of DevRel is pretty straightforward (It's important to note that; DevRel is broad, infact most times, it is difficult to define and also difficult to measure whether you are succeeding or not).

In this article, I will be explaining what DevRel is all about, and also listing out things that anybody who wants to transition to DevRel should know, so as to be successful in that career path.

What is DevRel?

Developer Relations, also known as DevRel, is an umbrella term covering the strategies and tactics for building and nurturing a community of mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and developers (e.g., software developers) as the primary users, and are often influencers on purchases or adoption of a product.

DevRel program comprises of a framework built around some or all of the following aspects:

• Developer Marketing: Outreaches and engagement activities aimed at creating awareness and making developers to use a product.
• Developer Education: Product documentation and education resources to aid learning and build affinity with a product and community.
• Developer Experience (DX): Resources like a developer portal, product, and documentation, to activate the developer with the least friction.
• Developer Success: Activities to nurture and retain developers as they build and scale with a product.
• Community: Nourishes a community to maintain a sustainable program.

Some major goals of DevRel include:

• Product Building: An organization relies on a community of developers to build their technology (e.g., open source).
• Product-market Fit: The product's success depends on understanding developers' needs and desires.
• Developer Enablement: Supporting developers' use of the product (e.g., by providing education, tools, and infrastructure).
• Developer Perception: To overcome develope's perceptions that may be preventing success of a product.
• Hiring/Recruiting: To attract potential developers for recruitment.

Setting Up Yourself for Success in DevRel

• Understand the mission and goal of DevRel

The first mission and goal for DevRel is education and building of relationships whether for a product, company, or around an innovation or tech. This is what DevRel is all about. Most times people mistake the process with the goal.

To some the goal is more sign-ups on the app, product conversion, product popularity etc but is there sustainability to it? How do you maintain such tempo if not by building meaningful relationships and educating people about your innovations? That way, they see the need for it everytime and can hardly do without it.

• Focus more on education than selling

Many companies see DevRel as a selling platform and such mindset defeats the goal and mission for DevRel. They push to attend conferences, sponsor events, mount booths and cease every opportunity to sell the product to anybody they come across, while in the real sense of it, there is a sales department that should have that goal and mission.

While sales/marketing team should focus more on how to make conversions, increase signups, DevRel should foster quality relationships and education around the product. These also lead to sales conversion, but this time, sales would be as a by-product of proper relationship and education fostering. The goals should not be mixed up if maximum success is to be achieved.

• Know your forte

As a DevRel person, you should know your strongest suite. DevRel engineers or experts wear many hats most of the time, but it is always better to know what/where you are good at.

Some people speak so we'll, but are not so great at recording videos, gathering great social following, building communities or writing. Some other persons know how to write exceptionally, but can’t face a crowd. So whatever your forte is, know it and utilize it more to get your results and succeed in whatever field you are, in DevRel.

It's always good to be open about your strong suite and things you are not perfect at (but can grow in them) to your employers, that way, they will be able to utilize your strength to deliver utmost value to the company.

• Learn how to build relationships not networks

For you to succeed in DevRel, you need to learn how to build relationships and not network. The difference is; networks are mostly people we need around us to achieve our goals but relationship is always symbiotic, where you help the need of each other and are valuable to each other not parasitic.

Relationships between individuals, companies, organizations, communities are what foster most of the innovations you see in today’s world. Learn to build relationships!

• Start with the local communities

If you are starting out in DevRel, probably no experience, no portfolio, the best place to start is to collaborate with local communities around you. Submit talk proposals, they will always accept. Volunteer and plan the events with the local leads. Learn to work with those local communities, share the new things you are learning or building, build relationships from there and before you realize it, you'd have had a significant amount of works to qualify your skills as someone who is fit to do DevRel.

Also, if you are not starting out, local communities are a good place to build relationships, meet with enthusiasts who want to be educated on innovations, tech and products. So why not build relationships with local communities and also do your DevRel duties by adding value to people?

• Think long term

DevRel is a long-term game! Long term, here, is subjective depending on individuals, organizations and products involved. However, those mind-blowing results and numbers start becoming a reality when overtime, you constantly do DevRel, especially as an organization.

Like I said earlier, it is hard to measure the success of DevRel in a place or an organization, because it is a long term game, but there are factors to consider when trying to understand how successful DevRel at a place, has become. Examples are; value delivered, relationships built, number of audience educated or reached, feedbacks from communities and customers, etc.

So, if you are just starting out and you're not yet getting those mind-blowing results, keep delivering value, build great relationships and keep educating, those results will eventually come to reality.

• Always collect feedbacks and data

To suceed in DevRel, you must always recognize data and feedbacks when you see them and take note of them. Most atimes feedbacks and data will not come in the form you want it to be.

It is up to you to be observant around the relationships you have built, around communities you work with and get those anonymous data and feedbacks that will help the product team innovate better and be more fit to serve value to their audience.

• Always invest in personal development

Investing in one's personal development cannot be over emphasized when it comes to building a career in DevRel. You need to be a better human; mentally, technically, emotionally and in leadership qualities.

The job description for DevRel involves dealing with humans, dealing with new technologies, new ways of doing things. For such reasons, you need to always develop your abilities, skills and human qualities.

Conclusion

If you've read this piece till this point, then you should have gained some pointers and insights on how to set yourself up for success in DevRel career. While the list of things to know weren't exhausted in this article, these are some of the building blocks you need to know to have a good starting and better career ahead.

As you grow, you will learn, relearn and also be in position to add to or adjust this piece. Feel free to ask any question, pose good criticism or add contributions in the comments. I will be glad to read them all and also answer the questions.