DZONE.

COM PRESENTS

Marketing to
Developers
Proven strategies for gaining trust in a hard-to-reach market.
 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key Traits of Software Developers

Introduction 3
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Software Developers: A Growing Market 4 Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success
Reasons for Growth 4

The Developer Within the Organization 4 Conclusion

What Does That Mean for Marketers? 5

Further Reading

Key Traits of Software Developers 6

About DZone
Developer Demographics 6

Values & Lifestyle 7

Pain Points 7

Final Takeaways 8

Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls 9

Marketing a Thing Instead of an Approach 10

Skipping the Technical Stuff 10

Using Traditional Sales Tactics 10

Using Fluff, Jargon, and/or Clickbait 11

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success 12

Time Your Campaign 12

Leverage Internal Subject Matter Experts 12

Focus on Engagement 13

Become an Influencer 13

Give Out Free Stuff! 14

Conclusion 15

Further Reading 16

About DZone 17

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

Introduction
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
Software developers make up a valuable market segment for many technology
companies, but they can be hard to reach. About DZone

Words used to describe the developer market include skeptical, distrustful, and wary. These traits can make
traditional sales and marketing tactics ineffective.

In this ebook, we at DZone will share our insights from nearly twenty years of marketing to the software developer
community. We’ll discuss common mistakes we’ve seen in campaigns geared toward developers, from glossing
over technical details to using too much marketing jargon.

And of course, we’ll share our tried and true tips for marketing successfully to developers, along with some
suggestions for implementation.

We hope you find this ebook helpful and informative. Happy reading!

- The DZone Team

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 2
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Software Developers: A Growing Market Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion
Right now, there are approximately 21 million developers in the world...By 2020, there will
be 25 million.1 Further Reading

About DZone
Software engineering is one of the fastest-growing professions worldwide. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job
market for software development will grow by 17% from 2014 to 2024 - that’s much faster than the overall average job growth
rate of 7%. 2

REASONS FOR GROWTH

More and more aspects of our lives depend on software. From the software on your laptop to the software running the electrical
grid, code underlies nearly everything. Thus, demand for those who can develop, design, and implement software has increased.
Good code has become the basis for good business, and companies are now competing for the best coding talent.

And of course, marketers are taking notice of developers as well.

A WORD ON TERMINOLOGY…

THE DEVELOPER WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION

The word “developer” has
The average developer sits below the decision-making level in the corporate hierarchy; however, that doesn’t mean
many connotations, but for the
that they have no say when it comes to company purchasing decisions. Since software is key to a business’s success,
purposes of this publication,
developers often exert significant influence within their organization. They are also the ones who will implement a
we mean a person who creates
solution, so their buy-in is critical.
software code. We’ll be using the
term synonymously with “dev,”
Marketers often talk about targeting “decision makers,” but often look over the “decision breakers,” a group into
“programmer,” and “software
which developers fall squarely. In most enterprises where decisions are made by groups of people, it only takes one
professional.”
voice of dissent to torpedo a deal.

1
Evans Data 2
Bureau of Labor Statistics

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 2
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
CEO

About DZone

VP,
VP, MARKETING VP, PMO CFO
TECHNOLOGY

Director, Director,
Project Director, Director, Director,
Project
Management CA Development Operations
Management

Sr. Project Sr. Project Sr. Test

Mangement Sr. Developer Operations
Mangement Engineer

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MARKETERS?

Developers are a large, growing, and influential market – of course you’d want to tap into their influence! Reaching this market,
however, presents a unique challenge. By nature, developers are skeptical of sales tactics, distrustful of advertisements,
and consistently pressed for time. They’re also highly-educated problem solvers who see right through empty promises and
marketing jargon.

And that’s why we’ve created this ebook: to help marketers like you successfully inform software developers of your products
and gain their business, along with their trust.

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 3
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Key Traits of Software Developers Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion
Who are software developers, and what do they want? Marketers need to know...
Further Reading
While developers are a diverse group, we can draw some demographic and psychographic conclusions about them as a whole.

About DZone
DEVELOPER DEMOGRAPHICS
Since developers are such a desired market, there’s been significant research into the basics of who they are. Key findings include
the following.

• The industry is heavily male-dominated – 94% of developers are male3

• Developers are fairly young. The average age is 29.6 years, and the average number of years of professional
experience is 6.5 4

• Developers are highly-educated. 40.7% of respondents to our DZone surveys have a BA or BS, 34.5% have a THE AVERAGE DEVELOPER
Master’s degree, and 4.4% hold a PhD Gender: Male
Age: 29.6
• Software development is global, with the largest concentrations in Asia (34%), Europe (30%), and North
Years of Experience: 6.5
America (25%) 5
Employment Status: Employed full-time

• Despite the growing popularity of mobile apps, the majority of developers in DZone’s audience (60.9%) Education Level: Bachelor’s Degree

work primarily on web applications Income: $100,690

• Developers are high earners, with an average annual income of $100,690 in the United States 6

• Developer income levels vary by segment and industry. The highest paying industry? Cloud. The lowest? 20% INDEPENDENT COLLABORATIVE 80%

Wordpress. 7 20% ABSTRACT LOW LEVEL 60%

76% FRONTIER CONSERVATIVE 24%

• While most developers create software as part of a paid job, a significant percentage are “hobbyists.” On
DZone.com, that percentage is 34.8% 84% GENERALIST SPECIALIST 16%

44% IDEALIST PRAGMATIST 56%

3
Hubspot 5
Hubspot 7
Stack Overflow
4
Stack Overflow 6
Bureau of Labor Statistics Personality breakdown of DZone developers

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 3
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Key Traits of Software Developers

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

VALUES & LIFESTYLE

One of the major values shared by developers is a commitment to learning. 47% of developers consider themselves “self- Further Reading

improvers”8, and 70.1% cite “learning new technologies” as important to them9.

About DZone

Developers also value sharing their knowledge and expertise. In the past three years, more than 3,700 individual
developers have contributed articles to DZone.com, and almost 10,000 have shared links. A survey of DZone.com’s What is the highest level of education you’ve completed?

MVBs, or “Most Valuable Bloggers,” revealed 64.7% of them joined the program in order to share their knowledge Doctoral Degree
.2%: No Formal Training
1%: Some high school

Professional Degree High School Diploma

and expertise. Some College, No Degree
4% 4%
5% 7%
Technical/Trade Training

2% Associate’s Degree
2%
DEVELOPER PERSONALITIES
We’ve mentioned that software developers have some unique personality traits. In order to understand our own
developer audience at bit more thoroughly, we surveyed our community of software professionals.

We found that developers tend to be collaborative, preferring to work in groups rather than alone. They 35%
also typically prefer newer, more cutting-edge tech solutions to established, mature software. Only 16% of
41%
developers identify as “specialists”, while 84% are “Jacks-of-all-trades.” Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree

PAIN POINTS
Understanding what developers dislike can be as important as knowing what they love. The software
What do you like to do in your spare time?
creation process is a challenging one, with changing deadlines, varied responsibilities, and multiple project
layers. Trained to solve problems and expected to manage complex issues, developers face a number of
obstacles and difficulties.

Many challenges developers face stem from technological and code issues. For example, Stack Overflow,

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 3
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Key Traits of Software Developers

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

another popular developer site, surveyed developers and found they cited “inefficient development Conclusion

processes” (30.3%), “fragile code base” (29.6%), and “outdated technologies” (24.8%) as major workplace problems. 10
Further Reading

Developers are also not immune to the typical challenges faced by corporate employees of all types. Changing About DZone
deadlines, unrealistic expectations, poor communication between departments, and unclear requirements can
create roadblocks in the software development cycle.

DID YOU KNOW…

OUTSIDE THE OFFICE
• Developers are an interesting bunch, particularly
When not at work, developers engage in a number of hobbies and activities. The most common, at least among
those on DZone.com! Here are some fun facts
DZone’s audience, are reading, spending time with family, coding for fun, music, and learning.
about this demographic that we’ve uncovered
through our community surveys.

FINAL TAKEAWAYS
• They have a lot of dev experience – on average,
Knowing your audience is the first step to creating any effective marketing campaign, and it’s even more important 10.6 years!
when targeting the difficult software developer segment. By understanding developers’ key values and major
• They’re very entrepreneurial. 32.6% want to start a
problems, you can present your solutions and services in a compelling and authentic way. company, and 24.5% have already done so.

• They’re not lone wolves! 46% prefer to work on in-

person teams
What specific books, websites, communities, coursework,
What project are you working on right now?
hackathons, etc. do you currently use to learn about software • Their most-used programming languages at work
development? include SQL, Java, and HTML/CSS

• 18.4% attend local tech meetups on a monthly

basis

• 18.8% work at companies with more than 10,000

employees

• Their favorite tech topics include Java, Web

Development, and Performance

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 4
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: 4 Common Pitfalls Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
In the previous section, we described some of the reasons marketing to devs can be
difficult. Now we’ll talk about what not to do... About DZone

For the past two decades, DZone has helped marketers in the technology sector reach the developer market. In
that time, we’ve identified some marketing activities that developers just don’t accept. These tactics can even harm your
company’s reputation, as developers are influential within their organizations and often have personal networks with other
software professionals.

Keep these activities out of your developer marketing plan, and you’ll already be ahead of the curve in selling your products to
this segment.

1. MARKETING A PRODUCT INSTEAD OF A SOLUTION

Developers are trained to solve problems; in fact, a major job requirement for software development is the ability to spot
issues and figure out how to fix them.

Positioning a product as an effective solution to a real problem, and accompanying your sales pitch with strategies and tactics
for deploying that solution (with examples, when possible) is much more likely to capture a developer’s attention than simply
extolling the general virtues of your product, or offering a laundry list of features.

Plus, marketing your product as a proven tactical solution can help your company stand out from the crowd. Your
product likely has competitors, or even free open-source alternatives. What specifically makes your approach different or
more effective?

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 4
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: 4 Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Developers are busy; if you can show that your product and approach can save them time and give them better results, you’ll Further Reading
be on the right track.
About DZone

2. SKIPPING THE TECHNICAL STUFF

Developers like data. Use it to your advantage. Any unique insight or evidence you can provide using data will go a long
way with winning over a developer. Also, don’t shy away from the nitty-gritty technical details of how your product can
be used. Developers are more than capable of understanding highly technical content, and speaking to them at their level
will help you earn their trust.

Including code in your marketing materials is also a good idea, but be cautious – developers
are hypersensitive to oversimplification. They’ll also notice any mistakes, so make sure that
code is bulletproof!

3. USING TRADITIONAL SALES TACTICS

Selling to developers is the surest way to get them to ignore your message. If a developer
is on a quest for specific knowledge, anything that isn’t relevant or helpful quickly becomes
noise. This includes generic, uninformative, or overly promotional sales messages.

To avoid getting phased out, try to understand what the developer may be looking for and
satisfy their search with useful information. Content marketing tends to be a great medium for
achieving this goal; traditional advertising and hard-sell tactics, less so.
An example of code in a piece of content marketing entitled “Load CSV Data into
Couchbase using Apache Spark.” The author, Nic Raboy, is a DZone MVB and an
Be helpful, not pushy. employee of Couchbase.

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 4
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: 4 Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

4. USING FLUFF, JARGON, AND/OR CLICKBAIT Further Reading

If you are going to put a marketing message in front of a developer, it must be ironclad! Fluff and
jargon won’t fool him or her. Developers are trained to evaluate, so superlative statements and About DZone

unsubstantiated claims will not persuade a developer to buy your product (or even be interested).

If you plan on reaching developers through content marketing, such as blog posts or ebooks, beware
of “clickbait” titles (“You Won’t Believe What Software Engineers Are Saying About X”, for instance).
Developers see right through tactics like that, and are unlikely to respond favorably.

Tell them what to expect, then deliver it. If you plan on reaching developers through content marketing,
such as blog posts or ebooks, beware of “clickbait” titles (“You Won’t Believe What Software Engineers
Are Saying About X”, for instance). Developers see right through tactics like that, and are unlikely to
respond favorably.

TL; DR
Don’t try to pull the wool over a developer’s eyes. This is a market that appreciates honesty,
transparency, and usefulness. Developers enjoy solving problems, so make sure you present your
product as a solution to a specific issue or challenge.

An example of a great solution-based marketing campaign.

Cloudbees offered specific research to its customers and clearly
communicated the benefits of utilizing their findings.

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 5
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: 5 Tips for Success Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
We’ve marketed to the dev audience for twenty years. We know what works!
About DZone

While reaching developers is challenging, it’s definitely not impossible. Gaining a developer’s trust is paramount, and you can
do that by positioning your product in an authentic, engaging manner. We recommend the following activities as stepping
stones toward success in marketing to developers, especially those on DZone.com.

1. LEVERAGE INTERNAL SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS

We’ve found this to be the most important tactic for software marketing success. Marketing to devs starts with building
trust, and you do that by proving you have the expertise to help them solve their problems. You may not have development
expertise as a marketer, but likely someone in your company does. Lean on the subject matter experts (SMEs) in your
organization to give you that “insiders” voice.

Not sure who to ask for technical content? The organizations that are most successful marketing to developers have their
own development teams regularly create content for other developers. Titles of good potential SMEs include Architect, Lead
Developer, and Senior Software Engineer. Work with your own tech or IT department to identify the best SMEs for the particular
content you’d like to use in your marketing materials.

Which marketing formats are most suited to Subject Matter Experts? In our experience, articles and blog posts (particularly
tutorials), white papers, ebooks and webinars are best for sharing the knowledge of SMEs in an accessible way.

2. KEEP IT SIMPLE
Make your developer-focused marketing materials as clear as possible. Keep content concise and easily skimmable. If

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 5
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: 5 Tips for Success

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
something is particularly important, highlight it with a different font or color. If you’d like a developer to take a specific action,
make the CTA easy to find and make it stand out. Use your brand to your advantage by creating easily recognizable ads that About DZone
reflect your particular style.

3. FOCUS ON ENGAGEMENT
Rather than relying heavily on traditional sales tactics like cold calling, pitching, and canned demos, base your
marketing activities on engagement-focused goals. Share content, educate your potential users, and offer open lines of
communication and feedback.

Interact with your target clients on social media, highlight their content and success stories, and answer any
questions they may have quickly and accurately. Do so authentically, without being overly promotional of your own
company or product.

4. BECOME AN INFLUENCER
Where do the developers you want to target hang out? Is it online forums, developer communities like DZone, Meetups,
conferences, LinkedIn groups, or some combination?

Once you’ve identified where you want to target developers, you can become a thought leader and influencer in that
space. By “you,” we don’t necessarily mean you personally. Likely it will be an SME from your company (and someone
without a marketing title) who becomes the influencer. However, your marketing team can still provide guidance, materials,
Couchbase saw an impressive response to this email
and suggestions for success. promoting a webinar that featured two SMEs: the
CEO of Altoros and the Senior Product Marketing
Manager at Couchbase

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

CHAPTER 5
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: 5 Tips for Success

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
5. GIVE OUT FREE STUFF!
This is a tried-and-true strategy for a variety of target markets, but is especially successful among About DZone
developers. Offering free content, free access, and free trials is an easy way to get a developer interested
in your product or service. If your product includes a “freemium” version, introduce that option early in the
marketing process.

“Free stuff” doesn’t have to be limited to products and content. It can also include free food, free gifts, and
even giveaway drawings. Do some research into your target market’s favorite freebies and build up a supply
to use as giveaways.

TL; DR
Developers respond well to marketers they find trustworthy. How do you build this reputation? By becoming
an influencer, focusing on engagement, and leveraging company SMEs. Oh, and by offering free stuff.

This visually stunning banner ad from

TargetProcess grabs the reader’s
attention and has a clear call-to-action
in the middle. The colors and clean
design appeals to readers and mesh
with the brand aesthetic. This is one of As we’ve mentioned, developers love to learn.
our best performing banner ads, with a This email campaign from New Relic received
click-through rate more than twice the twice as many opens as the average DZone email
site average. by offering free code school in exchange for
deploying their product.

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

Conclusion
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
The valuable developer market is at your fingertips. With some forethought and smart
About DZone
campaign planning, you can reach your goals.

We encourage you to use the tips, tricks, and suggestions in this ebook in your own marketing

campaigns. If you or someone else in your organization has any questions about the

information in this ebook, about DZone.com, or about marketing to developers in general,

please feel free to contact us. You’ll find our contact information on the last page of this

publication. We’re always ready and willing to help fellow tech professionals get the word out

about their products.

Thanks again for reading this ebook, and best of luck with your upcoming marketing

campaigns. We wish you every success!

Best regards,

The DZone Team

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

Further Reading
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
A Developer’s View on Marketing Buzzwords
Duncan Brown, DZone MVB - DZone.com About DZone

If Your Marketers Aren’t Geeks, Get New Marketers

Jeanne Roué-Taylor - DZone.com

Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results 2016

Stackoverflow.com

Product Marketing for High Technology Companies

Michael McGrath

Lessons from Twilio: Content Marketing to Developers

Danielle Morrill - Heavybit.com

The Science of Content Marketing for Developers

Tyler Jewell - Heavybit.com

The Content Marketing Handbook

Rohin Dhar - Priceonomics

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 Introduction

Software Developers: A Growing Market

Key Traits of Software Developers

About DZone
Marketing to Developers: Four Common Pitfalls

Marketing to Developers: Five Tips for Success

Conclusion

Further Reading
With over 1 million members, DZone.com is one of the web’s largest
About DZone

communities and publishers of technical content for software

professionals. Developers from all over the world come to DZone for the

latest and best content to hone their skills and advance their careers.

sales@dzone.com

(919) 443-1644

dzone.com/pages/advertise

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