Cutting Through the Clutter You may live with clutter in your house, garage, or cell phone (overwhelmed by notifications?), but the clutter that’s most concerning to marketers is the advertising clutter competing for the attention of the developer audience. How do we cut through the clutter? By rising above it. We rise above the clutter by offering solutions to their problems in a context which supports credibility. We create a connection with the developer that is built on trust — the essence of successful email marketing. Creating the Connection According to the Evans Data Corporation Developer Marketing Survey 2020, [...]

All Together, Now... How do you feel about harmony? Are your marketing efforts in coordination, exhibiting uniformity, and are they immediately recognizable by your developer audience? Do you end each workday in deep satisfaction knowing your systems are in balance? When you consider your advertising in the context of harmony, do the elements support each other to deliver a message that is recognized, accepted, processed, and engaging to the viewer? If the answer to any of these questions is a defeated, “No,” or if your advertising results do not meet your expectations, perhaps something is in discord. Let’s start [...]

Where Would We Be Without Plans? Best-practice marketing is built around planning. You can get by in marketing (and in life) without planning, but the results can be messy. Following are some planning considerations: Strategy. What do you want to accomplish with your marketing resources, and where do you want to expend your energy? This includes business goals, marketing Key Performance Indicators, competitive goals, and market share goals. (Check out the D2D Advertising Guide from DeveloperMedia for help defining your goals and strategy.) Budget. Where do you place your bets to get the best return — the biggest bang for [...]

In the Lead… Every sales and marketing professional knows the definition of a sales lead: a person or business who may become a customer. In the thrill of the hunt for a sale, leads are digital footprints of the quarry. They have the potential to create a sale with the prospective person or business. Leads come in a variety of flavors, so for perspective, imagine a pyramid, and at the top, you have the generic sales leads, followed by marketing leads, followed by service leads. Generic sales leads are further split into hot, warm, and cold, qualified, unqualified, marketing qualified, [...]

Strategic Decision Ungated content can often feel like a missed opportunity. Advertisers typically determine when to gate content based on the value of the content versus the behavior or sentiment of the target audience. Advertisers can take the perspective of their clients or target audience when valuing content, but there is bias inherent in being the creator of the content. Brand reputation, content quality, and context (placement) all must be considered when evaluating the value of specific content. Irrespective of the value, “to gate or not to gate” is a strategic decision. Chris Walker, CEO of Refine Labs, in an [...]

Virtual Is The New Face-to-Face Whether your event is happening soon or next year, COVID-19 has opened our eyes to the value of delivering a high-quality virtual conference experience. For those brands needing to reach developers, virtual events can be a great way to help developers stay informed and connected. In fact, hosting or promoting a virtual event can be one of the most helpful and useful actions a brand can take. Like any event, success depends on a strong promotion strategy. Here are the basics for promoting virtual conferences to developers. Build Awareness The good news: Developers are [...]