In 2020, Buffer surveyed [2,300 remote workers](https://lp.buffer.com/2021-state-of-remote-work) and shared their insights. This year, 27 percent of remote workers selected not being able to unplug as their main struggle with remote work.

I’ve been working from home for 7 years, in 1 to 1,000-people companies across different timezones.

Here's what I learned:

**All is about routines.**

Routines make you switch from `Home` mode to `Work` mode. Researchers name it [Integration vs. Segmentation](https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/6421/phillips_multiple_roles.pdf).

In short, life is commonly split into 3 parts:

1. You leave home and go to work.

2. At work, you’re in your `Work` mode.

3. Then you go back home, and you switch to your `Home` mode.

While working from home, those steps are blurred. It’s easy to wake up, stay in pajamas and walk 5 meters to your work station. Definitely not the best productivity hack, isn’t it?

**How to make the switch smoothly?**

I built three routines to switch from one state to another and set me in the best possible conditions to work from home:

1. **Wake up and dress up, like a normal working day;**

2. **Anticipate action plan for the day;**

3. **stop working, really.**

## **Working from home**

### **Wake up and dress up like a normal working day**

A day working from home is just like any other working day. Start it as if you were going to work. It’s my best routine to switch from `Home` mode to `Work` mode.

Here's how I start my day:

* I wake up at 7 AM,

* do a 7-minute workout,

* have a shower,

* have breakfast,

* and read for 20 minutes.

When done, I sit in front of my laptop, and I know exactly what to do.

### **Anticipate your action plan for the day**

If you’re more productive in the morning, keep your agenda clean to focus on your work. I know I work better early in the morning. I have the energy, the clarity of mind, and the focus to do my best work. I don’t read emails. I don’t read my Slack conversations nor my social notifications. When I start my day, I know what to do, so I just do it and start working.

Later in the afternoon, I check what I’ve done, define my 2–3 main action items for the next day, so I’m ready for tomorrow. And ready to really stop working.

### **Stop working, really**

To really stop working is key for your work-life balance. To be honest, it’s one routine I’m still working on right now. Sometimes it feels hard to disconnect from your laptop and your smartphone. Leave 'em far, far away from you. How about a quick look at your work apps? Don’t. Do something else instead. Have a walk, do some meditation, or read a non-work book. Anything that makes you switch. My computer is in a dedicated room, and I don’t go in there when I’m not working. I shut it down every day, so I know I won’t open it — even if it starts in less than 4 seconds.

To stop working on your smartphone is harder. [I’m still running experiments](https://twitter.com/fmerian/status/1270293812485726214?s=20) to reduce my screen time. I deleted most of my work apps — Gmail, Twitter, Slack… I’ve set up time limits for apps and downtime. I preferably use widgets. It’s still a running experiment.

## **Recap**

1. **Wake up and dress up. Like a normal working day;**

2. **Anticipate your action plan for the day;**

3. **Stop working. For real.**

**Thanks for reading!** **I hope you found some insights that would help you work better and get things done -- and fun -- while working from home.**

**What are your best practices to stay productive while working from home?**

Working from home

**If you're building an API company, the first-time experience is *vital*. It's what makes users fall in love with your product.**

Most developers sign up, set up their workflows, and never return. During this setup moment, you want them to get their job done and realize the value of the product as soon as possible.

In psychology, people call it the **Aha moment**.

> *The Aha moment is a moment of sudden insight or discovery. In software, it's the pivotal moment when a new user first realizes the value of your product and why they need it.*\
> — Source: [growth.design](https://growth.design/psychology#aha-moment)

I had the opportunity to work on the developer experience at Specify. I benchmarked how awesome dev-first companies welcomed their users and ran experiments for conversion rate optimizations.

**Below are my key takeaways.**

## unparalleled first-time developer experiences

When I started benchmarking how awesome dev-first companies welcomed their users, I wanted to understand the reasoning behind every detail, pixels and words, that makes the experiences unparalleled.

Above all, the first-time experience should answer:

**What should I know about your product? Anything I shouldn't miss?**

* Take Linear. It introduces its keyboard shortcut `Cmd+K` during the process.

* Stripe helps you "start accepting payments instantly." And so, it only takes three steps to get started.

* Zapier connects your apps and suggests automated workflows during the signup flow.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Flove%2F91ff865b-d25b-4017-991e-3240710510b8.png?alt=media&token=93726086-bad9-47c7-b5ec-30a71333326f","id":"91ff865b-d25b-4017-991e-3240710510b8","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-07-aGNZ2o3N@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Introducing Linear's command menu","border":false}]}
```

The first-time experience is a foretaste of your product. It's what makes your users reach the Aha moment and convert them into engaged, lifelong customers. This requires continuous improvements and experiments.

## how we welcomed new users at Specify

At Specify, we're building an API that helps engineering, product, and design teams set up design CI/CD workflows in minutes. Most users sign up, set up their pipeline, and never return. The pipeline is up and running, and "[it just works](https://twitter.com/fmerian/status/1567091505067880450?s=20&t=tEDrDEXJEICOnQSEZhxinw)," users said.

During this setup moment, it's key to help users get their job done and reach their Aha moment as soon as possible.

We experimented with and shipped many improvements:

* added a step-by-step walkthrough;

* created [configuration templates](https://specifyapp.com/templates) to get started in minutes;

* added sample dataset to preview the value.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Flove%2F35167eaf-1842-4acd-ac24-632e7a2e248f.png?alt=media&token=be8fbccd-6f30-49a3-acbb-ed02bf957fc5","id":"35167eaf-1842-4acd-ac24-632e7a2e248f","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-07-UNMDlsgA@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Flove%2F2c26c447-6715-49c5-92b1-ab793970b5a8.png?alt=media&token=f987d258-3169-4d8a-b8e9-8087db1783bf","id":"2c26c447-6715-49c5-92b1-ab793970b5a8","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-07-jkuQ9WNK@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Flove%2F0c0fa65d-1da2-4d80-be7a-16032658149a.png?alt=media&token=9bfb3598-2210-4f70-a8f7-ea5f586c315f","id":"0c0fa65d-1da2-4d80-be7a-16032658149a","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-07-d1nnIq3r@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Flove%2F4f19107f-68b5-4b38-910a-ceb11c2e717f.png?alt=media&token=88d6aec4-9403-4ddd-b2ac-64f368ddc112","id":"4f19107f-68b5-4b38-910a-ceb11c2e717f","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-07-MgnMB9bT@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

## final thoughts

Optimizing the first-time experience requires continuous improvements and experiments. And it's vital for your business. It converts users into engaged, lifelong advocates.

It's what makes them fall in love with your product. ❤️

First-time developer experiences

When you start prepping a launch on Product Hunt, you may read here and there great stories, how-tos, and step-by-step guides. This is another, different story.

I had the opportunity to work with the Documenso team on their launch. [We reached #1 Product of the Day](https://www.producthunt.com/products/documenso#documenso) although we didn't apply most of the pro tips you may read on the Internet.

Some lessons learned:

* You don't need a 4-week plan;

* You don't need to launch on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday;

* You don't need to cold outreach people.

## how not to launch on Product Hunt (and reach #1 Product of the Day)

### you don't need a 4-week plan

We started working on the topic 1 week before the launch. 1 week. We created a Coming Soon page and [hosted an AMA session](https://www.producthunt.com/discussions/my-co-founder-and-i-are-open-sourcing-digital-signatures-and-taking-on-the-b-docusign-empire-ama).

### you don't need to launch on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday

[Reportedly](https://hunted.space/history), Product Hunt has the highest traffic/visibility on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. We launched Documenso on a Sunday.

### you don't need to cold outreach people

We didn't send any direct messages or email newsletters. We did post and repost extensively on Twitter / X on launch day though:

* 10 posts,

* 18 reposts.

## wrapping up

When launching Documenso on Product Hunt, we didn't check the lists you may find here and there. We didn't plan 4 weeks in advance. We didn't launch on a weekday or send direct messages.

**The results?**

* 747 upvotes,

* 127 comments,

* #1 Product of the Day,

* #9 Product of the Week,

* 700+ GitHub stars,

* 2.5K DUV.

You may wonder what my #1 lesson learned launching on Product Hunt is. Here's the secret:

Enjoy your launch day.

How Documenso launched on Product Hunt

In 2019, Ryan Singer open-sourced how product development happens at Basecamp in a book called "[Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters](https://basecamp.com/shapeup)."

In case you're not familiar with the methodology, here's a quick TL,DR:

* 6-week cycles

* Shaping the work

* Making teams responsible

* Targeting risks

At [Specify](https://specifyapp.com), we started experimenting with the Shape Up methodology to define focused projects, address unknowns, and increase collaboration and engagement within the team. So, I started to learn more about how other teams implemented it, too.

## Leveraging Shape Up

### Slite works in 8-week cycles

Slite runs 8-week cycles and includes a [1-week build](https://slite.com/blog/leaving-the-roadmap-behind) every 2 cycles.

> *A Build is a project that a small team (say 2–4 people) can ship in a week.* -- Christophe Pasquier, CEO at Slite

Builds interrupt the team workflow in two ways. For one, Slite is a remote-first and async team. Builds go in-person. Secondly, the product strategy focuses on eight-week cycles. Builds are a 5-day practice.

### Memo Bank shapes the work for 2 weeks

[Memo Bank works in 8-week cycles](https://memo.bank/en/magazine/how-memo-bank-leveraged-shape-up), too - -  2 weeks of Shaping, then 6 weeks of Building. The Shaping phase doesn't occur simultaneously and includes all stakeholders, not only the product managers and lead developers.

During the 2 weeks of Shaping, the developers don't code. They still fix bugs, but their priority is the Shaping, like it is for everybody else in the company.

To focus on meaningful topics and avoid misalignments, the team created an additional meeting called "The strategy meeting." It brings together the CEO, the CTO, and the lead product manager. The objective is to decide which topics to tackle during the next Shaping phase. They review all the pitches and select the most critical ones.

Then, each developer and designer decide which percentage of their time they dedicate to the Building phase.

### Raycast runs 1-day cool-down phases every week

Raycast -- although it doesn't refer to Shape Up per se  -- runs 4-week cycles and a [1-day cool-down phase](https://www.raycast.com/blog/we-hack-every-friday) once a week.

> *Every beginning of the month, we write down what we work on for the next 30 days.*  -- Thomas Paul Mann, CEO at Raycast

This forces the team to make compromises and target the risk because there's only a limited amount of time and resources available.

## How we leveraged Shape Up at Specify

We started experimenting with the Shape Up methodology to define focused projects, address unknowns, and increase collaboration and engagement within the team.

### Principles

We split the team in 2 squads:

* The Core squad, and

* The Growth squad.

The Core squad owned the main app, and the Growth squad focused efforts on acquisition and conversion.

Each squad included 1 Product Manager, 1 Product Designer, and 1-2 Software Engineers. They had full responsibility to define their own tasks and make adjustments to the scope.

We worked in 4-week cycles:

* 3 weeks in the Building phase, and

* 1 week in the cool-down phase.

A small group including the CEO, the CTO, and the Product Manager, worked in parallel to the cycle teams to define the key elements of a solution before considering a project ready to work on.

### Results: What we built in 4-week cycles

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fshape-up%2F175742d4-1232-419d-97e5-b9a9fb3f9e76.png?alt=media&token=076200ee-a951-4535-840d-9fd73e8ea276","id":"175742d4-1232-419d-97e5-b9a9fb3f9e76","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-10-10-UKarAgeR@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Specify — Configuration Templates","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fshape-up%2Fd0413ae7-8b8b-4693-9749-30d91afb0a32.png?alt=media&token=b4a9e0bf-0bea-4f60-b4b1-956bd623ed7a","id":"d0413ae7-8b8b-4693-9749-30d91afb0a32","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-10-10-IN6YGpGv@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Specify — Beta Program (Notion)","border":false}]}
```

If we're still in the early weeks of this experiment with Shape Up, we already measured a positive impact.

It helped us build momentum and ship [significant updates](https://medium.com/specifyapp/180-days-building-a-design-api-f9841ad682d)  --  like the Specify CLI, Configuration Templates, and an in-depth GitHub integration.

## Wrapping up

Have you implemented Shape Up in your team? How do you apply it to your own processes? What are your best practices? I'm eager to learn how you leverage Shape Up.

Join the conversation on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/fmerian/status/1551523159332904960).

Experimenting with Shape Up

When Specify launched [Design Data Platforms 101](https://specifyapp.com/guides/design-data-platforms-101/), [Caroline asked us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/curiouschaos/status/1521245281651732481):

> ***How long did this take, and how many people were involved?***

In short, it took us six weeks to build it. Louis wrote the content, Yann-Edern and Thibaut designed the assets, and Allan wrote the code. The whole story, though, would require more than 240 characters.

This post is a sneak peek into the making of Design Data Platforms 101, our most advanced and complete guide on [design tokens](https://specifyapp.com/blog/introduction-to-design-tokens) and Design Ops. It’s about why and how we wrote it, from ideation to completion, and what we hope you’ll take away from this.

## From ideation to completion

"I've always dreamed of CI/CD for designers and product teams," Valentin Chrétien, Specify's co-founder and CEO, said. And when he and his co-founders, Antoine, Pierre-Antoine, and Louis, started Specify in 2018, they also started documenting their learnings.

After 5 years of user research, market analysis, and product validations, we decided to share our insights and lessons learned in this comprehensive guide to help design and engineering teams set up a design CI/CD workflow step by step.

We really wanted to make it as insightful and helpful as possible for the community, so we took care to polish every detail at each stage of the project, from writing to designing and coding.

## Making content educative

Louis Chenais took the lead on this project as Specify's Chief Evangelist and active contributor to the [DTCG Community](https://designtokens.org/).

He went hands-on on the topic last November with a focus on education.

It wasn't his first piece at all. In case you don’t know Louis, he's the author of this [introduction to Design Tokens](https://specifyapp.com/blog/introduction-to-design-tokens), a must-read on the topic, embraced by the UX Collective on Medium.

Louis started jotting down notes on Notion, so we had a first edition that we shared with early readers for feedback and thoughts.

```cv
gallery
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```

"This guide is for every team struggling with connecting design and code," Louis explained. "It tackles everything you need to know about how to collect, store and distribute design data through a Design API."

## Designing a delightful reading experience

While Louis was busy writing the copy, designer Yann-Edern Gillet started exploring what the guide would visually look like, with support and feedback from Louis and Valentin.

"I wish I had this periodic table when I was a student," Yann-Edern said. And Louis added: "This guide is for anyone willing to learn more about design tokens and how to use them."

Yann-Edern also teamed up with Thibaut to work on 3D assets.

Thibaut is the motion designer that previously made [this promo video](https://youtu.be/NFdNlae8NRE) for the public launch last February, and he did another masterpiece.

## Building Design Data Platforms 101

Allan started working on the dev part last March, always in sync with the design team that provided detailed workflows to help build a world-class experience.

In the meantime, we ran quick feedback loops with the help of Maud and Pierre-Antoine to make Design Data Platforms 101 a delightful experience — and hopefully an insightful read — on all browsers and devices.

```cv
gallery
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```

## Setting up the launchpad

We spent time writing, designing, and building this guide — polishing every detail, pixel and word, with love. We wanted to add credibility to it, and we had the chance to feature a foreword written by [Matthew Ström](https://medium.com/u/e0e5c279b20?source=post_page-----b1d6903958d5--------------------------------), Product Design Manager at Stripe.

Design Data Platforms 101 is full of resources, inspired by [design leaders](https://twitter.com/i/lists/1514870432469504001) from top companies, and above all, Matt's post on [the evolution of design systems](https://matthewstrom.com/writing/design-apis/) is the essay that inspires us the most.

So, asking him a few words to introduce the topic was a no-brainer. We’re delighted he accepted and are humbled to feature his foreword. To quote Matt: "This guide is the periodic table that helps you make sense of your design system."

Thank you, Matt! 🙏

## Design Data Platforms 101: an advanced and complete guide on design tokens, systems, and ops

Design Data Platforms 101 results from 5 years of lessons learned in building a Design API for design and engineering teams. It’s full of insights, best practices, real-world examples, and free resources to help teams set up a design CI/CD workflow step by step.

We really wanted to make it as helpful as possible for the community, so we put much love into writing, designing, and building it — polishing every detail, pixel and word.

All in all, it took us six weeks to complete this guide, from ideation to completion. The full team was involved, with small or more significant contributions. We couldn’t have made it without the help of every single person.

**And we had an amazing [launch day](https://twitter.com/i/events/1536678745439879169)!**

The community embraced it, defining it as a "massive knowledge hub" on design tokens and Design Ops.

S/O to all of the makers on this project across teams — Engineering, Design, Product, Data, and Marketing teams were all contributors.

**Thanks! I hope you enjoyed the read. Feel free to connect on [Twitter / X](https://x.com/fmerian).**

The making of Design Data Platforms 101

Specify launched in [early 2022](https://meow.ph/specify).

We got featured on Product Hunt, ranked #2 Product of the Day, hit the Top 10 Products of the Week, and had 2.5K unique visitors on launch day.

**This post details the launch plan.**

## Why Product Hunt

Product Hunt features new products daily. According to [similarweb.com](https://www.similarweb.com/website/producthunt.com/#overview), it gets 4.8M unique visitors every month.

As an early-stage company, launching on Product Hunt is an opportunity to raise brand awareness, acquire new signups, and enable early sales motion.

## How Product Hunt works

According to [hunted.space](https://hunted.space/history), Product Hunt has the highest traffic/visibility on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's a 24-hour race that starts at 12:01 AM PST / 09:01 AM CET.

Submitting a new product requires the following inputs:

* **Name of the product**: 40 characters max;

* **Tagline**: 60 characters max;

* **Topics**: up to 3 topics — see the full list [here](https://www.producthunt.com/topics);

* **Thumbnail**: recommended size == 240\*240px; maximum size == 2MB;

* **Image gallery**: recommended size == 1270\*760px; upload 3 to 8 images;

* **Product description**: 260 characters max;

* **First comment**: starts the discussion; supports basic HTML;

**There's a template for that. [Here it is](https://git.new/meow/kit).**

## How Specify launched

When we launched Specify on Product Hunt, we took the following steps:

1. Polishing the details;

2. Finding a Hunter;

3. Going live.

### Polishing the details

One mistake when launching on Product Hunt is a confusing tagline.

We considered 2 options:

1. Distribute your brand from design to code;

2. Sync your Figma files with GitHub repositories in minutes.

We picked the latter, which is more specific and straightforward.

Similarly, we iterated many times on the visual assets to show the product.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2F9bca93e7-3439-4788-8893-f98a5e1c3aa7.png?alt=media&token=3964b952-ab07-41d8-9e09-1ad8664d397b","id":"9bca93e7-3439-4788-8893-f98a5e1c3aa7","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-veFP0wtY@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 1: Open Graph","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2F956072f4-b7e3-4dac-b914-33f246c066cd.png?alt=media&token=3935ace0-98ce-4eab-b8a8-b4aa07e87c87","id":"956072f4-b7e3-4dac-b914-33f246c066cd","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-nrclJVJ4@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 2: Feature #1","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2Fccca4f3a-4c59-4ad2-a0d9-b1632fdaaa87.png?alt=media&token=776db620-c041-4f06-8735-a5a2f8c1fb36","id":"ccca4f3a-4c59-4ad2-a0d9-b1632fdaaa87","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-BKqnotiW@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 3: Feature #2","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2Fcffb657d-b2a2-477e-ae5f-28a083e735a8.png?alt=media&token=5bb59e4d-2658-4297-b908-6ba32a5c2e8f","id":"cffb657d-b2a2-477e-ae5f-28a083e735a8","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-kpQQ2p5T@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 4: Feature #3","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2F824cd1ec-8092-421b-9f04-040fd04b78b8.png?alt=media&token=1d8c25d7-c137-435a-b833-078e47f853fe","id":"824cd1ec-8092-421b-9f04-040fd04b78b8","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-Ncg7emGw@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 5: Outputs","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2Fa0466e64-8aff-47ab-8fcd-ca4688812a25.png?alt=media&token=dcb6b4c7-e7ea-4db8-9e13-c9e4bfd16363","id":"a0466e64-8aff-47ab-8fcd-ca4688812a25","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-N3BxFTxy@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 6: Frameworks","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2FO6jbuViIKoiNzi1C9FBK%2F6e4fe7d0-6c90-46b8-a3f7-e4b468ea4539.png?alt=media&token=48cfcc4a-a891-45aa-9cac-aea0aba8b17b","id":"6e4fe7d0-6c90-46b8-a3f7-e4b468ea4539","width":3248,"height":2112,"filename":"2024-06-17-xLdt1bFw@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Image 7: Social proof","border":false}]}
```

### Finding a Hunter

Finding a Hunter isn't a requirement *per se*. I still think it's a better option.

According to [Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/launch/before-launch#hunters:-do-you-need-one), using a Hunter isn't a barrier to success:

* 79% of featured posts were by makers who self-hunted;

* 60% of #1 Product of the Day winners were self-hunted.

When we launched Specify, we collaborated with [Hiten Shah](https://www.producthunt.com/@hnshah). We partnered with Hiten because he has an influence on Product Hunt and beyond. Above all, it was a fantastic feeling for the team, e.g. an extra source of motivation before the launch.

### Going live

We went live on Thursday, February 24, 2022, at 12:01 AM PST / 09:01 AM CET and did the following:

* Posted on [Twitter](https://x.com/specifyapp/status/1496759082610569217) and LinkedIn;

* Sent email campaigns;

* Upvoted and replied to every comment on Product Hunt.

The objective was to be in the Top 3 within the first hour.

## Results

The results in a nutshell:

* 681 upvotes;

* 143 comments;

* #2 Product of the Day;

* #9 Product of the Week, #2 Developer Tool of the Week;

* #5 Developer Tool of the Month;

* 72K impressions;

* 2.5K DUV.

What's next? Launching on Product Hunt definitely is *not* a one-time opportunity.

Take Stripe. The company launched [68 times](https://www.producthunt.com/products/stripe/launches) on Product Hunt in the last 10 years. Supabase launched [12 times](https://www.producthunt.com/products/supabase/launches) in the last 4 years. Raycast has launched [11 products](https://www.producthunt.com/products/raycast/launches) since 2020.

Product Hunt is about consistency. Keep launching.

How Specify launched

In 2020, Adam DuVander, previously writer at ProgrammableWeb and content strategist at Zapier, introduced the DEV Content Framework in his book '[Developer Marketing Doesn’t Exist](https://everydeveloper.com/developer-marketing/book/).'

**This post is an introduction to the framework with examples to help you leverage it for your developer tool.**

## an introduction to the DEV Content Framework

**TL,DR: \`DEV\` stands for Discovery, Education, and Viewpoint.**

### D stands for Discovery

> **The more accessible your product and docs are, the better.**

It should be straightforward for developers to access the data they need and get started with your product. The first-time experience is vital. Take Stripe. From the homepage, you can access the API documentation and recent product updates. Sign in, and you can start playing with the API. It’s simple.

### E stands for Education

> **Make your content helpful, educative, and inspiring.**

It takes time to master an API, a new library, or a framework. Your content should help developers embrace its full potential by educating and inspiring them. Take Liveblocks. The team wrote in-depth case studies, full of live examples. It makes you want to use the product because it feels like the team puts lots of thinking and hard work into them.

### V stands for Viewpoint

> **Have an opinion. Stand for how things should work.**

Last but not least, you should have an opinion. By default, technology enables you to build whatever you want. Why would developers even care about your product if they can build it by themselves? Stand for how things should work. Take Linear. Many software helps you track issues. Linear wants you to enjoy doing it. “Software should feel magical,” they say.

## wrapping up

Thanks for reading!

Over to you! Have you implemented the DEV content framework in your team? How do you apply it to your own content strategy? What are your best practices?

I’m eager to learn how you leverage this framework.

**And if you enjoyed this story, [please do share](https://twitter.com/fmerian/status/1623738752966479873?s=20)!**

The DEV Content Framework

At Specify, we decided to spend less time defining processes and focus on shipping fast releases.

In this story, I share more about why Specify hasn't built a design system (yet?), how we balance execution and user experience, and what we set up to get things done faster.

## Finding the balance between execution and user experience

When wireframing your product for the first time, you don't start by designing the UI components. You start with a rough version of your product UI. Following Brad Frost's [Atomic Design](https://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/) taxonomy, you'd start designing the pages, then build step-by-step what looks like a system.

When wireframing your product for the first time, you don't start with the atoms.

This journey doesn't need processes.

They would be an unnecessary additional layer to your workflow. It takes time to set up and maintain, and the problem is that you don't have that time. Working in a fast-growing environment, you must focus on getting things done. Fewer processes, more time shipping.

On the other hand, suppose you don't write specs for your engineering team. It might lead to UI inconsistencies that negatively affect your user experience. Worse, it would create noise and frustration across teams.

At Specify, we're working remotely. We work asynchronously from different places and can't have quick conversations to sync. Plus, we're [experimenting with the Shape Up methodology](https://read.cv/fmerian/shape-up) and take good care not to interrupt cycle teams while they work on their projects.

There's a balance between documenting design decisions and getting things done. Then again, the problem is that when you work in a fast-growing environment, you must ship fast.

So, how would you achieve velocity in execution without compromising the user experience?

You don't need better processes. You need automation.

## Automating design workflows for faster releases

In software engineering, automation is a core principle for fast releases, and [CI/CD](https://github.blog/2022-06-03-a-beginners-guide-to-ci-cd-and-automation-on-github/) is a critical component.

> **CI/CD comprises of continuous integration and continuous delivery or continuous deployment. Put together, they form a "CI/CD pipeline" — a series of automated workflows that help engineering teams cut down on manual tasks.**
>
> — [Rizel Scarlett](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rizel-bobb-semple/), Developer Advocate at GitHub

Now, with the right connections between your design tool and codebase, CI/CD pipelines would help your design and engineering teams:

* Automatically collect and store design decisions within a single source of truth — Continuous Integration (CI), then

* Automatically deliver design changes to production-ready environments for approval — Continuous Delivery (CD), or

* Automatically deploy design changes to customers directly — Continuous Deployment (CD).

Here at Specify, we don't have a design system. Instead, we built a Design API that helps us set up a CI/CD pipeline for design workflows.

## Setting up design CI/CD workflows

We don't have a design system. We don't have processes. Instead, we automate every design decision.

We design on Figma and host our codebase on GitHub. So, we built a Design API to connect both tools. That way, our Figma files are in sync with our codebase. It removes the need to document design decisions.

Setting up a CI/CD pipeline for design workflows, from Figma to GitHub and more.

That's a workflow we apply for every new project and feature we work on.

Designers design on Figma, iterating on their mockups, while software developers deploy on GitHub. UI components may vary from one iteration to another — a border-radius, a spacing, a color… When we update a [design token](https://specifyapp.com/blog/introduction-to-design-tokens) on Figma, we get automatic pull requests on GitHub. We iterate and deliver fast releases with confidence.

When you connect and sync your design tool to your codebase, designers spend more time on pixels, and developers focus on coding. Fewer time-consuming, back-and-forth conversations, QA tickets, and interruptions. More valuable discussions and fun.

Your team focuses on what really matters: building an unparalleled user experience.

## Lessons learned

As an early-stage company, your objective isn't to build processes. You want to get things done and find the balance between velocity in execution and user experience. You don't need processes to achieve that. You need automation.

With the right connections between your design tool and codebase, CI/CD pipeline helps your team focus on what really matters: building an unparalleled user experience.

It's more straightforward, productive — and fun.

Why Specify hasn't built a design system

Published on: **2024-05-04**. Last updated on: **2024-11-20**.

---

I've launched 42 dev tools on Product Hunt in the last 2 years — or maybe 55? To be honest, I've lost count.

I could bore you with the details of how Specify launched or that Product Hunt awarded me Community Member of the Year in 2022 (runner-up).

No. What you probably care about is what my key takeaways are.

So, here we go — what I learned from 42 (or 55) dev-first product launches on Product Hunt.

## Why Product Hunt

**Product Hunt definitely *is* a great place to launch —** a place where many developer-first products launched successfully: Supabase, Resend, and Warp, to name a few.

According to [similarweb.com](https://www.similarweb.com/website/producthunt.com/#overview), Product Hunt gets 4.8 million unique visitors every month, and according to [Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/website-authority-checker/?input=producthunt.com), it has a 91 domain rating.

Product Hunt helps raise awareness, get feedback, and enable early traction.

Rishabh Kaul, Head of Marketing at Appsmith, who launched in March 2023 and ranked #5 Product of the Day, adds:

> **One of the often overlooked parts of Product Hunt is the reviews that you get during launch. They are customer testimonials for your marketing site.**
>
> — [Rishabh Kaul](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabhkaul), Head of Marketing, Appsmith

**The question isn't *if* you should launch on Product Hunt. It's *how*. — [repost this](https://x.com/fmerian/status/1768694907563397353)**

## Launching a dev tool on Product Hunt? Keep it simple

To start, some definitions:

* **Maker**: a user who works on the product;

* **Hunter**: a user who submits a product and doesn't work on it;

* **Upvoter**: a user who upvotes a product;

* **Commenter**: a user who comments on a product;

* **Launch page**: where your launched product lives;

* **Kitty coins**: Novice (Level 0-100), Bronze (Level 101-500), Silver (Level 501-1,000), Gold (Level 1,001+);

* **Ranking**: Product of the Day / Week / Month / Year (i.e. Golden Kitty Award).

Let's be upfront. Over the years, I've contributed to launching many dev-first products and, is there a secret sauce? *No.*

When Specify launched, we planned weeks ahead and launched on a weekday — we thought it would maximize exposure. We ranked #2 Product of the Day, #9 Product of the Week. We hit 2.5K unique visitors.

When Documenso launched, it was the opposite. We had no plan and launched during the weekend. We ranked #1 Product of the Day and #9 Product of the Week. We hit 2.5K unique visitors, too.

**Two different launches; same results.**

Take Peer Richelsen. Peer is the co-founder and co-CEO of Cal.com. He [launched 6 times on Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/products/cal-com/awards) and got 10 awards. He puts it very simply:

> **Have a good product.**
>
> — Peer Richelsen, Co-founder and CEO, Cal.com

**You don't need to overthink to launch on Product Hunt successfully. Keep it simple.**

Despite what you can read here and there, there certainly isn't a formula to launch on Product Hunt. Still, there's a set of principles to help maximize your chances with your launch:

1. Polish your content and visual assets;

2. Engage with the community;

3. On launch day, launch at 12:01 AM PST and spread the word;

## Setting up the launchpad

### Polishing the details

To start, below are the required inputs to submit a new product on Product Hunt. **You can find them [here](https://git.new/meow/kit) on GitHub to get started.**

* **Name of the product**: simply the name of your product in 40 characters or less;

* **Tagline**: a concise and descriptive tagline in 60 characters max; avoid hyperbolic words and emojis — keep it simple;

* **Product description**: a short description of what the product does in less than 260 characters; supports basic HTML: `<strong>`, `<em>`, `<a>`, `<li>`;

* **Launch tags**: up to 3 tags — see the full list [here](https://www.producthunt.com/topics);

* **First comment**: tells the story, explains why you’re building the product, and invites people to join the conversation; supports basic HTML, too;

* **Thumbnail**: a 240 x 240 pixel thumbnail;

* **Image gallery**: 2 to 8 images to show your product; avoid stock images and marketing fluff; show the product, i.e. product screenshots. You can add social proof and a call-to-action to inspire action; the first image is used as the social preview when you share the link to your launch page.

For inspiration, below are some images from great dev-first product launches:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fi78dYQOfIumtSMmuifnt%2Fda641b1b-9759-4b3a-a7ca-f1c46dd67794.png?alt=media&token=e6f42ab1-d608-4fe6-b85a-cff96347c01c","id":"da641b1b-9759-4b3a-a7ca-f1c46dd67794","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2024-03-02-CyC9S3p6@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Appwrite shows the product.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fi78dYQOfIumtSMmuifnt%2Faf4648ad-f4d9-48ff-be31-d077b811d71e.png?alt=media&token=f0aff052-0c61-4b05-9e6d-2887ae41a51b","id":"af4648ad-f4d9-48ff-be31-d077b811d71e","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2024-03-02-S0cvTaWq@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Lago highlighted testimonials and GitHub stars.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fi78dYQOfIumtSMmuifnt%2Fe406b24c-ddeb-4cff-b531-177e6cf55c76.png?alt=media&token=25727780-2102-4aac-bed0-71a52fb3a6e0","id":"e406b24c-ddeb-4cff-b531-177e6cf55c76","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2024-03-02-VbJRLKLX@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Supabase added a call-to-action to inspire action.","border":false}]}
```

Tanya Rai and her team launched LastMile AI in October 2023 and ranked #2 Product of the Day and #4 Product of the Week. In [this blog post](https://dev.to/tanyarai/1-developer-tool-of-the-month-1o41), Tanya shared some lessons learned, and I really enjoyed this quote on polishing the details:

> **We spent some time nailing the messaging in a way that was palatable to the Product Hunt community. It's good to tailor your messaging and media assets to the community — it will resonate more.**
>
> — [Tanya Rai](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyarai/), Product Manager, LastMile AI

Now that you've polished the details and tailored the messaging and visual assets in a simple and straightforward way, it's time to schedule the launch and submit the product. I recommend finding a Hunter.

### Finding a Hunter

Do you need someone specific to submit your (dev-first) product on Product Hunt? By default, the answer is *no*. According to [Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/launch/before-launch#hunters:-do-you-need-one), using a Hunter isn't a barrier to success:

* 79% of featured posts were by makers who self-hunted;

* 60% of #1 Product of the Day winners were self-hunted.

If finding a Hunter isn't a requirement *per se*, you may need one for three main reasons:

1. a Hunter reviews your inputs, gives feedback, and suggests improvements;

2. on launch day, a Hunter can support by upvoting and replying to comments;

3. a Hunter can leverage networks by promoting your launch on socials;

**When done right, a Hunter is a catalyst for your launch. — [repost this](https://x.com/fmerian/status/1737450339824238977)**

Take n8n, an open-source Zapier alternative. When the team launched its 1.0 in June 2023 (ranked #1 Product of the Day and #2 Product of the Week), it partnered with [Chris Messina](https://www.producthunt.com/@chrismessina), and Luis Guzmán, Head of Marketing, puts it very eloquently:

> **A recognized Hunter makes a difference. We partnered with Chris Messina to be our Hunter, and it helped a lot — even when Product Hunt says it doesn't.**
>
> — [Luis Guzmán](https://www.linkedin.com/in/guzmanluis/), Head of Marketing, n8n

Olga Bedrina from JetBrains, who launched TeamCity Pipelines in March 2024 and ranked #3 Product of the Day, shares the feeling:

> **We contacted Chris to best position ourselves on Product Hunt and how to adjust our visuals so that they're really striking the chord. It was really helpful.**
>
> — [Olga Bedrina](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgabedrina/), Technical Marketing Writer, JetBrains

Here's another example. When we launched Specify, we collaborated with [Hiten Shah](https://www.producthunt.com/@hnshah). We chose to partner with Hiten because he has an influence on Product Hunt and beyond. Above all, it was a fantastic feeling for the team, e.g. an extra source of motivation before the launch.

More personally, when I collaborate with teams to help them launch, like  [Corbado](https://www.producthunt.com/products/corbado#corbado) (launched in January 2024, ranked #4 Product of the Day), I'm committed to challenging every aspect of the launch plan and supporting teams on launch days by leveraging my network.

> **We can recommend Flo to every developer tool that is planning to launch on Product Hunt.**
>
> — [Vincent Delitz](https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-delitz/), CEO, Corbado

If anyone can submit a product on Product Hunt anytime, a Hunter certainly helps with the launch.

### Warming up

In [this blog post](https://medium.com/@rrhoover/building-a-startup-build-an-audience-first-9fbba4f1fa15), Product Hunt's founder, Ryan Hoover, wrote:

> **Building a startup? Build an audience, first.**
>
> — Ryan Hoover, Founder, Product Hunt

**This could apply to product launches, too: if you're launching on Product Hunt, build an audience first. — [repost this](https://x.com/fmerian/status/1707436259436871848)**

You can schedule your launch up to 30 days ahead. Below are some ideas to get started:

* Create a [Coming Soon](https://www.producthunt.com/coming-soon) page;

* Add your upcoming launch on [hunted.space](https://hunted.space);

* Schedule as much content as possible: social posts, website banner, email campaigns;

* [Host an AMA session](https://www.producthunt.com/stories/how-to-host-a-successful-ama-on-product-hunt) — see examples from Documenso [here](https://www.producthunt.com/discussions/my-co-founder-and-i-are-open-sourcing-digital-signatures-and-taking-on-the-b-docusign-empire-ama) and Supabase [there](https://www.producthunt.com/discussions/ama-session-on-product-led-growth-with-rory-head-of-growth-at-supabase);

* Support other product launches.

Also, make sure to tease your network and community early.

> **We let our network and product community know that we had planned to launch on Product Hunt. It was super valuable for us to have support from our existing users and network and they came through for us.**
>
> — [Tanya Rai](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyarai/), Product Manager, LastMile AI

In [this file](https://git.new/meow/community), I suggest some ideas to leverage your community:

* List some key elements to play and mix;

* Include links to posts and comments for inspiration.

**Let's recap.**

So far, you have:

* polished the details: messaging and visual assets;

* found a Hunter;

* scheduled your launch;

* scheduled as much content as possible;

* started raising awareness, reaching out to your influencers, and engaging on Product Hunt;

You're ready to go live.

## On launch day

Here's the day. **Launching on Product Hunt is a 24-hour race — and it starts at 12:01 AM PST.**

For the first 4 hours of the day, Product Hunt hides upvotes and sorts the homepage randomly. According to [Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/stories/let-s-talk-about-spam), this should give products "a more distributed chance at exposure early." Your objective is to rank in the Top 5 within that time to maximize exposure.

> **When Product Hunt unhid upvotes, we were already in the Top 5. This helped us be more visible on the front page.**
>
> — [Olga Bedrina](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgabedrina/), Technical Marketing Writer, JetBrains

**Pro tip**: use [hunted.space](https://hunted.space) to monitor your launch day in real-time.

```
https://hunted.space/dashboard/{yourProduct}
```

During the day, upvote and reply to every comment. Make this day an opportunity to engage: start conversations and ask for feedback.

Laura Du Ry and the Appwrite team launched its Cloud Beta in October 2023 and ranked #4 Product of the Day. Laura tells:

> **The team was quick with responding and engaging. We cleared a part of the teams' calendar to be able to engage.**
>
> — [Laura Du Ry](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-du-ry-53203b94/), Growth Manager, Appwrite

Tanya Rai from LastMile AI shares the feeling:

> **On launch day, we had the whole team on board to respond to messages almost instantly. This was a round-the-clock effort by the team to show that we were actively engaged and interested in what feedback we were receiving from the Product Hunt community. We left no questions or comments unanswered.**
>
> — [Tanya Rai](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyarai/), Product Manager, LastMile AI

Make this launch day an opportunity to celebrate your efforts with your team and community. Make the most out of it by engaging in conversations and brainstorming new ideas, and above all, *enjoy it.* **— [repost this](https://x.com/fmerian/status/1788494159210524729)**

## Two more things

### Maximize efforts

With the assets you've worked on for your Product Hunt launch, you can maximize efforts by launching on more places, like Hacker News and Dev Hunt, an open-source alternative for dev-first products.

### Launch early, launch often

Launching on Product Hunt isn't a one-time opportunity. Launch early, launch often.

**You can pre-launch your product.**

When submitting a new product on Product Hunt, you can mark it as pre-launch.

**You can launch multiple times.**

Take Stripe. The company launched [68 times](https://www.producthunt.com/products/stripe/launches) on Product Hunt in the last 10 years. Supabase launched [12 times](https://www.producthunt.com/products/supabase/launches) in the last 4 years. Raycast has launched [11 products](https://www.producthunt.com/products/raycast/launches) since 2020. — **[repost this](https://x.com/fmerian/status/1744776629883371651)**

**Launching multiple times creates a tailwind.**

Luis Guzmán, Head of Marketing at n8n (launched [5 times](https://www.producthunt.com/products/n8n-io/launches) since 2019), sums it up perfectly:

> **Every follower we collected from past launches receives a notification about recent launches. This helps get more exposure.**
>
> — [Luis Guzmán](https://www.linkedin.com/in/guzmanluis/), Head of Marketing, n8n

So, keep launching.

## Further inspiration

Below are more stories for inspiration:

* [Product Hunt Launch Guide](https://www.producthunt.com/launch), by Product Hunt;

* [How Corbado launched on Product Hunt](https://corbado.com/blog/launch-developer-tool-product-hunt), by Vincent Delitz (launched Corbado in January 2024, ranked #4 Product of the Day);

* [Lago's Product Hunt Launch Playbook](https://github.com/getlago/lago/wiki/Product-Hunt-launch-:-our-handbook), by Anh-Tho Chuong (launched Lago in April 2023, ranked #1 Product of the Month);

* [#1 Developer Tool of the Month](https://dev.to/tanyarai/1-developer-tool-of-the-month-1o41), by Tanya Rai (launched LastMile AI in October 2023, ranked #2 Product of the Day and #4 Product of the Week);

* [Launching developer tools on Product Hunt](https://ronakganatra.com/posts/successfully-launch-dev-tools-on-producthunt), by Ronak Ganatra (launched GraphCMS in April 2020, ranked #5 Product of the Day).

You can find here more resources to help you get started:

* [awesome-product-hunt](https://git.new/meow): a collection of great dev-first product launches;

* [product-hunt-launch-kit.md](https://git.new/meow/kit): required inputs to submit a new product;

* [product-hunt-community-kit.md](https://git.new/meow/community): ideas to leverage your network;

## Wrapping up

That's a wrap!

Product Hunt definitely *is* a great place to launch a developer-first product. If there certainly isn't a formula to launch successfully, there may be a set of principles to help maximize your chances:

* Polish the details: keep the tagline and description simple and straightforward;

* Show the product: no stock images, no marketing fluff;

* Find a Hunter;

* Schedule your launch early;

* Schedule as much content as possible: first comment and social posts;

* Raise awareness: build an audience, support other product launches;

* Go live at 12:01 AM PST on a weekday for maximum exposure;

* Rank in the Top 5 within the first 4 hours;

* Engage: upvote and reply to every comment;

* Launch early, launch often.

Over to you! I hope this post gave you some insights to prep your launch on Product Hunt. I enjoy contributing to launching dev tools and am happy to help more folks.

**If you're launching something new, feel free to reach out on [Twitter / 𝕏](https://x.com/fmerian) or [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/fmerian).**

**Enjoy your launch day!**

---

*Thanks to [Laura Du Ry](https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-du-ry-53203b94/) (Appwrite), [Olga Bedrina](https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgabedrina/) (JetBrains), [Tanya Rai](https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyarai/) (LastMile AI), [Luis Guzmán](https://www.linkedin.com/in/guzmanluis/) (n8n), and [Rishabh Kaul](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishabhkaul) (Appsmith) for your contributions. Thanks to [Jack Bridger](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-bridger-047bb445) for bs-checking this post. They're all in the Developer Marketing Community, a place where 2,000+ tech founders and marketers from awesome dev-first, open-source companies hang out to share insights and best practices. [Join the fun](https://marketingto.dev)!*

Launching on Product Hunt

So, you just read [how Pitch automates design workflows with Specify](https://medium.com/p/5f39e25f2828).

Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the read.

Below is a behind-the-scenes on why we wrote this customer story, the reasoning behind every word, and what we did to get the most out of it.

## Why we write customer stories

We wanted to write customer stories for three main reasons:

1. Establish thought leadership

2. Show real-world examples

3. Convert new leads

### Establish thought leadership

As an early-stage company, we want to raise awareness, build authority, and establish thought leadership.

We focus efforts on content marketing, publishing SEO-optimized stories that share the vision, stand for how things should work, and inspire people to take action.

### Show, don't tell

We had the opportunity to experiment with what works and what doesn't when marketing to developers. We learned that one principle is to **show, not tell.**

Customer stories are real-world examples, precise and concrete. They highlight the challenges, solutions, and results.

We want readers to find inspiration to solve their problems by learning from industry leaders.

### Customer stories are conversion tools

Specify is a Design API that helps engineering and product teams automate design workflows.

We target front-end developers and product designers. On the other hand, the buyer persona is engineering leads and C-level executives.

We write customer stories featuring industry leaders that fit this Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to provide material to users who want to pitch Specify to the decision-makers.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fcustomer-stories%2F10ce575e-7eca-40b6-9580-a41b4a3cece0.png?alt=media&token=587b7a4b-e8f1-4074-9d17-da1325fb7900","id":"10ce575e-7eca-40b6-9580-a41b4a3cece0","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-06-0XmqwKqJ@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"How Pitch uses Specify","border":false}]}
```

## How we write customer stories

When writing this customer story, we followed the IDC framework:

* Introduction,

* Development,

* Conclusion.

We wrote this customer story for leaders and decision-makers who may not have the time to read long-form posts.

We wanted it to be as quickly scannable, digestible, and actionable as possible. So, we introduced and polished:

* a TL,DR section (fig. 1),

* the headlines (fig. 2) and

* quotes (fig. 3).

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fcustomer-stories%2F7dee6152-7f02-4c5a-b305-82513b5e245a.png?alt=media&token=1edbff49-eaad-4ff5-8b6b-a210a6252974","id":"7dee6152-7f02-4c5a-b305-82513b5e245a","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-06-cj5Bgz5F@2x+blurred.png","type":"image/png","caption":"fig. 1: TL,DR section","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fcustomer-stories%2F6463f3f8-574f-43ab-9e27-3c6dc72b2c7e.png?alt=media&token=2f9765b9-30f5-4a06-9ca3-dad8655076ed","id":"6463f3f8-574f-43ab-9e27-3c6dc72b2c7e","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-07-mllURxx2@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"fig. 2: Explicit, SEO-optimized headlines","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2Fra0TkuGb81bzXW0mzyCeePuilo33%2Fcustomer-stories%2F83f646ca-7e3d-4401-b668-22f908926260.png?alt=media&token=1f630414-e0d5-47a2-914c-2b9e67dc8134","id":"83f646ca-7e3d-4401-b668-22f908926260","width":2784,"height":1774,"filename":"2023-11-06-nvK2rFVJ@2x+blurred.png","type":"image/png","caption":"fig. 3: Twitter-sized quotes","border":false}]}
```

### TL,DR section

No narrative here. This section, below the introduction, summarizes the story in a few bullet points, highlighting the why, the key benefits, and the impact of the product.

### Explicit headlines

Let's dive more in-depth into the story.

First, we detailed the context of the company, its key issues and challenges. Second, we shared a step-by-step guide to set up the solution and shine a spotlight on the results.

We made the headlines as explicit and SEO-optimized as possible for a quick read.

### Twitter-sized quotes

The customer story is full of quotes, optimized for social platforms, in less than 280 characters. The objective is to make it easy to take action and share these bits on socials.

## Spreading the word

We wrote this customer story to inspire action and spent time polishing the details to make the read as digestible, enjoyable, and actionable as possible. When published, we wanted to maximize reach and post it in multiple, relevant places.

In this context, we focused distribution on places where the target audience, front-end developers and product designers, hangs out:

* Twitter,

* LinkedIn, and

* Medium.

We tailored content to fit each platform.

### Twitter

From past experiments, we found that long-form posts performed well on Twitter / X. So, we shared the story as a thread. We used [Typefully](https://typefully.com/?via=fmerian) to draft, schedule, and publish Tweets and threads with some guidelines:

* Polish the first and last two Tweets;

* Add visual assets and link on the first Tweet;

* Ping influencers mentioned in the story;

* When posted, notify team members for early engagement.

[Here's the final result](https://x.com/specifyapp/status/1572265396471992323). You can view post engagement [here](https://twitter.com/specifyapp/status/1572265396471992323/quotes).

### LinkedIn

We had a smaller reach with higher engagement on LinkedIn. To maximize efforts, we decided to copy/paste the first Tweet. We used [Typefully](https://typefully.com/?via=fmerian) to handle LinkedIn posts, too.

[Here's the final result](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/specifyapp_how-pitch-uses-specify-to-sync-icons-from-activity-6978021155202883585-9TC0).

### Medium

On Medium, we syndicated the entire story and added a canonical link. We polished the quotes and embeds to fit the platform.

[Here's the final result](https://medium.com/specifyapp/how-pitch-uses-specify-5f39e25f2828).

### Additional notes

* The distribution process took about four hours;

* We aimed at spending 30% writing, 70% distributing.

## Wrapping up

That's it!

We wrote [this customer story](https://medium.com/p/5f39e25f2828) to show a concrete, real-world example of how an industry leader like Pitch can leverage Specify's Design API. The objectives were to establish thought leadership and help convert new users. We introduced a TL,DR section and polished the headlines and quotes to make the read as digestable, enjoyable and actionable as possible. We maximized reach by focusing distribution on places where the target audience hangs out and tailoring content for each platform.

On a personal note, this customer story also celebrates a win. Pitch is a product I enjoy using, used by [millions of awesome teams](https://pitch.com/blog/one-million-teams) worldwide. Somehow, I feel I had a small contribution to this success.

The anatomy of a customer story

In late 2022, I started mentoring founders, product marketers and developer advocates on [ADPList](https://adplist.org/mentors/florent-merian). Many of them were first-time contributors in dev-first companies and reached out to learn the nuances of developer marketing.

I've been working in developer tools (Clerk, Specify) for years, experimenting with what works and what doesn't work, and I co-run a community of tech founders and marketers from awesome dev-first products like Resend, Supabase, and Vercel.

**This post is about what I learned when marketing to developers and some resources to help you get started.**

## cracking the code of developer marketing

Above all, my #1 lesson learned is:

> **You can put down your B2B marketing playbook.**

Traditional B2B marketing techniques do *not* work with developers. They're resistant to anything that looks, sounds, or smells like marketing.

Let's start from scratch. First, below are some must-read resources:

* [Developer marketing](https://helenmin.com/blog/marketing-to-developers) (2020) by Helen Min (Meta, Dropbox, Plaid)

* [Developer marketing doesn't exist](https://everydeveloper.com/developer-marketing/book/) (2021) by Adam DuVander (SendGrid)

* [On developer marketing](https://leerob.io/blog/developer-marketing) (2024) by Lee Robinson (Vercel)

Let's dive in.

### [Developer marketing](https://helenmin.com/blog/marketing-to-developers) by Helen Min (Meta, Dropbox, Plaid)

In this blog post, Helen sets first principles and best practices when marketing to developers:

* Show, don't tell;

* Features over benefits;

* Be genuinely helpful.

Helen puts it simply:

> **Think of \[developer marketing\] as community building, where the goal is engagement, and not marketing, where the goal is generating new leads.**
>
> — Helen Min, Head of Marketing, Plaid

### [Developer marketing doesn't exist](https://everydeveloper.com/developer-marketing/book/) by Adam DuVander (SendGrid)

In this book, published in 2020, Adam DuVander, previously writer at ProgrammableWeb and content strategist at SendGrid and Zapier, introduced the DEV Content Framework — a structured approach to creating helpful content for a technical audience.

DEV stands for Discovery, Education, and Viewpoint. In short:

* Make your product and docs as accessible as possible;

* Keep your content helpful, educative, and inspiring;

* Have an opinion — stand for how things should work.

**You can read an introduction to this framework with real-world examples from Stripe, Linear, and more in [this blog post](https://read.cv/fmerian/dev).**

### [On developer marketing](https://leerob.io/blog/developer-marketing) by Lee Robinson (Vercel)

More recently (2024), Lee Robinson, VP of Product at Vercel, published a blog post summarizing what he learned when engaging with developers.

This quote really resonates:

> **The best developer marketing teaches how to build great products, builds and retains trust, uses precise language. It's both concise and precise. it values your time — every word matters.**
>
> — Lee Robinson, VP of Product, Vercel

## going forward

Over to you! To go more in-depth into this topic, below is a quick checklist with more helpful resources:

1. Star this [awesome-developer-marketing](https://github.com/ronakganatra/awesome-developer-marketing) repo: an open-source collection of great resources, by Ronak Ganatra (DatoCMS, Hygraph);

2. Subscribe to the [Markepear](https://www.developermarkepear.com/blog) newsletter: real-world examples, strategies and tactics, by Jakub Czabon (Neptune.ai);

3. Listen to the [Scaling DevTools](https://podcast.scalingdevtools.com/) podcast: insights and best practices you need to grow, by Jack Bridger;

Ronak, Jakub, Jack, and 1,000+ tech founders and marketers are part of the [Developer Marketing Community](https://dev-mkt.slack.com) to share insights and best practices. Join the fun!

**And if you enjoyed this read, feel free to connect on [LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/fmerian) and/or [Twitter](https://x.com/fmerian) for more insights.**

Cracking the code of developer marketing

Many founders and early hires are afraid of newcomers. However, competition is a reality, especially in the tech industry. Let's make it a source of motivation.

## **This is not a competitor**

### **Keep positive**

First, I believe entrepreneurship is about enthusiasm. Keep positive. Don’t tell you each time you discover a new competitor how tough the game is. It will influence your efficiency at work. Keep calm, this is not a competitor, this is just a newcomer in your business.

### **This is an opportunity**

A new competitor means three things:

**1.** You are no more the only one to defend the benefice of your service. Your competitor takes part in the education of your market. For instance, while Facebook introduced Places in August 2010, 500 million people suddenly get aware of check-ins and geolocation. This is precisely this day when Foursquare has its highest rate of new members.

**2.** You now can compare with it. You have this opportunity to analyze its position, its customer approach and take advantage of its eventual mistakes.

**3.** This should comfort yourself in the fact that there is an actual market. Your competitor made research and analysis, it found a high potential business opportunity. You should appreciate discovering newcomers it means you are in the right place at the right time so why don’t you say ‘hello’ to your competitor?

### **Enjoy competition**

To be a founder means to be a competitor. Competition is motivation. As soon as a new actor comes, it has to be another reason for you to develop the best product ever.

## Wrapping up

Keep in mind that the end user is the game. The end user has the final decision, so no matter how long you spent time on your market study, there is a moment where you have to stop to work and to do it well. Your success depends on the user experience of your service.

This is not a competitor

This story was originally published on [crowd.dev](https://dev.to/crowddotdev/increase-community-engagement-with-trunk-based-management-2108).

---

In software engineering, [trunk-based development](https://www.atlassian.com/continuous-delivery/continuous-integration/trunk-based-development) (TBD) is a strategy to manage git workflows that suggests merging commits in a single main branch, instead of the git flow that suggests working on multiple branches.

**This story is about applying this TBD strategy to community management to increase engagement.**

## growing an engaging community with trunk-based management

Six months ago, I joined Ronak Ganatra, Jakub Czakon, and Ophir Prusak as an admin to co-run the [Developer Marketing Community](https://marketingto.dev/) — a place where tech founders and marketers hang out to share insights and best practices. People from dev-first companies like Algolia, PostHog, Supabase, Vercel, and Warp are all in.

**The objective? To grow an engaging community.**

At this time, the community had:

* 600+ members,

* 20% of weekly active members (120+), and

* 5% of members who post (30+).

Only 1 out of 5 people were active members. Worse, only 1 out of 50 people posted messages.

So, how to increase engagement and ignite conversations?

We had two radically opposite hypotheses:

1. More channels to inspire conversations,

2. Fewer channels for randomness.

### hypothesis #1: more channels for inspiration

As founders and marketers in dev-first companies, we talk about many topics: developer relations, content marketing, product launches, SEO strategies, swag, and so on.

We initially created one channel per topic to reduce noise, focus discussions, and inspire.

We created nine different channels:

```
├── 1-general
├── 2-intros
├── 3-jobs
├── 4-content
├── 5-devrel
├── 6-feedback-requests
├── 7-first-time-marketers
├── 8-random
└── 9-shameless-plugs
```

In such a structure, some community members started to ask us: "Where to post? Is this channel the *right* place?"

Some channels were obvious: `#intros`, `#jobs`.

Now, picture this:

* You're a first-time marketer.

* You just published a blog post with lessons you learned attending a developer conference. Such a story would be an awesome resource for the community.

* Where should you post it?

`#content`, `#devrel`, and `#first-time-marketers` sound like relevant channels. Or `#general` because it has more community members and would increase reach? Or is it just `#shameless-plugs`?

We realized that to answer "where should I post," more options led to harder decisions.

In psychology, people call it the **Hick's Law**.

> *Hick's Law predicts that the time and the effort it takes to make a decision, increases with the number of options. The more choices, the more time people take to make their decisions.*\
> — source: [growth.design](https://growth.design/psychology#hicks-law)

The more options, the more time one takes to decide. Worse, we realized that when in doubt, community members just didn't post anything at all — and that's exactly what we wanted to avoid.

As a result, most conversations happened in `#general`, and 50% of channels were inactive.

If more channels don't inspire community members to engage more, what could inspire them? How about fewer options?

### hypothesis #2: fewer channels for randomness

We completely redesigned the structure of the community. We archived the most inactive channels and renamed for clarity.

We had six different channels:

```
├── 1-announcements
├── 2-ask-anything
├── 3-intros
├── 4-jobs
├── 5-share-anything
└── 6-watercooler-chat
```

We defined topics for each channel as below:

* `#announcements`: Weekly highlights and notes from the admins.

* `#ask-anything`: Need help? Looking for feedback, quotes for your next blog post, or guests for your next podcast episode? Ask anything here.

* `#intros`: Introduce yourself!

* `#jobs`: Growing your team? Looking for a new opportunity? This channel is where you can post your open roles, recommend someone you've worked with, or drop your resume.

* `#share-anything`: Launching on Product Hunt? Need a boost on dev.to, LinkedIn, or X? Think of this channel as your engagement pod.

* `#watercooler-chat`: All-things *not* developer marketing.

In this experiment, `#ask-anything` and `#share-anything` are the most interesting channels from my perspective:

* Do you have anything to **ask**? Go to `#ask-anything`.

* Do you have anything to **share**? Go to `#share-anything`.

If we go back to the previous example:

* First-time marketer,

* That just published a blog post on DevRel.

* Where should you post it?

The answer is straightforward: `#share-anything`.

**Results?**

Six months later, the community has:

* 1,000+ members,

* 20% of weekly active members (200+), and

* 10% of members who post (100+).

By reducing the number of channels, we doubled the percentage of members who post while growing the community by +70% in six months.

## wrapping up

If you need help building an engaging community, think trunk-based management.

Inspired by software engineering, this strategy suggests focusing conversations in a few main channels, instead of having multiple channels.

Reducing the number of options makes it simpler for your community members to start conversations.

Enjoy the fun!

Trunk-based management

Release notes are investor updates for customers.

They’re conversion tools, too.

As users, we read a changelog to get the latest product updates and figure out how much a team cares about its product by shipping new features and improvements.

Linear’s CEO Karri Saarinen wrote an insightful [blog post](https://linear.app/blog/startups-write-changelogs) on the topic.

Linear started writing changelogs to share the latest product changes with its early adopters and communicate how rapidly the team is adding new features and fixing bugs. And shipping fast, while valuing quality and craft, is appealing to many developers.

"Actions speak louder than words," Saarinen stated.

## writing release notes that convert

My key takeaways from the read:

1. Set up a schedule, like a weekly or bi-weekly cadence.

2. Don’t include everything you do. Keep it simple and product-oriented.

3. Feature 1–3 significant changes, and collect the little fixes in one section. Include screenshots or videos of the features if possible.

**Release notes help keep the momentum, get new users, recruit, and build investor relationships. “All the things that help your company to be more successful,” Saarinen added.**

So, write changelogs.

## further inspiration

Beyond the [Linear](https://linear.app/changelog) example, if you’re looking for great release notes for inspiration, below are two more examples from my [swipe file](https://dub.sh/swipe-this):

* [Raycast](https://www.raycast.com/changelog) — product-oriented, including three categories (new, improvements, fixes) and one bullet point per item. It’s simple and straight to the point.

* [Liveblocks](https://liveblocks.io/blog/whats-new-in-v0-19) — releases notes that live in the blog section and highlight contributors from the community.

## wrapping up

Thanks for reading! Hope you find it helpful.

**Over to you! Do you see release notes as an instrument to acquire new users or is it a tool for better communication with existing users? What are your guidelines for writing great changelogs? What’s one changelog you enjoy reading?**

Join the conversation on [Twitter / X](https://twitter.com/fmerian/status/1620703754747269122?s=20).