DevRel - The Goose Way
A few weeks ago, I started my first DevRel role. The transition from engineering manager to developer relations has been eye-opening, and I already have strong opinions about what it takes to succeed in this unique field.
Many people think I might have ruined my career by pivoting away from traditional engineering leadership. I respectfully disagree. I'm betting that generalists who perform "human" functions will become increasingly more valuable as LLMs optimize more technical tasks every day.
Here are 13 things I've learned about being successful in DevRel, the Goose Way. (I call it the Goose Way because I'm Dan Goosewin, and my friends call me Goose. Felt the urge to clarify in case you don't know who I am.)
1. You have to be technical
If you're not an engineer or don't write code, you're a bad DevRel. Period.
Developer Relations is not marketing with a technical veneer. It's not community management for people who vibe code. It's technical advocacy that requires deep understanding of what developers actually face.
You need to feel the pain points yourself. You need to understand the elegance of a well-designed API. You need to know when documentation is lying to you. Without this foundation, everything else you do will ring hollow.
The best DevRels I know can debug alongside developers, contribute meaningful code, and speak the language fluently. They're not just translating between technical and non-technical teams. They're living in both worlds simultaneously.
2. Show up
Showing up in person is half the job. People are more likely to do business with someone they know personally.
This means conferences, meetups, hackathons, and coffee chats. It means getting on planes when others would send a Slack message. It means being present when developers need help, not just when your company needs something.
I've seen DevRels build entire communities simply by showing up consistently. They become the face people recognize, the person developers trust, the advocate who actually cares enough to be there.
Digital-first is fine, but digital-only is a mistake. The relationships that matter most happen in person, and you can't convince me otherwise.
3. Do everything
Marketing, product, developer experience, social media, and events. A good DevRel understands business in its entirety.
You're not just responsible for one function. You're the bridge between multiple teams and the external developer community. This means you need to understand how marketing thinks, how product prioritizes, how sales operates, and how engineering builds.
The best DevRels become swiss army knives for their organizations. They can write marketing copy, influence product roadmaps, organize events, and manage social media while maintaining technical credibility.
This breadth makes you invaluable. It also makes you better at your core job because you understand the full context of what your company is trying to achieve.
4. Launch every day
If you want to be hot, you have to launch something on social media or other platforms every day. Keep the momentum for consistent week-over-week, month-over-month, year-over-year growth.
This doesn't mean shipping products daily. It means sharing insights, starting conversations, providing value, and staying visible. The developer community has a short attention span and infinite options.
Consistency beats perfection. A daily tweet with a useful code snippet beats a perfect blog post you never publish. A weekly newsletter beats a quarterly whitepaper nobody reads.
The compound effect of daily visibility is massive. People start to recognize your name, expect your content, and think of you when they need help in your domain.
5. Write code
If you don't write code, you'll fall behind. It's important that you always intimately understand developers' pain. You have to value developers' time. They hold the key to the future of humanity.
This goes beyond the technical requirement from point one. This is about staying current, staying relevant, and staying empathetic.
The developer experience changes rapidly. New frameworks, new tools, new pain points emerge constantly. If you're not actively coding, you'll miss these shifts. You'll become the DevRel who recommends outdated approaches or doesn't understand current frustrations.
Set aside time every week to build something. Contribute to open source. Use your own company's tools. Experience the friction firsthand.
6. Become the ambassador of your brand
Drive your colleagues to do the same. Make everyone proud to associate with your company's brand, and make others feel great about engaging with you and the company you work for.
Be nice. Don't be cheap. Make friends with everyone.
Your personal brand and your company's brand are intertwined. When you speak at a conference, developers are judging both you and your company. When you help someone debug an issue, they're forming opinions about your organization's values.
This responsibility extends beyond you. The best DevRels elevate their entire team. They create a culture where everyone feels proud to represent the company, where customer interactions are consistently positive, where the brand becomes synonymous with helpfulness and technical excellence.
7. Be terminally online or have insane stage presence (or do both to be the best)
To be successful as a DevRel, you have to conquer at least one of these:
- Be terminally online to follow trends
- Have insane stage/camera presence (aka charisma)
If you have one, you'll do well. If you have both, you'll do exceptionally well.
The terminally online DevRel catches trends early, participates in every relevant discussion, and becomes known for having their finger on the pulse of the developer community. They're the person others follow to stay current.
The charismatic DevRel commands attention at conferences, creates memorable presentations, and builds personal connections that last years. They're the person everyone wants to talk to at events.
Both paths work. Neither is optional if you want to reach the top tier of DevRel success.
8. Build relationships
Companies are built by people (at least, for now). When you join a company, a big part of your intellectual property is your personal brand, your online presence, your friends, and your connections.
Never stop growing your network. Befriend the entire world.
The best opportunities come through relationships. The best partnerships start with personal connections. The best feedback comes from people who trust you enough to be honest.
This isn't transactional networking. It's genuine relationship building. Help people without expecting anything in return. Be generous with introductions. Remember personal details. Show up when people need support.
Your network becomes your net worth, but more importantly, it becomes your ability to create value for others.
9. Be an excellent communicator
This goes without saying. To serve people well, you need to be a great communicator.
Read good literature. Listen to talks. Talk to people. If you're not a good communicator, this job is not for you.
DevRel is fundamentally about communication. You're translating between technical and business teams. You're explaining complex concepts to developers. You're representing developer needs to internal stakeholders.
Every interaction is a communication opportunity. Every piece of content you create is a reflection of your communication skills. Every presentation you give either builds or diminishes your credibility.
Invest in becoming a better writer, speaker, and listener. The compound returns are enormous.
10. Be passionate
Do things that you love! People love to observe passionate people. Be the one to inspire others by following your interests and building cool stuff.
Passion is contagious. When you genuinely care about the technology you're advocating for, people notice. When you're excited about solving developer problems, that energy transfers to others.
Fake passion is easy to spot and impossible to sustain. Real passion makes everything else easier. It makes the long hours enjoyable. It makes the difficult conversations worthwhile. It makes the rejections bearable.
Find the intersection of what you love and what developers need. That's where the magic happens.
11. Reach out to people you admire
You'd be surprised how easy it is to establish a connection with someone who seems "too big to notice you." We live in a beautiful age where things can happen after a single DM or email.
Don't let impostor syndrome stop you from reaching out. The worst that happens is they don't respond. The best that happens is you start a relationship that changes your career.
Be genuine in your outreach. Provide value before asking for anything. Show that you've done your homework. Make it easy for them to say yes.
I've seen careers change because someone sent a thoughtful email to someone they admired. The barrier to entry is lower than you think.
12. Get hands-on
To reiterate the coding point: you need to get your hands into everything yourself.
This extends beyond code. Use the tools you advocate for. Experience the onboarding process. Feel the pain points developers describe. Test the documentation by following it exactly.
Hands-on experience gives you credibility that no amount of reading can provide. It helps you ask better questions, provide better answers, and build better relationships with developers.
The best DevRels are those who can say "I've been there" and mean it literally.
13. Go to events. Host events.
Have a consistent cadence of hosting and attending events every month and stick to it. You'll thank yourself later.
Events are where relationships happen. They're where you meet the people who will become your community. They're where you learn about problems before they become widespread. They're where you build your reputation as someone who shows up.
Hosting events is even more powerful than attending them. When you host, you become the connector. You create value for others. You build your personal brand as someone who brings people together.
Set a target: attend X events per month, host Y events per quarter. Track it. Stick to it. The compound effect of consistent event participation is one of the highest-leverage activities in DevRel.
Conclusion
DevRel is a very unique line of work. It might have been invented decades ago by big tech companies, but it's taken on an entirely new meaning in recent years.
DevRels play a fundamental role in the success of technology companies, especially those in developer tooling or targeting developers in general. The role also grants you the luxury of switching between talking and coding, which I understand isn't for everyone, but could be a great unlock for some people.
The transition from engineering manager to DevRel has been one of the best decisions I've made. I'm betting on a future where the humans who can bridge technical and business worlds become increasingly valuable. The Goose Way is my framework for winning in that future.
Want to chat about DevRel? Reach out on X/Twitter.