Want a Stellar Project? You Need to Document and Promote It

Do you have an awesome WordPress plugin, Drupal module, Zend Framework module, or PHP library that you want people to use, to be truly successful, perhaps one that people even rave about? Often, most of the effort expended on a project goes to development, with documentation and promotion considered afterthoughts. But these two steps are essential to a project's success. In this session, I'll show you key ways to document and promote your project, so it's easier to find out about, start using, maintain, and grow its reputation, using examples of real-world successes.

Transcript

1. Want a Stellar Project? You NEED to Document & Promote it!
2. Who Am I? • Software Developer, Technical Writer, 
 & Podcaster • Member of Roave • @settermjd • matthew@matthewsetter.com
3. I Run This Blog
5. It was 1997
7. Likely Options
10. Anyone Use BeOS Today?
11. So Why Did BeOS Fail?
12. So What Makes a Project Successful?
13. 2 Key Things Documentation Promotion
14. Jenny Wong “Easy, It’s user focused. We know users don’t care how something is built. And we do our best to make it so they don’t have to worry.”
15. Taylor Otwell “It makes it very easy to solve common problems using very little code. It provides support for very modern features with the same ease of use. It has good documentation and hundreds of video tutorials on Laracasts. This makes it very easy to adopt.”
16. Oscar Merida “A successful project is much more than the technical aspects, it’s one that invests in building a community by not just providing a technical solution, but also making it easy for people to participate, which ends up marketing the project”
17. Beth Tucker-Long “I think a successful open-source project needs an easy, clear way to contribute, contributions are appreciated, and the project has good marketing. I think it also helps if it's a project that a lot of people use often.”
18. See Any Common Threads?
19. User Focused Easy to solve common problems Good documentation and tutorials An easy, clear way to contribute A project that a lot of people use often
20. People
21. People Need To • Know Your Project Exists • Know How To Use It
22. Documentation
23. 3 Types of Documentation 1. Pure Promotion 2. Technical Tutorials / Walk-Throughs 3. API / SDK / Code Documentation
24. Pure Promotion
25. A Clear Statement & Promise
26. Benefits & Features
27. Benefits & Features
28. Technical Tutorials
29. API Docs
30. Promotion “Something (such as advertising) that is done to make people aware of something and increase its sales or popularity”
31. Websites
32. Websites
33. Screencasts “Use Video. Kids LOVE Video”
34. Screencasts
35. 16:9 Resolution 18pt Font Be Focused Screencast Tips
36. Podcasts
37. Podcasts
38. Want Inspiration?
39. The Laravel Podcast with Matt Stauffer http://www.laravelpodcast.com
40. PHP Roundtable with Sammy K. Powers http://www.phproundtable.com
41. /dev/hell with Ed Finkler and Chris Hartjes http://www.devhell.info
42. Free the Geek with Me http://www.freethegeek.fm
43. How Do You Build an Audience?
44. How to Build an Audience • Be Factual • Be Interesting • Be Patient • Be Persistent • Be Consistent
45. Forums
46. Forums
47. Forums
48. Presentations
49. Presentations
50. @settermjd or matthew@matthewsetter.com Questions? https://joind.in/14795 Please Rate the Talk