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!
   

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2. Who Am I?
   • Software Developer, Technical Writer, 

   & Podcaster
   • Member of Roave
   • @settermjd
   • matthew@matthewsetter.com
   

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3. I Run This Blog
   

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5. It was 1997
   

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7. Likely Options
   

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10. Anyone Use BeOS Today?
    

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11. So Why Did BeOS Fail?
    

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12. So What Makes a Project
    Successful?
    

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13. 2 Key Things
    Documentation Promotion
    

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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.”
    

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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.”
    

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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”
    

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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.”
    

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18. See Any Common Threads?
    

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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
    

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20. People
    

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21. People Need To
    • Know Your Project Exists
    • Know How To Use It
    

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22. Documentation
    

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23. 3 Types of Documentation
    1. Pure Promotion
    2. Technical Tutorials / Walk-Throughs
    3. API / SDK / Code Documentation
    

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24. Pure Promotion
    

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25. A Clear Statement & Promise
    

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26. Benefits & Features
    

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27. Benefits & Features
    

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28. Technical Tutorials
    

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29. API Docs
    

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30. Promotion
    “Something (such as advertising) that is done to make people aware of
    something and increase its sales or popularity”
    

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31. Websites
    

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32. Websites
    

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33. Screencasts
    “Use Video. Kids LOVE Video”
    

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34. Screencasts
    

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35. 16:9 Resolution
    18pt Font
    Be Focused
    Screencast Tips
    

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36. Podcasts
    

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37. Podcasts
    

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38. Want Inspiration?
    

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39. The Laravel Podcast
    with Matt Stauffer
    http://www.laravelpodcast.com
    

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40. PHP Roundtable
    with Sammy K. Powers
    http://www.phproundtable.com
    

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41. /dev/hell
    with Ed Finkler and Chris Hartjes
    http://www.devhell.info
    

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42. Free the Geek
    with Me
    http://www.freethegeek.fm
    

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43. How Do You Build an Audience?
    

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44. How to Build an Audience
    • Be Factual
    • Be Interesting
    • Be Patient
    • Be Persistent
    • Be Consistent
    

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45. Forums
    

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46. Forums
    

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47. Forums
    

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48. Presentations
    

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49. Presentations
    

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50. @settermjd or matthew@matthewsetter.com
    Questions?
    https://joind.in/14795
    Please Rate the Talk
    

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