Developer Advocacy

This skill helps you with developer advocacy activities: conference talks, live coding demos, podcast appearances, and building in public. Covers talk proposals, demo prep, social presence, and measuring impact.

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Before You Start

Load your audience context first. Read .agents/developer-audience-context.md to understand:

• Who you're trying to reach (conferences they attend, podcasts they listen to)
• What topics resonate (pain points, interests)
• Your product's positioning (what story to tell)
• Voice & tone (how formal/technical to be)

If the context file doesn't exist, run the developer-audience-context skill first.

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Conference Talks

Finding the Right Conferences

Conference Type	Best For	Examples
Large industry	Brand awareness, reach	KubeCon, AWS re:Invent, React Summit
Regional	Local community, accessible	Local meetups, city tech conferences
Niche	Targeted audience, expertise	GraphQL Conf, RustConf
Company-hosted	Ecosystem presence	Vercel Ship, GitHub Universe
Unconferences	Community connection	BarCamps, DevOpsDays

Talk Proposal (CFP) Framework

The winning formula:

Specific Problem + Unique Angle + Clear Takeaways = Accepted Talk

CFP Template:

# Title
[Action verb] + [specific outcome] + [with/using what]
Example: "Building Real-Time Features with Edge Functions and WebSockets"

# Abstract (100-200 words)
[Hook: Problem or curiosity gap]
[What you'll cover]
[What attendees will learn/be able to do]

# Description (detailed, for reviewers)
[Problem context]
[Why this approach]
[Talk structure]
[Your credibility to give this talk]

# Outline
- [Time] Introduction / Problem statement
- [Time] Section 1
- [Time] Section 2
- [Time] Section 3
- [Time] Live demo / walkthrough
- [Time] Key takeaways / Q&A

# Audience
[Who this is for]
[Prerequisite knowledge]
[What they'll learn]

# Bio
[Your relevant experience]
[Why you're qualified]

Title Patterns That Work

Pattern	Example
How I X	"How I Reduced Deploy Time by 80%"
X in Y Minutes	"Kubernetes Security in 15 Minutes"
The X of Y	"The Psychology of Error Messages"
Beyond X	"Beyond Console.log: Modern Debugging"
X for Y	"GraphQL for REST Developers"
Lessons from X	"Lessons from 1000 Production Outages"

Talk Types

Type	Length	Best For
Lightning	5-10 min	Single concept, quick demo
Standard	25-45 min	Technical deep-dive
Keynote	45-60 min	Big picture, inspiring
Workshop	2-4 hours	Hands-on learning
Panel	30-60 min	Discussion, multiple perspectives

Talk Prep Checklist

Phase	Tasks
2 months before	Outline, start slides, test demos
1 month before	Draft complete, first practice run
2 weeks before	Slides polished, demos solid, practice 3x
1 week before	Record yourself, get feedback, finalize
Day before	Test all tech, backup slides, rest
Day of	Arrive early, test A/V, hydrate

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Live Coding & Demos

The Demo Danger Zone

Risk	Mitigation
Internet fails	Pre-record backup, local server
Typo freezes you	Practice typing same code 20x
Error you can't fix	Have working checkpoints to jump to
Runs over time	Time yourself, cut ruthlessly
Code too small	Zoom in, use large font (24pt+)
Dark theme blinding	Use high-contrast, light-friendly theme

Demo Prep Framework

The 10-3-1 Rule:

• Run your demo 10 times in practice
• Have 3 checkpoints you can jump to if stuck
• 1 backup (video recording of it working)

Pre-demo checklist:

• Close unnecessary apps
• Clear browser history/tabs
• Notifications OFF (Slack, email, calendar)
• Font size: 24pt+ for terminal, 20pt+ for editor
• Git stash/branch for clean starting point
• Environment variables ready
• Test on the actual projector/screen if possible

Live Coding Tips

Tip	Why
Type slowly	Audience needs to follow
Narrate what you type	"I'm creating a new handler..."
Explain errors	"This error means X, let me fix it"
Use snippets	For boilerplate, not core concepts
Show the result	Always run the code, show output
Checkpoint commits	git checkout checkpoint-1

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Podcast Guesting

Finding Podcasts

Approach	How
Direct search	"top [your tech] podcasts"
Guest networks	Podmatch, Matchmaker.fm
Peer asks	"What podcasts do you listen to?"
Twitter search	"[topic] podcast episode"
Listen Notes	Podcast search engine

Pitch Template

Subject: Guest Idea: [Specific Topic] for [Podcast Name]

Hi [Host Name],

I've been listening to [Podcast] for [time] — loved your episode on [specific episode].

I'd love to come on and talk about [specific topic]. Here's the angle:

[2-3 sentences on what you'd discuss and why it matters to their audience]

A bit about me:
- [Relevant credential 1]
- [Relevant credential 2]
- [Link to past podcast/talk]

Would this be a fit?

[Your name]

Pre-Podcast Prep

Prep Item	Details
Research the show	Listen to 2-3 episodes, understand format
Research the host	Their interests, style, Twitter
Prep talking points	3-5 main things you want to say
Prep stories	Specific examples, not generalities
Audio setup	Good mic, quiet room, headphones
Water nearby	You'll be talking a lot

During the Podcast

Do	Don't
Tell stories with specifics	Give generic advice
Pause before answering	Um and ah nervously
Disagree respectfully	Always agree to be polite
Promote subtly	Hard sell your product
Be concise	Ramble without structure
Show enthusiasm	Be monotone

Post-Podcast

Action	Timing
Thank the host	Same day
Share when published	Immediately
Engage with comments	First week
Cross-promote	Your newsletter, blog
Stay in touch	Ongoing relationship

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Building in Public

What to Share

Category	Content Ideas
Progress	"Shipped X today, here's what I learned"
Challenges	"Stuck on X, tried Y and Z, here's what worked"
Decisions	"Why we chose X over Y"
Metrics	Revenue, users, growth (transparently)
Behind scenes	Team, process, tools
Learnings	"Mistake we made and how we fixed it"

Build in Public Formats

Format	Platform	Cadence
Tweet thread	Twitter/X	Daily-weekly
Changelog	Blog, Notion, website	Weekly
Indie hacker posts	Indie Hackers, HN	Monthly
Video update	YouTube, Loom	Weekly-monthly
Newsletter	Email	Weekly
Livestream	Twitch, YouTube	Weekly

What NOT to Share

Avoid	Why
Customer data	Privacy, trust
Team conflicts	Professionalism
Security details	Vulnerability
Competitor attacks	Looks petty
Venting	Not productive

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Social Presence (Twitter/X)

Developer Twitter Playbook

Content Type	% of Posts	Example
Value content	60%	Tips, tutorials, insights
Engagement	20%	Replies, retweets with commentary
Personal	10%	Behind-the-scenes, personality
Promotion	10%	Your product, talks, content

Tweet Formats That Work

Format	Example
Thread	"10 things I learned building X"
Hot take	"Unpopular opinion: [opinion]"
Quick tip	"TIL: You can do X by..."
Question	"What's your favorite way to..."
Meme/humor	Tech jokes, relatable content
Showcase	"Just shipped X, here's how it works"
Appreciation	"Shoutout to @person for..."

Engagement Strategy

Action	Frequency
Tweet original content	Daily
Reply to others	5-10x daily
Quote tweet with value	2-3x weekly
DM interesting people	Weekly
Join Twitter Spaces	As relevant

Growing Your Presence

Tactic	Implementation
Consistency	Post daily, engage daily
Niche down	Be known for ONE thing first
Reply game	Add value to big accounts' tweets
Collaborate	Twitter Spaces, threads together
Cross-promote	Newsletter, talks, blog

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Measuring Impact

Advocacy Metrics

Activity	Metrics
Talks	Attendees, feedback scores, recording views
Content	Views, shares, engagement
Social	Followers, engagement rate, reach
Podcasts	Listener estimates, traffic spikes
Community	Growth, engagement, sentiment

Attribution Challenges

Developer advocacy impact is notoriously hard to measure. Proxy metrics:

Signal	What It Indicates
Traffic spikes	Content/talk/podcast drove visits
"How did you hear about us?"	Direct attribution
Social mentions	Brand awareness
Inbound leads quality	Community-qualified leads
Conference invites	Growing reputation

Reporting Framework

Monthly advocacy report:

# Developer Advocacy Report - [Month]

## Talks & Appearances
- [Talk 1]: [Conference], [Attendees], [Link]
- [Podcast 1]: [Show], [Episode link]

## Content Published
- [Article 1]: [Views], [Engagement]
- [Video 1]: [Views]

## Social Growth
- Twitter: +X followers, Y impressions
- Notable tweets: [Links]

## Community
- Discord/Slack: +X members, Y messages
- Notable threads/discussions

## Learnings
- What worked: [X]
- What didn't: [Y]
- Trying next: [Z]

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Advocacy Career Path

Role Levels

Level	Focus
Junior DA	Content creation, community support, talk prep
Developer Advocate	Talks, own content strategy, community building
Senior DA	Strategy, mentoring, major conferences
Staff DA	Cross-company impact, industry thought leadership
Head of DevRel	Team building, strategy, executive alignment

Skill Development

Skill	How to Develop
Public speaking	Meetups, Toastmasters, practice
Writing	Blog consistently, get feedback
Video	YouTube, live streaming, improve iteratively
Technical depth	Build projects, contribute to OSS
Community	Moderate, organize events, connect people

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Tools

Tool	Use Case
Octolens	Monitor your name/brand across GitHub, Twitter, Reddit, HN, Stack Overflow. Track conference mentions. Find podcast opportunities. Measure share of voice.
Cal.com / Calendly	Schedule podcast appearances
StreamYard	Live streaming setup
Descript	Video/podcast editing
Canva / Figma	Slides and graphics
Otter.ai	Transcription for talks
Notion	Talk prep, content calendar
Buffer / Typefully	Social scheduling

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Related Skills

• developer-audience-context — Know who you're reaching
• devrel-content — Written content strategy
• community-building — Community management
• open-source-marketing — OSS-specific advocacy
• hacker-news-strategy — HN engagement