I wrote the book on developer marketing. Literally. Picks and Shovels hit #1 on Amazon.

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#1Amazon Best-Seller

The definitive guide to technical marketing

Master the art of developer marketing with the guide that blends strategy, execution, and real-world lessons.

Picks & Shovels Book Cover

Praise for Picks & Shovels

Prashant has channeled his 30+ years of experience in developer marketing and turned it into the definitive guide for technical marketers everywhere. Level-up your marketing with Prashant's guidance.
Dick Costolo avatar
Dick Costolo
Managing Partner, 01 Advisors and former CEO, Twitter

Why this book?

During the California Gold Rush, the people who got the richest weren't the miners - it was those selling picks and shovels. Today's AI Gold Rush follows the same pattern with developer tools. It's great to be in the picks and shovels business because if you're solving a real need, everyone needs your product. But how do you stand out in a crowded market?

Picks & Shovels is the definitive guide to developer marketing, written by someone who has done it all - from positioning and messaging to go-to-market strategy and community building. Unlike books that focus on just one piece, this comprehensive guide blends business strategy with tactical execution. Learn how to connect with developers - the most skeptical audience in tech - and master marketing to people who hate being marketed to.

In this book, you will learn:

  • *Product Marketing fundamentals: positioning, messaging, launch management, and sales enablement
  • *Content marketing secrets to build content developers love
  • *Business models and go-to-market strategies for developer products
  • *How to be (and hire) Developer Advocates who drive business impact
  • *Advanced community building techniques that support your business
  • *And so much more

What you'll learn

Learn how to position your developer product in a crowded market and communicate your value proposition effectively to technical audiences.

Introduction

0

How can I help?

1

Getting started

Developer Relations

2

The Developer Marketing and Developer Relations Organization

3

You are what you measure

4

Developer Advocacy

5

Building Great Developer Content

6

Distributing Developer Content

7

Building Community and Engaging With Influencers

8

Developer Events

9

Building Awareness Through Marketing

10

Building a Strong Developer Brand

11

Developer Documentation

Product Marketing

12

Developer Product Marketing

13

Segmentation, Positioning, and Messaging

14

Pricing for Developer Products

15

Developer Product Launches

16

Aligning Developer Marketing with Product

17

Aligning Developer Marketing with Sales

18

Competitive Analysis and Intelligence

19

Overview of Acquisition Models and GTM Strategy

20

Product-Led Growth

21

Sales-Led Growth

22

Partner-Led Growth

23

Public Relations and Analyst Relations for Developer Products

Marketing Leadership

24

Building and Managing Your Marketing Budget

25

AI & Marketing

26

Managing a High-Performing Organization

27

Your Role in the Industry

About the author

Prashant Sridharan - Author of Picks & Shovels

Prashant is the author of “Picks & Shovels: Marketing to Developers During the AI Gold Rush.” He has over 30 years of experience running Marketing, Product, and Business Development teams for some of the largest and fastest growing developer platforms in the industry at Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Meta, Twitter, Timescale, Tinybird, and Supabase. He is an advisor to several seed and Series A developer tools and platforms startups.

Sun Microsystems
Microsoft
Amazon Web Services
Meta
Twitter
Timescale
Tinybird
Supabase

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