How to Successfully Market to Software Developers

FounderQuest

Hey guys ladle out some secret sauce for successfully marketing and selling to software developers. Also discussed is their Facebook ad boycott, why you should never call a developer, Coke vs. Pepsi, and leveraging Princess Bride to weed out sales emails.

Links:
Art of Product Podcast website
Ben Orenstein on Twitter
CloudForcast website
Nathan Barry on Twitter
Brennan Dunn on Twitter
Railskits website
Ruby Weekly website
Peter Cooper on Twitter
Rob Walling on Twitter
Traction website (not an affiliate)
Transistor.FM website

Full Transcript:
Starr: 00:00 That was really good. I didn't know you could recite poetry.

Ben: 00:02 And having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear. Though as for that, the passing there had warned them really about the same.

Josh: 00:10 Yeah, I honestly, I read that poem right before each Crossfit session to kind of pump myself up.

Announcer: 00:18 You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike. Time to start a fire, crack open a can of Tab, and settle in for FounderQuest.

Ben: 00:31 So the Office Max near my house is closing, and so they had to have this closing sale, like everything's 90% off and stuff.

Starr: 00:40 Yeah?

Ben: 00:41 And we needed some printer paper so I'm like, there's probably nothing left there, but I'll go and just, you know ... So there's gotta be paper. I mean, who buys all the paper, right? There was no paper.

Starr: 00:50 Yeah?

Ben: 00:51 There were some pastels. Like if I wanted pink paper, then I would have been fine. There was plenty of that, but it was bare. Pickings were slim. It was amazing. And it's like post-apocalyptic zombie attack kind of scenario where you're like, "Wow. This place just looks-"

Starr: 01:07 And the zombies eat paper, in this scenario.

Ben: 01:10 Apparently.

Josh: 01:11 Yeah.

Starr: 01:11 Can I show you guys something? Talking about big box stores.

Ben: 01:14 Yes, please.

Starr: 01:14 So I ordered some socks on Amazon. Let me show you, they're very nice socks. They're stripey socks-

Josh: 01:22 Fancy.

Starr: 01:23 I had one pair and I liked them so much, I ordered a variety pack of stripey socks. I'm pretty happy with how they look and everything, but then I looked at the actual box they came in, and look what it has written on it.

Josh: 01:40 What?

Starr: 01:42 It says designed by PetSmart.

Ben: 01:44 Nice.

Starr: 01:45 And I don't know what to think now. Because-

Starr: 01:47 Really? Were they really designed by the PetSmart?

Josh: 01:49 Maybe PetSmart is just like the moniker of the designer.

Starr: 01:53 Maybe. Maybe this is someone in another country who doesn't realize that-

Josh: 01:58 No.

Starr: 01:58 PetSmart's already taken-

Josh: 01:58 It might be like an internet handle or something, @PetSmart. He's PetSmart on IRC, like on Freenode or something.

Ben: 02:07 Now, Starr, aren't you concerned that the horizontal stripes will make your ankles look fat?

Starr: 02:13 Well, you know, Ben, I have very skinny ankles, so, actually, it's the opposite.

Starr: 02:19 Oh, man. So how do you guys want to do this thing? Is this an actual reader question, or listener question?

Ben: 02:25 It is an actual-

Starr: 02:26 Wow.

Ben: 02:26 listener question.

Josh: 02:27 And I think we've got a couple of these lined up, too, so ...

Ben: 02:30 Well, you know, I should qualify that. I don't know that he was an actual listener, listener, because he just sent me an email. He was a listener to The Art of Product podcast-

Starr: 02:38 Oh, okay.

Josh: 02:39 Oh, that you were on a while-

Ben: 02:40 Yeah.

Josh: 02:40 Like two weeks ago. Yeah.

Ben: 02:41 Right, right, and so in my interview with Ben, he asked some questions, and so this individual emailed me...