The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

The developer's guide to content creation (Interview)

Feb 21, 2020

Stephanie Morillo, a seasoned content strategist and former editor-in-chief at DigitalOcean and GitHub, shares insights from her book, 'The Developer’s Guide to Content Creation.' She discusses the importance of writing for developers and offers a four-step recipe for generating content ideas. Stephanie emphasizes the role of personal branding in career development and provides strategies for effective content promotion. Listeners will learn how to engage their audience and navigate the challenges of content creation in the tech landscape.

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ADVICE

Practice Makes Perfect

Write more to improve your writing.
Read more to improve your writing, noticing effective techniques and incorporating them into your style.

INSIGHT

Value of Diverse Perspectives

Reading diverse perspectives on familiar topics enhances understanding and retention.
It also exposes you to different writing styles and explanations, broadening your knowledge.

ANECDOTE

Back to Basics

Stephanie almost didn't write the book, thinking the content was too basic.
Working with developer advocates revealed a lack of foundational content creation knowledge, highlighting the need for her book.

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Stephanie Morillo (content strategist and previously editor-in-chief of DigitalOcean and GitHub’s company blogs) wrote a book titled The Developer’s Guide to Content Creation — it’s a book for developers who want to consistently and confidently generate new ideas and publish high-quality technical content.

We talked with Stephanie about why developers should be writing and sharing their ideas, crafting a mission statement for your blog and thoughts on personal brand, her 4 step recipe for generating content ideas, as well as promotional and syndication strategies to consider for your developer blog.

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Featuring:

Stephanie Morillo – GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

The Developer’s Guide to Content Creation
The book did well on Product Hunt with 356 upvotes
Writing a dev blog and need help? Schedule a 30 minute content session with Stephanie.
What Admiral Grace Hopper really meant when she said, “It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission”

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!