How do you balance 1) marketing and 2) developing?

Question

I am currently spending 50% of my time on marketing and 50% on developing, but once we launched, more time will probably go to marketing.

What about you?👇

Zion Huang · Accepted Answer

As a programmer founder, I used to spend too much damn time on developing and found out a well developed product is nothing without being seen by people. Now I am about 50/50 and still feel I should put more time on marketing. BTW, marketing is fun.

Business Marketing with Nika · Answer

I cannot speak for that developing part but I can pinpoint some things related to marketing:

– I attend forums to learn more about the strategies of other people.
– Compared to benchmark approaches.
– Constantly learning from videos, articles, and courses.
– Trying to implement and test some of them on me.

It is like a list of activities I try to stick with. Not perfect but it can help.

Gong Zijian · Answer

Balancing marketing and development is like walking a tightrope; it requires constant communication between teams to align on priorities and timelines. A successful strategy often involves setting clear, measurable goals for both areas and regularly reviewing progress to ensure both are moving in harmony towards the company's objectives.

Answer

@zion_huang Totally. I spent 3 years building android apps and not knowing how to market them before I realized it's not the products that are failing. Pivoted, and now actually work full time as a marketer. One day, I'll return to building and then market it!

Yuki · Answer

@busmark_w_nika What forums are you attending? And thanks for all the resources you sent over!

Zion Huang · Answer

@yukioyama It really does seem like a rite of passage for developers! As for picking up marketing, I've been winging it and learning as I go. I like to think of it like running a restaurant. If your restaurant is on a busy street, even if your dishes aren't Michelin-starred, people will still pop in—maybe they’re hungry or maybe your sign boasts a hometown favorite. But if your restaurant is up in the mountains, no matter how tasty your food is, you won’t get many visitors. With this mindset shift, things started falling into place: I launched on Product Hunt, even though it's just a beta; I've been tweeting our development progress in weekly update challenges; chatting on Reddit with potential users about things we both love; and sprucing up our website with a sleek Linear design style(check out our new KoppieOS website!), dabbling a bit in SEO (totally newbies here!). I’ve heard of folks paying for user growth, but I’m starting with the community—listening to early users (and well, budget’s a factor too, haha). I’m still a newbie myself and super keen to chat more with friends in the Product Hunt community!

Maurizio Isendoorn · Answer

@zion_huang I hear that often. But it’s great to hear you’re aware of it. I’ll probably have to go to 10/90 eventually😂

Maurizio Isendoorn · Answer

@busmark_w_nika Having a list like that is great to keep developing yourself

Yuki · Answer

@zion_huang Yeah, that's the perfect analogy dude! So true, we're all in search of a starving crowd. And cool yah i've also been spending a ton of time here and reddit. Landing page looks great. I think focusing purely on early users and using any revenue generated to put back into growth makes sense!

Answer

50% on marketing and 50% on developing,

Business Marketing with Nika · Answer

@maurizioisendoorn yeah, but I am not developed enough XD :D

Business Marketing with Nika · Answer

@yukioyama Quora, Reddit, Substack :)

Maurizio Isendoorn · Answer

@zion_huang @sreekanth_np Awesome!

Yuki · Answer

@zion_huang Friends with a TON of developers out here in the bay and this just seems like a right of passage 😅. How have you been picking up marketing? Kind of in a similar spot as you

How do you balance 1) marketing and 2) developing?

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