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

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.”

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
How can I help?
Getting started
Developer Relations
The Developer Marketing and Developer Relations Organization
You are what you measure
Developer Advocacy
Building Great Developer Content
Distributing Developer Content
Building Community and Engaging With Influencers
Developer Events
Building Awareness Through Marketing
Building a Strong Developer Brand
Developer Documentation
Product Marketing
Developer Product Marketing
Segmentation, Positioning, and Messaging
Pricing for Developer Products
Developer Product Launches
Aligning Developer Marketing with Product
Aligning Developer Marketing with Sales
Competitive Analysis and Intelligence
Overview of Acquisition Models and GTM Strategy
Product-Led Growth
Sales-Led Growth
Partner-Led Growth
Public Relations and Analyst Relations for Developer Products
Marketing Leadership
Building and Managing Your Marketing Budget
AI & Marketing
Managing a High-Performing Organization
Your Role in the Industry
About Prashant

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.








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