Though open source maintainers have many different goals, most of those goals depend on growing the project’s usage and community engagement. As projects get larger, they are able to attract new contributors and new funding opportunities, allowing maintainers to fix bugs and add features more quickly. A larger, more engaged community of users also decreases the risk that an open source project will be abandoned, creating a virtuous cycle of trust as more organizations feel comfortable using the project in mission-critical applications. Whether a project is a hobby side project or backed by a Fortune 10 company, growth matters. This half-day workshop is for any maintainer who cares about their projects’ growth, both in terms of number of users and engagement of existing users. Attendees will learn about the strategies and tactics to increase downloads, active user base, project stickiness, and community engagement. Topics we will explore include but are not limited to: Project positioning & messaging Non-slimy marketing techniques Collecting and acting on user feedback DevRel activities and optimization Keeping users happy via support, fixes, and education Tracking and measuring project growth Community management Attendees will leave with concrete ideas for how to accelerate their projects’ growth.
Speakers: Emily Omier Matt Yonkovit