Is Marketing Gross?

A lot of engineers are uncomfortable talking about ‘marketing’ their open source project. Usually this discomfort goes away once an engineer becomes an entrepreneur, but not always.

Marketing is not gross. If it’s making you feel gross, you’re doing something wrong.

I like to think of marketing in general as ‘telling people your thing exists.’ When it’s done right — and connected to how you help solve a genuine pain point —it’s won’t feel pushy or gross to either the person doing the marketing or the person on the receiving end. This goes for open source projects just as much as commercial projects.

Be clear about what value you provide for your users and what pain you solve for them. Not only will this make your marketing more effective, it will also help you feel better about doing it.