Why Every Developer Company Needs a Developer Advocate to Succeed

Building for Developers? Here’s Why You Need a Developer Advocate

I’ve seen firsthand how the presence of a developer advocate can transform a company. A developer advocate isn’t just a fancy title or a trendy role—it’s a vital bridge between the product and its most important users: the developers. In today’s fast-paced tech world, companies that recognize the importance of cultivating strong developer relationships are the ones that truly succeed.

What is a Developer Advocate?

A Developer Advocate is the bridge between a company and the developers who use its tools, APIs, or platforms. They are the champions of the developer community, ensuring that the voices of developers are heard and that their needs are reflected in every product decision. They sit at the intersection of technology, community, and business, bringing technical expertise and genuine empathy into every conversation.

A good Developer Advocate makes sure that a product doesn’t just exist—it thrives, gets adopted, and fits into real-world developer workflows. They take technical concepts and make them accessible, ensuring developers can quickly get value out of the product.

What Does a Developer Advocate Do?

This is where a lot of misconceptions come in. Some people assume Developer Advocates are just marketers with a tech slant. Others think they’re engineers who occasionally give talks.

Here’s what Developer Advocates typically focus on:

🔹 Educating developers: Through documentation, tutorials, workshops, and courses, they make sure developers understand and can use the product.

🔹 Creating technical content: Blog posts, demos, YouTube videos, code samples—anything that helps developers solve real problems with the product.

🔹 Speaking at events: Conferences, meetups, webinars—being the face of the product in the dev community.

🔹 Gathering feedback: Advocates listen. They bring insights from real developers back to the product team, helping shape roadmaps and ensuring that the product actually meets user needs.

🔹 Engaging with the community: Whether on Discord, GitHub, Discourse, Stack Overflow, or Twitter (X), they’re answering questions, solving problems, and making sure developers have a smooth experience.

Why Developer Companies NEED Developer Advocates

If your company builds for developers, you’re competing in an entirely different arena. Developers don’t respond to traditional marketing tactics. Flashy ads do not sell them. They care about clear documentation, a frictionless experience, and real technical value.

1. Adoption = Success

Your API, framework, or tool is only as valuable as the number of developers who actually use it. Developer Advocates drive adoption by ensuring that onboarding is smooth, that there are guides available, and that developers feel supported.

2. Your Product Can’t Speak for Itself

You might think your tool is intuitive—but without clear education, documentation, and real-world examples, many developers won’t stick around to figure it out. Developer Advocates lower the learning curve and ensure developers don’t bounce due to frustration.

3. A Strong Community Drives Growth

Some of the most successful dev tools—TensorFlow, PyTorch, Docker, Node.js—didn’t just grow because they were good. They grew because they had strong communities backing them. Developer Advocates foster that community, ensuring developers don’t just use the tool but become evangelists for it.

4. Bridging the Gap Between Developers and the Company

Product teams can be out of touch with what developers actually need. Developer Advocates act as the middle ground, making sure feedback reaches the right teams and that dev pain points are addressed in future updates.

5. Companies Without Developer Advocates Lose to Those That Have Them

Companies that invest in Developer Advocacy build stronger, more engaged user bases. Those that don’t? They struggle with adoption, retention, and trust.

Take companies like Stripe, Twilio, Vercel, OpenAI—they all prioritize Developer Advocacy. And it shows. Their developer experience is seamless, their documentation is top-tier, and their communities are thriving.

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Companies without Developer Advocates:

• Fragmented Feedback: Without a central figure to consolidate and interpret user feedback, valuable insights often fall through the cracks.

• Slower Iteration: Products can lag in innovation because the needs and pain points of developers aren’t effectively communicated to the product teams.

• Limited Community Engagement: Developers may feel isolated or unsupported, which can lead to lower adoption rates and weaker community ties.

• Missed Opportunities: Companies without an advocate miss out on the opportunity to build a loyal, passionate user base that can propel their product to new heights.

Final Thoughts

If you’re building a product for developers and you don’t have a Developer Advocate, you’re missing out—big time. Developer Advocacy isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s the backbone of successful dev-focused companies. It’s what turns a great tool into an adopted, widely-used, and beloved product.

For me, this is exactly why I’m transitioning into AI Developer Advocacy—because AI tools and platforms will only have impact if developers can understand, build with, and scale them effectively. Advocacy ensures that happens.

So if you’re running a dev-focused company, ask yourself: Do you have someone advocating for the developers using your product? If not, it might be time to rethink your strategy.