API Evangelism Strategy: Blogging

I’m working with the Cashtie API to pull together an API evangelism strategy for the payments API. As I pull together, it seems like a great opportunity to share with you. Who knows, maybe you can use some of the elements in your own API strategy.

Next up is blogging, an area I feel is the single most important part of your API evangelism strategy:

  • Projects - Establishing of editorial assembly line of technical projects that can feed blog stories, how-tos, samples and code libraries.
  • Stories - Writing, editing and posting of stories derived from projects, with SEO and API area support by design.
  • Syndication - Syndication to Tumblr, Blogger and other relevant blogging sites that actually add value to readers, not being spammy.

This part of evangelism can be as involved as you like, being the work of a lone evangelist, or the work of a team of coders, writers, editors and community managers. The goal is to generate exhaust around your API, that will attract new developers to an API, as well as educate existing developers about the value an API delivers.

If you aren’t producing interesting projects around your API, and telling these stories far and wide, nobody will ever know your API exists, let alone put it to use.