A <i>lot</i> of software developers have critical priority inversion, focusing on initiatives which will almost never add value. Without specific reference to where Fogbugz was back in the day, I think a lot of software developers often prioritize improving the product when that should not be #1 on their list with where their business is right now.<p>In particular, if you have a working product which is salable, and you have a website which is getting 5 visitors a day, put down the IDE and start marketing. Better mousetraps do not automatically collect more mice -- you need to locate the mice, preferably a bunch of ones which enjoy eating whatever your bait is, and then put the mousetrap by them.<p>(There are circumstances in which development supports marketing -- working on your viral loop for certain species of web apps, or adding something which greatly improves your perceived value in your target market. Don't spend three months to add another bullet point to a web page nobody reads, though.)
Three years. YEARS. It took them three years to figure out how to grow Fog Creek. Jesus, what a relief. This article has made my week. Thanks, Joel Spolsky.
When I read Joel's articles I know I enjoy them, I know they're interesting and I learn from them but also that I'm reading marketing for his products and brand - its win-win and I subscribe to his marketing output along with everything else he publishes willingly.<p>I'd like to read about the impact "Joel on Software" and his celebrity has had on his success/sales though.<p>Its almost like you read the article and he discusses "this made my company successful", "this was a mistake of mine" but talking about his blog and celebrity is seemingly off limits, to a layman like me its a huge factor in the appeal of his products but it goes unsaid in his articles - as though it had no impact.<p>I wonder if there's a worry openly discussing the marketing benefit to Joel of us reading his articles would be almost breaking down a wall and change our perception of them.<p>Or am I wrong, has Joel (and/or Jeff Atwood) discussed openly the difference their blog-marketing has made to their business success?
I think it's a shame that this article shortsells the importance of promotion and sales. I wonder if it was perhaps a backlash from Joel to the sales driven culture of Microsoft.<p>Promoting and selling your product is a discipline that forces you to answer some critical questions about what it actually is:<p>1. Who is going to buy your product - is it SMEs or individuals. If it's SMEs which ones in particular, how do you phrase things like your website copy to be meaningful for them<p>2. What do they want the product to do (e.g. Wufoo was online forms which was totally disruptive to administrative areas but actually ended up doing a lot of tailoring to online surveys which (I'm guessing) is where the market actually spends money)<p>3. How are you going to <i>get</i> customers - not everything is word of mouth. Some things are simply about distribution and good sales (what makes you buy the tin foil you choose - word of mouth?!)<p>Developers always seem to hate the idea of actually promoting anything. There is a feeling that if you build it they will come. In general though they seldom do.<p>Try to sell it and you'll find out what people actually do want.<p>I wonder if developers hate promotion because it's hard. Whilst writing code is fun and engaging, cold calling to do some market research or to sell your product makes you feel uncomfortable and risks personal rejection.<p>Sales is super-important and every company you admire does it Apple markets the life out of all of its products, Google has massive Adwords sales teams and Virgin America might be the best domestic airline but you can be sure their growth would not been have as great without the massive marketing campaign that went with it.<p>I wish the many awesome software teams out there would stop spending so much time on product they think people want and start spending more time on selling it to people and discovering what they do want. The process isn't always fun but it is very, very informative.
In my first year in the valley I wasted a lot of time in vague meetings with "strategic partners" and "investors." We called it "who's pitching who?" I'd say these types of meetings account for 70% of valley lunches.
Interesting article! In hindsight everything is distorted and seems so natural, however, it doesn't teach you much about the _current_ reality -- how can you tell if your company is suffering from a product or marketing problem _right now_?
It's a good article, and the main point is an important one.<p>That being said: am I the only one who finds it quizzical that Joel ever became such a notable pundit in the first place, in light of all of the articles outlining his (past) clueless behavior?
Is it really prudent for Joel (CityDesk) to compete with big companies (<a href="http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/" rel="nofollow">http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/</a>) and FOSS (<a href="http://net2.com/nvu/" rel="nofollow">http://net2.com/nvu/</a>) products?