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Alex Spinov
Alex Spinov

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600 Articles Later — The 4 Title Patterns That Actually Get Views on Dev.to

#writing #devto #productivity #career

I have published 600+ technical articles. Most got 10-20 views. A few hit 50-120. Here are the patterns that actually worked.

What Gets Views

Pattern 1: "[Brand] Has a Free API"

Example: "arXiv Has a Free API: Search 2M+ Research Papers Programmatically"

Why it works:

  • People search for "[brand] API" all the time
  • "Free" is the most powerful word in developer marketing
  • Specific numbers (2M+ papers) create curiosity

Template:

[Brand] Has a Free [API/Tool/Feature] — [Specific Benefit] [Without/No Key/For Free]
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This format consistently gets 50-120 views. I have written 90+ articles using it.

Pattern 2: "I Built X — Here Is What I Learned"

Example: "I Built 77 Web Scrapers — Here Are the 10 Patterns That Actually Work"

Why it works:

  • Social proof (you actually built something)
  • Numbered lists promise structured knowledge
  • "Actually work" implies you tested alternatives

Pattern 3: "X Is [Underrated/Wrong/Dead]"

Example: "SQLite Is Probably Enough for Your Side Project"

Why it works:

  • Contrarian takes generate discussion
  • People love to agree or disagree publicly
  • Short, opinionated titles get more clicks

Pattern 4: Curated Lists

Example: "150+ Free APIs You Can Use Without an API Key"

Why it works:

  • Lists are bookmarkable (people save them)
  • Large numbers (150+) suggest comprehensive research
  • "Without an API key" removes a barrier

What Does NOT Get Views

Anti-Pattern 1: Generic Tutorials

"How to Use React" — no one needs article #10,000 on this.

Anti-Pattern 2: No Specificity

"Web Scraping Tips" — compared to "How I Scrape 500K Products Daily Without Getting Banned"

Anti-Pattern 3: No Numbers

"Some Free APIs" — compared to "11 Free AI APIs You Can Use Without Paying OpenAI"

Anti-Pattern 4: Tool Announcements

"I Made a CLI Tool" — no one cares unless you explain the problem it solves.

Distribution Strategy

Publishing is 20% of the work. Distribution is 80%.

  1. Dev.to first — publish here for SEO and community
  2. Cross-link everything — every article should link to 2-3 related articles
  3. Hacker News — submit with a neutral title (no self-promotion)
  4. GitHub — create a companion repo with working code
  5. Profile bio — your bio is seen by everyone who clicks your name

My Numbers (Honest)

Metric Count
Articles published 600+
Total views ~4,000
Average views/article 6.5
Top article views 120
Articles with 0 views ~300
Reactions ~15

The hit rate is low. But the top 20% of articles drive 80% of views. That is the Pareto principle in action.

The Real Lesson

Volume matters less than you think. I would have been better off writing 50 great articles than 600 mediocre ones. Quality compounds. Mediocrity does not.

If I started over, I would:

  1. Write 2 articles per week maximum
  2. Spend 4 hours per article (not 30 minutes)
  3. Only use proven formats (the 4 patterns above)
  4. Cross-link from day one
  5. Build an email list from article one

📧 spinov001@gmail.com — I write about developer tools, APIs, and web scraping.

My best content: 150+ Free APIs | 77 Scrapers on a Schedule | 10 Dev Tools I Use Daily

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