I heard about DEV a while back from a former colleague who was posting regularly back then. She won a few challenges and prizes and spoke about how the community was so welcoming.
This was years ago. Aside from reading a post here and there, I never wrote or commented actively on the platform.
Things changed a year ago when I wrote my first post: We launched on product hunt this week was it worth it.
It got a total of 7 reactions. Some of those reactions were mine...
I naively thought that I could just release a post and that it would get immediate traction.
It didn't. For obvious reasons. I will get back to this point in a bit.
Months went by without posting. I felt discouraged that my first post had flopped so badly.
Then I saw an opportunity to write again through a DEV challenge. I could showcase my work again and even potentially win prizes. These extra incentives pushed me to share my second post.
This one gathered more reactions and even a couple of comments!
My motivation went back up and I was already thinking about my next post which I released just a week later.
I then started writing more and more posts. I saw the engagement and follower count increase over time. I kept going.
Things took a turn after one of my posts was awarded the highly coveted top 7 badge of the week. That really made my day and I felt that people were really tuned into what I was writing about.
From that point onwards I decided that I would write a weekly post on the platform so I can share my learnings, experiences and projects with the community. Aside from the odd week now and then, I am proud to say that I remained consistent with my writing goal.
Today I am proud of my progress achieved and even happier that I have a growing audience that enjoys engaging with my content. I even made multiple friends along the way!
I want to share with you a few reflections looking back at my first year with DEV. I hope you find inspiration in some of them.
Don't be distracted by vanity metrics. I know that I mentioned a couple of times the reactions count as being a source of motivation. Of course it would be!
Who wouldn't like getting engagement on a post they poured effort into writing and sharing with the world? However I would caution against fixating on just these reactions. I made the mistake of giving up after my first post due to the low engagement. In hindsight this was a mistake as months went by without me writing anything, reinforcing this feeling of disappointment. This was a mistake on my part and a lesson for anyone going through the same. This leads to my next point.Be consistent. I can't overstate the importance of this. Some of your posts will perform better than others, and that's totally ok. What counts is to keep showing up over time. I never knew that the post that made it to Top 7 would be that specific one. But since I was posting regularly at that point it increased the odds of this happening. Being consistent is easier said than done.
Create a system. In order to become consistent I built in a habit of writing a weekly post. Writing has now become a part of my weekly routine where I dedicate an evening a week to writing my post.
Writing is healthy. I feel that writing is a moment of reflection for me that I need in my life. The weekly slot I block out to write is a moment for me to slow down, shape my thoughts and reflect. This is a weekly habit I am glad I picked up.
The more I write, the more ideas I get. You would think that writing one post a week is hard as you would eventually run out of ideas. However I find the opposite to be true. Everytime I write a post I get into a reflective state that gets me thinking of future post ideas.
Join DEV challenges. I have joined several challenges over the year and these pushed me to try out new tools and even collaborate on a post with other DEV members! I even won runner-up to one of the challenges which was a great moment.
Give before you take. This was a bug mistake I made when I first posted here on DEV. I thought I could promote a tool I made and get instant engagement. That is definitely the wrong way of thinking. Before I posted again I decided to engage with other members posts. Everyone is putting in effort to share their thoughts with the world. Acknowledge these efforts in others posts instead of just thinking about your own. Just think about it. If nobody engaged with anybody else, few people would keep posting.
Provide value above all. Don't write posts with the pure intent of selling a product to your audience. It's ok to share and mention what you are working on, but include valuable information that the user can take away from reading your post.
Have fun. Some of you might frown at this one but it is easy to start viewing posting as another task in your schedule. If this becomes the case I would advise taking a break from writing and only coming back once you feel that you want to keep writing. If you don't take any enjoyment out of posting, then what is the point?
As my first year at DEV wraps up, I want to thank all my followers for their engagement and also the community for being a safe space I can share my thoughts and experiences with, and learn from others.
I can't believe I have over 20k followers today. I am grateful to every single one of you!
Stay tuned for my year 2 recap!
Top comments (45)
OHH I was waiting for this post for a while lol. Glad you are still here on DEV!
That's fair and same for me when I first post. I realize I need to put myself out there more by commenting than posting. It's the only TRUE way for everyone to know you exist!
Congrats on the 20K followers as well. Well Deserved!
Going to add this post as part of the dev.to guide. I think your experience would be a worthy mention for new users!
Get Started on Dev.to! A Beginner's Guide to Engage with the Community! 💡
Well done. Keep going for us! :D
Well since I went through the forem codebase, tbh, we all made the exact same mistake. We start a new account and post as soon as we can. Likely signed up, just to send out that first post. The problem with that is that your account has 0 rep (the database value that determines whether DEV advertises your post or not), so an initial flop is actually guaranteed, which I honestly think should be made clear when you write up your first post, cuz it's really discouraging when your first one flops so hard, that you dont want to post again... (It took me a month before I posted again, after my first 2 flopped). If I were to post those 2 today, they'd hit 100x more traction. That initial discouragement lead me to believe maybe I failed, I thought I invented something new and incredible, but people dont care. Reality is, it was never advertised and the 2 people who read it back then, were literally scrolling latest the second it released, so sheer dumb luck. Had I known that back then, I would have waited, mingled a week or 2 first, then posted.
exactly, a good learning
Great advice! You should make your own post about this. Or have you done that already? I probably should of done some looking around on your profile before I said that but oh well I'm trying to mingle with people regardless...
Honestly, this is the kinda think I'd rather want the mods to add to the welcome post, or a popup when someone writes their own first post as a disclaimer to let them know it's recommended to integrate into the community to get traction. A bit of transparency goes a long way... I know Forem is open source, but that doesnt make it any less ambiguous to end-users. I found things even the mods didnt know, because I dug through the codebase.
But maybe I should start a 'Dummy's Guide to Dev.to', I havent been here nearly long enough to do it justice though.
I mean I already have the guide on dev.to. If there is something you want to add, lmk and I can update accordingly:
Get Started on Dev.to! A Beginner's Guide to Engage with the Community! 💡
Hi Francis, yes please, just a notice that until your account has matured a little in the comment sections, posts you make wont get as much attention. It's recommended that you engage in community comments before making your first post, to boost your recommendation and that if early posts dont get the viewership they hope for, please dont feel discouraged, their account just needs to mature a little first. (just about that in whatever way you think translates best) Cuz explaining how Rep points work as the hidden common denominator that decides what posts get pushed, vs buried would probably be a bit too much?
And maybe just a big red notice that says "If you used AI to write it, declare it in a disclaimer, while not banned, it will lower your recommendation to others"
You could add that Sloan isnt real 😞 though I think that plot twist is best experienced naturally.
Thanks in advance!
Hey Unit. The more I read this, the more that it feels technical than anything. On the guide, it is implied that users are encourage to comment and putting yourself out there in the community, so I think it's best to leave this off. However, I think it would be transparent to show the Forem Repository at least, so they know how dev.to works.
For the AI, makes sense, though we are waiting on @jess update on the moderation stuff, but I will add a vague disclaimer on the guide to let everyone know just in case.
Thanks!
Thanks for the kind words and mention Francis!
DEV is a great community to be a part of because of active members like you.
Congrats, Julien 🎉
I also found that the more I started writing and interacting with people here, the more I wanted to keep doing it. DEV has been a really welcoming community.
20k followers in your first year is amazing. Well deserved 😄
All the best for year two 😀
Thank you so much Hemapriya!
Congrats, Julien 🥰🥳 I wish you a next hundred years here on DEV 😁
Thanks Sylwia!
A hundred years sounds great haha
Congrats on 20k, Julien! 🎉 Loved the point about consistency over vanity metrics, that's such an underrated lesson for anyone starting out on DEV
Thanks Varshith!
the 7 reactions thing is universal. posted for months before anything landed. the discouragement is part of it apparently.
it's interesting to know that most people experience the same thing
solidarity helps. once I started treating the first 60 days as a cold-start phase rather than a quality signal, the discouragement stopped landing the same way. now I track comments-per-article, not reactions.
100%
yeah once that reframe lands it kind of resets what you’re actually tracking.
Congrats on the 20k, Julien!
One thing that really stood out to me was your point about "give before you take." Looking back at my own journey here, I think that completely changed my experience too.
When I first started writing, I assumed good content would naturally find an audience. But the more I commented, had conversations, and genuinely got to know people, the more I realized DEV isn't just a publishing platform, it's a community. The relationships came first, and the readership followed.
I also loved your point about writing creating more ideas instead of exhausting them. I've found the same thing. Every post seems to spark two or three more that I hadn't even thought about before.
Congratulations again on an incredible first year. Looking forward to seeing what year two brings!
Thanks Aryan! It feels great to be part of this wonderful community! Members like you inspire me to keep going!
Congrats on year 1! Dev is such a great community and I appreciate hearing everyone's journey. For your weekly writing...do you keep track of your ideas for articles or post what you currently work on?
Thanks!
Yes I have a simple notes where I keep track. I also create draft posts in DEV with a placeholder title and add content whenever I think of something related to the topic I am writing about.
@javz This is truly inspiring, makes me want to move my DEV posting commitment from monthly to weekly:
I'm still contemplating about it though. But I think if I lend at least one hour a week specifically, maybe I could do it as well (not sure when yet). Either way, congrats on this massive achievement! Life is hard and we deserve our own celebrations.
Thanks Elmar!
What works for me is blocking an evening in the week dedicated to writing the weekly draft and then polishing it throughout the rest of the week.
That's smart, not all in one go. Might have to convince myself to try that first. I hope I don't get too lazy hahaha 🤣
I read all. That's a good story. I'm new here I feel motivated but I don't know what to write and what if I make mistakes or run out of topic. That confident I'm struggling with. Thank you man. I'm keep reading on DEV from now on. Let's see.
Thanks Sam for the kind words.
As for choosing a writing topic, maybe start by participating in one of the DEV challenges as it gives you already a topic to write about. Otherwise maybe you have a project you are working on with some learnings to share?
Feel free to bounce topics around with me, I am sure we can find a topic for you to write about :)
Congrats on the milestone, and thank you for this.
The "give before you take" point hit especially hard, I started my own dev.to series just last month, and I definitely underestimated how much engaging with other people's posts matters before anyone engages with yours.
I'm only a few articles in, but the "create a system" advice already matches what's kept me going. I write about what I'm learning as I learn it, so each post feeds the next one instead of me having to hunt for ideas.
Bookmarking this for the weeks I feel discouraged by low reactions. Looking forward to your year 2 recap!
Thanks Divine!
Keep going!
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