Networking by Being Useful

After her talk at a Hyderabad meetup, Meera stands by the snack table as people drift over. One option is to hand everyone a Rainkit sticker and a discount code. Another is to ask each person what they are building and listen. Only the second leads to anyone remembering her a month later.

The rule

Help first; relationships grow from usefulness, not pitches.

For a developer advocate, networking means building real relationships with the people around a product and its community:

• developers who use the product, or might;
• meetup and conference organisers;
• advocates at other companies, including competitors, who share an audience;
• open-source maintainers whose projects touch yours;
• writers, podcasters and newsletter editors.

These relationships bring speaking invitations, honest feedback, partnerships, introductions and, over time, trust. None of them come from a pitch. They come from being useful. And networking is not a separate task from the rest of the job: every talk, forum answer and code review is a chance to meet someone.

In practice:

• Ask more than you tell. "What are you building? What's been hard?" Then listen.
• Offer one specific thing: a link, an introduction, an answer, a look at their code.
• Follow up quickly with what you promised, and mention where you met.
• Keep short notes on who people are, what they build and what you promised.
• Stay in touch without a reason to sell: congratulate a launch, share their work.
• Give credit in public. When someone's idea or project helps you, say so where others can see it.

Networking also doesn't have to mean working a crowded room. If big mixers drain you, aim for two or three real conversations per event, or give a talk, so that the people who care about your topic come to you.

The shortcut

Use the give-first follow-up: end every good conversation with one thing you can give, and send it within two days, together with a reminder of where you met.

Drills

Answer fast — trust the rule.

Remember

• Help first; relationships grow from usefulness, not pitches.
• Shortcut: the give-first follow-up. One specific thing, sent within two days, with where you met.
• Trap: pitching everyone you meet, or collecting contacts and never following up.