| I don't to if this applies specifically to you, but I noticed that for a lot of people, the "hate" for marketing is a really a disguise for fear. In practically every industry, marketers are slightly looked down at, and it's only when people face the need to do it themselves they realize just how hard the act of winning hearts and minds is. Sure, there're a million and one cheap hacks, but the gulf between them and actually winning the love of an audience is huge. And we never one the cheap attention, right? We want the real thing: true appreciation of the value of whatever product or service you're building. That's the only thing that wins loyalty, that's the thing Kevin Kelley was thinking about when he wrote "1000 True Fans". So people want the fans, but to win them you have to get consistent at communicating value. And since many developers don't take pride in communication, and it's not a skill they've previously cultivated, it can easily feel just like you described, an exorbitant burden. At some point in my life I realized that the one hard skill standing between me and working for myself long term is marketing. I made a conscious decision to desert any willful ignorance on my part and genuinely make and effort. I'm glad I did. |