Why Developers Hate Your Content (And How to Fix It)
5 Rules for Writing Dev Content That Doesn't Suck
Most developer content is trash.
Not because writing for developers is hard.
Because it’s written for the wrong audience, by the wrong people, in the wrong way. It’s written by marketers who don’t understand code, or by engineers who don’t understand communication.
The result? Documentation that confuses, tutorials that mislead, and blog posts that waste the one thing a developer doesn’t have: time.
Today, we’re fixing that. Today you’ll get:
The Psychology: How developers actually read (hint: they don’t)
The 5 rules: What separate bookmarked content from ignored fluff
The Playbook: 42 do’s (✅) and 34 don’ts (❌) you can steal
The Checklist: An 18-point safeguard against wasting a developer’s time
Let’s kill useless dev content for good.
🧠 How Developers Actually Read (Spoiler: They Don’t)
Developers are wired to solve problems, not decode creativity.
Their brains are pattern-matching machines that scan for structure, solutions, and efficiency. When reading content, they’re debugging, looking for the exact line that fixes their problem.
The best technical content exploits this mental model.
Your writing need to follow five rules:
Rule 1: Be Human → Talk like a real person
Rule 2: Be Concise → Make every word count
Rule 3: Pick a Side → Neutral never goes viral
Rule 4: Be Engaging → Technical doesn’t mean boring
Rule 5: Be Precise → Vague examples = lost credibility
Your content either saves their day or wastes their time.
There’s no middle ground.
Rule 1: Be Human (The Connection)
Engineers don’t trust perfection. They trust struggle.
Your writing needs to feel real. It needs to:
Creates connection through shared pain
Show the human behind the keyboard
Build trust through imperfection
✅ Do:
Include weird human details (”Sarah fixed it after her 4th Red Bull”)
Include the version that failed before the one that worked
Tell stories—they don’t need to be impressive, just real
Add humor and be self-deprecating where appropriate
Screenshot real Slack conversations (blur the names)
Share the dumb mistake that cost you a weekend
Show your embarrassing git commit messages
❌ Don’t:
Pretend you got it right the first time
Polish away all the human messiness
Leave out the part where you almost gave up
Your struggles are their struggles. Your mistakes are their mistakes.
That’s the connection.
Rule 2: Be Concise (The Clarity)
Developers don’t read. They scan.
Your writing needs to be efficient. It needs to:
Get to the point asap
Cut every unnecessary word
Be understandable during 2 AM debugging
✅ Do:
Bold the important parts
Bullet points beat paragraphs
Use “Before/After” comparisons
Add a TL;DR if it’s over 500 words
Make code snippets copy-pasteable
Put the solution in the first 100 words
Include time estimates (”5-minute fix”)
Structure with clear, searchable headers
Write like you’re being charged per word
Keep sentences short. Punchy. Direct. Use The 1/3/1 Writing Framework.
❌ Don’t:
Repeat yourself (we get it)
Add filler or cliched words
Create walls of unbroken text
Explain concepts they already know
Use fancy words when simple ones work
Write 3 paragraphs of context before the solution
Use generics like “This has brought us many benefits”
Tell people what they are about to read or what they just read
Every unnecessary word is another reason to close your tab.
Make. Every. Word. Count.
Rule 3: Pick a Side (The Authority)
Bland content is forgotten content.
Your writing needs to take a stand. It needs to:
Pick a side and defend it
Give readers something to react to
Say what everyone thinks but won’t type
✅ Do:
Expose industry BS
Name specific alternatives
Call out bad practices by name
Take hard stances on best practices
Say “This is wrong” and explain why
Share controversial takes backed by experience
Rank tools explicitly (PyTorch > TensorFlow for prototyping)
❌ Don’t:
Try to please everyone
Create generic “5 tips” lists
Hedge with “it depends” (pick a side)
Write “both sides are valid” nonsense
Dilute your message to please everyone
Use weasel words like “maybe” or “perhaps”
Safe content gets scrolled past. Bold claims get screenshot.
Pick. A. Side.
Rule 4: Be Engaging (The Energy)
Technical doesn’t mean boring.
Your writing needs pulse. It needs to:
Make dry topics fascinating
Show the stakes behind the code
Use visuals that actually explain things
✅ Do:
Create “aha!” moments
Bold the key takeaways
Create visual hierarchies
Hook them in 2 seconds
Use emojis strategically 🎯
Start with conflict or surprise
Add white space - let it breathe
Lead with the payoff, then explain how
Build tension before revealing solutions
❌ Don’t:
Write academic papers
Be boring about cool shit
Sound like a README file
Skip the “why this matters”
Forget mobile readers exist
Bury the lead in paragraph 3
Use jargon without explanation
Assume they’ll read everything
Make them work for the insight
Technical accuracy without engagement is just documentation.
Make them feel it. Make them finish it.
Rule 5: Be Precise (The Specifics)
Vague content is useless content.
Your writing needs surgical precision. It needs to:
Give specific numbers
Include actual commands
Name exact tools, versions, and configs
✅ Do:
Post full error messages
Name the GPU (A100 80GB)
Share exact runtimes (47 minutes)
Give exact costs ($0.03/1K tokens)
Include batch sizes (batch_size=32)
Share specific metrics (0.89 F1 score)
Include memory usage (67.2GB VRAM)
Include version numbers (PyTorch 2.1.0)
State exact model names (GPT-4-turbo-2024-04-09)
❌ Don’t:
Skip configuration details
Use “approximately” or “around”
Say “it depends” without specifics
Say “latest version” (which latest?)
Write “various models” (name them)
Use “many” or “several” (how many?)
Write “significantly faster” (how much?)
Use “better performance” (define better)
Vague writing is the “works on my machine” of content.
Be precise or be ignored.
✅ The Developer Content Checklist
Now let’s put it all together.
You’ve got the psychology. You’ve got the rules. You’ve got 76 examples of what works and what doesn’t.
But when you’re staring at a blank screen at 11 PM, you need something simpler.
A checklist.
BEFORE YOU WRITE
□ Do I have real code/configs to share?
□ Can I solve this problem in under 2 minutes?
□ Is this based on actual experience (not theory)?
THE HOOK (First 140 chars)
□ Started with the problem, not the solution
□ Used numbers if possible (”3x faster”)
□ Made them feel the pain you’re solving
THE CONTENT
□ Solution in first 100 words
□ Included at least one failure/mistake
□ Bolded exactly 3-5 key insights
□ Code snippets are copy-pasteable
□ Named specific tools/versions
□ Showed before → after clearly
THE CLOSE
□ Asked a question they’ll want to answer
□ Made the next step obvious
□ Gave them something to try today
FINAL REALITY CHECK
□ Would this save me at 2 AM?
□ Did I delete all the fluff?
□ Can a junior dev understand this?
Score: ___/18
16+? Ship it
12-15? Fix the gaps
<12? Start over
Print it. Bookmark it.
Share it with the person who writes 5-paragraph intros.
Just stop publishing content that wastes developers’ time.
🏆 The Unfair Advantage
Developers don’t need more content.
They need content that doesn’t waste their time.
You now have an unfair advantage that 99% of creators are missing.
Remember the rules:
Be human to build trust
Be concise to respect their time
Pick sides to be remembered
Be engaging to keep attention
Be precise to deliver value
The rules are simple. The execution is what separates the signal from the noise.
What technical story have you been sitting on?
Ship it. Using these rules. Watch what happens.
That’s it for now—more soon!
Catch you next time,
Creator of LinkedIn Audience Building for AI/ML Engineers
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