Promoting D projects (or internet marketing 101)

[clayasaurus]

Walter Bright wrote:
> A lot of you are writing useful projects in D, useful code snippets, 
> insightful commentary, etc. Much of this stuff gets reimplemented over 
> and over because few are aware of the existence of it. We can stand on 
> each others shoulders a bit more if we do a little less wheel reinvention.
> 
> I've learned a lot about trying to get the word out on the internet with 
> little to no marketing dollars, no marketing staff, no nothing. I 
> suspect that most of you are in the same boat <g>, so I thought I'd 
> share a bit about what I've learned.
> 
> 1) Make a web page for it. A newsgroup posting here in 
> digitalmars.D.announce is great for announcing the existence of the 
> project, but then it scrolls away and gets forgotten. You need a web 
> page for it to get it noticed in the future. Use dsource.org if you 
> don't have your own, or the D wiki, etc.
> 
> 2) Having your stuff findable by Google is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing you 
> can do. The overwhelming majority of traffic to the Digital Mars web 
> site is coming from google search results pages. If it isn't findable by 
> Google, it might as well not exist. I won't get much into google search 
> engine optimization here, as there are plenty of web sites on that 
> (findable via google, of course!), but there are a couple highlights I 
> want to hit.
> 
> 3) Think about what, if you were looking for your project, you'd type 
> into the google search box. Then, make sure those keywords are on your 
> project description web page.
> 
> 4) Include the phrase "D programming language" somewhere on every D web 
> page you do. Don't put it in a graphic, put it in text so google will 
> find it. This phrase helps build "brand" on the internet, and your D 
> page will show up in google searches on D. Just using "D" by itself 
> won't work (try it!).
> 
> 5) Ask me to put a link to your page on 
> www.digitalmars.com/d/dlinks.html. Send me the exact text to cut & paste 
> in. Try to get reciprocal links from other relevant D pages. This will 
> help people find it.
> 
> 6) Submit links to your project releases to www.betamarker.com. Submit 
> articles, tutorials, anything of interest to www.dzone.com, gamedev.net, 
> www.artima.com or even www.digg.com. Let us know so we can digg them! It 
> doesn't matter if the reference doesn't make it to the front page, it 
> will still help.
> 
> 7) Post on the newsgroup comp.programming to reach a more general audience.
> 
> 8) People coming across D source code on the internet may not recognize 
> it for what it is. I think it's probably a good idea to add the comment:
> 
>     // written in the D programming language
> 
> at the top of every published D source code file. I'm going to start 
> doing that with Phobos source.
> 
> 9) Take a look at related Wikipedia articles for which a relevant 
> discussion about or link to your project might be appropriate.
> 
> 10) In doing the above, be sure you're not spamming. Any links you do 
> should be of genuine and relevant interest to the readers.
> 
> 11) Doing this isn't just good for D, it's good for your career. 
> Recruiters are going to google your name, and if they find all those 
> cool projects you've done, it can only help.
> 
> And, of course, I should follow my own advice and turn this posting into 
> a web page!

Nice tips!

You don't seem to mention wikipedia on your web page, though.

Just thought of this too, submit an article to the D online journal at 
http://www.tdjonline.com/ , they need more articles :)

Can we can figure out a use for http://d-programming-language.org/ in 
the scheme of internet marketing as well? Maybe turn it into a community 
blog like slashdot where D programmers can register for an account, 
submit stories, and them comment on them?