---
title: "How to Promote and Market your API: Follow the Hype Train"
description: "Learn how to build your API using technologies that will naturally garner more interest and integrate marketing into your API's development cycle"
canonicalUrl: "https://zuplo.com/learning-center/how-to-promote-your-api-follow-the-hype-train"
pageType: "learning-center"
authors: "adrian"
tags: "API Marketing, Tutorial"
image: "https://zuplo.com/og?text=How%20to%20Promote%20and%20Market%20your%20API%3A%20Follow%20the%20Hype%20Train"
---
> This blog is part of our full guide on API Promotion and Marketing strategies.
> [Check it out](/learning-center/how-to-promote-and-market-an-api)

## Marketing Starts at Development Time

Believe it or not but you **do not** need to wait until your API is complete
before you start marketing it. Actually, I will say that if you waited until
development was completed to think about marketing, you're **doing it wrong**!

APIs can be considered products, and like any other products, the actual
development stages can be considered opportunities for marketing. Many viral
products on Kickstarter or Shark Tank are in the middle of product development,
but they decide to unveil themselves in order to test the market for a reaction
and build hype. Similarly, there are tactics we as developers can employ to help
drive attention to our APIs during their development.

One thing I am going to assume going forward is that you already have done your
research on the market and have a strong conviction behind the API your are
developing.

## #buildinginpublic & Hype-driven Development

A common trend I noticed is that developers have a strong attachment to dev
_brands_, especially for languages/technologies/platforms they have already
built with. They will hype up new releases for "their tools", and viciously tear
down others for using anything else (see Rustaceans and GOphers). This is often
uncorrelated with how well-suited that tool is for the problem they are
solving - picture your one friend who raves about BMW and drives a falling-apart
3-series. They love the brand and what it stands for, and support it within
their means.

What does this have to do with API development? Well - it's an easy way to
promote your API during development!

1. Develop your API using tools that are hype at the moment (and are still
   well-suited of course). Alternatively, you can choose niche tools with a cult
   following - but this approach carries risk if you scale and need support
2. Every time you push a new feature/endpoint, spam Twitter with an emoji-ridden
   post about your progress, mention ALL of the hype tools you are using, tag it
   #buildinpublic , and attach a nice-looking screenshot
3. If the tool you use has a community (ex. Discord, forum, etc.) check to see
   if there is a showcase section where you can share your projects. For
   example, Supabase has
   [madwithsupabase.com](https://www.madewithsupabase.com/)
4. If you run into issues during development or solve a particularly difficult
   problem, make sure to write them down so you can blog about them. This can be
   the start of your content marketing strategy, and developers love blogs that
   show them how to resolve a bug they encountered. By using a "hype tool" you
   likely will get an SEO boost as its more likely developers will be searching
   for content around that tool

If you don't believe me,
[here's an example from Twitter](https://x.com/rokasdam/status/1760032583730200757)
I pulled from a few weeks ago. By constantly promoting your API, you can recruit
early users/testers. These people are likely transferring the authority and
respect they have for the tools you used onto your project - and are maybe
wondering if/how they can build something similar, too. By engaging with the
broader community, you are effectively priming your first set of users once you
are ready to launch. It's important that you do this under your personal account
however, developers are allergic to feeling like they are being directly
marketing to, especially through astroturfing.

Another side benefit of this approach is getting early validation of your idea.
In any business, it's usually better to fail fast on bad ideas so you can go
back to the drawing board.

## Next Steps

We're not done with development-time marketing of your API yet! Read our
[next article](/learning-center/how-to-promote-your-api-spectacular-openapi) on
how to promote your API using an OpenAPI spec. You can also read our
[Ultimate Guide to API Promotion and Marketing](/learning-center/how-to-promote-and-market-an-api)
for a more holistic understanding of the problem.