How do you publicize releases (re hack to OSS)

[mwrock]

Hi,

Just read your post. Great post! I'm curious howyou typically publicize a release. I typically, tweet, blog and sometimes cross post to HN nd a couple other syndication sites.

What surprises me is that I get little organic traffic to my github repo (https://github.com/mwrock/RequestReduce) and few downloads on my github pages homepage (http://requestreduce.com). i do get a fair amount of downloads on Nuget(.net package management). However, my codeplex project (nquant.codeplex.com) gets many more downloads while that project has a much narrower appeal.

So I'm wondering if you are attracting traffic via avenues I am not exploiting.

Thanks,
Matt

[holman]

I think it's a matter of just working on pushing your stuff a lot. There's a few things I'd suggest off the top of my head:

• I'd create a more impactful repo description. These are actually pretty important: they show up on dashboard of people who follow your project. Try reducing the words and making it obvious.
• likewise, trim up your first paragraph in your README. It's a nice README in general, but the first chunk is pretty wordy. Make it clear what's going on in the repo and why someone might want it.

Beyond that, it's a matter of developing your niche. Try to grow your presence in your community (specifically others who use the same tech as you). You'll be able to generate more goodwill by relying on a smaller group of people who you're active with.

[mwrock]

Thanks Zach! I appreciate the good advice.