✅ A checklist of things to do before releasing your project
The best projects sell themselves
Think of the README
as the elevator pitch for your project. Keep it concise and to the point
README
A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged
Figure out the value your project brings to your users. What does it provide them that they don't have already?
Examples
Recommendations
README
and in your taglineHigh quality projects are much more likely to retain users over time
Make your project unique and memorable (most people only focus on technical aspects of a project). While this is important, this should be done close to finishing the MVP of a project
Lower the barrier to entry by providing the most “native” ways of onboarding people. Make it as easy as possible for users of competing projects to start using your project.
In general, here's how this works: say you have library y
that competes with popular libray x
, write documentation for a migration path from library x
to y
.
Using standard code conventions and infrastructure lowers the barrier for people that want to contribute to your project. This sometimes translates to more contributors over time because initial contributors sometimes become long term contributors
General Projects
Specific for Apps / Products
To maintain communication with existing users, use a newsletter. Consider using mailchimp for this.