What are ethical ways to market a Startup to developers?
I am a privacy-focused developer - I don't have a Facebook, I run browser extensions to block ads and trackers, and I have multiple emails dedicated to keeping spam away from my real accounts.
Like other developers, I also hate LinkedIn Inbox spam, cold calls, and other marketing techniques most companies employ.
I am now attempting to start a Startup to take tools I've built for my own use and build them into a product for others to benefit from.
The problem I'm facing is - how do I ethically get our name out there to others like me? The standard tools of Google and Facebook Ads are brutally efficient because of how little they respect privacy, and I am loathe to use what I've spent so much time avoiding.
So far, the only tool we've come up with is sponsoring conferences to go talk to Developers in-person.
What other avenues does a small startup have?
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Whatever ways you do, it would seem they fit with your world-view, so do them.
It's called inbound marketing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbound_marketing
1) Sponsor conferences/pay for booths. This one is tough because not every conference worries much about privacy.
2) Speak at every conference you can find. This one has the same caveat as above.
3) Build quality products at competitive rates and provide serious value. In theory, you hope you'll get referrals. You could think about rewarding referrals, but then if you sell your startup, you'd presumably be selling off an influence graph.
4) Go full bore evil, build a unicorn, avoid becoming truly evil, and give all your money away to privacy focused organizations.
5) Open source your products, allow self hosting and make your money off of consulting.