100 reactions at my first technical article - Tips and Insights

Tags: writing, productivity, career, motivation
Published: 2019-08-12 11:10:11


So, if you are here it means that you considered at least once to ***write an article*** or you did it already. **(or just curious)**  
  
The scope is to present my ***“roadmap”*** writing my first technical article, simply and funnily **(I hope)** and give you the main elements that you need to do it yourself **(or maybe improve your process)**.  
  
  
My first technical article posted on the internet is named ***[“6 JavaScript WTFs and what to learn from them”]([https://dev.to/andreib123/6-javascript-wtfs-and-what-to-learn-from-them-406d](https://l.messenger.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fdev.to%2Fandreib123%2F6-javascript-wtfs-and-what-to-learn-from-them-406d&h=AT2TYpN1yUgmrJA8ZHwKiTDUQ_eN3UNi1tXWlfqExEwrBkYtAiBoHqFOm1N-M5G9XZRSuqwbRJMI9AWLS54Fm7_FYfk_9P3VxueoCPw2ks2HvTrrbMzAnTH-6SeU9vOTqdjtdw))***. Check it out if you didn’t already and hit me with that juicy ***feedback***.  
  
Before we start, here are some things about me. I am a Romanian ***Full-Stack*** developer who worked for almost ***3 years*** in the field, interested in ***web technologies***, especially in ***ReactJS***, practice-oriented and keen to help others find their **passion for programming** and **improve their skills**.  
  
The reason I wrote the previous article is tied to my medium term objective to create **web oriented content for begginers**. *(and also to improve my skill down the road)* 
  
Why ***write***? Three reasons:  
  
First, you are giving back to the community and ***help others***. For me, this is the greatest motivator, it fills me. **(if this is not you, bare with me for the next two reasons)**  
  
Second, it helps you ***learn***. Wait, I shouldn't already master the subject? Yes, but when you research deep into it you can find some ***missing pieces*** from your knowledge and also explaining a concept may develop you even more. Take the ***learning pyramid*** as the argument for this.  
  
 ![Learning pyramid](https://cdn.dribbble.com/users/246954/screenshots/1442129/dribbbleinfographic.png)

Finally, an appreciated skill at most jobs is the capacity to ***mentor*** others and ***transfer knowledge***. In this way, you develop this ability and build a ***“portfolio”***.  
  
This introduction is already too long, so let’s start with my past weeks journey.

**![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/mknZOxQ5N3aRfIunc9Q1uTp41Ob0QbPOmj1WVng6V_DbxO0pl20d5x6SZU2s_pGy7h4wpke5Chnd4ByCTMslSbyOZo5EWpa6bMWp72RBKxIXsdN6Uiijn92dSvqpBAoXlSMsOeJH)**
### Find a topic

My first dilemma was: **what should I write about?** I know that I am excited about **web development** and that it is my area o strength, but what people would like to find out from me? What content would bring value to them?

The process was the following:

-   **Brainstorming** in a document. Anything from keywords, technologies, subjects, etc.. I was trying to start the brain rolls.
    
-   My next stop was Google, especially **Google Trends**. I wanted to discover what people want to find out about *web development, JavaScript, ReactJS* and others. I couldn’t say that it gave me the answer, but I noticed a large interest in **general topics** related to JavaScript *(duh, of course)*
    
-   After that, I was thinking a lot about that complicated *JavaScript interview questions* that always have a little **trick**.
    
-   In the end, I decided to combine the previous thought with my desire to help others **understand** those concepts, not just to recall the answer.
    
Therefore I decided that the topic will be about **strange things** that happen in JavaScript, **explained** with examples. Also, the article should be **informal**, **friendly** and **funny**. *(I hope I got that part)*

### The title
I know what you are thinking. Why choose a title before the content was written? It’s not a little bit **superficial**? Yes and no, I would say.

Picking your title may help you clarify the **big picture** of the article, the general approach that you will apply.

Let me give you an example. My first article could have taken many forms, with similar content. It could be just a **fun article** where I expose the WTFs without any explanations, or maybe I could have chosen **interview questions** instead of WTFs, less fun, more productive. You got the point.

Now, let’s dissect the title of the article, *“6 JavaScript WTFs and what to learn from them”*. My objective was to **summarize** the content and to add some **small clickbait crumbs**.

The content was described by **“Javascript, WTFs and learn”** and the clickbait is formated only by that **“6”,** which helps to provide something specific and also because brains are attracted to numbers. *(“JavaScript WTFs and what to learn from them” doesn’t sound that good, right?)*

I will recommend the following article if you want to go deeper into this subject: [Choose your next article topic with this exercise](https://dev.to/gsto/choose-your-next-article-topic-with-this-exercise-17m2) by [Glenn Stovall](https://dev.to/gsto)

### Build a structure

My simple construction started with the principal chunks of the article: **Introduction, Content, and Conclusion**. For each of them, I started to add **small bullet points** with the main ideas.

For example, for the conclusion, I wanted to speak about the **habit** of checking the official documentation when facing a problem, that those WTFs are funny, but **may hide bugs** and that this is my **first attempt** in writing a technical article.

### Start developing each point

After the structure was ready the focus was to **implement** each small idea and **research** for the WTFs.

I tried to read enough to make sure I **fully understand** the subject and therefore be able to expose it in a **simplified manner**. After each WTF I asked myself the following questions: *The content it’s clear enough? It explains the subject correctly?*

Also, for each of them, my idea was to add as many **code examples** as possible to *visualize* the explanations.

In the end, I thought of some **funny images** that are suitable for that case, with the idea of making the article more friendly. *(but not overuse them)*

### Markup or text

My approach was to write the content **directly as markup**. I didn’t have significant experience with it, so I googled for an online markup tool and my choice was **[StackEdit](https://stackedit.io/app)**. It had a simple interface, with everything I needed.

For this article, I have written the content as text and I will transform it into markup, at the end. Until now I can say that the **writing process was quicker**, but I should see how much time I will invest in transforming it.

Let me know in the comment what method works best for you.

### Prepare for publish

Besides good content and great ability to present information, the **“promotion”** and the general aspect of the article is essential.

First, I created a **cover image**, using Photoshop, that has the scope to **steal your attention** for just a fraction. If you aren’t familiar with Photoshop, you can use other free online tools like **[Canva](http://canva.com)** to create it. I followed the **[editor guide](https://dev.to/p/editor_guide)** advice and made it *1000px x 420px*.

![Cover image](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ZHxzBt27PzD9BPmMadItwAjpExpYpLpV1F7rHlE_oaVDW5c7fYucUXQHJkOCm1f5dhw46nB4SAtxiaFg3E-ThqYZ7lqoGaIgSz1yoedyrguVeGa6rxYGIDRCe7OCQ--fAfUk6Abv)

Research for the **best time and day** to post your article. As it was my first article, I also took this aspect into consideration and I found **[this](https://dev.to/daolf/-what-is-the-best-time-to-post-on-devto-a-data-backed-answer--1kob)** article that presents *(based on data)* what could be the best option. I combined it with the fact that the majority of dev.to members are from the USA and I picked **Monday 14:00 (Bucharest time)**.

### Review

Review it’s also valuable, therefore, I *read the whole article a couple of times*, used **[Grammarly](https://app.grammarly.com)** to correct some typos or mistakes and also ask other persons to give me some feedback.

Further, I wrote a **short description** for the social media platforms and I was ready to publish.

**![Publish banner](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/Svy1BqFQD-mKvOqx5uGOGgTlA7iB8S-M8MxYG0hU77UyVdPOtqmGnwX9kH93wC825dV6Pv4zLY-tK-6_J6baDvigmrLwOckucV9AA66GdHy1zeUrKPRMtxy0Asb5XNdAOrgMMQ7T)**
### Social Media

My first step in the social media strategy was to identify the **platforms** where my **public** should be and try to grab their **attention** *(and 5-8 minutes of their lives)*. I know that not everyone is a social media person but I think that, in this case, you should see it as the *process that helps you get in touch with your public*.

The platforms that I used are:

**Dev.to** as the publishing platform. This platform was a recommendation and I found it perfect for the first steps. It's **free**, **popular** and **made for developers**.

**LinkedIn**, where a have a **2000** contacts network. I consider LinkedIn a place where I can find my audience, people that are oriented on **learning** and **development** and also start building my portfolio.

**Twitter**, where I opened the account only for this article, as it is not so popular in Romania.
    
**Reddit**, one of the largest platforms out there. Hard to believe, but I didn’t have an account on Reddit either *(you can judge me for that)*, but I knew that it’s a large audience here and I gave it a try.

Why not **Facebook** or **Instagram**? In my case I thought that **my target** is not on those two platforms. *(at least for the moment)*

### Numbers, numbers, numbers
**![Social media insights](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6AbZC10pb_w0sj3U_PrX6PH1VAXYKaDYa18ZSnuVRF5agKhW1UnPntGATth_IoqVdV4SgZaLAsNEjcS-nbk9g1Sy0YGyjRmf3e04DeXKLefcIgySApDiRGVjL4UrXpVE_WOVEUZL)**

**Dev.to**: The main activity of the article took place here. It exceeded my expectations for my first article *(it was a blind shoot)* and I was glad to see **interest** in my content and style of writing. The **number of followers** also amazed me, we will talk about it in a moment.

**LinkedIn**: I was more relaxed with this environment because my presence there started 5 years ago. The activity **started slow**, but in the end, it was nice seeing people that appreciated the content.

**Twitter**: I *didn’t invest so much effort* in this one. I just shared the article on my 0 followers account and hope for the best.

**Reddit**: I **failed** miserably. My first and second posts were **removed** and my third one, on another JS group, didn’t get any upvote
  
### Reactions progress

![reactions progress](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/NVHXJ2JWtvA2EURREW-NWgKpYCCdf-Fn_YVbhuzJ58dBcYjh4sZZSDAqSKBRbiRq1WMGZtJOIMo_w9JNDuvvS-Eg-GjJRr3kxTi1ZgKPI-SC4-yk2hCqIjm-d3ZMz-LcUdbXAOZh)

Another interesting aspect was the things that I felt after hitting the publish button. In the first two hours, I tasted some **agitation** and **concern**.

The article only got **5-8 reactions** *(deep down inside I knew that those were my friends)*, and the LinkedIn post **3-4 likes**. That was the moment that I said, ok, this is not for me, I **failed**, I should focus on other matters.

Around **18:20** I left work, I got on my electric scooter and “drive” for 10 minutes. After that, I check dev.to and something wonderful happened. Almost **40 reactions**, all the numbers went up and I received some **positive comments**. It’s hard to explain that feeling, but it was **lit**.

![Litt meme](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b0/6c/7a/b06c7a0e9a95238134ae2e6c7bbf5ea2.jpg)
For 2 hours I have other activity scheduled *(where I didn’t check my phone)* and after that, the reactions reached almost **60**, the views went up, another motivation dose.

At that moment I just wanted to take my laptop and **dig for my next topic**. After that, it went up until the morning.

The life span of the article activity was pretty much **24h**. *(yes, short life)*

Moral of the story, have the **patience** for your content and take as much **fresh feedback** as you can.

**Note:** The Time Zone Bucharest, Romania (UTC/GMT +3 hours in the summer)

### Followers

An aspect that I didn’t take into consideration was the **followers** from the dev.to platform. As the article got traction, the number of followers started to raise and hitting almost **700** in two weeks. *(thank you all)*

Looking at the numbers I realized that there are people in the community that consider my content **useful** and **valuable**. That gave me the motivation to continue this path with a lot of energy.

### Comments

The comments from LinkedIn are all positive, **two** of them from known people and **two** from persons that I never talk with.

On the dev.to platform, there were **three** positive comments, one **neutral** *(I can’t decode the feeling from it)* and **one** constructive/negative. *(that person pointed me to a part of the article that was debatable)*

I responded to all of them *(didn't take me long)* and I took them as great energizers.

P.S.: Here is the funniest notification for **views achievement** I have ever seen.

![views notification](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8UA9QR84tzuCs-gQvEZbtZ3Exlx7qzUPRCa96bidz0dBZ4NefBAP7RplQp8qukROdzNcxGy7TFbDwb8Jq9dUVHyzWmd0CHEid2mK9W3c64inh7aSMTb8PFYKcWdB3vtif8lBqYq9)

  **![Conclusion banner](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Cf8ng25b8ICA0XXH7jTHbjDA-R3L5BmCv7X2J48tjDMsEsbgz9fv2fNGOUxO8KoIaUEo8KKn8yHZQP75r0oXO-UjjrYpGu-I3mpSblV5xTDYAoHGSWcD-wTujJmQgPIffmf_ro1P)**

My objectives for this article are to **share my story** and **help others** start creating content. The advice that I received a couple of weeks ago was, of course, **“just start”**. Deeply inside you know that is true but sometimes it's hard to *“just do it”*. With this article, I want to add a **small brick to people's trust wall**.

After you manage to start, focus yourself on **delivering quality content**. Again, **research** your subject and existing content in order to get a strong context, then bring **something new**, always with **your target audience** in mind.

Maybe the previous points may seem that they don’t have the best fit, but it’s not the case. You can **force your brain to start** doing the task you are thinking about and **focus** afterward on giving your best.

Don’t try to make it more than perfect. Even [Ben Halpern](https://dev.to/ben) says that **85%** perfect is better than **100%** perfect. *(check his [article](https://dev.to/ben/some-of-my-writing-principles-k4e) on writing principles)*

Thank you for reading it through the final, I hope it was helpful and you got **1% more motivated**.

Happy writing!:newspaper: