Interactive Content Strategies: Engaging Developers Through Action
In this Draft.dev webinar, we explored how developer-focused organizations can move beyond traditional static content to create more engaging, interactive experiences. Our discussion with Leon Adato, Principal Technical Advocate at Catchpoint, and Spence Taylor, Lead Developer Relations Engineer at New Relic, revealed practical strategies for capturing developer attention in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Whether you’re running a solo DevRel operation or leading a larger team, this recap will help you understand when and how to implement interactive content strategies that drive real engagement and measurable results.
Watch the entire webinar here:
Why Static Content Alone Isn’t Enough Anymore
The pandemic fundamentally changed how developers consume and engage with technical content. While documentation and traditional blog posts remain essential, they now compete with countless other distractions for developer attention.
Spence highlighted this shift in developer behavior:
I think you know, it’s 2025. We’ve survived a pandemic. And if anybody walks around and says that that didn’t change how they view the world or how they interact with the world, they’re lying…attention spans are not as solid as they were before. – Spence Taylor
Leon added important context about the role of both content types:
It’s not failing to engage today’s developers. It’s just got competition…It’s really just a matter of having more options, and therefore, people whose learning style is drawn to “Talk to me, work with me, make me think about it, keep me focused on it.” Now they have an avenue to do that where they didn’t before. – Leon Adato
The key insight here isn’t that static content is obsolete—it’s that developers now expect choice in how they learn and interact with your platform.
Mapping Content Types to the Developer Journey
Different content formats serve different purposes throughout the developer journey. Understanding when to use passive versus active content can significantly impact your success rates.
When Static Content Works Best
Static content excels for:
- API documentation and reference materials
- Foundational concepts that developers can study at their own pace
- Comprehensive guides that developers reference repeatedly
When Interactive Content Shines
Interactive formats become powerful when you need focused attention on specific skills or features. Spence explained his approach:
I am creating content specifically to focus on that need or that want of solving this issue of ‘I don’t understand how to use this feature on your platform to solve this problem.’ And then that’s where the interactive piece comes in. – Spence Taylor
Interactive content works best for:
- Teaching new features or complex concepts
- Onboarding new users to your platform
- Scenarios requiring hands-on practice to understand
Successful Interactive Content Formats
Game Days: Competitive Learning Environments
Spence shared his experience adapting AWS’s “game day” format for New Relic:
I create a scenario. I create an application for that scenario. I break it down in ways that are relevant to the topic. And then I just release it on unsuspecting attendees. I don’t give them any documentation. I don’t tell them anything about the platform, and I just let them run free. – Spence Taylor
This format works because it combines:
- Competitive elements that drive engagement
- Real-world scenarios that feel relevant
- Discovery-based learning that sticks
Community-Driven Challenges
Leon suggested lower-effort interactive formats that can work for smaller teams:
Normally, the point of a Hackathon is that you learn as you go—the discovery and the ‘Aha’ moments are what does it. – Leon Adato
These community missions provide:
- Regular touchpoints with your product
- Low-friction engagement opportunities
- Gamification elements that encourage participation
Removing Barriers to Engagement
Both experts emphasized that successful interactive content requires minimal setup from participants. Leon stressed this point:
You should be able to hand it to the person who’s consuming it with incredibly minimal friction…You create an environment that has everything. The user needs all the sample files, and they just step into it, and they start with step one. – Leon Adato
Key principles include:
- Browser-only requirements when possible
- Pre-configured environments with all necessary tools
- Single sign-on or minimal credential requirements
- Clear backup plans for technical difficulties
Measuring Interactive Content Success
Traditional DevRel metrics often fall short for interactive content. Leon referenced a valuable framework:
The only measurement that matters on the right-hand side is monthly active developers. How many people interacted with your thing? – Leon Adato
While measuring direct impact remains challenging, both experts found ways to demonstrate value:
Direct Sales Integration
Spence discovered an innovative approach by aligning with sales teams:
I’m doing a lot of work with our sales org to determine what are the most important features or what are the features that you’re talking about? So that way, I can build content around that. And then we can teach people the skills they need to like solve their problems. – Spence Taylor
Tracking Engagement Indicators
Focus on measurable behaviors that indicate genuine engagement:
- Feature adoption rates following interactive sessions
- Community participation levels
- Support ticket reduction in areas covered by interactive content
- User progression through your platform’s capabilities
Managing Different Skill Levels
Interactive content must accommodate diverse experience levels without overwhelming beginners or boring experts.
Leon emphasized the importance of proper scaffolding:
Build cheat codes. Build functions that say ‘if you’ve missed the last three steps, or it’s still not working, type this, and it will automatically fix it up to this step.’ – Leon Adato
Getting Started With Interactive Content
For solo DevRel practitioners or small teams, Leon and Spence offered practical first steps:
Maximize Content Reuse
Spence emphasized efficiency:
Understanding how to make my work work for me. I’ve created a content piece—how can I take this content piece and make more content pieces about it…make your work work for you. – Spence Taylor
Start with these approaches:
- Transform popular blog posts into interactive workshops
- Convert video tutorials into hands-on challenges
- Build demo applications around your most-requested features
- Create progressive learning paths from basic to advanced topics
Conclusion
Interactive content isn’t about replacing traditional documentation and tutorials—it’s about expanding your toolkit to meet developers where they are in their learning journey. The most successful approach combines both passive and active content strategically.
As Leon noted, not everything needs to be interactive, but when you do invest in interactive formats, focus on removing friction, enabling discovery, and creating genuine value for your developer community.
The key is starting small, measuring what matters, and building on what works. Whether through competitive game days, community challenges, or hands-on workshops, interactive content can significantly boost developer engagement when implemented thoughtfully.
For teams looking to build stronger developer ecosystems through engaging content strategies, interactive formats offer a powerful way to demonstrate value while building lasting relationships with your technical audience.
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