A Coder Among Copywriters

The Challenges of Being the In-house Drupal Dev in a Marketing Department

Picture this: You're the only Drupal developer in the entire department. That means you'll be managing everything related to the website on your own. Sounds fun, right? But it also means:

No one else to rely on: You're the go-to person for all things Drupal, and there's no backup. If something goes wrong, you'll have to find a solution on your own. Good luck with that!
Lack of in-house support: When you run into a roadblock or need a second opinion, you won't have another Drupal developer to consult. Prepare for some long nights of troubleshooting solo.
Limited understanding from colleagues: Most of your colleagues won't know much about Drupal or web development. They might not understand the complexity of your work or why it takes time to implement their requests.
A learning curve that may last, well, the whole time you're there: When I finally moved out of the Marketing world and into my first full-on dev company, I was a total newbie to some very basic concepts. Collaborating with teammates in a Git repo, for example. Oh, I knew how to use Git... I just had never shared access to my repo. I had an "ah-ha moment" when I finally realized why it's called a "pull request" because, until then, I had been opening and approving my own PRs but it seemed like such a cumbersome process.

Learning to Adapt: Finding Solutions on Your Own

When you're the sole Drupal developer, you'll need to learn how to adapt quickly. Here are a few ways to tackle those challenges:

Build your network: Reach out to other Drupal developers in the community, join online forums, and attend local meetups. You never know when you'll need some advice or a fresh perspective.
Stay up to date: Stay informed about the latest updates, modules, and best practices in the Drupal world. The more knowledge you have, the better equipped you'll be to solve problems on your own.
Communicate clearly: Help your colleagues understand what you do and why it matters. Explain the process in terms they can grasp and set realistic expectations for timelines and deliverables.

Navigating the Marketing World: Bridging the Gap Between Development and Marketing

You'll be working with marketers, and that can sometimes feel like speaking a completely different language. They'll have their own priorities, goals, and lingo, and you'll need to learn how to communicate with them effectively. Some tips:

Learn the marketing lingo: Familiarize yourself with common marketing terms and concepts to make communication smoother.
Understand their goals: Figure out what your marketing colleagues want to achieve, and determine how your Drupal expertise can help them reach those goals.
Be proactive: Offer suggestions and insights based on your knowledge of Drupal. You might spot opportunities for improvement that your marketing colleagues haven't considered.
Collaborate: Work closely with the marketing team to ensure you're all on the same page. Keep them informed about your progress, and be open to their feedback and ideas.
Be open to ideas: You may not have developers around you, but you likely have some very intelligent people around you who would love to help you out when you need help. They might not give you the answer you'd find on Stack Overflow, but be open to the possibility that they'll offer you an outside-the-box solution.

The Power of Data: Using Drupal to Boost Marketing Efforts

As a Drupal developer in a marketing department, you can leverage the platform's capabilities to support your team's goals. Here's how:

Tracking and analytics: Set up tracking and analytics tools to help the marketing team monitor website performance, visitor behavior, and campaign success.
Personalization: Use Drupal modules to create personalized content and experiences for different user segments, which can help boost engagement and conversions.
SEO: Optimize the website for search engines using Drupal's built-in SEO tools and modules. Better rankings mean more visibility and traffic for the marketing team.

The Pressure to Deliver: Meeting High Expectations

When you're the only Drupal developer in the department, the pressure to deliver is high. Your colleagues will expect you to get things done quickly and efficiently. Here's how you can manage the pressure and meet those expectations:

Time Management: Juggling Multiple Tasks

In addition to your website responsibilities, you may have to juggle other non-tech tasks and jobs. Here's how to stay on top of it all:

Prioritize: Determine which tasks are most important or time-sensitive, and tackle those first. Learn to say "no" or delegate tasks when necessary.
Break tasks down: Break large tasks into smaller, manageable chunks. This can make it easier to estimate the time required and track your progress.
Use tools: Leverage project management and productivity tools to help you stay organized and on schedule.
Don't be afraid to ask for help: Everyone needs a hand every once in a while.

Setting Realistic Expectations: It's Okay to Say "No"

You can't do everything at once, and it's important to set realistic expectations for yourself and your colleagues. Here's how:

Be honest: If you don't have the bandwidth to take on a new task or project, let your colleagues know. They'll appreciate your honesty, and you can work together to find a solution.
Communicate timelines: Clearly communicate how long tasks will take, and factor in some buffer time for unforeseen obstacles. This can help set expectations and prevent disappointment. This was frequently a challange for me and I had a difficult time explaining why something that I had estimated as a one-week job was now going into its second month.
Educate: Help your colleagues understand the complexity and time requirements of your work. This can lead to more empathy and support when you need to push back on unreasonable requests.

In Conclusion: Embrace the Challenge and Grow as a Developer

Being an in-house Drupal developer in a marketing department comes with its fair share of challenges. But as you adapt to your role, you'll find opportunities to grow your skills, collaborate with your marketing colleagues, and make a meaningful impact on your organization's online presence.

So, are you ready to tackle the challenges head-on? Remember, as long as you're open to learning, networking, and communicating, you can thrive in this unique role. And who knows? Maybe someday, you'll look back on this experience as one of the most rewarding times of your career. I do!

One more thing

If you do what I did and leave the world of being an in-house dev in favor of a career working with a dev team, don't forget that now other people can read your code comments and your commit messages, or you could embarass yourself. I'll leave it at that :)