Welcome to the latest edition of the API product management newsletter, dedicated to helping product teams drive more business value from their APIs and API products.
This week: We’ve been seeing a lot of focus on the complexities of APIs as products this week. From design thinking to monetisation – and everything in between – it’s not always easy to nurture these unique products and maximise their value. But at least the resources below should help!
But first, a reminder! We only include:
- The top 3 most useful resources we’ve come across the two weeks prior. Any more than that, and we find our browser tabs become unmanageable
- What we find personally useful – and digestible – as product and product marketing managers
- Educational content (whether an article, whitepaper or event). No product pitches – that includes yours truly.
💡The good stuff: This week’s API product management links:
“Implementing API monetisation is hard” – Matt Tanner
Why is API monetisation so hard? If you’re feeling unsure of where to start, you’re certainly not alone, as Matt Tanner, Head of Developer Relations at Moesif, explains in this talk at the 2023 Platform Summit in Stockholm. Yes, there are certain strategies and concepts that you can apply generally, but each monetisation implementation is still 100% custom. That means you’re facing a whole heap of custom coding, all built around your specific business needs and the tech you choose. If you’re focused on cracking API monetisation, don’t give in to the overwhelm – settle down to watch Matt’s helpful presentation instead.
“APIs are unique compared to other products” – Emily Canon
The API Experience podcast, hosted by Matt McLarty and Mike Amundsen, is always a great place to dive into all things API-related. This episode, with Emily Canon, API Product Manager at PEXA, particularly stands out for its insights into what life as an API Product Manager entails. Confident communication, research and validation skills, product strategy expertise and care around monetisation all tie together when it comes to successful product management. This is a timely reminder of why API product management is so important in the current digital landscape.
“Designing APIs as a product means adopting API design thinking” – David Roldán Martínez
Treating APIs as money-making products means thinking of them as products from the outset, as API Strategist David Roldán Martínez recently reminded us. That means thinking carefully about how you design your APIs, from empathising with customers and solving their pain points to the value of ideation, mocking and feedback, David walks us through the intersection of tech, business and UX that underlies product management success.
♟️ Looking to make a move? Current API product management vacancies:
Principal Product Manager – API – UX, via Pivotal Jobs (London/Oxford, UK)
That’s it for this time. If you found this useful, please consider sharing with someone else who may benefit from it!
💥 Got an article, video or event that belongs on this list? Respond to this email telling us why you think it’s useful to product managers learning about APIs and the API lifecycle. If you’d like a shout-out, please include your Twitter, Github handle or LinkedIn URL and the name you’d like including.
💌 And finally… This newsletter is created by Tyk – API management that accelerates your product development. By signing up to this newsletter you’ll be consenting to receiving the next one (and the one after that), but we will never put you on another list without your *explicit* consent. Read the previous edition here.
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