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42 Comments

How do I start building in public?

I don't have a very large audience (just 7 followers on twitter)

I was thinking about building in public. Should I just start tweeting about it or should I build an audience first?

EDIT: Thank you eveyone for the replies and upvotes. I hope this helps other people too. I made my first #buildinginpublic post on twitter. You can check it out at: https://twitter.com/hey_eflat/status/1529302318331703296?s=20&t=JDnlOSNJfwi6x5AQFZWiBw

  1. 7

    I've never been good at this so take my advice with a grain of salt, but if I'd start today, I would post short updates on Twitter on a daily basis and I'd post bigger milestones here, on IH.
    Joining to a community like Makerlog or Wip.chat can also help to find like-minded people and probably gain some followers.
    Also check out https://buildinpublic.com/ and try to interact with others who are building in public.
    What is the main reason you'd like to build in public?

    1. 3

      I think building in public is a good way to build an audience for the project. If there is absolutely no traction, then I guess that serves as validation that the product doesn't have a market.

      1. 4

        I mostly agree but only if you share your progress on a platform where your target audience is present.
        Also, if you'd like to validate an idea probably it's better to build a simple prototype first and reach out to potential customers with that. If they are interested you can let them know that you are building the thing in public and they can follow your progress on eg. Twitter where they can also send you feedback and feature requests.

        1. 1

          I don’t have an audience yet. Of course my first few projects will be trash, but at least I can build an audience by building in public. Then I can share prototypes with them on twitter. E.g levelsio shared an excel file on twitter, which turned into nomadlist.com. I think its growth would’ve taken much longer if he didn’t already have an audience.

          1. 2

            Yes, but he probably shared it there because his potential customers were there as well. So if your target audience is on Twitter, and you want to acquire customers through Twitter then it's a great platform of choice to share your progress there. If you can create a persona for your ideal customer, that'll help with this question as well.

  2. 3

    Post on TikTok/LinkedIn and keep it real. The wins/losses/good days/bad days. We all want to hear your authentic journey!

    Good luck!

    Also -- What's your product?

    1. 1

      Thank you.

      I am building a simple time management app. The landing page will be up soon.

  3. 2

    I agree with everyone who has written before - no need to make it difficult - just start posting daily, subscribe to interesting people. Invite new users to sign up.
    We didn't really believe in the power of Twitter at first either. But in fact, when we essentially moved all of the communication with potential users of our product there, the community began to grow. Of all the social networks, I like Twitter the best).
    https://twitter.com/my_inqoob

  4. 2

    Just do it! It helps you stay accountable to yourself.

    Question: should one use #buildinpublic or #buildinginpublic ? Or both?

    1. 2

      Haha, I posted this question on Twitter. I think I'll use both.

  5. 2

    You just did! dont make the #buildinpublic thing your main job stay focus and in the process of working on whatever you're doing you'll get many insights and push backs, share it on a weekly bases, one of the most important things in building a community is to be consistent

  6. 2

    Every time you finish a task you are proud to share it with your audience. I have been doing that today with my PH launch... I keep updating this tweet with the latest stats.

    1. 1

      That's a very good example

  7. 2

    Great tips below! I grew my local dumpling business while building in public on facebook and instagram. I've had industry experts reach out to me to nudge me in the right direction.

    My 2 cents: Share what you are going through, what you are looking forward to, your milestones (if you hit any, your targets, etc). Along the way, you will start to interact with people who are in your industry and will give you good advice as well.

    You never know who is watching. Some people might not interact with your posts, but they are watching until the right time comes.

    Definitely worth it to build in public. I plan on doing it for my next projects as well. Good luck!

    1. 1

      Thank you for the insights. Good luck to you too

  8. 2

    I think you should work on your audience first and have more followers.

  9. 2

    Build your audience first.

    1. 1

      That is the reason for building in public

  10. 2

    I think that I would use landing pages with gating newsletter for premium content.
    Post the landing pages on social media. (alternatively use posts in IH with links to the gated materials).
    Send more premium content on the newsletter.
    I am building a gating technology for specific niches myself (not ready for public yet, still a bit shy about it). But I do have customers I am working with.

  11. 2

    Just start, you know.

    I simply started posting things and I grew my Twitter following alongside the work on Deployment from Scratch. Here's the story.

  12. 2
    1. Choose your niche
    2. Determine Target Audience
    3. Build your content
    4. Publish on social
      ....etc
  13. 2

    I would use social media to tell about the process of building and the product in general even if I didn't have a lot of followers. Twitter, Youtube, other platforms.. Also following other founders/developers sounds like a good idea.

  14. 2

    I think this could help: https://readmake.com/
    Especially the section on where to launch.
    It's from @levelsio

  15. 2

    I'm trying out live-streaming to YouTube. I found writing to be too time consuming and tweeting to be too short. I also think video helps you get to know someone more authentically than just text :)

    1. 2

      That's a good idea. I might just start doing that

      1. 1

        I just did my first one today, there definitely is a learning curve getting comfortable talking to the camera…

        https://youtu.be/le63ZuPeseI

        Let me know once you start yours :)

        1. 2

          Good luck with the journey and otechie

          1. 1

            Thanks, good luck to you too!

  16. 2

    Probably on Twitter. Tweet 24/7 about what you do

  17. 1

    TikTok seems like the way to go

    1. 1

      Could be fun, what do you have in mind? Videos showing new features/updates? Or maybe not even directly showing the actual product?

      1. 2

        Both. I am going to quit my job in a couple months and nightly vlog what I learn, with an emphasis on indie hackers knowledge, and also just post vibes. I feel like TikTok is a super cool platform for building in public. Was into Twitter for a while but I think TikTok is the place to be. Just made an account :). I'll follow back anyone who follows me.
        https://www.tiktok.com/@elliottetzkorn

        1. 1

          you got me to make a tiktok account after all this time

          1. 1

            Awesome, followed you :)

        2. 1

          Nice! I love the idea of bringing people along on the journey by posting about topics half-related to the product (lifestyle, mindset, meeting people, etc.)

  18. 1

    Go watch my first million podcast, they discuss this.

  19. 1

    Don't over think it

    When you're starting there are no rules - just record, create and post somewhere.

    For example.

    DM if any detailed questions.

    1. 2

      We're both working on products in the same niche. Very nice example.

  20. 1

    You should focus on creating great content. Don´t create content thinking about followers, share your value.

  21. 1

    Você pode inicia com conteúdo em si ou resultados que pretende alcançar. Pode definir um grupo alvo e ter um linguagem voltada para eles, mas pode estar disputo a conhecer sempre mais. Converse com pessoas que já estão fazendo isso, participe de uma comunidade com essa mesma busca sua.

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