Has anyone here actually benefitted from building in public? If so how?
The advice I hear a lot is "Start getting your idea out there sooner!", "Try building in public!", etc. Sound advice in theory, you start talking about your product earlier, you're bound to have more people listening earlier. However, the skeptic in me wonders if this is actually working as planned for anyone here?
Not saying it doesn't work by any means, I'm pretty ignorant on it, but to play devils advocate it seems like a lot of Twitter links I click from threads on here for example, have accounts with a good amount of build in public posts but have a few likes and maybe one or two retweets. And that doesn't take into account that some of that engagement is from other makers on here following the story not potential customers. Again, NOT trying to dissuade anyone, just wondering what benefits people are actually seeing from their build in public efforts?
If your goal is user feedback or getting more exposure, then it is dependent on the size of your community and following. However, if you simply want to document your journey, then it's beneficial for you.
I'm currently documenting my journey on TapeReal through audio and video only. As a solo/indie Founder, it's been helpful from a mental health side of things... sometimes, it's good to speak your ideas, thoughts, struggles into existence... I personally find it therapeutic and helpful in capturing lessons I'm learning along the way.
I built my paid community in public last month, and every time I posted an update to the Twitter thread, I got new waitlist signups :)
I'm also planning to build two projects in public this month, an SEO workshop and a Twitter engagement tracking tool.
Both of these should attract people who are a fit for my newsletter and the community.
I do already have a Twitter following which I grew from blogging and conference speaking though, so I can't speak to how it works if you are literally starting from scratch.
Building in public (and blogging about it) has added hundreds of new followers though, because people find it interesting to get a peek behind the curtain!
Very cool and totally agree... sharing your journey gives people a "behind-the-scenes" and realistic view of your journey. I'm currently using TapeReal for social journaling and sharing my progress.
It's all about the feedback. Sometimes the communitie sees things you simply weren't aware of. Especially when you're start building. Spitting out ideas, or questions and receiving input on them, can spark a process you wouldn't have figured out on your own.
My guess is taht depends on what you are building, but in some cases it can be a good marketing strategy. IFor example the story of this indie game developer:
https://youtu.be/Zk89lFOkTqI?t=151
essentially he kept posting images/gift of his videogame taht was WIP and this allowed him to get into the wish list of many people before launching.
Building in Public has been very helpful for my project VenturesList because I know the majority of my audiences on Twitter, LinkedIn is within my radar.
I spent 4 weeks, posting weekly to report my progress such as crappy wireframe, sign ups of waitlist, the tools I used etc. Not a strong number but I managed to receive a humble 110 pre-launch waitlisters.
I think the whole concept of Building in Public is basically a new form of marketing but at it’s pre-launch stage. It’s also helpful if you maintain the moment after launch.
Does it help in acquiring customers? Maybe yes, maybe no. I got my first 2 customers for https://joyful.gifts/ via building in public. But, to me - that’s not even the real reason to do it.
I do it to stay motivated and accountable. When you put out there that you will do X by Z timeline, it gets done!
Hey Justin! 👋
That would be me. I used to tell people "I don't have anything valuable to say on Twitter or Indie Hackers". Well, turns out I was wrong and people like to read about my experiences building stuff.
I had 40 followers on Twitter late June I think, and this has ballooned to 2,700+ followers, dozens of true friends (the real benefit) and 300+ customers of my info product running into thousands of dollars in sales. So yes, it works!
I just love how building in public helped me connect with other like-minded people and whenever I get stuck on problems, people come forward to support willingly. I never feel alone. The upsides are tremendous.
Check out my feature in Build In Public
Awesome, glad to hear it does pay off! And it sounds like the main gain is the community and the connections not necessarily the customers (though that seems that really took off too!). That really strikes me because I would LOVE to have a community of like minded people that could potentially help guide and shape my work, and follow my journey, thanks for sharing yours!
All the best!
Amazing! I'm currently documenting my journey through audio and video on TapeReal, so hearing success stories like this is quite inspirational.