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BUILDING A PRODUCT IN PUBLIC
A Practical, Step-by-Step Guide
How to:
• Validate your idea
• Build an audience
• Give your product the best chance at success
... all while focusing most of your time on building!
A thread 
A Practical, Step-by-Step Guide
How to:
• Validate your idea
• Build an audience
• Give your product the best chance at success
... all while focusing most of your time on building!
A thread
Ever worked for 2 years on a project, building custom interfaces until you're 30 pages deep, straining your relationships because you're up at 3am every night, only to launch to no one and make $0?
I have.
There's a better way:
Don't launch to no one
Launch every day
I have.
There's a better way:
Don't launch to no one Launch every day
Three years after deciding to build in public, one of my most popular tweets is: Getting my first customer.
And that tweet actually got me my second and third customers!
Building in public multiplies your wins by duplicating them as social validation. https://twitter.com/panphora/status/1312072099373219841
And that tweet actually got me my second and third customers!
Building in public multiplies your wins by duplicating them as social validation. https://twitter.com/panphora/status/1312072099373219841
How to build in public (TLDR):
Events to tweet:
• An idea occurred to you
• A feeling overtook you
• You developed a feature
• You launched your product
• You received customer feedback
Tell us what happened:
Before the event
During the event
After the event
Events to tweet:
• An idea occurred to you
• A feeling overtook you
• You developed a feature
• You launched your product
• You received customer feedback
Tell us what happened:
Before the event During the event After the event
The goal of building in public is to capture the excitement of a big launch and spread it across many small launches.
Use it to figure out what's important:
• Experiment with messaging
• Build an audience slowly and make friends
• Figure out what your audience wants
Use it to figure out what's important:
• Experiment with messaging
• Build an audience slowly and make friends
• Figure out what your audience wants
Here are the steps — in great detail — that I've seen work for myself, as well as other successful indie founders who are making $10k+ MRR.
Do these steps over 3-6 months and you'll be set up for success!
Do these steps over 3-6 months and you'll be set up for success!
1. You have an idea for a product, community, or course! 
Don't post the idea yet!
First, tell us something about how you came up with the idea!
E.g. "I was looking at a JavaScript tutorial and was sad it wasn't interactive. Do you learn better with interactive content?"
Don't post the idea yet!First, tell us something about how you came up with the idea!
E.g. "I was looking at a JavaScript tutorial and was sad it wasn't interactive. Do you learn better with interactive content?"
2. Post a rough idea of your product, community, or course.
Get a feel for what people like or don't like about your idea. This can just be a sentence or two.
E.g. "I'm thinking about making a beginner JavaScript course. Would you take a JS course with interactive exercises?"
Get a feel for what people like or don't like about your idea. This can just be a sentence or two.
E.g. "I'm thinking about making a beginner JavaScript course. Would you take a JS course with interactive exercises?"
3. Ask a question about how to proceed with your idea — or if anyone has done it before.
E.g. "Which course platform for releasing paid courses do you like the best?"
E.g. "Which course platform for releasing paid courses do you like the best?"
At this point you might start getting nervous:
"I can't ask 3 questions in a row and expect engagement without having an audience of followers / friends."
You're right — it will be slow at first and you'll need to participate in other conversations and offer valuable insights.
"I can't ask 3 questions in a row and expect engagement without having an audience of followers / friends."
You're right — it will be slow at first and you'll need to participate in other conversations and offer valuable insights.
If you don't have many followers when you first start out:
a) Follow people who are building in public and start conversations
b) Improve your profile until it's clear why people should follow you (e.g. add "building in public")
c) Retweet and support other founders' launches
a) Follow people who are building in public and start conversations
b) Improve your profile until it's clear why people should follow you (e.g. add "building in public")
c) Retweet and support other founders' launches
(Super secret extra tip)
Join a small community and talk one-on-one with people who are on the same journey as you.
Sharing your burning questions, deepest fears, life-altering mistakes, and most ambitious goals in public is 1,000% easier when you have friends cheering you on.
Join a small community and talk one-on-one with people who are on the same journey as you.
Sharing your burning questions, deepest fears, life-altering mistakes, and most ambitious goals in public is 1,000% easier when you have friends cheering you on.
Okay, back to the steps! 
4. Post your plan for accomplishing your idea — or talk about the content/features you'll include.
You're trying to measure interest and see where the real value of your idea is.
E.g. "Here's what I plan to cover in my course: a) ... b) ... c) ... Would this be useful to you?"
You're trying to measure interest and see where the real value of your idea is.
E.g. "Here's what I plan to cover in my course: a) ... b) ... c) ... Would this be useful to you?"
5. Work for a few days on the actual product.
But don't wait for a full week before posting again!
If you:
Run into problems
Are having second thoughts
Receive negative feedback and are feeling discouraged
Post about it!
But don't wait for a full week before posting again!
If you:
Run into problems Are having second thoughts Receive negative feedback and are feeling discouraged Post about it!
6. Show the progress you've made so far.
It could be a few lines of code, a blurry screenshot, or a picture of you working.
Just show people you're making progress on something you care about and are moving toward your goal.
This will give them a reason to cheer for you!
It could be a few lines of code, a blurry screenshot, or a picture of you working.
Just show people you're making progress on something you care about and are moving toward your goal.
This will give them a reason to cheer for you!
Don't focus too much on your product's features or technical details.
You're telling a story about what it takes to build a product — that's why people are listening!
Your fans will probably be more interested in your journey as a founder than the final product you release.
You're telling a story about what it takes to build a product — that's why people are listening!
Your fans will probably be more interested in your journey as a founder than the final product you release.
7. Offer a taste of the final product.
Post a tweet with some actual content from your product, community, or course.
It could be a screencast of you using the product, a preview of some community-only content, or a 5 minute video from the first lesson of your course.
Post a tweet with some actual content from your product, community, or course.
It could be a screencast of you using the product, a preview of some community-only content, or a 5 minute video from the first lesson of your course.
8. Post a beta tester / early access sign up form.
Then, when someone signs up, give them a promise of early (or instant!) access to the MVP version of your idea.
People who sign up are your true fans and will probably give you the best feedback over time. Reach out to them!
Then, when someone signs up, give them a promise of early (or instant!) access to the MVP version of your idea.
People who sign up are your true fans and will probably give you the best feedback over time. Reach out to them!
If you don't start to see any traction by this point, it's a big warning sign. 
It's time to either:
a) Switch to a new project
b) Change the messaging
c) Get on the phone and try to sell it one-on-one so you can understand the objections
Don't continue before you fix this.
It's time to either:
a) Switch to a new project
b) Change the messaging
c) Get on the phone and try to sell it one-on-one so you can understand the objections
Don't continue before you fix this.
9. Post a few quotes from early users describing their experience using your product.
This will get other people interested in trying it out too!
E.g. "I wish I had this when I was first learning JavaScript! I'm learning something new every 2 minutes!
"
This will get other people interested in trying it out too!
E.g. "I wish I had this when I was first learning JavaScript! I'm learning something new every 2 minutes!
"
10. Continue developing the product in public.
Keep sharing feature updates and user feedback.
Do your best to add a new feature on the same day someone requests it. This is the #1 way to gain true fans as a product developer.
Now is a good time to add a Preorder/Buy button
Keep sharing feature updates and user feedback.
Do your best to add a new feature on the same day someone requests it. This is the #1 way to gain true fans as a product developer.
Now is a good time to add a Preorder/Buy button
11. You can tell your product is working when it helps your users accomplish a goal that's important to them!
This is a *huge* milestone and worth celebrating.
Ask for testimonials and create a wall of love with a service like http://testimonial.to
Then tweet about it!
This is a *huge* milestone and worth celebrating.
Ask for testimonials and create a wall of love with a service like http://testimonial.to
Then tweet about it!
12. Now that your product is working — it's time to plan your launch!
At least 3 weeks before your big launch day, tell people you're launching.
• Share your goals
• Share your hopes and fears
• Tell everyone what your product will let people do that they couldn't do before
At least 3 weeks before your big launch day, tell people you're launching.
• Share your goals
• Share your hopes and fears
• Tell everyone what your product will let people do that they couldn't do before
Around this point, just before your big launch day, you might start to get nervous. 
Whenever you feel a big feeling like this:
Post about it!
Tell us:
Why you feel this way
What you're doing about it
What you expect to happen as a result
Turn it into a story!
Whenever you feel a big feeling like this:
Post about it!Tell us:
Why you feel this way What you're doing about it What you expect to happen as a resultTurn it into a story!
13. Now — It's your big launch day!
Post to Product Hunt, Hacker News, Subreddits, and your newsletter.
Make sure:
• The product doesn't feel done yet
• The product solves a problem
• Your homepage and launch posts clearly state the problem and how the product solves it
Post to Product Hunt, Hacker News, Subreddits, and your newsletter.
Make sure:
• The product doesn't feel done yet
• The product solves a problem
• Your homepage and launch posts clearly state the problem and how the product solves it
14. After the launch, post feedback you got from a user who signed up during the launch.
It can be negative or positive, as long as it's useful, insightful, or funny.
E.g. "A user messaged me yesterday saying they couldn't login. Turns out they were on the sign up page"
It can be negative or positive, as long as it's useful, insightful, or funny.
E.g. "A user messaged me yesterday saying they couldn't login. Turns out they were on the sign up page
"
15. Post about an update you made to your product because of user feedback.
This will show your audience that your customers are important to you and are active participants in your journey.
E.g. "I changed the sign up page so it has 3 fields and doesn't look like a login page"
This will show your audience that your customers are important to you and are active participants in your journey.
E.g. "I changed the sign up page so it has 3 fields and doesn't look like a login page"
16. Don't stop posting!
You might be overwhelmed by all the feedback you got during the launch.
Worry not! Keep working through it by posting the feedback, making improvements, and sharing your progress.
Your product will really start to shine after a few months of this!
You might be overwhelmed by all the feedback you got during the launch.
Worry not! Keep working through it by posting the feedback, making improvements, and sharing your progress.
Your product will really start to shine after a few months of this!
17. After you've improved the product enough that it can be considered a new version...
LAUNCH IT AGAIN!
Plan a new launch every 3-6 months. Most platforms allow this.
You can even spin off a feature of your product as a new product, launch, and then merge it back in!
LAUNCH IT AGAIN!
Plan a new launch every 3-6 months. Most platforms allow this.
You can even spin off a feature of your product as a new product, launch, and then merge it back in!
The nice thing about the process of building in public is that it's symbiotic.
For every idea you implement:
1. Your audience sees their feedback matters to you
2. They get a product that's more useful
3. You and your idea are validated
4. You get to build something people want!
For every idea you implement:
1. Your audience sees their feedback matters to you
2. They get a product that's more useful
3. You and your idea are validated
4. You get to build something people want!
To top it off, you and your audience get to create a story together: the story of a fledgling idea coming into reality and finding its way.
They get to see it grow and help it along
It's a magical process when it's done well and with the desire to make people's lives better.
They get to see it grow and help it along
It's a magical process when it's done well and with the desire to make people's lives better.
To finish, here are some quick tips that will make your life easier:
1. Pick ONLY ONE marketing strategy to test at a time and commit to it
2. Pick ONLY ONE platform/audience and commit
3. Funnel people to a newsletter
If you're a solo founder, this is the way to do marketing.
1. Pick ONLY ONE marketing strategy to test at a time and commit to it
2. Pick ONLY ONE platform/audience and commit
3. Funnel people to a newsletter
If you're a solo founder, this is the way to do marketing.
If you experiment with more than one marketing strategy at once, you'll quickly run out of time for coding/building.
Want to contact everyone who wants to follow you or loves your product?
Twitter/Facebook/SEO/etc. all have algorithms that change and can filter you out
A newsletter is the most reliable way of contacting people and making sure they hear you
Platform risk is real.
Twitter/Facebook/SEO/etc. all have algorithms that change and can filter you out A newsletter is the most reliable way of contacting people and making sure they hear youPlatform risk is real.
For your marketing strategy, I recommend building in public (obviously )
It's amazing because it takes your effort in:
• coding
• thinking
• designing
• researching
And duplicates it as:
• marketing
• customer support
• outreach
+ the community is warm and supportive!
)It's amazing because it takes your effort in:
• coding
• thinking
• designing
• researching
And duplicates it as:
• marketing
• customer support
• outreach
+ the community is warm and supportive!
Here's how to get started:
1. Sign up for @GetMakerlog, @weekendclubHQ, Twitter, or another community that lets you build in public
2. Post what you're working on before, during, and after it's done (i.e. follow this guide)
3. Ask for help/support/feedback when you need it
1. Sign up for @GetMakerlog, @weekendclubHQ, Twitter, or another community that lets you build in public
2. Post what you're working on before, during, and after it's done (i.e. follow this guide)
3. Ask for help/support/feedback when you need it
I hope you enjoyed this thread!
I think our biggest competitive advantage as indie makers is being radically transparent and 100% customer-focused.
I believe building in public is the right way to take this mission on.
I think our biggest competitive advantage as indie makers is being radically transparent and 100% customer-focused.
I believe building in public is the right way to take this mission on.
If you're still a little nervous that your followers won't care about your life updates...
I posted another guide yesterday — all about why your build-in-public journey as an indie maker will be fascinating to
MANY people
https://twitter.com/panphora/status/1377668900888981519
I posted another guide yesterday — all about why your build-in-public journey as an indie maker will be fascinating to
MANY people https://twitter.com/panphora/status/1377668900888981519
Back to the top of this thread: https://twitter.com/panphora/status/1377976423269433346
Will this build in public guide help you have more confidence building / launching / growing a product?
Click here to retweet and share it! https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=1377976423269433346
Click here to retweet and share it! https://twitter.com/intent/retweet?tweet_id=1377976423269433346
