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Build in Public Playbook

A comprehensive guide to building in public. Learn how to share your journey, grow an audience, and create accountability while building.

4phases•20tasks•~Ongoing

Phases & Tasks

Choose your platform(s)
30m
Twitter is the default for tech. LinkedIn for B2B. Blog for depth.
Define your sharing cadence
15m
Daily updates? Weekly recaps? Pick something sustainable.
Create content templates
1h
Progress update template, lesson learned format, milestone announcement.
Set up simple metrics tracking
30m
Spreadsheet with MRR, users, followers. Update weekly.
Write your "why I'm building this" post
1h 30m
Origin story. Why this problem? Why you? Be authentic.

Share what you built today (with screenshots)
15m
Show the work. Screenshots > descriptions. GIFs > screenshots.
Share blockers and how you solved them
20m
People love problem-solving content. "Spent 3 hours on X, here's what worked."
Share metrics honestly (including bad ones)
10m
Authenticity builds trust. $0 MRR is fine to share. $100 is worth celebrating.
Engage with others building in public
30m
Comment on others' posts. Build relationships. Don't just broadcast.
Respond to every comment/reply
20m
Your followers are your community. Treat them that way.

Celebrate publicly (first user, first dollar, etc.)
15m
Small wins matter. "First paying customer!" is great content.
Write detailed retrospectives at milestones
2h
Monthly or quarterly. What happened, what you learned, what's next.
Share lessons learned
45m
Turn failures into content. "I tried X, here's why it failed."
Thank supporters by name
15m
Call out early users, helpful community members, collaborators.
Cross-post to communities
30m
Indie Hackers, Reddit, Discord. Milestone posts do well in communities.

Repurpose tweets → blog posts → threads
1h
Popular tweets become blog posts. Blog posts become Twitter threads.
Build relationships with fellow builders
45m
DM people you admire. Offer help. Collaborate on content.
Guest on podcasts or do interviews
1h
Your journey is interesting. Reach out to indie maker podcasts.
Create a "journey so far" summary
1h 30m
Pinned tweet or blog post summarizing your build in public journey.
Help newcomers starting their journey
30m
Pay it forward. Answer questions, share advice, be welcoming.

Ready to start this playbook?