Table of Contents
I recently tweeted about how Twitter helped me launch a successful career in Silicon Valley, and this is the subject of a video I’m currently working on for my Youtube channel. While Twitter was the tool, the approach I used is called “building in public”. In this post, I’ll answer the basic questions from my experience:
What is building in public?
Building in public is just being transparent about what you’re working on.
Building in public means that you document your process and learnings, and share your wins and failures, everything involved with building your project. You share these details openly and in real time. When you build in public, you tell your story not as an anecdote from the past, but as an ongoing series as they happen everyday.
Several successful companies are being built in public, and my own career took off because of my willingness to be open about my process and story from the beginning.
Why should I build in public?
There are several benefits of building in public.
Own Your Story
When you’re building in public, you’re the one telling your story. You’re the reporter to covers the piece, so you have full control over the narrative. You own the story, and the words and tone you use to communicate it will build your company’s brand, and your personal brand.
So make sure that you treat this as an opportunity to tell your story, and be strategic about it.
Foster Trust
Building in public is the best way to declare honesty as your core value. When you’re transparent about your process, you develop authenticity and credibility as a builder and you declare that your core values are honesty and courage.
This is the easiest way to foster trust with strangers who will follow your journey and build trust with you as a builder. And when they find your products, they are more likely to believe you when you pitch your project as the best solution for their use.
Find Your Tribe
When you build in public and consistently put out content about you work online, you increase your digital footprint and make it more likely to create connections that do not yet exist. When you put yourself out there repeatedly, you make it more likely to be found by like-minded strangers, or builders in the same niche, which will then lead to more synergy and opportunities.
Building in public engineers serendipity that will completely transform your life and career.
Gain Your Early Supporters
When you share your wins and failures transparently, you attract a tribe of your first supporters and cheerleaders who will witness all your milestones. They will be your first users, mentors, and customers who will go out of their way to root for your success.
This is invaluable as a builder, or as someone who might be searching for a job. Building in public gets you your first supporters who will offer advice, introduce you to their circles, and bring in opportunities for you that will propel you even further.
Accountability
Building in public and sharing your story with the world means that you cannot give up midway. Because failures are just part of your story, they will not hurt you as much or make you want to give up. You’ll push yourself through challenges with the support of your audience and stay accountable to your tribe and yourself.
How can I get started with building in public?
So if you’re convinced that you want to build in public, here are a few tips for you to get started.
Start on Twitter
The best platform for building in public is Twitter because its character constraints prove to be an advantage for you to quickly post an update about your work at the end of every day. If you’re more adventurous, you can do it on Instagram or Youtube in the form of video, but since visual content is harder to produce, it might eat into your time.
Share Your Metrics
If you’re bootstrapping a startup or building a company, share your metrics openly and regularly. What was your revenue this month, and how many customers did you gain? Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable, and make sure you share details of your profit, churn, and other metrics that people usually are private about.
Document Your Journey
Another way to build in public is simply to document your journey. This is a daily vlog style update that you post about the progress you made that day in building your project. Consistently posting these kind of updates, while being humble and accepting feedback and suggestions will make it more likely for you to attract support from unlikely places.
Learning in Public
If you’re just starting your journey and have no product or ideas, just pick a field and learn it in public. Turn up every single day and post and update about what you learned that day.
That’s how I started learning no code in public. I started with learning Bubble, and within a month I not only had a fully functioning app, but also a tribe of supporters who opened the opportunities that launched my new career and transformed my life.
➡️ Start Here
So if you’re ready to start building in public, click here to post a tweet I already wrote for you. Simply publish it to get started, and I will join you on your journey!
