Build in Public

Overview

Patterns for transparent development and effective public communication. Covers progress sharing, changelog writing, social media updates, community engagement, and milestone announcements. Build trust and audience while shipping.

When to Use

• Building a product with public progress updates
• Maintaining a changelog
• Announcing releases and milestones
• Growing an audience through development journey
• Engaging with developer communities

Quick Reference

Update Type	Frequency	Platform
Ship Log	Daily/Weekly	Twitter, Blog
Changelog	Per release	Website, GitHub
Milestone	Monthly	All platforms
Deep Dive	Monthly	Blog, Newsletter
Retrospective	Quarterly	Blog, Newsletter

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Progress Sharing

Daily Ship Log Format

## Ship Log: [Date]

### Shipped Today
- [Feature/fix]: [Brief description]
- [Feature/fix]: [Brief description]

### In Progress
- [What I'm working on]

### Learnings
- [Insight or lesson]

### Tomorrow
- [Next priority]

---
#buildinpublic #[project]

Weekly Update Format

## Week [N] Update: [Project Name]

### Summary
[2-3 sentences on overall progress]

### Highlights
- [Achievement 1]
- [Achievement 2]
- [Achievement 3]

### Metrics
- Users: [X] (+Y%)
- Revenue: $[X] (+Y%)
- [Custom metric]: [Value]

### Challenges
- [Challenge faced and how resolved]

### Next Week
- [ ] [Goal 1]
- [ ] [Goal 2]
- [ ] [Goal 3]

### Screenshot/Demo
[Include visual progress when possible]

Monthly Retrospective

## Month [N] Retrospective: [Project Name]

### The Numbers
| Metric | Start | End | Change |
|--------|-------|-----|--------|
| Users | X | Y | +Z% |
| Revenue | $X | $Y | +Z% |
| Features | X | Y | +Z |

### What Shipped
1. **[Feature]**: [Impact description]
2. **[Feature]**: [Impact description]
3. **[Feature]**: [Impact description]

### What Worked
- [Strategy/approach that succeeded]
- [Decision that paid off]

### What Didn't Work
- [Approach that failed]
- [Lesson learned]

### Key Learnings
1. [Learning with context]
2. [Learning with context]

### Next Month Goals
- [ ] [Measurable goal]
- [ ] [Measurable goal]
- [ ] [Measurable goal]

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Changelog Writing

Changelog Format (Keep a Changelog)

# Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).

## [Unreleased]

### Added
- New feature description

### Changed
- Existing functionality that changed

### Deprecated
- Features that will be removed

### Removed
- Features that were removed

### Fixed
- Bug fixes

### Security
- Security updates

## [1.0.0] - 2024-01-15

### Added
- Initial release with core features
- User authentication
- Dashboard

Release Notes Template

# [Project] v[X.Y.Z] Release Notes

**Release Date**: [Date]

## Highlights

[2-3 sentence summary of most important changes]

## New Features

### [Feature Name]
[Description with screenshot/gif if applicable]

**How to use:**
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]

### [Feature Name]
[Description]

## Improvements

- **[Area]**: [What improved and why it matters]
- **[Area]**: [What improved and why it matters]

## Bug Fixes

- Fixed [bug description] (#issue)
- Fixed [bug description] (#issue)

## Breaking Changes

- **[Change]**: [Migration guide]

## Upgrade Guide

```bash
npm install [package]@latest

[Additional upgrade steps if needed]

Acknowledgments

Thanks to [contributors] for their contributions!

### User-Friendly Changelog

```markdown
## What's New in [Project] - [Month Year]

Hey [user type]!

Here's what we've been building for you:

### [Emoji] [Feature Name]
[Plain language description of benefit]

### [Emoji] [Improvement]
[Plain language description of benefit]

### Bug Squashing
- [Fixed issue in plain terms]
- [Fixed issue in plain terms]

---

Questions? Reply to this email or [contact method].

Happy [using/building/shipping]!
[Your name]

---

Social Media Updates

Twitter/X Templates

Ship Update (Short)

Just shipped: [Feature] in [Project]

[1 sentence benefit]

[Screenshot/GIF]

#buildinpublic

Progress Thread

[Project] Week [N] Thread

Here's what I shipped this week:

1/[N]

Milestone Announcement

[Emoji] Milestone: [Achievement]!

[Project] just hit [metric].

Here's how we got here:

[Thread or brief story]

Thank you to everyone using [product]!

Lesson Learned

Lesson from building [Project]:

[Insight in 1-2 sentences]

Context: [Brief story]

The fix: [What I did differently]

#buildinpublic

Asking for Feedback

Building: [Feature]

I'm torn between:
A) [Option A]
B) [Option B]

Which would you prefer and why?

[Screenshot of both options]

LinkedIn Template

[Emoji] [Milestone/Achievement] at [Project]

[2-3 paragraphs telling the story]

Key learnings:
- [Learning 1]
- [Learning 2]
- [Learning 3]

If you're interested in [topic], I'm sharing the journey at [link].

#buildinpublic #[relevant hashtags]

Content Calendar Template

Day	Content Type	Topic
Mon	Ship update	Weekend progress
Tue	Insight/Lesson	Technical learning
Wed	Engagement	Ask question
Thu	Behind scenes	Process/tool
Fri	Weekly summary	Week highlights
Sat	-	Rest
Sun	Plan sharing	Next week goals

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Community Engagement

Announcement Posts

Product Hunt Launch

# [Product Name] - [Tagline]

Hey Product Hunt!

I'm [Name], and I've been building [Product] for [time period].

## The Problem
[2-3 sentences on the problem]

## The Solution
[What your product does]

## Key Features
- [Feature 1]: [Benefit]
- [Feature 2]: [Benefit]
- [Feature 3]: [Benefit]

## Pricing
[Simple pricing explanation]

## Special for PH
[Any launch offer]

Would love your feedback!

Hacker News Launch

Show HN: [Product Name] - [Concise description]

[1 paragraph on what it is and why you built it]

Tech stack: [Brief stack overview]

Would love feedback, especially on [specific aspect].

[Link]

Reddit Post

[Descriptive title with context]

Hey r/[subreddit],

[Genuine intro - why you're posting here]

**The Problem**: [Context they'll relate to]

**What I Built**: [Brief description]

**Key Features**:
- [Feature relevant to this community]
- [Feature relevant to this community]

**Looking For**: [Specific feedback request]

[Link - follow subreddit rules]

Happy to answer any questions!

Engagement Best Practices

## Engagement Guidelines

### DO
- [ ] Respond to every comment
- [ ] Ask follow-up questions
- [ ] Thank people genuinely
- [ ] Share credit with helpers
- [ ] Engage with others' content
- [ ] Be consistent in posting
- [ ] Show vulnerability/struggles
- [ ] Celebrate others' wins

### DON'T
- [ ] Only post about yourself
- [ ] Ignore negative feedback
- [ ] Delete critical comments
- [ ] Use engagement bait
- [ ] Spam communities
- [ ] Fake metrics or progress
- [ ] Overpromise features
- [ ] Ghost after launching

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Milestone Announcements

Types of Milestones

Milestone	Example	Celebration Level
User milestones	100, 1K, 10K users	High
Revenue milestones	First $, $1K MRR	High
Feature milestones	V1, major release	Medium
Personal milestones	1 year building	Medium
Technical milestones	99.9% uptime	Low-Medium

Milestone Post Template

## [Emoji] [Project] just hit [Milestone]!

[1-2 sentences of genuine excitement]

### The Journey
[Brief timeline of how you got here]

- [Date]: [Event]
- [Date]: [Event]
- [Date]: Today!

### What Made This Possible
1. [Factor 1]
2. [Factor 2]
3. [Factor 3]

### Learnings
[Most valuable insight from reaching this milestone]

### What's Next
[Your focus going forward]

### Thank You
[Genuine thanks to users/community/supporters]

---

If you're curious about [project]: [Link]

#buildinpublic #milestone

Revenue Milestone (Transparent)

## [Project] hit $[X] MRR - Here's everything

[Brief intro on why sharing]

### The Numbers (All of them)
- **MRR**: $[X]
- **Customers**: [Y]
- **ARPU**: $[Z]
- **Churn**: [A]%
- **Runway**: [B] months

### Revenue Breakdown
[Chart or table if possible]

### How We Got Here
[Timeline with key decisions]

### What Didn't Work
[Honest failures]

### What Worked
[Successful strategies]

### Expenses
[Real costs breakdown]

### Net
$[Actual profit/loss]

---

AMA in the comments!

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Content Templates

Dev Log Blog Post

# Dev Log #[N]: [Title]

*[Date]*

## This Week's Focus
[What I planned to work on]

## What Actually Happened
[Reality vs plan]

## Technical Deep Dive
[One interesting technical challenge]

### The Problem
[What I was trying to solve]

### Approaches Tried
1. [Approach 1]: [Result]
2. [Approach 2]: [Result]

### The Solution
```code
[Relevant code snippet]

Why This Works

[Explanation]

Metrics Update

Metric	Last Week	This Week
[Metric]	[Value]	[Value]

Next Week

• [Priority 1]
• [Priority 2]

Random Thought

[Something interesting that came up]

### Newsletter Template

```markdown
Subject: [Project] Update: [Catchy Summary]

Hey [First Name],

[Personal opening - 1-2 sentences]

## What's New

### [Feature/Update 1]
[Brief description with screenshot]

### [Feature/Update 2]
[Brief description]

## Behind the Scenes
[One interesting story from development]

## Numbers
[Key metrics if sharing publicly]

## What's Coming
[Preview of next updates]

## One Ask
[Specific request - feedback, share, etc.]

---

Thanks for following along!

[Your name]

P.S. [Fun fact or teaser]

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Consistency Framework

Building in Public Pledge

## My Build in Public Commitment

I commit to:
- [ ] Share progress [frequency]
- [ ] Be honest about failures
- [ ] Respond to feedback
- [ ] Share real numbers
- [ ] Help others building

I will NOT:
- [ ] Fake metrics
- [ ] Hide struggles
- [ ] Spam communities
- [ ] Abandon consistency

Metrics to Track

## Build in Public Metrics

### Engagement
- Followers: [X]
- Avg. engagement rate: [Y]%
- Newsletter subscribers: [Z]

### Impact
- Referral signups: [X]
- Community mentions: [Y]
- Press/features: [Z]

### Consistency
- Posts this month: [X]
- Streak: [Y] days
- Response rate: [Z]%

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Red Flags - STOP

Never:

• Fake metrics or progress
• Overpromise timelines
• Ignore negative feedback
• Abandon community after launch
• Spam same content everywhere
• Be inconsistent without explanation

Always:

• Be authentic about struggles
• Give credit to helpers
• Respond to comments
• Share real numbers
• Stay consistent
• Celebrate others' wins

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Integration

Related skills: idea-to-product, analytics, seo-content-generation Platforms: Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Product Hunt, Hacker News, Dev.to