As a SaaS company, you constantly strive to grow your audience and attract new customers. One strategy that can help you achieve this goal is building in public. By sharing your progress, challenges, and successes with your audience, you can engage them in a conversation about your product and build trust and credibility.
But what exactly does building in public mean for SaaS companies? In this growth tactic, we'll explore this concept in detail and provide some examples of how you can implement it in your business.
What is Building in Public?
Building in public means sharing your product development journey with your audience. This includes everything from your initial idea and concept to your product launch and ongoing updates. By doing so, you can build a community around your product and foster engagement and loyalty.
Why Should SaaS Companies Build in Public?
There are several reasons why SaaS companies should consider building in public:
- Transparency: Building in public shows your audience that you're transparent about your product development process. This can help build trust and credibility, which is important for attracting and retaining customers.
- Feedback: Sharing your progress and updates with your audience can help you gather valuable feedback and insights. This can help you improve your product and better meet your customers' needs.
- Marketing: Building in public can also be a powerful marketing tool. By sharing your progress on social media, blogs, and other platforms, you can attract new customers and build your audience.
How Can SaaS Companies Build in Public?
| Content Type | Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Blog Posts | Showcasing Technical Expertise | Discussing how a particular feature was built |
| Usability Blog Posts | Highlighting User Experience | Describing how usability issues were addressed |
| Product Roadmaps | Demonstrating Transparency | Sharing future plans and product development |
| Live Demos | Engaging with Customers | Giving customers a firsthand look at new features |
| Twitter Chats | Building Community | Hosting regular chats to connect with customers |
There are several ways that SaaS companies can build in public:
- Blog Posts: Write blog posts about your product development process, including the challenges you've faced, the solutions you've found, and the lessons you've learned.
- Social Media: Share updates and progress reports on social media platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. This can help you engage with your audience and build a following.
- Communities: Participate in online communities like Reddit, Hacker News, and Product Hunt. Share your updates and progress reports with these communities to attract new customers and build your audience.
- Live Streams: Consider hosting live streams where you can showcase your product development process and answer questions from your audience. This can help you build a more personal connection with your customers.
| SaaS Company | Platform | Building in Public Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Weekly Twitter Chat, Open Blog | |
| Zapier | Medium | Product Launch Blog Posts, Open Culture Blog |
| ConvertKit | Blog | Public Product Roadmap, Live Product Demos |
Example: How Basecamp Built in Public
Basecamp, the popular project management software, is a great example of a SaaS company that has successfully built in public. Here are some examples of how they did it:
- Blog Posts: Basecamp regularly publishes blog posts about their product development process, including their successes and failures. For example, they wrote a blog post about how they cut their sign-up form from 7 fields to 3 fields, which resulted in a 25% increase in sign-ups.
- Social Media: Basecamp is also active on social media platforms like Twitter, where they share updates about their product development process and engage with their audience. For example, they shared a tweet about how they redesigned their onboarding process to make it more user-friendly.
- Live Streams: Basecamp has also hosted live streams where they showcase their product development process and answer questions from their audience. For example, they hosted a live stream where they demonstrated how they use their own product to manage their own projects.
Building in public can be a powerful strategy for SaaS companies looking to grow their audience and attract new customers. By sharing your progress, challenges, and successes with your audience, you can build a community around your product and foster engagement and loyalty. Whether it's through blog posts, social media, communities, or live streams, there are many ways that SaaS companies can build in public and reap the rewards. So start building in public today and see how it can benefit your SaaS company!