Build in Public: What to Post on X When You Launch
Lukas10 min read
Lukas10 min read
"Build in public" sounds simple until you open X on launch day and stare at an empty post box. What do you actually say that isn't "Please support my launch 馃檹"?
Here is the honest answer from one maker to another: posts get attention, but attention fades within hours. What lasts is a place your posts point to, where every visit is counted and people who never saw your post can still find you. That's why every template in this guide is built around one link, and why the worked example throughout is BuildShipper, a free weekly launch board ranked by real clicks.
Below you'll find 12 post ideas for before, during and after launch, with templates you can copy and make your own. No growth hacks, no promises about the algorithm.
People follow makers to watch something get built. They don't follow to be asked for favours.
A good build in public post does at least one of these:
"Go upvote my launch" does none of them. "Here's the bug that almost killed launch day, and how I fixed it" does all three.
There's a second half to the rule: give the attention somewhere to land. A post on X is gone from most timelines by the evening. A listing on a public board keeps working all week. On BuildShipper, your project page shows clicks this week, clicks today and clicks all time, plus a table of daily clicks for the last 14 days. That turns "I posted about it" into "I can see what my posts actually did".
Start with the pain, not the product.
I kept losing track of [problem]. Tried [tool A] and [tool B]. Both did too much. So I'm building a tiny thing that only does [job]. Shipping next week.
Post a screenshot of an early, rough version next to the current one. Progress is more interesting than polish.
Week 1 vs week 6 of [project]. Still not pretty. But it works now, which week-1 me would not believe.
Share a choice you made and why. This gets replies because people have opinions.
Cut 3 features before launch: [A], [B], [C]. Keeping only [core job]. Was this a mistake? Tell me.
A good decision to share at this stage is where you'll launch. If you're still choosing, our where to launch page and the best launch directories list are quick reads. Plenty of makers bookmark buildshipper.com at this point simply because it keeps those launch resources in one place.
Two screenshots, a short question. Low effort to answer, so people do.
Landing page A or B? Launching Monday, can't decide.
Short and specific. Pick a Monday if you can (more on why below).
[Project] goes live Monday. It does one thing: [job], for [who]. I'll post the link here when it's up.
Put the most important thing first: what it does and who it's for. Then one visual. Then the link.
[Project] is live. It helps [who] do [job] without [pain]. [screenshot or 20-second clip] Free to try: [link]
Some makers put the link in a reply instead of the main post. Try both on different days and see what gets more clicks for you. Your own numbers beat anyone's theory, which is exactly why it helps to have a page that counts them.
This is where your listing earns its keep. If you submitted your project to BuildShipper (it's free, and it takes a URL to start because the form fills in the name, tagline and image for you), share the project page rather than just your homepage. Every visit through that page is a click that moves you up the weekly board, and the ranking is clicks first, with likes only breaking a tie.
The project page even has a share button that writes the post for you, along the lines of "We are #5 on BuildShipper this week", with a Share on X button and a copy link option next to it.
[Project] is on BuildShipper this week. If you try it, I'd love one line of honest feedback in the comments there: [project page link]
Ask for feedback, never for votes. Many boards discourage vote requests, and the Show HN guidelines say it plainly: "Please don't ask friends to upvote or comment." On a click-ranked board like BuildShipper the point is moot anyway, since a curious visitor is what counts, not a favour from a friend.
If you also post on other boards the same day, that's fine. Put BuildShipper first in your launch thread, though, because it's the one where you can watch the clicks arrive in public and share the result.
A few hours in, share something real: a surprising comment, the first signup from a stranger, a bug someone found.
First signup from someone I don't know. From [country]. Using it for [unexpected use case]. Did not see that coming.
If someone reports a bug, fix it fast and say so publicly. It's the best proof that you're around.
Someone found that [bug]. Fixed in 20 minutes. Thanks @[person] (if they're fine being tagged).
People love real numbers, even small ones. Share what actually happened, not what you hoped.
Launch week for [project]: [X] visitors [Y] signups [Z] people replied with feedback Biggest surprise: [one thing]
Your BuildShipper project page makes this one easy. Screenshot the clicks for the week and the 14-day table if they tell a story. If you finish the week on top, the project page also offers a winner badge you can paste on your site, and the week is added to the past winners page. That's a numbers post that writes itself.
What you'd do differently. This is the post that gets shared by other makers.
3 things I'd change about my launch: 1. [lesson] 2. [lesson] 3. [lesson] Doing round 2 in a month with these fixed.
End the launch by inviting people into the next chapter.
Top request from launch week: [feature]. Building it now. Want early access? Reply and I'll send it first.
| Day | Post | | --- | --- | | Mon (week before) | Problem post | | Wed | Ugly first version | | Fri | Decision post | | Sun | Help me pick, plus submit your listing so it's ready | | Mon (launch) | Launch date (morning), launch post, where to find it | | Mon to Tue | Live update, fix post | | Fri | Numbers post | | Mon (week after) | Lessons post, what's next |
The plan lines up with a weekly board on purpose. On BuildShipper the week runs from Monday 00:00 UTC to the next Monday, and the board resets then. Launch on Monday and every post in your launch week feeds the same week's ranking, and your Friday numbers post lands while you're still on the board.
X published the source code for its recommendation system in the twitter/the-algorithm repository on GitHub. People read a lot into it. My advice: don't build your launch around guesses about weights. Post things people want to reply to, reply to them, and measure your own clicks. A click count on a public page tells you more about your launch than any theory about ranking signals.
You don't have to share everything. Revenue, struggles and mistakes are all optional. A good rule: share what you'd be happy to read back in a year.
And you don't need to post every day. Three good posts a week beat seven filler posts. If you're starting from zero followers, read how to launch a side project without an audience and how to get your first 100 users. Both lean on the same idea: put your work where people already browse, and let your posts send people there.
Posts get attention. A listing gives that attention a place to land and a number you can share. That's the simplest reason to list your project on BuildShipper before your first launch post goes out: it's free, every listing gets a followed backlink from its project page, the ranking is real clicks, and the project page hands you the share text, the click table and the badges you need for the posts above.
It also works the other way. When you're stuck on what to post, browse the board on buildshipper.com and see what other makers launched this week. Replying to them, or trying their product and saying what you liked, is honest build in public content too.
Start with the problem you're solving and why you care. It's easy to write, easy to relate to, and it doesn't need a finished product.
A few times a week is plenty. Around launch week, posting daily is fine because you have real news every day.
Only if you're comfortable. Visitors, signups and feedback counts tell a good story too, and many makers share those instead.
Ask for feedback, not votes. Show HN asks people not to recruit upvotes, and feedback requests get better replies anyway. On a click-ranked board like BuildShipper, sharing your project page is enough, because real visits are what move you up.
Link to one page that counts visits. A free BuildShipper listing is a good starting point: it shows clicks this week, today and all time, gives you a share button for X, and keeps your project visible on a weekly board after your post has scrolled away.
If this list helped, bookmark buildshipper.com before your next launch. We keep adding launch directories, posting tips and new maker projects there, so it's an easy place to come back to when the post box is empty again.
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