If you're anything like me, you probably built your product because you love building - not because you were dying to become a "growth hacker" or a "personal brand" on social media.
I've built countless things - even products I never launched - just because I love building and every time, I'd get zero traction. Build it and they will come is honestly BS. You need to market your product to get users. It doesn't matter how good your product is if nobody knows it exists.
It's exhausting but necessary. Over time, I've found a few ways to market without feeling like I'm selling my soul.
1. Show Your Work
You don't have to become a full-time build in public guy. But sharing little updates - a screenshot here, a video there - makes people care about what you're building.
I kept posting almost everything I was working on, and it made a difference.
A few people I learned from:
- Rishi Mohan - shares even the smallest stuff he's building.
- Dudu - shows behind-the-scenes of designing Toolfolio.
- Danish - a pro if you're learning about SaaS growth and sales.
You dont have to post every day. Even 1-2 updates a week on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Indie Hackers adds up.
It's not about bragging. It's about showing you're alive and building.
People root for builders.
2. Talk About Problems, Not Features
Nobody cares that your app has multi-user permissions or dark mode. They care if it solves something they've struggled with - something that saves them time or money.
When I was building supersaas.dev, I talked about features like I was explaining them to a friend. Simple. Relatable. It never felt sleazy at all.
3. Friends Over Followers
Instead of chasing thousands of followers, I started meeting interesting people.
If I admired someone, I'd help them - no expectations. More often than not, they'd follow me back naturally. Twitter become way more fun for me.
4. Get Over the Secrecy
Share what you learn. Hoarding knowledge doesn't make you more valuable - it makes you invisible.
5. Build Free Tools
I've always had an itch to build random things. Instead of just getting distracted, I channeled it into making "free tools".
- It brings me steady traffic
- It scratches my itch to build
- It keeps me focused on my main product
- It gives me free exposure without feeling fake