Building in Public: How Transparency Became Our Best Lead Generation Channel

In the traditional playbook, lead generation often meant polished ad campaigns, targeted outreach, and carefully curated case studies. The process was secretive, the metrics were private, and the “how” was hidden behind a shiny final product.

Then something shifted.

A movement began among founders, creators, and developers: Building in Public.

It started as a Twitter trend, a way for indie hackers to share progress and stay accountable. But for our company, it evolved into something far more powerful: our single most effective channel for generating high-quality, trusting leads. Here’s how we turned raw transparency into a growth engine.

What “Building in Public” Really Means for Us

For us, building in public isn’t just posting milestone announcements. It’s a philosophy of radical transparency. It means sharing:

• The Wins: “We just hit 1,000 users!”
• The Struggles: “Our server crashed during the launch. Here’s what happened and how we’re fixing it.”
• The Numbers: Real revenue graphs, conversion rates, and churn (yes, even the ugly dips).
• The Decisions: “We’re choosing Tech X over Tech Y. Here’s our reasoning and the trade-offs.”
• The Feedback: Publishing user critiques and showing exactly how we’re incorporating them.

We opened the kimono. Completely.

The Lead Generation Flywheel of Transparency

We didn’t predict the business impact. It emerged organically through a powerful flywheel:

1. Authenticity Attracts the Right Audience.
When you share your journey—the good and bad—you repel people who want a perfect, mythical product. But you magnetically attract your ideal early adopters: those who value honesty, want to be part of a story, and see your humanity. These aren’t just leads; they’re potential advocates.

2. Trust Replaces the Sales Pitch.
In a world of marketing spin, transparency is a superpower. By the time a prospect from our “public build” reaches out, they’ve already consumed months of our content. They’ve seen our competence (through how we solve problems), our integrity (through how we handle failures), and our vision. The traditional “discovery call” is shortened. The question changes from “Can I trust you?” to “How do we get started?”

3. Content Becomes a Living Case Study.
Our public build log became our richest source of content. Every struggle was a “how-to” thread. Every decision was a rationale essay. Every milestone was a data-driven story. This content ranked for long-tail keywords, fueled our social channels, and provided endless value—all without a traditional “content marketing” team. SEO became a byproduct of our honesty.

4. Community Becomes Co-Creators.
Our audience didn’t just watch; they participated. They voted on feature priorities, suggested solutions to bugs, and offered support to other community members. This created an incredible feedback loop and a deep sense of ownership. Your most invested users become your best salespeople. Their word-of-mouth referrals are infused with genuine enthusiasm you can’t buy.

The Data That Proved It

We tracked it. Over 18 months:

• 60% of our qualified leads cited our “public building” content (Twitter threads, changelog posts, open roadmap) as their primary reason for contacting us.
• These leads had a 40% higher conversion rate to paying customers than leads from paid ads.
• Our customer acquisition cost (CAC) for this channel was virtually zero (just our time creating updates).
• Customer retention was higher. They felt invested in the journey from day one.

How to Start Building in Public (Without the Fear)

The vulnerability is real. Here’s our advice:

1. Start Small: Pick one platform (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, a dedicated blog) and commit to one update per week.
2. Focus on Process, Not Perfection: Share a snippet of code, a design iteration, a customer service lesson.
3. Be Useful: Frame updates around lessons learned. “Here’s how we solved X problem” is gold.
4. Engage, Don’t Just Broadcast: Turn updates into conversations. Ask for opinions.
5. Protect Your Core: You can be transparent without revealing proprietary algorithms or sensitive financial details. Share the what and why, not every secret how.

The Bottom Line

Building in public flipped the script. We stopped extracting leads with campaigns and started attracting partners with a shared journey. We traded the illusion of flawless expertise for the powerful bond of shared struggle and progress.

The biggest lesson? People don’t just buy products; they buy into stories, teams, and values. By opening our doors, we didn’t just build a product in public—we built a community that became the very foundation of our growth.

The future of marketing isn’t just about being seen. It’s about being open.