HowTheyGotUsersHowTheyGotUsers

Build in Public and Offer Follow-for-Follow

Build in Public and Offer Follow-for-Follow is a communities tactic for getting your first users: Document the growth journey publicly on Indie Hackers and explicitly offer to follow back everyone who follows you.

It's a strong fit for teams of almost any kind, and works especially well for solo founders documenting traction. As a communities play, plan for low effort and expect results to arrive at a steady pace, all grounded in 1 linked primary source.

CommunitiesLow effortMedium

Why does communities work for this?

Reciprocal follows quickly grow your audience, and public milestone posts pull repeat attention to the product.

The exact steps (4)

The full step-by-step this founder ran, what they posted, where, and in what order, plus the watch-outs, is part of the library.

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Sources

Works for
Any / universal

Frequently asked

How is the "Build in Public and Offer Follow-for-Follow" tactic verified?
It is drawn from 1 primary source — a real founder write-up or interview, not generic advice. It is linked in the Sources section above so you can read the original account yourself.
How much effort is it and how fast are results?
It is low effort, and results tend to be medium.
Where can I see the exact step-by-step?
The full step-by-step a founder ran, documented via Source — IndieHackers, is in the paid library.

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