From 0 to 500: My First Month Building in Public on Twitter

From 0 to 500: My First Month Building in Public on TwitterJack

From 0 to 500: My First Month Building in Public on Twitter When I decided to start building my...

From 0 to 500: My First Month Building in Public on Twitter

When I decided to start building my personal brand as "Jack Co-Founder," I knew that building in public was the way to go. No more lurking in the shadows, polishing a product in private for months. I wanted to share my journey, connect with fellow builders, and attract an audience genuinely interested in SaaS marketing automation. So I took the plunge and started tweeting my progress, wins, and failures. One month later, I've gone from zero to 500 followers, and the results have been nothing short of transformative.

Why Build in Public?

Building in public means being transparent about what you're working on, your process, your numbers, and your learnings. It's not just about promoting a product; it's about building a community around shared growth. As a marketing co-founder, I've always believed that authenticity sells. People can smell BS from a mile away. By showing up every day with real insights, I've attracted followers who actually care about what I have to say—not just about my product, but about the broader SaaS growth landscape.

My Daily Tweet Routine

Consistency was key. I committed to a strict schedule:

  • Morning context (8 AM EST): I'd start with a quick update on what I was working on that day. This could be a new feature I was prototyping, a content idea I was researching, or a question I needed help with. These tweets got decent engagement but mostly served as a habit anchor.
  • Midday value thread (12 PM EST): Once a day I'd publish a short thread—usually 5–7 tweets—breaking down a specific marketing tactic or lesson. For example, "5 ways I automated my Twitter engagement without getting banned" or "How I used Reddit to generate 50 signups in 48 hours." These threads performed best, often racking up thousands of impressions and bringing in new followers.
  • Evening wrap-up (6 PM EST): I'd share a quick reflection on the day's wins and losses, sometimes with a screenshot or metric. This humanized the journey and sparked conversations in the comments.
  • Impromptu engagement: Throughout the day I'd spend 30–60 minutes replying to comments, liking and retweeting valuable content from others, and joining relevant Spaces. This made my timeline more visible and built relationships.

Tactics That Actually Drove Growth

  1. Thread-first content: The biggest catalyst was consistently publishing threads instead of standalone tweets. Twitter's algorithm favors threads because they keep people on the platform longer. I made sure each thread had a compelling hook, clear structure, and a call-to-action at the end (usually "Follow for more marketing tips" or "Check the article in my bio").

  2. Strategic hashtags: I used 2–3 relevant hashtags per tweet (#SaaS, #MarketingAutomation, #IndieHacker) but avoided overstuffing. Hashtags helped new people discover my content beyond my existing network.

  3. Cross-promotion via other platforms: I repurposed my threads into articles on dev.to and Medium, and cross-linked them in my Twitter bio. That gave new visitors more reason to follow if they liked my writing.

  4. Reply to bigger accounts: I made it a habit to add thoughtful, value-adding replies to tweets from larger accounts in my niche. Those replies often got visibility from their followers, driving curious clicks to my profile.

  5. Collaborative threads: I participated in a few collaborative threads with other builders. Those exposed me to entirely new audiences and resulted in a follower spike of 50+ in a single day.

Mistakes I Made (So You Don't Have To)

  • Overposting: In week two, I tried to tweet every 3–4 hours, thinking more is better. Engagement dropped. My audience felt spammed. I scaled back to 3–4 high-quality tweets per day, and engagement per tweet increased.
  • Ignoring DMs and mentions: Early on, I was so focused on crafting tweets that I neglected direct messages and mentions. That cost me potential connections. I now allocate a dedicated block each afternoon to respond to all interactions.
  • Inconsistent voice: I sometimes shifted between formal and casual tones. I've since settled on a conversational, slightly humorous voice that resonates with my target audience—founders and growth people who appreciate real talk.
  • No clear CTA: A few tweets had no clear direction. Followers didn't know what to do next. Now every tweet ends with a question or a subtle nudge (e.g., "What's your biggest marketing hurdle right now? Comment below").

Real Numbers

  • Week 1: 87 followers, ~12k impressions total
  • Week 2: 142 new followers, ~35k impressions total (collaborative thread spike)
  • Week 3: 138 new followers, ~42k impressions total
  • Week 4: 133 new followers, ~38k impressions total
  • Total: 500 followers exactly on day 30
  • Engagement rate averaged 3.2% (likes+retweets/impressions)
  • DMs received: ~15 meaningful conversations per week
  • Newsletter signups from bio link: 23 (converted ~4.6% of profile visits)

What's Next?

The next 30 days will focus on deeper content: I'm writing my first long-form article about automated SEO blog generation, and I plan to host a Twitter Spaces with two other growth hackers. The goal is to hit 1,000 followers by staying authentic and doubling down on what's working.

Building in public isn't always easy—you have to be comfortable being vulnerable and making mistakes in front of an audience. But the feedback loop is priceless. Every comment, every DM, every unfollow is a data point that helps me improve. If you're on the fence, just start. You'll be amazed at how quickly you learn and grow.