Build-in-public as a marketing channel
Building in public isn’t bragging—it’s modern B2B marketing
👋 Hey, I’m George Chasiotis. Welcome to GrowthWaves, your weekly dose of B2B growth insights—featuring powerful case studies, emerging trends, and unconventional strategies you won’t find anywhere else.
This note is brought to you by Minuttia.
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Sorry for skipping last week’s note.
I know it’s not the first time I’ve used this excuse, but juggling two agencies (Restartt and Minuttia) has been intense lately.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about something that’s worth sharing.
That “something” is building in public—not just as a growth play, but as a full-fledged marketing channel.
Let me explain what I mean, why it matters, and how to build in public the right way.
The definition of a marketing channel
I Googled the definition of a marketing channel.
Here’s the reply I got:
So, according to the highly trusted AI Overview:
“A marketing channel is a tool or platform a business uses to connect with customers, delivering its products, services, or messages from the producer to the final consumer.”
Hold that thought.
And take a look at the following post by Marie Martens, Co-founder of online form builder, Tally:
You could argue that in this case, the marketing channel is LinkedIn.
Have you tried posting on LinkedIn lately?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Because if you had, you’d know that engagement like that is super rare these days.
I don’t say that lightly!
I’m running a LinkedIn growth agency called Restartt.
Impressions and engagement are down across industries, as is follower growth rate and other growth-related metrics.
The actual “tool or platform” in this case is building in public.
That’s what lets Marie rack up impressions, likes, comments—and I’d guess, a bunch of sign-ups too.
(Not to mention VC emails asking to invest in, and PE emails asking to buy Tally.)
I know what you’re thinking…
“George, are you kidding me, man? They’re doing $4M ARR bootstrapped. I don’t have such a story to tell. We’re struggling over here.”
And, you’re right.
I know, and I’ve been there.
After all, in all honesty, most build-in-public strategies are disguised brag-in-public strategies.
And… that’s fine.
You can’t avoid it, really.
But if you’re under the impression that you can build in public only when you have something positive to say, then you’re wrong.
Lemlist turned their biggest crisis—losing two co-founders and senior team members—into a mini docuseries.
This was the biggest crisis the company had faced to that date.
And, they used it to raise even more awareness for Lemlist and turn a company fuck-up (pardon my French) into a growth opportunity.
And, again, you could argue…
“Yeah, but at this point, they already had the success of a $150M valuation. What do I have that I can turn into something similar?”
Sure, but what helped them get there was—among other things—the fact that they were building in public in the first place.
So, building in public is a marketing channel.
And given the marketing upheaval that started with the launch of ChatGPT back in 2022, it might just be one of the most reliable marketing channels we still have.
The argument against
I know what you’re thinking. (Not sure why I keep doing this today.)
“George, we have investors, man. They won’t allow us to post any of that. Plus, my CEO is super secretive about things.”
Again, you’re right.
There are certain cases where you can’t play all the cards of the build-in-public channel—but you can certainly play some of them.
In general, here are some cases where your build-in-public efforts may be limited:
You’ve raised money, and your investors don’t like LinkedIn revenue charts
You’re preparing for an IPO, and there’s a lot of secrecy until you submit your S-1
You don’t want to give away too much to your competitors and want to avoid inviting competition
You’re operating in an industry that’s heavily regulated, and you can’t share anything that could put you into trouble
You’re working at a big corporation that embraces politics and back-to-back Zoom meetings, but is allergic to LinkedIn posts
In these cases, your efforts may be somewhat limited.
Limited, but not eliminated.
Rest assured that build-in-public has its downsides.
Especially if you’re sharing revenue numbers (the holy grail of build-in-public), you’ll get many eyeballs on you.
You’ll definitely invite competition.
But, you will invite many new customers, partners, and investors who all of a sudden are interested in what you’re doing.
Ultimately, the decision of building in public is a trade-off between what you have to lose and what you have to gain.
In my experience, the gains far outweigh the losses.
In fact…
One of the first things we ask companies that come to us at Restartt is what they feel comfortable sharing on LinkedIn
One of the first things I ask founders who come to me for angel investments is whether they’re building in public
The reason for both of these points is that I know that using the build-in-public channel will accelerate the results and will open up new growth opportunities.
But, not everyone is willing to do it.
For those of you who are sold, keep reading.
Build-in-public framework
I can’t leave you without a framework.
I promised to show you how to build-in-public the right way, which is what this section is about.
The four pillars of a successful build in public strategy are:
1) What You’ll Talk About
This defines what’s fair game—and what’s off-limits.
2) Where You’ll Show Up
This could be your blog, your CEO’s LinkedIn profile, webinars, and other distribution avenues for your build-in-public materials.
3) How You’ll Measure It
This is a marketing channel, so you have to measure its success both independently and within the context of your broader marketing strategy.
4) How You’ll Improve It
See what works and what doesn’t, and continuously refine your build-in-public strategy.
I’d like to share a few things for each of these four pillars.
At the top, you set your topic strategy.
These include what you can and can’t talk about.
Think of them as your editorial guidelines for your build-in-public channel efforts.
Here, you can also define certain milestones for your journey that are and will be opportunities for build-in-public plays.
Then, you need to define your distribution channels.
These could be:
Weekly/Monthly build-in-public updates (Example)
Milestones LinkedIn posts (Example)
Blog posts (Example)
Workshops and webinars
Next, map out your success metrics per distribution channel and activity.
Obviously, these need to contribute to your overarching goals and business objectives.
And lastly, like with everything else in marketing, you should learn and continuously improve over time.
The beginning of a work-in-public strategy may be bumpy.
But it gets easier as you move along.
The important thing is not to get discouraged and abandon your efforts before they start yielding results.
Final thoughts
That’s it.
You now know what building in public is, why it matters, and how to use it to grow faster.
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, let me know in the comments so I can dive deeper or explore different aspects of it through a future note.
Before you leave:
I’m adding a new section with a few things that caught my attention the previous week.
Let me know if you like it and if you’d like me to keep it.
Thank you for reading today’s note, and see you again next week.