tang-vu IndieHackers Posting Skill
Platform Overview
IndieHackers is a community of bootstrapped founders and indie makers sharing revenue numbers, lessons, and project updates. Think of it as Reddit specifically for people building profitable side projects and startups. The audience values transparency, real numbers, and practical advice.
Platform Constraints
- Format: Rich text editor (supports basic formatting)
- Title: Required for posts
- Groups: Posts are organized by topic groups
- Product Pages: Separate section for showcasing products
- No character limit: But 200-500 words is the sweet spot
Posting Method: MANUAL PASTE
IndieHackers may use bot detection which blocks browser automation. The agent generates content and saves it to
posts/drafts/indiehackers_post.md. You paste it manually.
Manual Paste Steps
- Agent generates IndieHackers-optimized content
- Content saved to
posts/drafts/indiehackers_post.md - Navigate to
https://www.indiehackers.com/new-post - Select a relevant group
- Fill in title and body
- Click "Post"
Content Format
Milestone Post
Title: {What you achieved} -- Here are the real numbers
{Brief context: what your product does, how long you've been building}
Numbers:
- Revenue: {$X MRR or total}
- Users: {number}
- Timeline: {how long to reach this}
- Marketing spend: {$X or $0}
What worked:
- {Strategy 1 with specific details}
- {Strategy 2}
What didn't work:
- {Failed approach and what you learned}
What's next:
- {Upcoming plans}
Ask me anything in the comments.
Build-in-Public Update
Title: Week {N} Update: {One-line summary}
Last week's goals:
- [x] {Completed task}
- [x] {Completed task}
- [ ] {Didn't finish -- here's why}
Key metrics:
- {Metric 1}: {before} -> {after}
- {Metric 2}: {value}
Biggest learning:
{One paragraph about what you learned}
This week's goals:
- {Goal 1}
- {Goal 2}
- {Goal 3}
Question / Discussion
Title: {Specific question for the community}
Context:
{What you're building and your situation}
What I've tried:
{Approaches you've already considered}
Specific question:
{What advice you're looking for}
Best Groups to Post In
| Group | Use For |
|---|---|
| #build-in-public | Regular project updates |
| #landing-page-feedback | Get feedback on landing pages |
| #growth | Discuss growth strategies |
| #product-feedback | Get feature/UX feedback |
| #milestones | Share revenue/user milestones |
| #ama | Ask Me Anything sessions |
| #idea-feedback | Validate new ideas |
| #tech-stack | Discuss technology choices |
Content Strategy
- Be transparent about numbers: Revenue, users, costs -- real numbers build trust
- Share failures as openly as successes: The community values honesty
- Provide actionable advice: Not generic motivation
- Engage with other makers: Comment on others' posts consistently
- Weekly cadence: Regular updates build following
Algorithm / Discovery Tips
- Posts with real numbers get significantly more engagement
- Consistent posting (weekly updates) builds following
- Commenting on others' posts drives reciprocal engagement
- Cross-post your IH updates to X with #indiehackers hashtag
- Product pages with revenue milestones get featured
Best Practices
- Include specific numbers in every post
- Respond to every comment
- Ask specific questions to prompt engagement
- Share both wins and losses
- Keep updates concise (200-500 words)
What to Avoid
- Hard selling or pure promotion
- Vague updates without data
- Posting only when you need something
- Generic advice without personal experience
- Ignoring the community (post and ghost)
Related Skills
content-writing— Milestone templates and story hooks