Building in Public: How to Get Customers Before Your Digital Store Launches

Most digital product creators follow the same pattern: spend weeks or months creating products in silence, then launch to crickets. No audience, no email list, no one waiting to buy. They wonder why their carefully crafted 3D models, ebooks, or software tools sit in a store with zero sales.

The problem is not the product. It is the approach.

Building in public - the practice of openly sharing your progress, challenges, and decisions as you create - flips this script entirely. Instead of launching to an empty room, you build an audience of people who are emotionally invested in your success before your store even goes live.

This approach works especially well for digital product creators. Whether you are building a collection of 3D models, creating a software tool, assembling an ebook, or training AI models, the process itself is interesting to the people who will eventually buy from you.

Here is how to do it right, which platforms work best, and how to turn followers into customers.

Why Building in Public Works for Digital Product Sellers

People Buy From People They Trust

When someone sees your polished product listing for the first time, they have zero context about who you are. They do not know if you are a skilled creator or someone reselling low-quality files. Trust is at zero.

But when that same person has been following your journey for weeks - watching you model assets, sharing your design decisions, discussing the tools you use - they already trust you. They have seen the work go into the product. They know it is real and made with care.

This trust translates directly into sales. When you finally announce "my store is live," these followers are not cold leads. They are warm buyers who have been waiting for this moment.

Validate Before You Invest Too Much

One of the biggest mistakes digital product creators make is spending months building something nobody wants. Building in public gives you continuous feedback that prevents this.

When you share a work-in-progress screenshot and get questions like "will this work in Unreal Engine 5?" or "can you include rigged versions?", you are getting free market research. You learn what features matter, what formats buyers need, and what price points feel right - all before you finalize anything.

According to research, nearly half of startups that fail do so because they did not meet a real customer need. Building in public is a low-cost way to validate demand continuously.

Your Audience Becomes Your Marketing Team

People who follow your build journey develop a sense of ownership in your success. They become advocates who share your work, recommend your store to friends, and leave positive reviews. This word-of-mouth marketing is more valuable than any ad campaign because it comes with built-in credibility.

When a follower tells their Discord server "I have been watching this creator build an amazing asset pack for months, and it just launched on 3DIMLI - go check it out," that carries far more weight than a promoted tweet.

Choosing Where to Build in Public

Not every platform works for every type of digital product. Choose based on where your potential buyers spend time.

X (Twitter) and Threads

Best for quick, real-time updates. Share daily progress screenshots, short videos of your workflow, and quick thoughts about decisions you are making.

The threaded format works well for breaking down complex processes. A thread titled "How I built a modular building kit from scratch" can walk followers through your entire creation process and naturally lead to your store link.

Works best for: 3D artists, game developers, designers, and indie software creators.

LinkedIn

If your digital products target professionals - business templates, industry-specific tools, professional development ebooks, or B2B software - LinkedIn is where your audience lives.

Share detailed progress reports, lessons learned, and behind-the-scenes decisions. Professional transparency positions you as an expert in your niche.

Works best for: Professional tools, templates, business ebooks, and enterprise-focused software.

YouTube and TikTok

Video is unmatched for showing creative work in progress. Time-lapse videos of 3D modeling sessions, screen recordings of software development, or design process walkthroughs generate engagement that text posts cannot match.

Short-form content (TikTok, YouTube Shorts) captures attention quickly. Long-form content (YouTube) builds deeper connections and establishes you as an authority.

Works best for: Visual products like 3D models, graphics, video assets, and any product with an interesting visual creation process.

Discord and Community Platforms

Dedicated community spaces enable two-way conversations. Set up channels for feature requests, feedback, progress updates, and general discussion. This creates a structured environment where potential buyers can ask questions, suggest improvements, and connect with each other.

Discord communities are particularly strong for niche audiences like game developers, 3D artists, and AI enthusiasts.

Works best for: Building a long-term community around your brand, especially for sellers who plan to release products regularly.

What to Share (and What to Keep Private)

Building in public does not mean sharing everything. It means sharing strategically.

Share Generously

• Progress milestones: "Just finished modeling 15 out of 30 assets for my medieval village pack."
• Process insights: "Here is how I texture these models using Substance Painter. This workflow saves me about 2 hours per asset."
• Decisions and reasoning: "I decided to include both FBX and GLTF formats because most game engine users need one or the other."
• Challenges and setbacks: "Spent a whole day troubleshooting UV issues. Here is what I learned."
• Numbers (if comfortable): "My first store got 200 views in the first week. Here is what I think drove that traffic."

Keep Private

• Proprietary techniques that are your competitive advantage
• Financial details you are not comfortable sharing
• Customer personal information
• Negative comments about competitors

The goal is to be authentic without being reckless. Share enough to build trust and create interest, but protect the things that need protecting.

A Pre-Launch Build-in-Public Timeline

Here is a practical timeline for building in public before launching your 3DIMLI store:

Weeks 1-2: Announce and Set Expectations

• Share what you are building and why
• Post about the problem you are solving or the gap you are filling
• Ask your audience what they would want from a product like this
• Start an email list or community channel for interested followers

Weeks 3-6: Show the Work

• Share daily or every-other-day updates showing your progress
• Post screenshots, renders, screen recordings, or design drafts
• Ask specific questions: "Should I include this format?" "Which color scheme works better?"
• Respond to every comment and question - engagement is everything at this stage

Weeks 7-8: Build Anticipation

• Show near-final product previews
• Share details about pricing and what will be included
• Offer early access or launch-day discounts to your followers
• Tease your store setup and branding

Launch Day: Activate Your Community

• Announce the launch across all platforms with direct links to your store
• Ask your community to share the news
• Respond to early buyers and gather feedback quickly
• Share first-day metrics to keep the momentum going

Turning Feedback Into Better Products

The feedback you receive while building in public is gold. Here is how to use it:

Keep a public roadmap. Use a simple tool like Notion, Trello, or even a pinned post in your Discord to show what you are working on and where community ideas stand. When people see their suggestions acknowledged, they stay engaged.

Credit contributors. When a follower's idea becomes a feature in your product, call them out publicly. "Thanks to @username for suggesting USDZ format support - it is now included in the pack." This encourages more feedback and creates loyal advocates.

Close the loop. After implementing changes based on feedback, follow up with the people who suggested them. Ask if the change meets their needs. This simple step turns one-time commenters into long-term community members.

Run quick polls. When you need to make a decision - pricing, naming, feature priority - ask your audience. This is not just research. It gives people a sense of ownership in your product.

Measuring What Matters

Building in public takes time. Track these metrics to know if it is working:

• Follower growth and engagement rate - not just follower count, but how many people actually interact with your posts
• Email list or community growth - people who sign up for updates are your warmest leads
• Direct messages and conversations - quality engagement that signals genuine interest
• Link clicks to your store - how many people actually visit your 3DIMLI store from your content
• Launch-day conversion - what percentage of your pre-launch audience becomes buyers
• Post-launch word of mouth - referral traffic, social shares, and unsolicited recommendations

The most important metric is not any single number. It is whether you are building a group of people who care about what you are creating enough to buy it and recommend it to others.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Only sharing wins. If everything you post is positive and polished, it does not feel authentic. Share the struggles too. A post about fixing a frustrating bug or scrapping a design that did not work is more relatable than a perfect progress report.

Posting too rarely. Consistency beats perfection. A short daily update keeps you in people's feeds and minds. One polished post per month does not build momentum.

Ignoring feedback. If people give you input and you never acknowledge it, they stop engaging. You do not have to implement every suggestion, but you should always respond.

Not having a clear path from content to store. Every post should make it easy for interested people to find your store. Include your 3DIMLI store link in your bio, pin it in your community, and mention it naturally in your updates.

Treating it as pure marketing. Building in public works because it is genuine. If your posts feel like advertisements disguised as journey updates, people will tune out. Focus on being helpful and real.

Start Sharing Your Journey Today

You do not need a perfect plan or a large audience. You just need to start.

Pick one platform. Post about what you are working on right now. Be honest about where you are in the process and where you are headed. Ask questions. Respond to comments. Do this consistently and you will have an audience waiting to buy from you before your store even launches.

Create your free store on 3DIMLI and start building in public today. With 0% commission and payments going straight to your PayPal, Stripe, or Razorpay account, every follower you convert into a buyer means more money in your pocket.