You built something. Now nobody knows it exists.

Your side project solves a real problem. You spent nights and weekends coding it. But you are a builder, not a marketer. You don't have time for social media. You don't want to become a LinkedIn influencer.

Here's the truth: you don't need to spend hours daily on marketing. You don't need a content agency. You need a system that works in 30 minutes a week.

This guide shows you exactly how to market your side project without sacrificing your build time. Everything is designed for developers and founders who treat marketing like technical debt: necessary, but optimized for minimum effort and maximum results.

Why Most Side Project Marketing Fails

Most builders approach marketing the same way they approach coding: they try to build everything from scratch. They read about content marketing, SEO, email funnels, and paid ads. Then they get overwhelmed and do nothing.

The failure pattern looks like this:

Week 1: Create Twitter account. Write thoughtful thread. Get 3 likes from bots.

Week 2: Decide to focus on LinkedIn. Write one post. Forget to post again.

Week 3: Try Reddit. Get banned for self-promotion.

Week 4: Give up on marketing. Return to building features nobody will discover.

This fails because you are optimizing for the wrong metric. You are thinking about reach when you should be thinking about consistency. You are trying to learn marketing when you should be systematizing it.

The builders who succeed at marketing treat it like any other system: define the inputs, automate what you can, batch the rest, and measure outputs.

The 30-Minute Marketing System

Here's the framework. Every Sunday (or whatever day works), you spend 30 minutes on marketing. That's it.

During those 30 minutes, you create a week's worth of content for one platform. Not three platforms. Not email and social. One platform only: LinkedIn.

Why LinkedIn specifically?

For B2B side projects: Your users are on LinkedIn. They check it during work hours. They are in buying mode, not entertainment mode.

For developer tools: Other developers and founders actively engage. The algorithm favors expertise over entertainment.

For any side project: LinkedIn posts have longer shelf life than Twitter. One good post can generate leads for weeks.

Here's what your 30-minute session looks like:

1. 5 minutes: Review what happened this week with your project
2. 20 minutes: Write 7 LinkedIn posts using templates
3. 5 minutes: Schedule everything to publish daily

That's the system. Now let's break down each part.

How to Generate a Week of Content in 5 Minutes

Before you write anything, you need source material. Most founders stare at a blank screen because they think content creation starts with writing.

It doesn't. It starts with documentation.

Every week, your side project generates content ideas automatically:

• You shipped a feature
• You fixed a tricky bug
• You talked to a user
• You changed your approach to something
• You learned something new
• You hit a milestone (or missed one)
• You made a decision about your stack

Each of these is a post.

Keep a running note (Apple Notes, Notion, whatever) titled "This Week." Every time something happens, add one line. Not a draft. Not a full thought. Just a trigger:

- Switched from Postgres to SQLite, 10x faster
- User asked for dark mode, built it in 2 hours
- Realized my landing page sucks, nobody clicks signup
- Hit 50 users
- Gave up on SEO, going all-in on LinkedIn

By Sunday, you have 5-10 lines. Pick the best 7. Now you have your content calendar.

The 7-Post Template System

You don't need to be creative. You need to be consistent. Use these 7 templates every week:

Template 1: The Build Update

Share what you shipped this week. Show progress.

I shipped [feature] for [project] this week.

The result: [metric or outcome]

What I learned:
- [Lesson 1]
- [Lesson 2]
- [Lesson 3]

If you are building [related thing], try [specific tactic].

Example: "I shipped dark mode for my SaaS analytics tool this week. Took 2 hours. 3 users immediately messaged to say thanks. What I learned: users don't always tell you what they want, but when you ship it fast, they notice. If you are building a dashboard, just add dark mode. It's expected now."

Template 2: The Mistake

Share something that didn't work. Developers respect honesty.

I wasted [time] on [thing].

Here's what happened: [brief story]

What I should have done: [lesson]

Don't make the same mistake.

Example: "I wasted 2 weeks building an onboarding flow nobody uses. Spent time on modals, tooltips, progress bars. Users skip it every time. What I should have done: watched 3 user sessions first. Now I just have a 10-second demo video. That's it."

Template 3: The Metric

Numbers get engagement. Share real data.

[Project] just hit [milestone].

Started: [when]
Current: [metric]

What's working:
- [Tactic 1]
- [Tactic 2]

What's not:
- [Failed tactic]

Next milestone: [goal]

Example: "My side project just hit $500 MRR. Started 4 months ago. Current: 23 paying users. What's working: posting daily on LinkedIn, $1 trial. What's not: cold email (0% conversion). Next milestone: $1K MRR by end of month."

Template 4: The Technical Decision

Explain a technical choice you made. This positions you as an expert.

Why I chose [technology] over [alternative] for [project]:

[3-5 bullet points explaining reasoning]

Your situation might be different. But if you are [context], consider [recommendation].

Example: "Why I chose Supabase over Firebase for my side project: instant Postgres, better pricing for my use case, row-level security without Cloud Functions, easier to migrate away if needed. Your situation might be different. But if you know SQL and want simple auth, Supabase is faster to ship."

Template 5: The Lesson Learned

Extract one insight from your week.

[Counterintuitive statement about building/marketing/product]

Everyone says [common advice].

But after [experience], I learned [opposite lesson].

Here's why: [explanation]

Example: "Your landing page doesn't matter as much as you think. Everyone says optimize copy, A/B test headlines, perfect the CTA. But after getting my first 100 users, I learned 80% came from LinkedIn posts, not my landing page. Here's why: people sign up because they trust YOU, not your hero section."

Template 6: The Question

Ask your audience something. This drives engagement and gives you product insights.

Question for [target audience]:

[Specific question about their problem/workflow]

Trying to figure out if [assumption] is worth building for [project].

Example: "Question for founders: how do you currently track which LinkedIn posts drive signups? Trying to figure out if built-in analytics is worth building for my scheduling tool. Or do you just use UTM parameters and call it a day?"

Template 7: The Curated Insight

Share something you learned from someone else, with your take.

[Creator] said something that changed how I think about [topic]:

"[Quote or paraphrased insight]"

This hit me because [personal application to your project].

Now I'm [what you changed].

Example: "Pieter Levels said ship in 24 hours, not 24 weeks. This hit me because I spent 3 months building features before launch. Now I ship an MVP in days and iterate based on real feedback. My side projects move 10x faster."

Write All 7 Posts in 20 Minutes

Here's the actual process:

Open a document. Not LinkedIn. Not a scheduling tool. A plain text file or Google Doc.

Copy-paste your 7 trigger lines from your weekly note.

Apply one template to each line. Match the trigger to the template. Build update? Use Template 1. Mistake? Template 2. Don't overthink it.

Write fast, edit never. Spend 2-3 minutes per post. You are not writing literature. You are communicating progress. First draft is final draft.

Read each post out loud once. If it sounds like you talking, it's done. If it sounds like a LinkedIn guru, delete the buzzwords.

Here's what your document looks like after 20 minutes:

POST 1 (Monday):
I shipped dark mode for my SaaS analytics tool this week...

POST 2 (Tuesday):
Why I chose Supabase over Firebase for my side project...

POST 3 (Wednesday):
I wasted 2 weeks building an onboarding flow nobody uses...

POST 4 (Thursday):
Question for founders: how do you currently track which LinkedIn posts...

POST 5 (Friday):
My side project just hit $500 MRR...

POST 6 (Saturday):
Your landing page doesn't matter as much as you think...

POST 7 (Sunday):
Pieter Levels said ship in 24 hours, not 24 weeks...

Now you're done writing. Time to schedule.

Schedule Everything in 5 Minutes

You have 7 posts. You need them published Monday through Sunday. Don't post manually every day. That's how you fall off after week two.

Use a scheduling tool. For LinkedIn specifically, these work:

Postiv: Built for founders who want simple LinkedIn scheduling. Upload your 7 posts, set the times, done. Has AI assistance if you want to polish your drafts. $1 trial gets you started.

Buffer: Works across platforms if you later expand beyond LinkedIn.

Hypefury: Twitter-focused but supports LinkedIn.

Copy each post into your scheduler. Set them to publish at the same time daily (8 AM works for most B2B audiences). Add your posts to the queue.

That's it. Your week of marketing is done.

You just created 7 LinkedIn posts, scheduled them, and set up a week's worth of organic visibility. In 30 minutes. While everyone else is trying to "find time" for marketing, you systematized it.

The Minimum Viable Marketing Stack

You need three things to market your side project:

1. One content platform: LinkedIn (or Twitter if your audience is technical)
2. One scheduling tool: Postiv, Buffer, or Hypefury
3. One notes app: Where you track weekly ideas

That's the entire stack. Everything else is distraction.

You don't need:

• Email marketing (until you have 100+ users)
• A blog (LinkedIn posts are your blog)
• SEO (takes 6+ months, you need users now)
• Paid ads (you need product-market fit first)
• A podcast (are you serious)

Start with the minimum. Add complexity only when the simple system stops working.

If you want more detail on building your marketing stack as an indie hacker, that's a separate conversation. But for your first 100 users, LinkedIn + scheduling tool is enough.

How to Repurpose Your Best Content

After four weeks, you'll have 28 LinkedIn posts. Some will perform well. Most won't. That's normal.

Now you activate repurposing. Here's how:

Identify your top 3 posts by engagement (likes, comments, shares). These are your winners.

Turn each winner into 3 new assets:

1. Expand into a long-form post or blog: Take the core idea and add depth, examples, framework.
2. Create a visual version: Turn the insight into a carousel or infographic.
3. Repost the original in 30 days: Same post, slight rewording. Your audience grew, most didn't see it the first time.

This is how you get leverage. You create once, distribute across formats and time.

For example, if your "I hit $500 MRR" post got traction, you can:

• Write a detailed breakdown: "How I Got My First 20 Paying Users"
• Create a slide deck showing your revenue chart and tactics
• Repost the original next month with updated numbers

Same core content. Three new chances for visibility.

If you're wondering how to promote your app without a budget, repurposing is the answer. You're not creating more work. You're multiplying the value of work you already did.

Batch Your Weekly Marketing Session

The power of this system is batching. You sit down once, create everything, and move on.

Here's what your weekly session looks like in practice:

Sunday, 10:00 AM: Open your "This Week" note. Review what happened with your project.

10:05 AM: Pick your 7 best moments. Match each to a template.

10:10 AM: Write all 7 posts. Fast, unpolished, authentic.

10:30 AM: Schedule posts in your tool. Monday through Sunday, same time daily.

10:35 AM: Close laptop. Marketing is done for the week.

This removes decision fatigue. You don't think about marketing every day. You don't wonder "should I post something today?" You batch it, automate it, and forget it.

The psychological benefit is massive. Marketing is no longer this looming obligation. It's a 30-minute checklist item you complete once a week.

Use AI to Speed Up Content Creation

If 20 minutes still feels tight, use AI to accelerate the writing process.

Here's how:

Feed your trigger line + template to an AI tool. ChatGPT, Claude, or a built-in tool like Postiv's AI assistant.

Prompt structure:

Write a LinkedIn post using this template:

[paste template]

Based on this insight:

[paste your trigger line]

Keep it under 150 words. Sound like a developer, not a marketer.

Edit the output. AI gives you a solid first draft in 10 seconds. Tweak it to sound like you, remove any cringe, and you're done.

This isn't about replacing your voice. It's about reducing blank-page friction. You still own the ideas. You still edit for authenticity. AI just handles the sentence structure.

Tools like Postiv integrate this workflow directly into the scheduling interface. You write the bullet points, AI expands them into posts, you review and schedule. The entire loop happens in one tool.

If you're trying to figure out how to write LinkedIn posts efficiently, combining templates with light AI assistance is the fastest path.

Track What Actually Matters

You're posting consistently. Now you need to know if it's working.

Most founders track the wrong metrics. They obsess over likes and impressions. Those don't pay the bills.

Track these instead:

Profile visits: Are people clicking through to learn more about you?

Website clicks: Are posts driving traffic to your landing page?

Signups: Are LinkedIn visitors converting to users?

Messages: Are people reaching out to ask questions or give feedback?

Ignore vanity metrics. A post with 5 likes and 2 signups is better than a post with 500 likes and zero signups.

Check your stats once a week (during your 30-minute session). Note what worked. Do more of that.

Simple tracking table:

After 4 weeks, you'll see patterns. Double down on what converts.

What to Do When You Hit a Wall

Around week 4-6, you'll feel stuck. You'll think "I've shared everything interesting." You'll run out of obvious ideas.

This is normal. Here's how to push through:

Expand your idea sources:

• Comment on other founders' posts. Turn your comment into your own post.
• Answer questions in communities. Your answer is a post template.
• Share something you learned outside your project (book, article, conversation).

Change the angle on old topics:

• Week 1: "I chose Supabase for my project."
• Week 5: "3 months with Supabase: what I'd do differently."

Interview your users:

Ask one user per week: "Why did you sign up?" Their answer is your next post. Quote them (with permission) and add context.

Go deeper, not wider:

You don't need new topics. You need new depth. Your "I hit $500 MRR" post can become:

• How I got my first paying user
• How I priced my product
• How I handle cancellations
• How I chose a payment processor

Same milestone, five different posts.

If you want a structured approach to content marketing for startups, the key is depth over breadth. You have more to say than you think.

When to Add More Channels

You've been posting on LinkedIn for 8-12 weeks. You're seeing results. Your profile visits are up. You're getting signups.

Now you can consider expanding. But only if the 30-minute system still works.

Add Twitter if your audience is technical. Repurpose your LinkedIn posts as threads. Same content, different format.

Add a newsletter if people keep asking "how do I follow your updates?" Repurpose your best posts into a weekly email.

Add YouTube or a blog if you have complex topics that need more space. Turn your posts into long-form content.

But don't add channels just to add channels. Each platform requires attention. Only expand when the ROI justifies the time.

For most side projects in the first 6 months, LinkedIn alone is enough.

If you're deciding how to get users for your app, start with one channel. Master it. Then expand.

The Compounding Effect of Consistency

Here's what happens when you post daily for 90 days:

Week 1-4: Feels like shouting into the void. Low engagement. You question if it's worth it.

Week 5-8: You start getting consistent likes. A few comments. Profile visits increase.

Week 9-12: Someone messages you. They found your project through your posts. They signed up. This is the first proof it works.

Week 13+: Your audience is built. Every post reaches more people. Signups become predictable.

The magic isn't in one viral post. It's in showing up 90 times when nobody's watching. That builds trust. Trust converts to users.

Most founders quit at week 3. They don't see immediate results and assume it's not working. But content marketing is compounding. Week 12 is exponentially more valuable than week 1, but only if you survive weeks 2-11.

The 30-minute system exists to get you through those early weeks without burning out.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Posting sporadically.

Posting 3 times one week, then nothing for two weeks, is worse than posting once a week consistently. Pick a cadence and stick to it.

Mistake 2: Trying to sound like a marketer.

If your post includes "delighted to announce" or "thrilled to share," delete it. Write like you talk. Developers can smell fake enthusiasm.

Mistake 3: Only talking about your product.

Nobody cares about your product. They care about their problems. Share lessons, insights, and stories that happen to involve your product.

Mistake 4: Waiting until your product is "ready."

Start posting while you're building. Your development journey is content. By the time you launch, you'll have an audience waiting.

Mistake 5: Comparing your metrics to influencers.

Someone with 50K followers getting 1K likes is not your benchmark. You're optimizing for signups, not engagement. 10 followers who convert beat 1000 who don't.

Mistake 6: Skipping the scheduling step.

If you write posts and plan to "post them manually throughout the week," you won't. Schedule everything during your batch session.

When Marketing Starts Working

You'll know your marketing is working when:

• People you've never talked to sign up and mention "I've been following your posts"
• Other founders start commenting on your content regularly
• You get inbound messages asking questions about your product
• Your signups correlate with your posting consistency

This doesn't happen in week 1. It happens around week 8-12 if you stick with the system.

The goal isn't to become a content creator. The goal is to generate consistent awareness for your side project using the minimum viable time investment.

30 minutes a week, every week, for 90 days. That's the commitment.

Most people won't do it. Which is exactly why it works for those who do.

If you're still figuring out how to sell your app, consistent marketing is the unsexy answer. No growth hacks. No viral tricks. Just showing up.

Your First 30-Minute Session

Here's what to do right now:

Step 1: Create a note titled "This Week." Add 3-5 things that happened with your project this week.

Step 2: Pick the 7 templates from this guide. Save them somewhere accessible.

Step 3: Sign up for a scheduling tool. Postiv has a $1 trial if you want to test this system without commitment.

Step 4: Set a recurring calendar event: "Marketing Batch Session" every Sunday at 10 AM (or whenever works).

Step 5: This Sunday, write your first 7 posts and schedule them.

That's it. You're now marketing your side project in 30 minutes a week.

No excuses about not having time. No complexity. No learning curve.

You batch, you schedule, you ship.

The Bottom Line

Marketing your side project doesn't require hours daily. It requires a system.

The 30-minute framework works because it removes decision fatigue, leverages batching, and focuses on the one channel that drives results for builders: LinkedIn.

You document your week. You apply templates. You write 7 posts. You schedule them. You move on.

Do this for 90 days and you'll have an audience. That audience becomes your users. Those users become your revenue.

Most founders fail at marketing because they try to do everything. You'll succeed because you do one thing consistently.

Your side project deserves to be seen. This system makes sure it is.

Now go write your first 7 posts.