How to Promote a Boilerplate

Your documentation IS your marketing. Developers judge your code quality by your documentation quality. Provide clear installation guides, project structure overviews, and examples of common tasks. If possible, make the documentation public so potential buyers can see exactly what they're getting into before they pay.

Consider releasing a 'Lite' version of your boilerplate as open source on GitHub. This acts as a powerful lead magnet. Developers can try the basics, inspect your code style, and gain confidence in your work. Upsell them to a 'Pro' version with more features (SaaS subscription, payments, admin dashboard, etc.). A popular GitHub repo also brings massive visibility and SEO benefits.

Many boilerplate creators find success by building in public on X (Twitter) and Indie Hackers. This strategy works because transparency creates trust in a market where developers are naturally skeptical of 'too good to be true' promises.

Share your revenue numbers, customer wins, and technical challenges openly. Post monthly revenue updates, customer testimonials, feature launches, and even the struggles you face. Other founders love seeing the business side of things—the real numbers, the growth trajectory, the lessons learned from failures. This transparency builds trust and authority in a way that traditional marketing never could.

When you show proof that your boilerplate helps YOU build a successful business, others believe it can help THEM too. It's social proof at its most powerful: if your boilerplate is good enough to generate $10k, $20k, or $50k+ in monthly revenue for you, it must be worth buying.


Start by sharing weekly or monthly updates on your progress. Include metrics like MRR, number of customers, conversion rates, and feature releases. Be honest about what's working and what isn't. Engage with your audience, answer questions, and build relationships with other indie hackers. The community you build around your transparency will become your most powerful marketing channel.

Write tutorials or record videos showing how to build a 'Twitter Clone' or 'Airbnb Clone' using your boilerplate in record time. Developers love seeing practical, real-world examples of how much time they can save. Post these on YouTube, your blog, and dev communities like Dev.to.

Your landing page is crucial for converting visitors into buyers. Include live demos, show actual code snippets, list all included features prominently, display pricing transparently, and add testimonials from real customers. Use comparison tables showing how much faster developers can ship with your boilerplate versus building from scratch. Include clear CTAs and make the purchase process frictionless.

Write honest comparison articles like 'X vs Y Boilerplate' where X is your product. Be fair and objective - this builds trust. Developers will find these comparisons when researching options. Even if you don't always position yourself as the best option, the transparency wins respect and clicks. Target keywords like '[your stack] boilerplate comparison' and 'best [framework] starter'.

Comparison searches like 'ShipFast vs Supastarter' indicate extremely high purchase intent - the developer is actively comparing options before buying. Beyond writing your own comparison content, getting listed on BestBoilerplates.com is particularly valuable because they automatically generate comparison pages between your boilerplate and every other one in their directory. If there are 100 boilerplates listed, that's potentially 100+ comparison pages featuring your product, all created automatically. Each page targets specific comparison keywords and can rank on Google, multiplying your SEO footprint exponentially.


These high-authority backlinks and comparison pages work 24/7 to drive qualified traffic from developers who are ready to make a purchase decision.

Plan a coordinated 'Launch Week' where you announce features day-by-day, share behind-the-scenes content, offer special discounts, and engage heavily on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn. Create a hashtag, encourage early adopters to share their builds, and generate FOMO (fear of missing out). A well-executed launch week can 10x your usual traffic and sales.

The fastest, cheapest, and most effective way to start promoting your boilerplate is through strategic directory submissions.

Founders actively search for boilerplates on curated lists and launch platforms when they're ready to start building. These directories are where developers and founders go to discover new tools, compare options, and make purchasing decisions. You should focus on launch directories like Uneed, Product Hunt, and Fazier. These platforms have established communities of early adopters, indie hackers, and startup founders who are actively looking for solutions to accelerate their development process. Getting featured on these directories puts your boilerplate directly in front of your target audience at the exact moment they're evaluating their options.

Partner with tech influencers and educators who teach your tech stack (e.g., Next.js, Django, Laravel influencers). They can use your boilerplate in their courses or tutorials. Offer them an affiliate commission. Affonso is great for managing these affiliate relationships.

Create a Discord server or Slack community for your users. This serves multiple purposes: support becomes community-driven, users help each other debug issues, you get direct feature requests and feedback, and a vibrant community becomes a selling point for new buyers. Active communities also reduce churn because users feel invested in the ecosystem.

Be active in subreddits like r/SaaS, r/webdev, and stack-specific communities. Don't just spam links. Answer questions about architecture, deployment, and scaling. When relevant, mention how your boilerplate handles these problems. Authentic helpfulness wins.

Showcase real projects built with your boilerplate. Interview customers about their launch journey, time saved, and revenue generated. Turn these into case studies, blog posts, and social media content. Seeing others succeed with your product is the most powerful form of social proof. Tag customers in your posts to expand reach organically.