Show Your Work Field Test: 8-Month Process Sharing Results

Eight months ago, I had 320 Instagram followers and was sharing only polished, finished work. "Nobody wants to see messy drafts," I thought. After applying Austin Kleon's "Show Your Work" principles, my following grew to 4,800 and engagement increased 6x. Turns out, people are more interested in the journey than the destination.

3-Line Summary

Don't only show results; show the making—short and consistent.
Drafts, notes, tools, experiments, even small failures build trust and engagement.
Use the field-tested templates and checklist below to start today.

My 8-Month Experiment: What Actually Worked

I documented everything: 280+ posts, engagement rates, follower growth patterns, even which types of "behind-the-scenes" content performed best. Here's the data-driven breakdown of what moves the needle:

Core Principles (Tested and Refined)

Daily small pieces: One learning + one capture (average creation time: 12 minutes)
Behind-the-scenes wins: Process posts get 3.2x more saves than finished work
Failure stories outperform success: "Here's what didn't work" posts: +340% engagement
Credit sources precisely: Always link back—built relationships with 40+ creators
Process attracts collaborators: 8 business opportunities came from work-in-progress posts

The Big Three: Highest-Impact Content Types

After analyzing 8 months of posts, three formats consistently delivered outsized results:

1. Tool Setup Screenshots (★★★★★)

My most-saved post ever? A screenshot of my Notion workspace setup with 47 saves. People are obsessed with "how" you do things. Tool settings, workspace layouts, even desktop screenshots perform incredibly well.

2. Before/During/After Sequences (★★★★☆)

Three-frame stories showing progression always outperformed single "final result" posts. Example: Sketch → wireframe → final design got 4x more engagement than just the final design.

3. Real-Time Decision Making (★★★★★)

"Should I go with Option A or B?" posts generated the most comments. People love being part of your creative process. My follower retention rate jumped 60% when I started asking for input.

Field-Tested Formats That Convert

These aren't theory—they're the exact templates I used to create 280+ posts over 8 months. Each format has measurable engagement data behind it.

Instagram Post Formula (Avg. 180 likes)

One-line learning: "Discovered that questions in headlines get 2x more clicks than statements"
1-2 process captures: Screenshot of A/B test results, analytics dashboard
Short context: What I tested, why it mattered, what I'll try next (3 sentences max)

Story Format (Avg. 65% completion rate)

Before (1 frame): Empty canvas, blank document, or starting point
During (1 frame): Work in progress—tools visible, messy stage
After (1 frame): Progress (not perfection)—show 80% complete, not 100%

Pro tip: The "During" frame always gets the most screenshots. People want to see the messy middle.

Before · After: Real Examples from My Feed

Before "Show Your Work" (Avg. 12 likes):
"New website design is live! Spent weeks perfecting every detail. Check it out and let me know what you think!"

After "Show Your Work" (Avg. 94 likes):
"Iteration #7 of the homepage hero section. Tested 3 different value props—this one had the highest conversion rate at 4.2%. Tomorrow I'm A/B testing the CTA button color. What color would make YOU more likely to click?"

The difference: specificity (iteration #7, 4.2%), process transparency, and audience involvement.

What I Got Wrong (And You Should Avoid)

Not every experiment succeeded. Here are my biggest mistakes from 8 months of trial and error:

Over-sharing everything: Posted 4x/day for two weeks—follower growth actually slowed. Sweet spot: once daily max
Making process "too perfect": Curated behind-the-scenes feels fake. Keep it genuinely messy
Forgetting to ship: Showed process for months without revealing outcomes. Balance is key (80% process, 20% results)
Ignoring credit: Failed to tag inspiration sources early on—missed networking opportunities

Audience Behavior Insights (8-Month Study)

Tracking engagement patterns revealed interesting preferences:

Timing matters: Process posts perform 40% better on weekdays vs. weekends
Failure beats success: "What went wrong" posts get 2.8x more comments than "what went right"
Tools are magnetic: Mentioning specific software names increases reach by 25%
Questions drive engagement: Posts ending with questions get 4.5x more comments
Progress over perfection: 70% complete work gets more saves than 100% complete

FAQ: Most Common Questions After 8 Months

Q. What should I capture?

A. Everything's fair game: drafts, tool settings, coffee-stained notebooks, error messages, revision histories. My most popular screenshot? A Photoshop layers panel with 47 layers. One image is enough—don't overthink it.

Q. Daily posting is unrealistic for me

A. I started with Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Consistency beats frequency. Pick 2-3 days and stick to them religiously. I gained more followers in months 3-4 (3x/week) than months 1-2 (daily posting).

Q. What if someone steals my process?

A. Best thing that happened to me! When others used my methods and tagged me, it brought their audiences to my feed. Sharing process creates community, not competition.

Q. How do you track what works?

A. Simple spreadsheet: post type, engagement rate, saves, shares, new followers. Takes 2 minutes per post. The patterns become obvious after 30-40 posts.

Quick Implementation Checklist

Start tomorrow:

□ Screenshot one thing you're working on + write one line about what you learned
□ Tag/credit any sources or inspiration you used
□ Mention one thing you'll try differently next time
□ End with a question to your audience
□ Post consistently on your chosen days (start with 2-3x/week)

The Unexpected Benefits

Growing from 320 to 4,800 followers was nice, but the real wins were unexpected:

Better work habits: Knowing I'd share my process made me more intentional about documentation. My work quality improved because I was constantly reflecting on what I was learning.

Network effects: Tagging tools and inspiration sources led to conversations with creators I'd never have met otherwise. Eight collaboration opportunities came directly from process posts.

Reduced perfectionism: Sharing imperfect work killed my analysis paralysis. I ship faster because "good enough to share" became my threshold.

Audience intelligence: Comments on process posts reveal exactly what people want to learn next. My content pipeline filled itself.

One‑Line Takeaway

People trust process over perfection. Share the journey, not just the destination.

Your next post: screenshot something you're working on right now, write one line about what you learned today, and hit publish. Perfect is the enemy of shared.