diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index ad1b8b0..69c1341 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-VERSION:=$(shell cat VERSION)
+# Use the git tag name if at a tagged commit, otherwise use the short commit hash
+VERSION:=$(shell git describe --tags --exact-match --match "v*" 2>/dev/null || git rev-parse --short HEAD)
 
 IMAGE_NAME ?= prometheus-example-app
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d466c30..bc6090b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ Usage is simple, on any request to `/` the request will result in a `200` respon
 
 A Docker image is available at: `ghcr.io/rhobs/prometheus-example-app`
 
+# Releasing
+
+Cut a new `vX.Y.Z` tag and publish a release based on that tag. 
+
 ## Deploying in a Kubernetes cluster
 
 First, deploy one instance of this example application, which listens and exposes metrics on port 8080 using the following [Deployment manifest](manifests/deployment.yaml).
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
deleted file mode 100644
index 0eec13e..0000000
--- a/VERSION
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1 +0,0 @@
-v0.4.2