  Given a two-sided shift space on a finite alphabet and a continuous potential
function, we give conditions under which an equilibrium measure can be
described using a construction analogous to Hausdorff measure that goes back to
the work of Bowen. This construction was previously applied to smooth uniformly
and partially hyperbolic systems by the first author, Pesin, and Zelerowicz.
Our results here apply to all subshifts of finite type and H\"older continuous
potentials, but extend beyond this setting, and we also apply them to shift
spaces with synchronizing words.
