Report: How To Launch A Cryptocurrency
Ten Rules For Success
There is an old saying in insurance, ‘Nobody wakes up in the morning and decides they want to buy insurance.’ In a similar way, no one wakes up and decides that today is the day they are going to buy an altcoin.
So despite the hours you have devoted to turning your white paper into a masterpiece, I am sorry to inform you, but this glorious document will not sell itself. However, the good news is, the hours you spent fact-checking your white paper weren’t in vain.
The secret to launching a successful cryptocurrency is to have an eye-catching product that can stand up to scrutiny. If you have a striking product, but on closer inspection, the investor or commentator discovers you have granted yourself an over-generous allocation of tokens, your team has a checkered track record, your tokenomics stink or god forbid the technology doesn’t stack up, then you are dead in the water. The best marketing in the world isn’t going to save you or your project. So it is important before we start this journey together you have dotted all your i’s crossed all your t’s and your expensive firm of attorneys, in the unlikely event you have engaged any, have signed off on your white paper. The first job before we step onto the promotional path is…
Establish a Unique Brand
There are two important considerations before we embark on our journey remembering that marketing is all about presentation.
- Devise a unique identity and usability for your token
- Design an easy to remember face for your token
The Ambassador Program has been successfully implemented by numerous crypto startups. We recruit a team of experienced crypto enthusiasts, investors and influencers to support your project, share ideas and significantly, spread the word. The Ambassador Program is ideal for both new projects looking to quickly boost their following and existing projects having trouble rising above the noise. Contact us here for more information.
Starting at the Bottom
We are going to assume that you have no followers, and this is a totally new project. The world is your oyster, but with any oyster, you have serious work ahead of you. The first lesson we have to remember at this juncture is:
Rule # 1: There are no shortcuts
What does this mean? It means many of us will be tempted to sign up to a discussion forum, and without any engagement whatsoever, introduce the group to our new project. This kind of behavior is frowned upon and, more importantly, will get you banned. It is best to establish engagement and generate interest around you and your expertise before attempting to promote your project. This applies to all social media channels. That is why this lesson is probably one of the most important. Yes, we are all in a hurry to attract users, but patience will reap dividends in the long term.
Rule #2: Build an email marketing list
The King of Marketing
How many times have you heard people say that email marketing is the most effective form of marketing? Of course, this observation is as useful as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking competition if you have no one to email! But the observation is correct. If you had 1,000 people on your email list, you could reasonably expect a 5% conversion rate depending on the quality of your list. Possibly even 10% if your product is a stunner.
However, if you had 1,000 followers on Twitter, you could expect only 1% to read your Tweet and then, possibly 10% of those to engage (the actual figure is usually way lower than this). So your priority from day one is to focus all your media attention on building your email list. If you are banned from Twitter for an inappropriate post about Sleepy Joe and donkeys, there is no long-lasting harm to your business. ‘Own your customers’ is the motto here.
Rule #3: Own your customers
Rule #4: Issue a great press release
The Power of the Press Release
A good press release can make all the difference between success and failure. One thing it can also do is create the initial momentum which you need in any cryptocurrency project. A slow burn isn’t much good if you have a pre-sale or IDO you need to sell or users you must attract.
There are many press release services out there you can use, some are free (with many sneaky catches). We would advise against using a PR firm. They are usually all talk and have no results unless they follow the model of payment per published article, which few will accept because they rarely get any results! Writing an impactful press release is art, so if you use a free service, you will need to find someone to help you write a great press release.
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Social Media
There are many forms of social media, as you know. However, some are better than others in terms of the cryptocurrency market. It is understood, for example, that Facebook isn’t a go-to place for cryptocurrency discussions, however, saying that there are many large cryptocurrency groups on Facebook you should target. Initially, you should set up five social media accounts:
A Few Tips and Observations
Twitter — Crypto Twitter is a must for any crypto enthusiast or project owner. It is advisable to follow the main crypto influencers. See what they are talking about and try to engage in the discussion. If your project and or opinion is interesting enough, you may pick up a few of their followers as your own, which will, in turn, make it easier for you to attract theirs. But don’t depend on that. The tried and tested route is to post regularly about interesting subjects and engage with your followers. Also, search for relevant discussions and participate in these, which will help you pick up more followers. Don’t ram your sales pitch down your follower’s throats, social media is all about sharing useful information.
Reddit — This platform is also followed closely by crypto observers. As a new user, you should join the main cryptocurrency groups and post regularly to gain credibility. Reddit is a frustrating platform to use with a big brother mentality. If, for example, you are a member of the Bitcoin group (1.6m members) and you post about your DonkyCoin, then it is unlikely your post will be allowed onto the forum. Other groups have different rules, which can result in posts being held back.
YouTube — You can create a video or even a series of videos for only a few dollars. This is a must. A video adds credibility to your project. But an important rule emanates from this…
Rule #5: Talk and write in plain English assuming a non-technical audience
There are a few other interesting channels that are worth hitting, including BitcoinTalk, Discord, and Steemit. Both of these have a focused crypto audience which is worth cultivating.
Is Social Media Effective?
The reality is it takes time. It is not as immediate as paying for a Facebook or Google pop-up. But it is free, and it allows you to build a loyal following who you can communicate with regularly. Whilst it takes some time, it is an essential part of your marketing arsenal. There are shortcuts, but you must pay for these. Giveaways are a quick way to build followers, although the quality of these is debatable. Airdrops, prizes, and competitions are various methods people use. You can even pay people to do this for you. Sometimes they will even take your native currency rather than hard cash.
Rule #6: Integrate your marketing
Become an Expert
It is important especially, with social media that you become known as an expert in your field. You can obviously do this by posting sensible and valuable content on your various social media channels. The other way to achieve this is by writing regular articles on platforms such as Medium and getting other publications to publish your article both through Medium and directly. This is an effective way to gain recognition and followers as well as building your email database.
Writing articles is one way. We touched on creating videos on your own YouTube channel. You can make this a regular weekly thing if you have regular content to contribute. You can also combine your YouTube content with your own podcast presenting some of the same information. Perhaps including the odd guest.
Another way to gain quick traction is to appear as a guest on relevant podcasts — you can find relevant podcasts to appear on through podcast booking services — the biggest of which being Podcast Bookers, whose prices start at $500 per month for 2 shows per month to $700 per month for 4 shows per month. You can also appear on various Telegram channels as a guest to answer questions on your project. Channels usually charge for this. (They are called AMAs — Ask Me Anything).
Rule #7: Become an expert in your field
Affiliates
These types of programs allow you to pay a commission to someone if they refer a customer to your platform or token. You can decide on the exact trigger, at which point a commission or fee is payable. Realistically, it is going to be hard for a startup to attract affiliates, but it is something to think about. Another interesting approach you can take if you are approached by firms looking for such an arrangement is to turn the tables on them and suggest a reciprocal arrangement.
Airdrops
These are a great way to bring your project to the attention of an audience. By airdropping free tokens into the wallets of certain tokens or coin holders, will immediately create interest in your project. There is a huge community of people looking for airdrops. By setting aside a small percentage of your coins for an airdrop which you publicize through the various methods we have discussed above, should create a buzz around your coin. It also allows you to establish a user base that now have an interest in the success of your cryptocurrency. It is worth checking with your attorney however, to ensure you are not breaching any securities regulations by performing an airdrop.
Other Marketing
Paid for advertising — What we are talking about here is paying for Facebook ads and Google pop-ups or PPC (pay per click). These are Facebook words as regards cryptocurrency-related advertising, ‘While we will still require people to apply to run ads promoting cryptocurrency, we will narrow this policy to no longer require pre-approval for ads related to blockchain technology, industry news, education, or events related to cryptocurrency.’ This probably means an IDO would need to go through an approval process. However, we do believe that if you are trying to raise money by advertising on social media, this makes your project appear scammy. If, however, you are looking to attract users, then this is a more acceptable form of marketing.
Google had a sweeping ban on all cryptocurrency-related advertising however, it has relaxed this to allow regulated exchanges to buy ads in the US and Japan. That rules out an ICO/IDO or advertising for users.
YouTube is the go-to place for an educational video, however, it seems that many smaller crypto-related channels have been purged. We would suggest raising money through paid advertising in general smells of a scam. What would be better is to provide educational video content to attract users to your service.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — This will form the backbone of your email marketing strategy. It is important that your website is optimized for SEO. That means the more keywords you use, the higher your ranking on google. But it isn’t all about the keywords you use on your website. Your SEO ranking improves by setting up and linking to your various social media accounts.
Probably the most important method of improving your SEO ranking is cultivating what are called hyperlinks or links. This basically means your website address is being mentioned on another independent website. Links are very important, and this will not only attract more people to visit your website but will also boost your ranking on Google. Put simply, this allows more people to find you when they either type in your company or project name or a keyword that relates closely to you. The more links you have, the higher your ranking on Google. And this is why becoming an expert in your field is so important, as it allows you to get your and your company’s name and website address onto third-party platforms. So start writing!
Influencers — It is important but not essential that new projects get the support of influencers. This allows for instant exposure to their own followers, which, if you select your influencer carefully, could number in the hundreds of thousands. This will allow you to build your own followers very quickly. Obviously, these guys need to be paid. However, you should be able to negotiate a deal paid in your native token plus a small amount of crypto. It is definitely worth searching for an influencer as part of your marketing as it has the potential to fast-track your plan.
SMS — Text message marketing is a responsive form of promotion. However, again like advertising on social media, this really isn’t an advisable form of marketing for a project looking to build a great reputation unless you are a scammer, of course. Using cell phone numbers as a way of communicating with your clients via Telegram or WhatsApp groups is a way of creating loyalty through regular engagement.
Rule #8: Avoid scammy advertising
Get Someone Else to Do the Hard Work…
Obviously, you can employ a small team of bloggers and social media experts to do this work for you if you have deep pockets. Alternatively, you can retain a third-party agency to do much of the work. The problem here is social media marketing agencies aren’t cheap, and they don’t guarantee results therefore, 9 times out of ten, you walk away disappointed with the results. Our advice is to keep it all in-house. Why pay someone $2k per month just to manage your Twitter account when you can set aside an hour a day and do it yourself?
Conclusion
There are a few additional rules with which we will end this article.
Rule #9: Deliver on your promises
This is key to your success. By delivering on your plan and on key milestones, your audience and users will have more faith in the validity of your project and your credibility. If you continue to miss milestones and underperform, users will simply switch their attention to something else.
Rule #10: Regular public communication
Finally, provide regular updates and progress reports to your audience and users. Even if there’s not much to report, engage with your audience anyway. Maybe a new hire, a new joint venture, or another exchange listing your token are news items worth reporting. All of these communications increase the loyalty of your followers and your chances of their support when the time comes.
No Financial Advice
This report does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy in any way. Always do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose. Investing in cryptocurrencies is a high risk, and you could lose 100% of your investment.
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