Ready for an ICO? Make Sure Your Marketing Machine is Too

Launching an ICO requires a lot of planning, and an effective marketing campaign

Visit etherparty.com for more information on Rocket, Etherparty’s all-in-one, end-to-end solution for crypto-crowdfunding.

You’ve got the project, grown your team, and have a stellar plan in place for launch of your initial coin offering (ICO). But will it be enough to attract contributors?

Releasing an ICO requires the same level of planning that you would expect for any major product launch. A marketing plan is essential to put the wheels in motion to build brand visibility and prove the viability of your business model.

Consider your audience

The first step is to think about your target audience. Who is your ideal contributor? Consider what problems you can help solve for this persona, what kind of content they consume, and where you can reach them.

Build your strategy

Next, you need to consider a variety of ways to reach your target audience to get your ICO off the ground.

Marketing plans generally include a situation analysis, marketing strategy, sales forecast and expense budget. The situation analysis involves a market analysis, SWOT analysis, and a competitive analysis of the business landscape. This is necessary to help you understand how you can differentiate yourself from the competition.

Once you have the lay of the land, it’s time to build out your strategy across owned, earned and paid marketing.

Owned

White paper

This is the lynchpin of most ICO content strategies. Your whitepaper should outline the problem you are trying to solve, your proposed solution, product description, development and implementation plans, team information, and token issues. It’s an essential public document for you to highlight why a contributor or early supporter should consider your offering.

Lead generating website

It sounds obvious, but your website is the first place potential contributors will look for information beyond your whitepaper. A website with clear copy and consistent branding is essential to project professionalism.

Make it easy for website visitors to find what they need — clearly outline your solution, include an “about” section to explain the company, and ensure you have high-quality “free” content such as blogs (which are useful for SEO), as well as longer-form content (such as your whitepaper but also a one-page explainer, case studies or further research papers) behind a gated form.

Email marketing

Gating content makes it easier to create lists for email marketing. Drum up subscribers by sending out content to prospective contributors who have opted in for updates.

Email marketing becomes even more essential if you plan on running a whitelisting campaign. Email automation software simplifies this process, with software ranging from free or cheap (such as Benchmark) to pricier with all the bells and whistles (such as Marketo or Pardot).

Earned

Social media and forums

It’s not enough to just lob a whitepaper into the world and hope for the best. You need to be visible to your target audience. This means having a presence at their preferred watering holes. Social media like Twitter and LinkedIn are a good start, but also consider Reddit, Telegram, Bitcointalk and other forums where you can engage with your community.

Public Relations

The humble press release and media list should not be forgotten. Consider how you can space out your announcements. If you don’t have major product developments, is it possible to offer ICO bounties or competitions to gain momentum, or announce partnerships with other organizations to increase your company’s profile? The more creative or impactful you are, the more likely you are to attract publicity.

ICO listing sites

Listing sites and calendars are a good option for gaining visibility. There are many platforms to choose from, which range from free listings such as, Token Market and CoinRating, to paid sites such as Coin Schedule, ICO List, and Coin Telegraph. Working with an agency can help you target a number of lists and optimize your resources.

Paid

In-Person Events

While digital channels are important, meeting potential supporters face-to-face is often even more crucial to ICO success. Consider hosting or attending local meet-ups or browse events in your region:

Social Advertising

In addition to native posts, consider running a trial paid social campaign on platforms such as Twitter or LinkedIn. Analytics are key to seeing whether you achieve ROI in the form of click-through, increased page views or other metrics.

Direct Advertising

Consider what impact you want to make with ad buys and how you can be effective. A number of ad networks specialize in cryptocurrency related sites, for example Coin Traffic and Coin Ad.

Analyze, tweak and repeat

Marketing is not a “one-and-done” process. You may want to run multiple campaigns to compare messaging, attend different in-person events, or adjust ad spend on less successful campaigns. Whatever your strategy, it’s important to keep momentum going and build as many touchpoints as possible with potential contributors and supporters.

Visit etherparty.com for more information on Rocket, Etherparty’s all-in-one, end-to-end solution for crypto-crowdfunding. We will have a dedicated landing page up for Rocket soon, so stay plugged in to exclusive content, updates, and announcements by signing up for our company newsletter, and by following us on Telegram.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for more on what you will need for a successful product launch, consider exploring this article from HubSpot for more tips and best practices.