How to Market Cryptocurrency (And How NOT to Do It!)

There are now over 10,000 active cryptocurrencies and it could be extremely challenging to get noticed. Learn how to do it here!

How to Market a Cryptocurrency

In the early days of crypto, "marketing" just meant that you would post your project to the famous Bitcoin Forum (bitcointalk.org), that Satoshi Nakamoto launched, and very likely, you'd attract thousands of viewers and many potential investors.

Those days are well and truly gone.

So then, how to market cryptocurrency?

The short answer is that it depends.

There are now over 10,000 active cryptocurrencies and if we take into account the many projects that have since been kicked to the curb to die a slow and horrible cyber-death, we'd be looking at well over 20,000! That's who you're competing with!

The reality is that not all cryptocurrency projects are the same and due to that fact, the way that you reach your audience of potential backers and investors differs because it has to.

Is your project unique, does it have utility, how many tokens are you minting, what is the mining process, can it be mined, and is it being launched on Ethereum or on Binance, or perhaps you're developing your own blockchain?

There are so many options when it comes to cryptocurrency projects that the answer entirely depends on the foundation and structure of each individual project. But keep reading because there are proven methods that work for just about every project.

The Real Answer to 'How to Market Cryptocurrency' Is to Look at the Similarities

Each successful project launch requires a well-thought-out marketing strategy to get people interested and then follow up with some sort of action prompt, whether it be investing, downloading a piece of software or video game, mining, farming, or something entirely unique.

Below, I'll list a handful of marketing methods that are proven to work for any cryptocurrency project.

7 Proven Ways to Market Any Cryptocurrency

Below are 7 ways you can market any cryptocurrency.

Again, it is imperative to critically analyze your target market, budget, brand message, and marketing goals before settling for any of these methods to market your cryptocurrency.

Airdrops

Crypto Airdrops

Airdropping crypto is one of the most popular ways you can market your new cryptocurrency. Airdropping is an activity that involves sending a designated amount of your launched cryptocurrency to the wallet addresses of your early fanbase or anyone that partakes in the airdrop process.

A simple way to look at an airdrop is similar to a 'free coke' coupon or other similar takeout food discount offer. It's something that is given away for free in order to promote uptake and get people through the door.

The major difference is that usually what happens as part of an airdrop is that before releasing your new cryptocurrency into your fan's wallet address, they are required to complete a set of tasks to give your cryptocurrency more traction within the crypto community and help grow its reach.

These tasks range from asking the fans to like posts about your project, following your project across all social channels, re-tweeting, sharing, or signing up to community groups on Discord and Telegram.

Some of the biggest cryptocurrency projects, in history, such as Bitcoin Cash and Stellar have used airdrops as part of their launch and marketing strategy.

Social Media Promotions

Crypto Twitter

As with almost any product or service nowadays, social media is not something you can pass up, in fact, I would suggest that if you are lacking a social media promotion strategy, your project is very likely to fail for the very simple reason that social media is where most people spend their time online.

Twitter for example is one of the designated homes for virtually all cryptocurrency projects and their fans, especially the English-speaking ones. If you're not active on Twitter or at the very least have a Twitter account, you are handicapping yourself.

Outside of Twitter, the crypto community is among the most active on apps such as Discord, YouTube, Reddit, and Telegram.

Organizing a social media team that can create intriguing content for your projects is imperative, if you have a decent budget you can consider hiring staff and utilizing paid ads if the platform allows it.

Check the policies first. Some social media platforms are very strict when it comes to financial and related (crypto) services being advertised while others are more relaxed. Twitter says that "The promotion of cryptocurrency products or services is only allowed with prior authorization from Twitter." and Reddit's policy is a little more wordy, but similar.

If you do not have a budget for social media promotions, consider using your fan base if you have one to get your message out. This might seem like a bit of a chicken and egg problem because, well, it is, but the reality is that, even if you have just one or two people on your project team, you can use these accounts to contribute to the existing crypto communities on Twitter, ad value and begin to grow your fan base.

The more people you can get to follow your social media accounts, the more likely it is that your cryptocurrency project gets the exposure it needs. One re-tweet from a big account on Twitter could get your project seen by tens of thousands of people.

And for the love of all that is holy, please don't buy followers!

Seeing crypto accounts on Twitter with hundreds of thousands of followers but almost no engagement is just cringe-inducing because we all KNOW what it means. It means the person behind the account paid for all their "followers".

Influencer Marketing

Crypto Influencers

As the popularity of cryptocurrency grew, there was an increase in demand for influencers and KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) within the industry.

A crypto influencer can promote your cryptocurrency project and get it across to a larger audience that is active. By partnering with influencers, you can build organic marketing campaigns that enable you to reach millions of followers in the blockchain industry.

The number one reason influencer marketing is so successful is because of the social proof concept. People are more likely to buy a product recommended by a trusted source instead of a video or tweet that they have perhaps come across from an unknown source (an entity with no reputation).

Influencer marketing for all its benefits can also be risky. I suggest you consider these next 3 points.

  1. Is the influencer legitimate and are their followers real?
    As mentioned above. There are so many fake accounts on social media platforms like Twitter. In fact, it's estimated by different sources that Twitter may have as many as 20% fake or bot accounts. The last thing you want is to work with an "influencer" whose followers are all bots. A good idea here is to ask the influencer to provide engagement data and always start small, meaning don't agree to any significant deals without first dipping your toes in and seeing how their audience engages with your content. Another way to find a reputable influencer is to engage a third-party company that specializes in influencer marketing and management.
  2. Is the influencer going to spam your cryptocurrency project or service?
    Many so-called influencers will blatantly operate spam campaigns where they will message and send spam to random crypto-related accounts in the hopes that they can convince someone to look at what it is they are shilling. Firstly this just does not work, I've never met or heard of anyone that has invested in a project because of a spammer, but more importantly, it can completely ruin your brand. I have personally reached out to brands that had hired "influencers" who were spamming me and when the brand found out what their hired guns were doing, they weren't too happy. Do your due diligence and ask to see evidence of their previous campaigns.
  3. Is your influencer a moron?
    Seriously. We've all seen the news, 'Jake Paul Exposed as Crypto Scammer'. In my opinion, he's not a scammer, he's just stupid. And he's just the tip of the iceberg. If you're going to hire an influencer, make sure they know what they're talking about and aren't just going to plug your cryptocurrency into their army of adolescent and malleable followers who hang off every word the influencer says.

What can influencers do? Influencers can be hired to do anything from sending a series of tweets, to filming product reviews, writing blog posts, or sending email blasts.

The cost to hire an influencer? It depends on their reach. I have seen some influencers with good reach charging between $300 and $500 dollars for a series of tweets or a blog post, whereas some of the top-level influencers charge between $10,000 - $30,000 for a single campaign.

You can simply reach out to influencer marketing agencies and ask the question or just send a message to the influencer themselves to find out. Normally they will have a media pack or price list that they can share with you.

Press Release

Crypto Press Releases

Another good way of marketing your cryptocurrency is through a press release. This involves publishing news about your cryptocurrency on reputable crypto or tech-related websites.

Over time, some websites have gained authority in the crypto community. Many avid cryptocurrency newsreaders visit these websites (like ours) to get factual information about different cryptocurrencies. Publishing your cryptocurrency launch on some of these websites helps to get your project in front of a large audience that is already primed toward crypto.

It also exposes your project to other bloggers who may want to write about your cryptocurrency project as well as possibly also providing some SEO benefits.

The cost of a press release? Press releases can be purchased from sites like Fiverr for as little as $150. The problem is that they won't end up on any crypto-related websites and so there isn't really any benefit. Your best bet is to contact crypto websites and blogs directly and ask how much a press release or promoted post costs. Some crypto websites charge as little as $250 per press release while others charge upwards of $1500 per release.  

Events

Crypto Events

Events like physical meet-ups will never go out of fashion when marketing your cryptocurrency.

Humans are social animals, and we like to be recognized by people with similar interests. Organizing or attending events is one of the underrated ways to beat your competition because it gives you that social edge that competitor projects can not compete with if they are not getting out and about.

Almost all of the large sites such as CoinMarketCap and CoinDesk will have a crypto events calendar that you can view. Other smaller sites that I like and would love to share are sites like CoinMarketCal which specialize in publishing crypto events.

The idea here is to either create your own event and get it published on these types of sites or for any generic event, see if you can attend, book a table or getting a speaking position. If you don't have the budget to pay for a table or similar exposure, just buy a ticket, attend and put your networking hat on!

AMAs

Ask Me Anything. Crypto AMAs are public question-and-answer sessions that are held either by the crypto project themselves on their own platforms and with their own audience or by select AMA organizations of which there are now plenty of.

AMAs can be held in text, audio-only, or video formats with Telegram and Discord seeming to be super popular platforms where AMAs take place because of their open and easy-to-use formats.

Groups that market and organize AMAs have popped up everywhere and they charge a pretty penny. One group I reached to that is primarily based on Telegram charges up to $8,000 per AMA. The benefit of using these groups is that they come pre-loaded with crypto-primed enthusiasts and investors. The group mentioned had over 30k Telegram members and 100k followers on Twitter.

Last but not least...

Exchange Listings

Crypto Exchanges

Crypto exchanges are synonymous with cryptocurrencies because without the exchanges it'd be very hard for the currency to even exist or at least be easily accessible. The exchange is the lifeblood of the currency in a way.

Many centralized exchanges charge exorbitant fees and have intense processes that take many weeks in order to be listed. To get listed on a large centralized exchange such as Binance or Crypto.com could cost you upwards of $100,000.

Centralized exchanges provide exposure and access to liquidity, which is not something that is easy to come by and this is precisely why they charge so much money. In many cases, popular centralized exchanges will not accept a crypto project unless it meets specific criteria.

Decentralized exchanges are a little bit different. Because they are decentralized and are run by algorithms, there is no entity that you can pay to be listed, instead, you need to create your own liquidity pool and then set up the pairs that you would like to be allowed to be swapped.

The key message with exchanges is that the more exchanges you can list your cryptocurrency on, usually, the better it is because you are opening up access to your coin. A non-accessible coin is a dead coin in my opinion.

How to Market Cryptocurrency Summary

There are a bunch of ways to market a cryptocurrency project. The key is in defining the characteristic of the project and going to where that project's fans and investors are.  

For large, global-scale projects, you have to do everything and then some. Smaller, more niche projects, like the many meme-based coins may be able to get away with just one type of marketing strategy.

I like to think of marketing like fishing. Sounds weird at first, but it's a great analogy once you understand it. You wouldn't use a whole herring (25cm/9.8in) when fishing for something like a trout which is roughly the same size (a little bigger), you'd use a smaller bait, this is just common sense. It's the same with marketing, you look at what you have, you try to define where that audience might be and you go there and use the right types of hooks and baits to get your audience to bite. It ALL depends on what it is you have to offer. Define that and go from there.

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