The emergence of blockchain technology has transformed the modern financial landscape. Fifteen years on from the launch of bitcoin, the cryptocurrency industry has become an indisputable fixture of the global economy with participation and integration across the spectrum, from retail investors to institutions and governments. What started out as a niche interest has evolved into a massive, fertile ground of opportunity.
However, given the interest that the crypto space has drawn, it has become crowded with more and more projects popping up. From an investor’s standpoint, this can make it quite difficult to identify new ventures with merit in a field that can seem oversaturated. From the perspective of a crypto startup, the density of the space can make the task of standing out and garnering investors and attention arduous.
One of the best ways to get your project off the ground and gain momentum moving forward is by having a successful token presale. Presales, when successful, accomplish several things. For one, they bring in the necessary capital that will help your startup get off the ground and put it on track to achieve the things it was intended to. They also build up communities and cultures, something that can be invaluable in the long run. A presale is, for many, the first impression they will get of a project and that impression can make or break a given startup.
With that in mind, in this article, we are going to take a look at the presale process and provide a number of tips on how to make your token presale go viral. Of course, every project has its own needs depending on its size and ambitions. However, there are a number of proven techniques and reliable tools out there that can help you launch a presale that will put your startup firmly on the right path towards success.
Crafting a narrative
When starting out, a project is only as good as its story. In this industry, value is determined by the market and that market will only respond to initiatives with something that is capable of gripping people. There are thousands and thousands of cryptocurrencies out there and new tokens are launching every day. Given the current circumstances, it can be very difficult for a new project to stand out and draw the attention of investors, regardless of how sound its underlying technology may be.
From day one, it is essential that your project offers people a narrative and how compelling that narrative will go a long way in determining the appeal of your startup to your audience and prospective investors. The aim of crafting a good narrative should be to highlight all the strengths of your project and present them in a way that simply and convincingly shows how they are both necessary and will lead to growth.
The problem that many projects make when crafting a narrative is that they oversell and end up sounding unrealistic. The crypto industry has significantly matured. People are no longer going to be sold on startups that promise to completely transform the world. Instead:
- identify what the problem is that your project is positioned to solve,
- how it will solve it
- and where you intend to go in the long term.
The more clear you are with how you position yourself, the easier it will be for prospective investors and members of the crypto community to identify with it.
Marketing
Once you have your narrative set out, the next step is marketing that narrative and getting the word out about your startup. After all, just having a token presale is not going to amount to anything if there is no public interest. Marketing is key to the success of any project starting out in crypto and effective marketing can equate to the difference between a highly successful token sale and a complete dud.
Step 1 – set up a good-looking website
Start marketing your startup with creating a website that is easy to navigate and lays out all the essential information about your project. While it is not always necessary, information about your team can be very helpful in giving a face to the product and establishing trust with prospective investors. The website will serve as the base for information about the startup and as such it should be updated regularly with care.
Step 2 – increase your presence on crypto-friendly social platforms
Once the website is taken care of, the marketing has to move outwards to where the crypto community lives. This is on social media, the most important of which are X, Reddit, Telegram and Discord. It is important to lay the groundwork for community building on these platforms as soon as possible, as researching a project often involves people checking these sites and apps for information. Your presence on these platforms should be active and engaging and the more work you do to see that through, the more likely your startup is to attract a sizable audience.
Token launchpads
The actual process of launching your token presale is crucial. The last thing you want is to lay all the groundwork and then have issues with the sale, marring your reputation and crippling your project’s future potential. You want the presale to be as seamless as possible and there are a number of ways to ensure that this is the case.
Depending on the size of your startup and the resources at your disposal, it could be a great idea to look at some of the reliable token launchpads that are available on the market. There are a lot of exchanges out there that offer assistance with token launches, and ChangeNOW’s NOW Launchpad is one of the most convenient ways of getting your token presale off the ground without expending undue time and resources.
The NOW Launchpad was designed to help crypto startups create, launch, and manage their tokens in the most simple way possible. The launchpad comes with a comprehensive presale package that includes landing-page construction (with crypto payments integration backed in via NOWPayments), dedicated Telegram mini-apps for tap-to-earn projects, marketing support, technical assistance and analytics help.
The range of presale services offered by NOW Launchpad is tailored to the needs of your project. This ensures that all your bases are covered on the presale front and allows you to concentrate on the other aspects that are crucial for the success of your business.
ChangeNOW offers its NOW Launchpad platform in conjunction with its NOW ecosystem of products. Access to this ecosystem can open up crucial roads in your project’s development, as you will gain exposure to the exchange’s massive user base and partner network via listings on both ChangeNOW and NOWPayments.
Additionally, the exchange gives startups access to its Multichain Bridge, which supports token presales and Token Generation Events. While not perfect for every project, tools like this can really propel a project forward in its initial stages.
Joining token sales calendars
Once the stage is set for your token presale, the event has to be publicized and brought to the awareness of the general public. A great way of doing this is by getting your presale included on major token sales calendars.
Source: CoinCodex
Token sales calendars are aggregators that provide users with lists of upcoming token sales and other profit opportunities. Getting on the right calendars can translate to a successful presale as these lists are frequented by many in the industry who are looking to get in on the ground floor of great projects.
Transparency
While it may seem rote, one cannot overemphasize the importance of transparency in this process. The cryptocurrency industry has been plagued with trust issues over the years as bad actors have sought to exploit overeager and unknowing investors. The best thing a startup can do for its overall health is to establish transparency and open communication with its community at large from the get-go.
The details of the token presale and the tokenomics of your project should be completely ironed out before any information is made public. There is a high level of suspicion directed towards new ventures in this space so it is important that you make sure that everything is covered and legitimate before you start inviting people to take a look at your project.
Once the token presale has occurred, it is essential that everything goes as planned. Of course, unexpected things happen in life. However, if something should happen that affects the presale, the onus is on the project team to explain what happened and what steps will be taken as a result. Without the trust of your community, it will be impossible to grow in this industry.
Conclusion
While every startup is different and has different needs when it comes to launching, the above-mentioned tips apply generally across the board. The first impression your project makes will most likely stick with it throughout its existence. Therefore, it is very important that you do everything you can to ensure that your token presale is successful and sets the stage for where your project will go in the future. Myopic approaches, maximizing profits in the short term at the expense of long-term project health, will most likely doom your startup to a short lifespan.
