Unlike the more expensive centralized exchanges, DEX allows projects to list tokens without paying hefty fees. These protocols are permissionless, which makes it easier for anyone in the world to purchase the tokens. A liquidity exchange relies on liquidity pools – instead of order books – with which traders can swap token. This also facilitates the exchange of smaller coins such as those issued by new projects. As a result, IDOs have become the preferred method to distribute tokens and raise capital in Defi.
One of the first projects to hold an IDO was UMA, an Ethereum-based platform for issuing and trading synthetic assets. UMA put 2% of the total token supply into a liquidity pool for a starting price of $0.26, but saw its price jump to more than $2 minutes after the launch. Although the price later stabilized at around $1.2, UMA’s example showed how quickly IDO tokens can be traded on liquidity pools. Investors buy their tokens quickly when it is launched and resell them at a higher price later in what is known as bonding curve model.
Fast trading is a compelling reason to launch an IDO. Other benefits of Initial Dex Offerings include:
- Immediate liquidity – the project’s token gets access to immediate liquidity, which can benefit the token price.
- Low fees – project teams only need to pay gas fee for deploying a new smart contract. This smart contract controls the liquidity pool and the asset’s token.
- Open and fair fundraising – The IDO model allows anyone to participate in the fundraising. Thus, project teams no longer need to rely on traditional private investments to kickstart their token sale. It has been observed that in the past that private investors buy a large number of tokens for a reduced price. They will resell then these tokens to the general public gaining a huge profit, hurting the token’s price. This will no longer happen with Initial Dex Offerings.
In this article, we explain the basics of IDO crypto marketing as well as how to go about promoting your Initial Dex Offering to the crypto community. This guide is based on our own experience of working in the crypto market since early 2015 and is purposefully designed to help you run a successful IDO.
1. Build a Website
There is much to gain from online exposure and IDO projects can gain significantly from having an SEO-optimized website. Initially, you may want to publish updates on Medium rather than your own website. Medium usually gets ranked high on Google due to its high domain authority. But that strategy may not be effective in the long term. Writing on Medium helps to create the buzz now, but it won’t help you convert that traffic into investors because very few people will visit your website. A blog should be the main platform to educate investors about your project and technology.
Examples of content ideas for your company blog:
- Updates about the role of the product in the wider blockchain ecosystem
- Latest reports about achievements and milestones
- New investment updates
- Organizing and participating in events, contests, and airdrops
- News related to IDO or public sale
One of the best practices for Initial Dex Offerings involves building the brand by creating high-quality content that incorporates relevant keywords on your blog. This will help you to rank higher on the search engine result page which in turn increases traffic. Always target long-tail keywords for SEO. Long-tail keywords get less search traffic, but will usually have a higher conversion value, as they are more specific. They allow you to gradually get more traffic to your site and be found by new and motivated audiences.
2. Community Engagement for IDO
A great strategy that plays a huge role in enhancing your IDO marketing efforts is to consider engaging your target audience. Community engagement is highly valuable and should be given a lot of importance. Why? Because it gives you a clear understanding of who your investors are and what they want! Our advice is to actively initiate and engage in community discussions on BitcoinTalk, Reddit, Telegram, Twitter, and other platforms. The aim is to create a buzz around your DEX offering on various platforms in order to promote the project but also for getting adequate feedback from the community. Furthermore, you want to build a strong relationship with your investors, so prioritize providing updates on a consistent basis and responding to community questions and feedback. You can also optimize your reach by conducting contests, airdrops, and AMAs. AMA (ask me anything) is a great way to grow active followers and get everyone more involved.
BitcoinTalk is the perfect platform to release news via ANN post (Altcoin Announcements) to build the buzz around your project. Reddit provides a platform to interact with fans by asking questions and responding to community feedback. Twitter is very fast-paced and is ideal for sharing interesting stories and developments about the project. Telegram is mainly for crypto communities who just want a relaxed space to hang out, discuss their project and its news, goals, and roadmap.
Medium and Discord are also a favorite with the blockchain community as people come here to interact with the developers, marketing team, and people close to the project.
3. Select a Trusted Decentralized Exchange (DEX)
Your IDO marketing is not complete until you get a reputable decentralized exchange to launch your token. When selecting a crypto exchange for your initial exchange offering, pay close attention to its popularity as a more popular exchange will ensure you sell to a wider network of investors. Some of the most popular DEX platforms include Uniswap, Paraswap, Balancer, Fulcrum, 0x, Kyber, etc.
Here are some of the things to consider when selecting DEX for your IDO fundraising
:Slippage – Arguably the most important aspect a DEX. Always take into consideration the slippage associated with the trading pair. As a general rule of thumb, the more obscure the pair (i.e. exchanging tokens with small respective market caps) the more slippage there will be. Almost every DEX will display the expected slippage under their “Advanced” options.
30-Day Volume – The best way to ensure a DEX is worthwhile is to check its relative volume. Generally, those with the most volume over a 30 day period tend to be the most reputable.
Custody – Pay attention to the degree of custody a DEX requires. The spectrum varies greatly and we largely recommend using DEXs which do not require assets to be deposited to other smart contracts for trading to happen.
Audit History – Virtually all DEXs will undergo a rigorous amount of audits before their “full launch”. It’s always great to make sure a platform has been audited before using it to launch your tokens.
Social Presence – Projects which have community-backing are often most active on social media. If you’re unsure about using a DEX, check out their Twitter/Telegram to see if the community is engaging with their posts as a signal of trust.
4. PR Marketing for IDOs
With the website launched a strong community is being built around the project, the next step involves adding your project to top crypto trackers (DeFi trackers and IDO trackers). Most of the trackers will add you for free (with a PRO option for more coverage available).
Start with major trackers — tier-2 trackers should add you automatically once you are on tier-1 sites. The next step will be to feature your story on top publications (both general and crypto media). This shouldn’t necessarily be about technology (interested investors will view it in-depth in your whitepaper), but more focused on expectations and possibilities. If you already have an agreement to be listed on major DEX exchanges — this is good news for potential investors.
The other option is press releases. You just need to find the right angle here (focus on expectations, not technology) and distribute your press release to top crypto websites. Other PR opportunities that can accelerate the growth of your project are joint venture partnerships, longer-form industry media interviews, and podcasts. These strategies can help position your project as an industry thought leader, further creating an opportunity for the company to promote its success within the industry and in mainstream media.
TokenMinds: IDO Marketing Agency Initial Dex Offerings are the future of crypto fundraising. But to capture the opportunities presented by IDOs and succeed, you need the right IDO marketing strategy. TokenMinds has helped Defi startups and projects understand their core product value and developed marketing strategies to help successful IDO. With decades of collective experience, our team can help Defi projects reach their fundraising goal through effective Initial Dex Offering marketing and promotion. Talk to us.