More often than not, successful ICO projects come with great marketing. In order to ensure a successful ICO, planning a winning strategy is essential. Your ICO can sometimes be more important than the product itself as it is often the first impression that any investor can have of the project and team. If any poor first impressions exist in the beginning, it will be difficult to change the public perception of the project.

Luckily, we have created an Initial Coin Offering Checklist to help navigate the ICO fundraising process. This checklist goes into important details to ensure the smoothest ICO fundraising experience.

Definition of Initial Coin Offering

Initial coin offering (ICO) is a fundraising method in which blockchain companies raise funds for their new projects by issuing cryptocurrency tokens or coins in exchange for Bitcoin, ETH, or any other crypto or fiat currencies. Initial coin offering offers a wonderful opportunity for companies to issue crypto coins that have the potential to increase in value in the future. If this comes to pass, early investors will recoup amazing returns.

The first ICO was launched in July 2013 for Mastercoin (now Omi). Since then, thousands of ICOs have been conducted and a total of USD 12 billion have been raised through initial coin offerings. ICOs are advantageous for startups as they are not subject to the fundraising regulations imposed on banks and venture capitalists and instead offer simplified procedures to ease the process.

Create your Own Initial Coin Offering

Raising money through an initial coin offering involves three simple processes, and any project can create an ICO. Firstly, the cryptocurrency startup or project creates a whitepaper (similar to an IPO prospectus) detailing among other things, what the project is about, what the needs the project aims to fulfill,l and how long the ICO campaign will run for. Alongside a whitepaper, the project company may also issue a “yellowpaper”. This is a document that explains the project in more technical detail, such as complex calculations regarding the cryptocurrency structure, value, and creation.

In the next step, the company issues its coins or tokens through relevant ICO platforms. These tokens represent utility in the form of future products or services delivered by the company. In the event, the funds raised do not meet the minimum amount required by the project, the money is returned to the backers and the ICO is deemed unsuccessful. The company may choose to rely on an extensive marketing campaign in order to ensure that a large number of investors are acquired before the sale of tokens actually begins.

However, if the fund requirements are met within the specified timeframe, the money is used to further the company’s goals.

Here’s an Initial Coin Offering Checklist to guide your ICO marketing strategy.

1. Create a road map

The first item in your initial coin offering checklist. Like any company, a successful launch of an ICO requires you to understand your product, target audience, and growth strategy.

Usually, this starts with an informational document in the form of a white paper. This document is a first-class general description of your project and serves as a technical plan for your project. Your whitepaper should be accompanied by a roadmap that documents your schedule and provides investors with reasonable expectations for its launch.

2. Assemble a proven team with the ability to execute

Another important initial coin offering checklist item to consider. When starting an ICO, relationships are everything working on the project alone will not get your project very far. Keep in mind that you need a team of skilled professionals who can account for every aspect of the launch of an ICO. An experienced team is of great value to the project. Look for people who have a passion for blockchain technologies, and aspire to make an impact in their life and career.

3. Community building

The most effective part to get more and more audiences to support your ICO is to validate the crypto community. Having a sprawling white paper loaded onto a fancy website incensed with “shock and awe” vocabulary all on the wheels of a moot road map is no longer enough to attract a following of users, much less the attention of serious investors.

Projects must adopt of “community first” approach under which the project focuses on the opinions of its community members in development matters, rather than their own vision. The feedback of the community becomes a kind of democratic instrument in project traction and popularization as a product tailored for the users, and not for the founders alone.

By resorting to the community-first business model, you will be able to attract significant numbers of followers for product testing and application, which also raises awareness about the ICO in investor circles.

4. Business viability and technology check

Too many projects dive into ICO without even having a complete overview of their technology’s capabilities. Ideas are good, but they won’t satisfy your investors for long if unforeseen problems keep piling up or if your idea turns out to be unfeasible from a technology point of view. Moreover, the design of your technology needs to match the legal framework of your token economics. Technology and Legal have to be aligned at all times.

If you already have a beta version of your technology, don’t sit on it. Scalability and security are often underestimated. Take the time and invest in various independent smart contract reviews and audits as well as security test runs. Ask yourself how blockchain technology is adding value to your business and keep in mind that small mistakes can have a big impact.

5. A well-defined marketing strategy

Community building and PR strategies are essential tools to help you stand out in the industry. Before you start, set a solid marketing budget (about 5-10% of your ICO fundraising goal) to ensure that you can effectively promote the project. For ICOs, a marketing campaign includes social media marketing and web advertising, but also direct communication and a demonstrated influence in the crypto industry.

Communicate your goals and progress every step of the way in today´s social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Many ICO´s are also developing their conversation in Discord and Telegram. All of these platforms are valuable marketing channels for an ICO. These tools & channels also form communities that allow you to connect with your customer base after the ICO launch.

Aim for Transparent ICO process

When it comes to the financial aspect of the ICO process, our best advice is to play it safe. Leave nothing to chance. Being reliable and professional is your best asset when it comes to distinguishing yourself and securing a successful ICO.

Transparency is as essential as safety. Start by gearing up your wallets with the highest possible security features. We also advise for all the transactions to be fully automated and included in a smart contract. Lastly, all the funds raised should go into an escrow account with multi-signature functions to ensure trust between all stakeholders.

Building a reliable and trustworthy ICO project will most likely bring you success. It will also be decisive when thinking about listings. Having your token listed on a reputable exchange is a game-changer, as its value will be assessed in relation to the coins it can be exchanged for.

TokenMinds Initial Coin Offering Services

TokenMinds has been a leading crypto marketing agency for more than 6 years. We’ve adapted Initial Coin Offering services alongside industry changes and best practices. Our deep ICO marketing experience allows your company to secure funding through ICO fundraising. We help you reach the highest possible number of investors for a successful token sale.

Our strategists will launch ICO campaigns to capitalize on your project’s potential, pushing your offering in front of crypto audiences.

Here’s a quick rundown of expert ICO services you can expect from your TokenMinds team:

• ICO development

• Token sale structure

• Whitepaper creation

• Crypto influencer and thought leader marketing

• PR and media

• Social media management

• Community building and management

• Website development and SEO (search engine optimization)

• ICO advertising

Initial Coin Offering Blog

Launching an ICO campaign is hard, time-consuming, and expensive, but there’s another way.

By doing your homework, reading this guide and other articles we publish in our blog, and creating a great strategy for your ICO, you can increase the chance your Initial Coin Offering will be successful. If you need help with your ICO feel free to contact our ICO expert. If you need help with ICO marketing and fundraising, reach out to our team on WhatsApp or Telegram.