It takes more than a great idea to launch an ICO – you need the right agency to run with you

You put your heart and soul into your idea. You know it’s good, but how do you ensure it’s seen by enough of the people who matter. And – even more importantly – how do you give your idea the best chance of scaling quickly.

Bear in mind that launching an ICO requires the same sort of approach that launching a business does. The great idea, as with anything, is just the beginning and the journey must start with the first step followed by the next, and the one after that.

The first step is to identify the most effective channels for your token sale campaign.

A top-notch digital agency will start by analysing your business and your offering and identifying exactly which channels you need to utilise to maximise your reach. Remember, your agency must be familiar with emerging decentralized blockchain tech – repeat, this is vital. A multi-channel campaign must be designed with the aim of bringing your story to life and should consist of 3 stages:

Discovery – total immersion into your business to understand your initial coin offering objectives and challenges.

Design – go-to-market plan that takes care of all possible engagement pre-ICO, during and post the token sale. This is where all the necessary assets/channels are designed and developed (check that this includes a PR plan, a leak strategy, website, social media and videos).

Delivery – you’ll need support once the campaign is live, a good agency will use a mix of technology and human intervention to optimise and then monitor performance. Ideally campaign data is analysed daily and things like interviews and images are posted on social media.

Ensure that your agency has a plan that runs the full gamut from pre-event to post. Ensure that they are able to make themselves available on a daily basis once the event is up and running. Ensure they have demonstrable experience in analysing the progress of marketing strategy roll-out across all channels. Below is a quick check-list for some of the elements that should be included in any marketing strategy proposed to you:

• Marketing Planning
• Brand Development including Logo Design
• ICO PR Communications (Partner Agency specialising in Tech Comms)
• ICO Website Design
• Email/Newsletter Marketing
• ICO White Paper Design and Proofreading
• Social Media (paid & organic)
• SEO (on-site & off-site)
• Paid Search (Adwords/Programmatic)
• Display Advertising
• Native Advertising
• Video Production
• Events

The Campaign Budget Plan (should include)

• Branding
• Website
• SEO
• Paid Search (should include display and native ads)
• Social Media
• PR
• Offline Advertising
• Content Marketing (budget should include things like email blasts, video production, blogs development)
• Events

So, It takes more than a great idea to launch an ICO – it takes a solid marketing strategy designed and carried out by an experienced agency with all the right skills.