IEO Marketing Checklist

After working with crypto and blockchain startups from all over the world, I noticed the huge gap between ICO marketing and IEO marketing. In this article, I would like to share my experience and insights working at 
Guerrilla Buzz with some of the most interesting and innovative blockchain companies to help you plan and execute the best marketing campaign for your IEO.

Intro
From the proverbial ashes of Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), which whilst still popular amongst the crypto community, are beginning to fall out of favor with newer crypto investors and certain skeptics of the blockchain community in general, a new form of offering is on the rise. This is mainly due to the perceived risk of investing in an ICO and the chances for fraud, with some reports stating that over 70% of ICOs run during 2017 were fraudulent.
 
 People are also concerned within the cryptocurrency sphere, about the unpredictable volatility of some coin projects. As a direct result of this, Stablecoins have been introduced to the market, these are cryptocurrency coins that maintain price stability. These, however, are not without their flaws and they have had speculation on whether or not they can maintain their own stability.
 
 This new offering is what is known as an Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). In this article, we are going to be explaining all of the key points that you need to know if you are planning to launch your blockchain project to the public using an IEO.

A Brief Explanation of IEOs
IEOs in simplistic terms are not that much different to ICOs in the way that they operate. Investors are still offered a number of cryptographic tokens in return for the money that they put into the specific IEO project.

The main difference between the two types of offers is that rather than the blockchain project itself having to set up the sale process themselves and having to target investors on their own, the sale of the tokens will be assisted and facilitated by a third-party, which is typically a cryptocurrency exchange.

As a result of this increase in IEO listing, a large number of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges have started to offer their own launchpad services. These are dedicated platforms that help to market and facilitate the launch of blockchain projects that the exchanges feel are the most likely to be a commercial success.

Make Sure You Engage Your Audience
One of the key things to keep in mind when trying to market your IEO to an outside audience is to make sure that if you do run a marketing campaign, you need to make sure that you are engaging with your target audience. If you are targeting millennials, try and do some research into what things are currently piquing the interest of that demographic and try to implement them into your marketing plan.

The importance of running marketing campaigns before you are picked up by an exchange is massive. Competition between various blockchain projects to get onto an exchange launchpad is incredibly fierce and the exchanges will be more likely to side with a project which has already developed a very steady, yet effective marketing presence. You’re not only looking to engage the investors, but also the exchanges themselves.

If you are unsure about running your own marketing operations, do not despair, there are a number of different companies that specialize in running the marketing operations of different blockchain projects.

Invest in Making Good PR
PR is among the more effective methods of disseminating relevant information about your blockchain project to the crypto community. Furthermore, if you are displaying your expertise in your PR then the community at large are likely to look at your project more favorably and may be more likely to invest into your business at a later date.

One of the most tried and tested methods of generating PR within the crypto world is to write guest posts on a variety of different cryptocurrency news outlets. This does not have to actually be about your project, however, you should be trying to disseminate worthwhile knowledge to the community. You should also be spreading value with your communications.

One example for a topic of a guest post would be to explain the problems that your blockchain project is trying to solve and then, in turn, explaining how your project is going to bring that problem to an end. 
 
 Making sure that you have good PR is a great way to ensure that when you begin your journey, searching for an exchange to pick you up, you will already have a sizable amount of online content related to you and your project. This online footprint will make you more desirable to exchanges in the long-term.

Below are some examples of popular sites used for guest posting:

● CryptoSlate

● TotalCrypto

● KryptoMoney

● CryptoRadar

● CoinSutra

Making Use of Social Media
Marketing yourself and your project over social media is one of the most cost-effective and popular ways of generating interest from masses of people. There are also certain social media sites that have a much larger number of cryptocurrency users than others, some examples of these are Reddit, Medium and Steemit.

Linkedin is also not a bad option.

One recommendation for your social media marketing is to start being proactive with it, long before you plan to actually pitch your idea to an exchange. One way of managing this is to keep posting updates relating to your project, this allows you to keep your community interested whilst creating worthwhile content for new readers also.

If you are lucky, you may also be able to communicate with people with similar interests and mentalities. If you get cozy with these individuals, they may be able to post about your project, also bringing more viewers to your pages and new potential customers for when you launch your IEO.

If you are looking to naturally grow your online audience, one of the most tried and tested methods of doing this is to dive in and start communicating in community discussions. When you are getting into these discussions, it is best to speak factually and to add undeniable value to the conversation. If you come across as intelligent and knowledgable, people are more likely to follow you and therefore will also be more likely to get involved in your blockchain project.

Choose an Exchange That Will Get You Maximum Engagement
Once you have effectively marketed your blockchain project and have developed a large online presence, it may be time for you to select an exchange that will host your IEO. One of the first things to consider is that you will want to form a partnership with the largest possible exchange so that you can get the largest amount of exposure and investment possible.

Secondly, when launching your IEO, you need to consider whether or not the exchange you are working with has a good reputation in the community. One way to do this is by reviewing news articles about your chosen exchange to make sure they have not been involved in any controversial dealings.

Also, get involved by engaging in conversations with different exchanges. From doing this, you will be able to get an idea of how you feel about each exchange and whether you believe that the exchange will be able to do well by your project whilst making the right decisions to ensure the security of your investment potential.
 
Below is a comprehensive list of the most popular cryptocurrency exchange launchpads.

● Binance Launchpad

● Huobi Prime

● BW Launchpad

● Coineal Launchpad

● OKEx Jumpstart

● ZBG Launchpad

● BGOGO Apollo

● BitMax Launchpad

● IDAX Foundation

● Coinbene

● Latoken Launchpad

● Kucoin Spotlight

● Probit Launchpad

● Cobinhood

● Bittrex International

● Exmarkets Launchpad

Conclusion
There are definitely a large number of benefits to launching your blockchain project through an IEO, rather than using an ICO. You are likely to be viewed as more reputable by your potential investors, yet you will not have to go through that much red tape to set up your sale. This is in contrast to scam-heavy and untrusted ICOs and the overly regulated and suffocating red tape of Security Token Offerings.

It is also definitely recommended that you enlist the help of a specialist cryptocurrency marketing company to assist you with your pre-launch marketing. This will allow you to have the highest possible access to a large number of different investors even before your chosen exchange markets your project to their masses of users.

If you have a good product, have marketed your product effectively and have partnered with a popular and effective exchange then you will be able to make an effective run at raising money for your project. This money will be able to help you succeed in your objectives going forward.