Introduction
If you think about some of the most successful NFT launches in the last two years, you might think of projects such as BAYC (Bored Ape Yacht Club), NBA Top Shot, VeeFriends, and many more.
All these NFT launches and many more have a crucial thing in common – A good NFT launch campaign. But how to launch an NFT?
The NFT industry is in its nascent stages and hence there’s a lot of noise around it. As a result, one of the key aspects of making an NFT launch successful is a good marketing campaign around it.
For instance, when NBA opened its marketplace Top Shot, it marketed itself as a space where people could buy collectibles and memorabilia associated with their favorite players. The company even tied up with several influencers leading to it becoming one of the biggest marketplaces in the space.
In the case of VeeFriends by Gary Vaynerchuck, he marketed his collection as a medium through which he could provide value and utility to all his fans. Banking on the existing brand Gary Vee created and promising a new venture where his fans could be involved as well, VeeFriends made record-high sales of $343.83 million in August.
These instances point to the fact that NFT launch strategies must be a big part of your efforts while you develop your NFTs. Here’s why.
Why is an NFT Launch Strategy Necessary?
A launch strategy enables you to create your collection with a goal in mind. In today’s world, NFTs act as the ultimate loyalty program for brands that have already established themselves.
But if you’re new to the space, and want to carve out your own niche, you’ll need to build the brand and the community around your collection, and give this community a reason to grow.
Furthermore, there are numerous NFT projects emerging almost every other week. So what makes your project stand out from the rest? What would instantly catch the eyes of your audience and keep them interested even after they’ve bought your NFT?
Launch strategies answer these questions and empower you to create an NFT collection that truly matters. Now, if you’re new to the space, you’ll have a simple question – ‘How to launch an NFT collection?’
Top 7 Strategies for Your NFT Launch Campaign
Well, here are the top 7 NFT launch strategies that can enable you to successfully launch your NFT collection.
1) Have A Well-Defined Purpose for the Collection
When you conceptualize your NFT collection, understand what is the purpose behind it. Is it merely a collectible/memorabilia? Does it solve a specific problem? Does it offer something that people have been wanting for a long time?
Answer these questions in the early stages of your process. This would lead you to have a highly-focussed NFT collection. It would also help you understand what kind of utility can the NFTs be associated with.
After all, people would prefer an NFT that offers some perks or benefits, rather than one, that doesn’t do anything for them after they buy it. Unless you already have established a brand for yourself, people wouldn’t want to invest in collectibles associated with you.
So, ensure that you have the following things in place:
a. What is the collection about?
b. What problem does it solve?
c. What utility does it provide?
d. What is the long-term goal of the project?
2) Know Your Audience
Once you’ve finished the above step, you’ll also realize who your target audience is. Understand them and find out what makes them tick and catches their attention.
Furthermore, it is also important to understand what channels are they most active on, and the kind of things that interest them. While it might seem unnecessary at first, it lays the foundation for your next step.
3) Build a Story that Caters to the Audience
Just like how every brand has a story, you’ll need to create one for your NFTs as well. It is essentially like building lore for the NFTs you would soon launch. This story needs to cater to your audience’s mindset and sensibilities.
Only then, will they be interested in knowing more and considering whether or not to buy your NFT. The story must also align with the collection’s theme and ensure that the tone used in describing the collection is similar to the tone used for narrating this story.
It is crucial for you to get this part of the strategy right because if done right, it can be the easiest way to communicate what your NFT collection is all about. So take your time while you build this.
In fact, if you have the option, test the story on focus groups as well, to understand how much they relate to it. This way you can get a sense of what the reaction of people outside would be.
4) Create an Official Website and Social Media Campaign
Build an official website for your collection and also establish your presence on social media channels such as Telegram, Discord, Twitter, and Instagram. Here’s how you can leverage both of these:
Website
This can be the face of your brand and NFT collection. Ensure that your website consists of the story and share a tiny glimpse of what the NFT collection would be.
Besides this, you can also have a Whitepaper and a Roadmap on the site. With these you can convey the following:
- The motive behind creating the NFT collection.
- Where the NFT collection will be launched, and on what date?
- The technical aspects behind the collection.
- The purpose it solves.
- What the collection is trying to accomplish in the future.
- What are the various milestones till the ultimate goal?
Social Media Channels
This is the second pillar of your campaign. Your social media channels are a way for you to build a community around the NFT project and garner attention from new aficionados. This can be done by using these channels to interact with your audience, answer their questions, and keep them engaged throughout the journey.
Furthermore, the channels can also be used for giving regular updates to people, dropping teasers, hosting giveaways, and more. Finally, it is important for these channels to exist because they would help you sustain the audience much after the NFT launch occurs.
5) Build a Community and Generate Buzz
In the previous section, we mentioned building communities. This can be done via various means besides talking about your project:
- Host giveaways in the form of merch.
- Partner with influencers to spread the word about the NFT.
- This can be through hosting weekly talks/podcasts.
- Have them discuss your collection as one of the upcoming projects.
- Tie up with them for a specific aspect of your campaign which aligns with their brand.
- Create engaging teasers for your audience and people who haven’t heard about the project.
- Drop tidbits about the NFTs on a regular basis.
These are merely a few ways in which you can generate hype for your NFT collection.
6) Partner with Reputable Brands and Companies
Another way to generate hype is to partner with reputable brands and companies. For instance, NBA partnered with DapperLabs for their Top Shot project. When you partner with companies, ensure that both of you mutually benefit from the collaboration.
Furthermore, a known name can always help you build authenticity in the eyes of the audience, NFT experts, and aficionados. Leverage their online presence to bolster your campaign.
7) Setup Your Infrastructure and Get Your Collection Ready for Release
This process will run alongside your campaign and will be at the core of everything. You’ll need to mint your NFTs and set up the infrastructure for the auction. Usually, people use several coding tools and hire developers for this.
However, this method is time inefficient, expensive, and requires you to have a knowledge of code. The alternative is to use no-code platforms such as CreatorMachine.
CreatorMachine is a permissionless and self-serve tool that provides financial independence to creators and artists in the process of creating and selling their NFT. It allows you to set up the infrastructure for your auction without any hassle, at a much lesser price.
Beyond all this, the platform also helps you run Whitelists, customize the minting process, and ensures that the sales phase of your NFT campaign is tailor-made to your needs. Overall, it ensures that you can make and sell your NFTs on blockchain networks such as Solana in just a few simple steps. This way you can focus on other parts of the launch campaign which require your focus and efforts.
Now, that all the work behind your collection is done, we come to the main part. How to release your NFT collection?
Launch the NFT Collection
This is the launch phase where you launch your NFT collection. There are multiple ways to do it such as:
- Holding public auctions.
- Hosting a private sale for a few NFTs from your collection and then once the buzz around that is generated and you garner positive reviews, you open up the collection for a public sale.
- Organizing whitelist competitions to have a select few members of your audience who can give you the initial boost.
These are a few common ways in which NFTs are launched.
Conclusion
With this, you now understand how to release an NFT collection. Overall, for any launch you need to understand three simple things:
- How to make your NFTs a worthwhile investment for your audience.
- How to garner attention from people who haven’t heard about you before.
- How to successfully launch the collection, and keep the buzz going much after the launch is over.
