Web3 Marketing Strategy Guide: Token Issuance, Community Operations and Developer Relations

The Uniqueness and Basic Logic of Crypto Marketing

The biggest challenge facing crypto marketing is the extremely small target audience. In 2023, there are only 23,000 monthly active crypto developers, expected to increase to 30,000 in 2024, while less than 0.1% of the 28 million developers worldwide are involved in crypto. In such a highly vertical market, marketing must focus on the three core needs of developers.

• Technology: Solving practical issues such as composability in the Rollup ecosystem
• Economy: Exploring sustainable revenue models for the development of public goods
• Value: Create a unique value proposition that is attractive to developers

Cryptographic marketing needs to redefine the way growth is achieved, and the core of the developer community is precise value resonance. Economic incentives are just the starting point; what truly drives growth is the creation of a technological utopia where developers can find professional value and a sense of belonging. Once realized, they will spontaneously drive ecosystem development.

We need to abandon the mindset of pursuing scale in the internet era and instead adhere to "depth first": understanding the technical preferences of each core developer, even their pet names, and maximizing the experience of the top 10 users. Technological idealism itself is the best medium for communication. In this field, the power of 100 deeply engaged participants far outweighs that of 10,000 shallow users; real growth comes from these seemingly non-scalable deep connections.

Positioning and Strategic Trade-offs of Layer 2

The Rollup ecosystem is an extension of Ethereum culture, and its open nature has given rise to a unique "competitive cooperation ecosystem"—all Layer2s are jointly strengthening the Ethereum network. This requires marketing to balance dual positioning: it should highlight commercial value while also emphasizing the core mission of expanding Ethereum. The most effective way to prove this is through technical binding, such as defaulting to using ETH to pay for gas fees, which more clearly demonstrates the symbiotic relationship with Ethereum than any slogan.

When evaluating Layer2 strategies, resource endowment determines differentiation. Projects with strong financial backing, such as BASE under Coinbase, can independently build ecological brands leveraging the resources of a listed company; while resource-constrained Layer2s need to deeply bind with Ethereum, leveraging its industry credibility for a cold start. This resource-oriented marketing strategy choice essentially reflects the "Matthew Effect" in the crypto ecosystem - the strong get stronger, while emerging projects must make good use of leverage.

Collaboration Between DevRel and Marketing

Developer Relations ( DevRel ) should be deeply integrated into the marketing system. Developer documentation, as the primary touchpoint, needs to have a unified control over language style and conversion paths. Currently, DevRel is evolving into a content creator role, addressing tool usage pain points through programming tutorial videos and other formats. This evolution requires DevRel to possess stronger marketing thinking and execution capabilities.

The success of the developer ecosystem depends on building a closed loop of "product-economy-community". During the cold start phase, a dual approach is needed: it is necessary to explore commercial potential while also tracking the progress of early developers, providing high-value support such as media exposure and strategic consulting at critical moments. Although this deep operation is difficult to scale, it is key to creating a project moat.

The essence of cryptocurrency marketing is ecological coordination. It is necessary to uncover developer stories while actively identifying needs and promoting product iteration. The core lies in helping developers succeed through deep support: actively intervening on platforms like GitHub and Twitter to first solve practical construction problems, and then spreading the word once the project matures. This "empower first, voice later" closed-loop model is the truly effective path for ecological construction.

Token Issuance and Brand Synergy

The core of token issuance lies in balancing its dual attributes. It is both a marketing activity and a financial product. The quality of the design of the economic model directly determines the fate of the project, and it is necessary to choose an explosive or progressive path based on the characteristics of the project. At the implementation level, three key points must be grasped:

• Engage in in-depth discussions with economists about the value positioning of tokens to avoid rigidly applying concepts.
• In-depth research on the practical application scenarios and usage habits of different markets.
• Establish a sound post-listing management mechanism, including community sentiment management, team incentive mechanisms, and information disclosure norms, etc.

These challenges are essentially consistent with the governance requirements faced by publicly listed companies.

The core of community operation strategy lies in clearly defining the types of resources to be invested in the long term. It is essential to accurately identify the target audience:

• During the testnet phase, it is important to cultivate highly aligned early supporters.
• For PoS networks, node operators and validators (, whether institutional or individual stakers ), are key opinion leaders.
• Establish a structured operational mechanism, such as regular community conference calls.

The key is to not only extensively collect market feedback but also learn to filter out the noise. If you try to respond to every online voice, you will only fall into the quagmire of ineffective information.

Dual Layout of Founder's Influence and Marketing Resources

The core advice for founders is: shape the image of a domain expert, not a product salesman. Specific methods:

• Discuss industry pain points based on professional insights, rather than directly promoting products.
• Build influence through expertise
• Make good use of personal channels to convey in-depth opinions

It is recommended that founders choose the most natural way of expression: those good at dialogue can do podcasts, those good at writing can write long articles, and those comfortable on camera can make videos. There is no need to force forms they are not good at; for example, those who resist public speaking can avoid large occasions. The key is to integrate personal style into professional content—adding a bit of humor for a fun twist, and creatively expressing unique designs. Finding an easy yet professional way to output, combined with a communication strategy, yields the best results.

For founders just starting to build their personal influence, it is advisable to begin from the easiest entry point: focus on doing one thing well, mobilize all company resources to support it, and create a few iconic moments to accumulate momentum. This is far more effective than forcing the founder to post 10 tweets every day. The key is to have something to say, to say it well and thoroughly, and naturally, the situation will open up.

To build an influential brand in the cryptocurrency space, it is essential to establish a deep connection with the founders. Only through one-on-one communication can we truly understand their core vision and entrepreneurial intentions, thereby injecting soul into the brand story. This is the foundation of successful marketing, with no shortcuts available.

Marketing Kickoff for Startups

The uniqueness of cryptocurrency marketing lies in the fact that it often begins marketing concepts and visions before the product is mature. This stage requires continuous trial and error to find the most suitable communication methods.

Personal suggestion: The best time to launch marketing is 6 months before the product goes live. Promoting a non-existent product too early can lead to market skepticism, while doing it too late can result in missed opportunities. The key is to find the golden time point for storytellers and communicators based on an understanding of the product delivery cycle.

For projects that require community co-construction, marketing involvement can start earlier. For example, when running a decentralized testnet, it is necessary to attract node operators to participate even without a "formal product" or mainnet.

Many founders have a cognitive misconception: they believe that as long as they sign a marketing agency contract, all market problems can be easily solved. When collaborating with small boutique agencies, an efficient working model is to provide them with concise campaign briefs that have clear boundaries and a clear narrative. This limited scope of delegation can avoid internal narrative confusion and ensure execution quality.

When a startup team first recruits a marketing head, the core principle is: only choose versatile talents who have previously worked together. These candidates must meet three key conditions: a deep understanding of work styles, seamless collaboration abilities, and a willingness to be hands-on. In the early stages, even the CMO needs to operate social media (. Practice has proven that this kind of well-acquainted collaboration can quickly open up the situation—compared to the risk of using newcomers, the tacit cooperation with familiar comrades can better withstand the pressures of entrepreneurship and avoid team rhythm disruption caused by improper hiring.

The construction of the marketing team should follow the dual standard of "all-round foundation + vertical specialization": each member should be able to handle basic tasks such as writing tweets, formatting emails, and live voice broadcasts, while also possessing professional depth in specific vertical fields. This team structure, divided by field rather than function, has been proven in practice to maximize the efficiency of small teams. By not setting traditional job boundaries, each member becomes both a versatile talent and a domain expert.

The recruitment in the crypto industry should return to the essence of business. SaaS projects aimed at developers can fully introduce mature marketing talent from traditional technology fields, such as experts skilled in developer community operations. Instead of adhering to the rigid requirement of "must have a crypto background," it is better to focus on the transferability of candidates' professional abilities. The abundant SaaS talent resources in tech hubs like San Francisco can quickly supply proven marketing talent for crypto projects.

Globalization Landing Operations and Community Culture Integration

The core of global cryptocurrency operations lies in the establishment of local trust networks. When entering new markets, it is essential to introduce local partners through reliable channels—business customs vary significantly across countries: some regions are more receptive to long-term partnerships based on trust, rather than American standardized contracts. A lack of local relationships can lead to cultural misjudgments and communication failures. The optimal path is to leverage existing resource networks for endorsement, rather than cold-starting unfamiliar development.

Community operations need to identify and cultivate core supporters. When a project enters a critical development stage, those actively participating contributors can become an effective talent source. By incorporating them into a formal system through mechanisms such as technology ambassadors or local event organizers, it can maintain community engagement while establishing initial market resources. When professional service providers need to be introduced, these foundational relationship networks can provide reference suggestions and reduce the difficulties of starting from scratch.

The core of the strategy for activities in the cryptocurrency industry lies in precise positioning. While large events can help with brand exposure, the return on investment is difficult to measure; in contrast, small high-end events can achieve business collaboration and key networking at a lower cost. Established projects should focus on high-value participants, while emerging projects should avoid blindly participating in exhibitions and instead create boutique events in vertical fields. Essentially, it is about pursuing quality rather than scale.

Cryptocurrency activity strategies should focus on three key points:

• Plan in sync with the product roadmap to align major releases with important activities.
• Standardize budget usage, avoid simply using activity funds for relationship maintenance, all sponsorships must align with clear ecological strategic directions.
• Focus on efficient forms of activities, engaging with key audiences through small closed-door meetings while also hosting professional events such as developer conferences.

Offline events allow teams to directly observe developer feedback, identify potential users, and even discover regional communities, bringing opportunities for global expansion.

Cryptocurrency marketing needs to make good use of meme culture as a special narrative tool. Memes can cleverly transform complex concepts while enhancing the sense of community belonging. The key lies in establishing a balance mechanism: core accounts maintain a professional tone, but provide reasonable creative space for operators, which can both enhance work enthusiasm and produce high-quality content. Memes should be an organic part of the overall communication strategy, filtering those expressions that can resonate with the industry through testing, rather than using them sporadically.