You have received investments. What’s next?
So, your ICO campaign is coming to an end or is over, and you have already received investments. Congratulations! But please bear in mind that the work is not over, it is only the beginning. The post ICO stage is one of the most important timeframes for every project, although many startups tend to neglect it. And they are wrong.
Here’s a couple of things that should be done after you have received the investments:
Communicate and Report
Your investors (and I hope, there are many of them) have certain expectations because they have given you money. Even when the token sale is over, you should continue informing the investors about the project’s development. This can involve posting to the social networks, updating the website, sending regular emails to your subscribers, etc. Do not leave questions unanswered and avoid silence. There’s nothing worse than an investor who doesn’t hear back from the startup he has financially contributed to.
Follow the Roadmap
One can hardly imagine an ICO’s white paper without a roadmap — a plan of what the company is going to do during the years coming up. If the roadmap is though-out, then you can simply develop your project accordingly. If the market is dynamic, and you have to implement changes to the initial roadmap, it’s ok. But, in this case, make sure to inform your investors and the community about that and be persuasive. After all, it’s another news hook for you.
Preserve Your Investment
In the world of cryptocurrencies, always keep a track on the exchange rate. You might have received the investments in Bitcoin, Ether, or other cryptocurrencies. Naturally, they are very volatile. Consider exchanging them (maybe partially) into fiat money not to lose on price fluctuations. Of course, you can argue that the price can go up and you can earn even more. But it will be a blow to the reputation if the price goes down and you are not able to complete your roadmap. Show your investors that you are good in money management.
Whitelist the Token
Usually, ICOs negotiate whitelisting of their tokens at the Pre-ICO or ICO stages. However, it is always better to establish partnerships with several exchanges, as this is more reliable, brings trust to your project, and can give you a promotional boost. After all, here can be many token holders who would like to trade the tokens. Or, if your token is a utility token, then other people might want to buy it and use on your platform. Whitelisting your token on large crypto exchanges is equal to announcing a support from a huge partner.
Promote your Project Further
ICO is just a crowdfunding campaign that is used to bring you money for your idea. Continue developing your platform/app/whatever and promoting it to the target audiences. Make sure to maintain the reputation of your project at a high level, because you might need to make the second round in a year, or make another ICO for another project of yours. You never know what comes next, and you need to be ready.
Leave it to Professionals
As you can see, any post-ICO requires much time and efforts, which is why it is recommended to hire a marketing agency specialized in ICOs and blockchain projects for that purpose. If you hire one for the ICO timeframe, consider prolonging the cooperation, or including the post-ICO timeframe into the initial budget calculations.
Written by Olga Bogdanova, Head of PR at INCRYPTICO
