NFT marketing mistakes to avoid

I have put together over 40 mistakes you should avoid in your NFT marketing. Each mistake has a different level of severity. These categories are:

• Critical
• High Severity
• Moderate
• Low Severity

Half of the listed mistakes are critical. These insights are based on my skills, knowledge, and experience as the CMO for three web3 projects, an NFT advisor, and my work in collab management, community management, and Discord moderation.

1. Critical Mistakes

These mistakes can severely impact the success of your NFT project and should be avoided at all costs.

• Cheap Collab Managers (CMs): Collab managers are expensive for a reason—connections. Experienced CMs have hundreds of valuable connections to leverage for your project. Avoid hiring cheap CMs who rely on creating tickets and hoping for miracles.
  
• Cheap Moderators: Discord moderators are the face of your community and handle engagement and customer support. Ensure they have a basic understanding of web3 and marketing. Invest in their training but hire those with fundamental skills.
  
• No Reward System: Discord’s features are best utilized when you create a reward system. Allow members to unlock higher roles, such as OG, by achieving specific milestones.
  
• Not Defining Your Brand: Define your brand—its personality, tone, and voice. In a saturated market, a clearly defined brand is critical to standing out.
  
• Not Using AI: AI is a powerful tool for ideation, strategy development, content creation, and even programming. If you’re not using AI, you’re falling behind competitors who are.
  
• Not Telling Stories: Storytelling creates an emotional connection with your audience, builds a unique brand experience, and even sustains demand for secondary market trading.
  
• Not Analyzing Data: Use analytics tools like Twitter metrics, Discord Developer Portal, or Discord bots like Statbot to measure the effectiveness of your strategies.
  
• Making Decisions Without Analytics: Avoid making decisions without data or community feedback. Create feedback loops and allow your community to vote and provide insights.
  
• Not Setting Instructions for Team Members: Ensure every team member has clear and updated instructions to follow.
  
• Not Checking on Team Members Daily: Regularly monitor your team’s adherence to instructions to maintain high work standards.
  
• Not Utilizing Roles on Discord: Roles like “OG” or “Whitelisted” incentivize community engagement and participation.
  
• Not Conducting Community Feedback Loops: Monthly feedback loops help you stay in touch with your community’s needs and opinions.
  
• Ignoring Feedback: Gather, analyze, and act on community feedback to make informed decisions.
  
• Not Documenting Community Changes: Keep a detailed record of any changes or updates in your community, such as rules or policies.
  
• Not Having a Whitepaper: A well-crafted whitepaper provides essential project information quickly and effectively.
  
• Not Listening to the Community: Ensure open communication and transparency with your community.
  
• Not Being Transparent: Transparency builds trust and loyalty among community members.
  
• Not Focusing on Affinity Value: Use storytelling and branding to create emotional value for collectors and traders.
  
• Not Educating Team Members on Security: Provide security training to all team members active on Discord.
  
• Not Securing Discord Accounts with 2FA: Protect your Discord server by ensuring all team members use two-factor authentication (2FA).
  

Summary: Critical mistakes are foundational errors that jeopardize your project’s credibility, security, and success. Avoid these pitfalls by investing in quality team members, leveraging AI, maintaining transparency, and focusing on community engagement.

2. High Severity Mistakes

These mistakes may not be as damaging as critical ones but can still significantly hinder your project’s progress.

• No CMO: A CMO is essential to set guidelines, check work quality, and balance founder ideas.
  
• Giving Away Freebies: Avoid freebies unless tied to meaningful engagement. If you decide to give away a freebie, ensure it rewards active participants rather than random users.
  
• Worthless Whitelist Spots: Make whitelist spots valuable by requiring continuous effort over time to earn them.
  
• Copying Other Projects: Stay authentic instead of blindly copying successful projects. The market evolves quickly, and copying might not yield the same results.
  
• Not Using a Content Calendar: Plan your content at least 30-60 days in advance to strategize effectively.
  
• Not Utilizing Discord Bots: Use critical Discord bots to enhance both community and team experiences.
  
• Not Recognizing OGs: Build loyalty by rewarding your OG members with exclusive roles, locked chats, and events.
  
• Ignoring Market Trends: Monitor the market to determine the best time for your mint.
  
• Cutting Costs on Smart Contracts: Invest in experienced developers to create reliable, tested smart contracts.
  
• Poor Influencer Outreach: Avoid generic outreach. Tailor your pitch to the influencer’s audience.
  
• Not Using Engage Bot: Engage Bot effectively facilitates your reward system, tracks community activity, and runs coordinated raids.
  

Summary: High severity mistakes reduce efficiency and engagement. Invest in strategic planning, quality tools, and authentic approaches to maximize success.

3. Moderate Mistakes

These mistakes are less severe but can still create unnecessary complications.

• Complicated Discord Structure: Keep your Discord server easy to navigate.
  
• Using Hashtags on Twitter: Hashtags are outdated and can reduce your reach.
  
• Neglecting Utilities: Offer utilities beyond art and community to enhance your project’s value.
  
• Revealing NFT Prices Too Early: Build your community and establish your brand before disclosing mint prices.
  
• Overusing Discord Notifications: Use @everyone sparingly. Create custom roles for specific updates.
  
• Unbalanced Reward Systems: Use math to create a fair and engaging reward system.
  

Summary: Moderate mistakes often stem from poor planning or outdated practices. Streamline operations and adapt to modern strategies to avoid these issues.

4. Low Severity Mistakes

These mistakes have low impact but are worth addressing for better efficiency.

• Making Twitter Threads: Use Twitter Premium for longer posts instead of threads.
  
• Skipping Alphabot: Alphabot is more effective than Subber for managing your collabs.
  
• Not Using Twitter Premium: Gain access to longer posts and tools like Tweetdeck.
  
• Complicated Communication: Simplify your communication to make it accessible to everyone.
  
• Over-relying on Zealy or Galxe: Do not depend too heavily on these platforms for engagement.
  

Summary: Low severity mistakes are minor inefficiencies. Fixing them ensures smoother operations and a more polished approach.

Full Summary

Avoiding these mistakes will set a strong foundation for your NFT marketing strategy. Focus on:

1. Critical Mistakes: Build trust, security, and brand identity.
   
2. High Severity Mistakes: Implement strategic tools and authentic approaches.
   
3. Moderate Mistakes: Streamline operations and align with modern practices.
   
4. Low Severity Mistakes: Optimize small inefficiencies for better results.
   

By addressing these mistakes, you can create a sustainable, engaging, and successful NFT project.

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