How to promote NFT collection without budget

Rule No. 1: You will need a budget, no matter what

People won’t work for free, and you can’t run the whole show by yourself. In web3, you’ll get used to paying your team members on a weekly basis. Some will ask for $150, others for $250, and highly skilled, experienced individuals might ask for even more than $400-$500.

The moment you start running your Discord server, you’ll need three moderators working daily 8-hour shifts to manage it. That adds up to a lot of money. Collab managers are also very expensive, and I guarantee you won’t want to work with the cheap ones. I’ve tried it, and it was the worst executive decision I’ve witnessed during my time in web3.

Cheap collab managers don’t understand the space, their performance is terrible, they’re not sharp, and they make critical mistakes that can hurt your project. These mistakes often happen during growth phases, making your project look unprofessional or even ridiculous. As a result, top-tier collaborators will steer clear of you.

Rule No. 2: Organic growth will not save you

You need to pay your team. That’s the reality. While promotion can be done without additional costs, don’t fall into the trap of relying on “organic growth” to magically save your project. That’s not going to happen.

Sure, you might go viral, but chances are you’ll struggle to gather enough people to launch your Discord server successfully. Why? The market is oversaturated. In such a competitive space, “organic growth” alone won’t cut it if you want to sell out your collection and survive the fierce competition in secondary market trading.

Rule No. 3: High-quality collab managers will sell out your collection quickly

If you want to promote your NFT collection while minimizing expenses, build a deep understanding of how collab managers work. Improve your HR skills like your life depends on it. Then, hire a top-notch collab manager.

Yes, they’ll become the largest expense in your budget, but it’ll be worth it. A skilled collab manager will bring you the best collaborators. They know their craft inside and out and have invaluable connections. Instead of creating tickets on servers to request collaborations, they’ll send DMs directly to the founders and core team members of respected projects, even blue-chip ones.

Rule No. 4: Invest in creative marketers and storytellers

I love analytics and AI. I once had my favorite LLM analyze 150 whitepapers in detail to assess the overall state of marketing in the NFT space. The results were fascinating, especially regarding storytelling.

Projects that got storytelling right saw incredible results: sellouts, increased NFT value, boosted brand value, longer holding periods (12 months or more), and improved community loyalty. In such a fast-moving space, that’s impressive.

Make sure to hire creative talent to craft compelling narratives. Build an entire universe if you have to. Incorporate your NFT collection into your stories. Sell the characters. Sell the vision. Use community feedback loops to ensure you’re on the right track to achieving your goals.

Rule No. 5: Small influencers (KOLs) don’t always ask for money

Many people think the key to influencer marketing is targeting big influencers. That’s a common mistake. Without prior relationships, big influencers won’t pay attention to you unless you’re prepared to pay—and it won’t be cheap.

However, smaller influencers with a more modest reach can be more approachable. By strategically reaching out and building relationships with them, you’ll eventually hit the jackpot. This approach takes hard work, but it pays off. These smaller influencers can become allies, supporting your overall reach and helping you promote your project strategically.

Rule No. 6: Always keep emergency funds in case something goes wrong

I learned this the hard way with my own project. Early in 2023, I had a great start on Twitter, but I was operating on a very tight budget with no emergency savings. I went all in. It felt like the biggest poker game of my life.

Then disaster struck—I accidentally blocked my Twitter account few weeks before launching my Discord server. I had nearly 500 whitelist spots filled in just a few days, but the project collapsed entirely. There was nothing I could do. In my case, emergency funds would not have solved anything, but you should remember that you never know what could go wrong, and it’s better to be prepared than risk losing everything.

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Launching an NFT collection is hard work. Every day. Get in the trenches and study my blog posts with all the important knowledge. Learn how to start NFT marketing and NFT marketing mistakes to avoid.