NFT Marketing Guide

If you’re serious about launching a successful NFT project, this is the guide you can’t afford to skip. Packed with 38 battle-tested steps, it shows you exactly how to turn your art into a rich world, build a loyal community from scratch, dominate Twitter and Discord, and execute a flawless mint day. Whether you’re a founder, marketer, or community builder, this isn’t theory—it’s a complete playbook used by top Web3 teams. Read it now and give your project the best chance to thrive.

1. Create Lore

Lore transforms your “just art” pictures into rich worlds that people want to invest in and become part of. At this stage, think solely in terms of lore. You should be able to attach meaning and worldbuilding to your images. Get inspired—but be unique and authentic. Nobody cares about derivative collections with no deeper meaning.

Start with a core theme or concept. Then build the world. Add history. Introduce characters and factions.

Tip: Use AI to analyze the lore of existing NFT collections to find gaps or common themes you can leverage. You could write a script to scrape websites or whitepapers and summarize their lore into a JSON file.

2. Expand Lore into a Story

Storytelling is your greatest weapon. Use it—always.

Don’t stop with lore. Expand it into a full story. Humans have shared stories since the dawn of civilization. We’re wired to love them.

Turning lore into a story isn’t hard. You need a conflict—what’s the main problem in your world? Then create a hero. Use a simple structure:
Hook (setup) → Struggle (journey) → Change (climax + resolution)
The hero must change in order to succeed.

Tip: Write your story however you like, then use AI to adapt it to a specific style (e.g., ask ChatGPT to rewrite it in the style of Tolkien for fantasy projects).

3. Define Your Brand Style (Voice, Tone, Personality)

Once your lore becomes a story, it’s time to define your brand style. This includes the voice, tone, and personality you’ll use across all communication—tweets, Discord announcements, whitepapers, and more.

Consistency matters. If you want to build a strong impression, you need brand guidelines.

Ask yourself:
“If my brand were a person, how would it speak?”
Pick 3 adjectives to describe your tone, then expand as needed.

Example:
❌ No style: “Whitelist is open now.”
✅ Branded style: “The Gate of the Chosen opens. Only those with the crystal key may enter.”

Tip: A unique brand style helps build a cult-like identity—your own language fosters community and belonging.

4. Prepare Brand Templates

With your brand style defined, create reusable templates to ensure consistency across all channels.

Let AI help you. Ask ChatGPT to generate a branded content template from your defined style, then apply that template to every message. This will dramatically improve consistency.

Tip: When generating a template with AI, ask for examples for each section. Save the template in a .txt file and optionally assign it to a variable (e.g., brand_template_v1) inside ChatGPT for future use.

5. Write a Top-Tier Whitepaper

Even in 2025, a whitepaper is your most important piece of marketing. If done well, it explains everything in one place.

You’ll constantly update and reference it—on X, Discord, and beyond.

Your whitepaper should clearly highlight what makes your project stand out in the saturated NFT market.

Structure:

• Introduction
  What is this project?
  Who is it for?
  Why now?
• Lore
  What’s the world setting?
  What’s the history or origin?
  What are the factions, myths, or systems?
• Story / Narrative Arc
  Who are the protagonists?
  What’s the core conflict?
  How do holders relate to the story?
  Tease future chapters—don’t reveal too much too early.
• Collection Overview
  How many NFTs?
  What types (1/1s, generative)?
  How many and what traits?
  Is rarity tied to lore?
  Include sneak peeks.
• Utility & Ecosystem
  What can holders do? Access, benefits, roles?
• Roadmap
  Show what’s coming: use phases, seasons, or chapters.
  Include milestone dates (week/month).
• Team
  Who’s behind the project?
  What are their credentials?
  Optional: shout out advisors, artists, partners.
• Community Vision
  This part is critical.
  What kind of community are you building?
  How will you engage, reward, and grow it?
  What are the rituals, the culture, the purpose?
• Official Links
  Provide everything in one place.

Tip: Use your brand style throughout. Only include 1–2 sneak peeks at first—you’ll reveal more as you get closer to mint.

6. Create a Website

Your website builds story, trust, and brand in one place.

It tells your project’s full story—on your terms.

Use it to present your lore and narrative in a powerful, immersive way. Frame your project as a world, not just a mint. Keep design clean, with a clear roadmap, and link your whitepaper and social profiles.

Tip: Release one new chapter of your story each week on the site to give visitors a reason to return.

7. Prepare a Content Calendar

With your lore, story, whitepaper, and website ready—it’s time to brainstorm social content.

In the beginning, tweet once per day. Later, as you grow, increase to twice a day.

Prepare at least 30 posts in advance. This helps you think strategically. You don’t need to use all of them—feel free to react to live events.

Your calendar should rotate through key content themes:

• Lore/Story:
  Chop your story into short tweets. Keep readers hooked.
• Utility:
  Explain the value behind your art. Revisit often.
• Achievements/Celebrations:
  Celebrate follower milestones, partnerships, wins.
• Team/Behind the Scenes:
  Build trust. Humanize the brand.
  Examples:
  • “Meet the writer behind the story.”
  • “Here’s a sketch of our first world map.”
• Engagement Posts:
  Quizzes, polls, trivia—keep your community active.
• Calls-to-Action:
  Drive conversions.
  Examples:
  • “Join our Discord to decode the next lore drop.”
  • “Tag a friend who should claim their crystal.”
• Worldbuilding:
  Feed curiosity.
  Examples:
  • “A new relic was uncovered in the ruins. Its name? Forgotten.”
  • “Memory Crystal #17 glitched—its truth is incomplete. 👁️”
• Vision/Mission Reminders:
  Reinforce your project’s “why.”

Tip: Apply your brand template to every post. Consistency = credibility.

8. Launch Your X.com Profile

Once your content calendar is ready, launch your X profile. Your goal is to make it feel like a portal into your world—intriguing, immersive, and clear.

• Username (@handle):
  Keep it short and recognizable. Abbreviate or stylize if needed. If the name is taken, use relevant suffixes.
• Display Name:
  Use the full brand name (optionally with emojis ✦ ✧ 🔮 👁️ to stand out).
  Update it with seasons (e.g., Memory Crystals ✦ Season I).
• Bio (Description):
  Use this format:
  • What the project is
  • Why it’s unique / its vibe
  • A call to action or lore hook
  • Link to more
• Link:
  Use a LinkTree or similar service to centralize your web, socials, and whitepaper.
• Location:
  Reinforce your lore here (e.g., Crystal Vale, Dimension 7X).
• Cover Image:
  This is your visual hook. It should connect directly to your lore or story.
• Profile Picture:
  Choose an iconic NFT or brand mascot—something instantly recognizable at small size.
• Pinned Post:
  Make this an intro tweet to convert visitors into community members. Tell your story, showcase your world, and offer a reason to follow or join.

Tip: Your cover image will make or break your profile. Don’t rush it. Make it epic.

9. Promote Your Substack

An email address is worth more than a follow.

Set up your Substack early, communicate your brand clearly, and post a few short entries to warm it up. Your hook? “A new chapter of our story drops every week.” This encourages subscriptions.

Tip: Once you pass 100–200 subscribers, start posting more frequently using the same content themes defined in your calendar.

10. Use Raids from Day One

Forget purely organic growth. It’s slow and unpredictable.

Use raids—partners from other projects sharing your tweets in their communities—as a fast-start strategy.

Find a raid manager who has relationships across the space and can get daily raids scheduled for your new tweets.

Tip: Offer your raid guy a weekly retainer. If you’re consistent, you won’t need raids after your first 30–40 days.

11. Reveal a Sneak Peek

This should be one of your first posts—your first visual moment. If you’ve followed earlier advice, only 1–2 artworks were revealed before.

Make this tweet count. Choose a strong but common piece (not rare) and present it as a major event.

Tip: Ask for comments, retweets, and tags. Offer 10–20 WL spots based on engagement. Tag winners in the replies and have your CM collect their info via DM.

12. Get Your First 1,000 Followers

With around 30–40 effective raids, you can reach this goal in a month. Focus on consistent tweeting, raiding, and community storytelling.

Tip: Keep your calendar full (30+ posts ready), stick to your brand template, and stay patient.

13. Start X Collabs

Once you hit 1K+ followers and your tweets are getting attention, activate your collab managers.

They will reach out to other NFT projects to offer raffles with WL spots for their communities. It’s your growth engine.

Tip: Ensure your collab managers deeply understand your brand and how to pitch it. Review and refine their pitch templates regularly.

14. Reach 3,000 Followers

With 3 active collab managers, this is achievable in 30–40 days.

But your true goal here is reach—getting 1,000+ impressions per tweet. If you’re not hitting that, grow more before launching Discord.

Tip: Don’t rush Discord. A dead server kills hype.

15. Host Your First AMA on X

This builds trust before Discord launch.

You can either:

• Host your own AMA
• Join a larger project’s AMA as a guest

Ask your community to submit questions ahead of time, and take live ones too.

Tip: Give away WL spots at the end of the AMA to keep people listening.

16. Launch Discord

Your Discord server should be:

• Fully configured
• Security-hardened
• Tested from a second (test) account

Launch with a tweet during prime engagement time. Have mods online and prepared.

Tip: Limit visible channels at first. Fewer options = better chance people actually read them.

18. Reveal Rare Sneak Peek in Discord

Make this your first big Discord-only reveal.

Tip: Pair it with a limited-time offer. Those who share the tweet will receive instant WL spots.

19. Introduce Reward System + Roles

Every message, every tweet raid, every invite—all of it earns points.

Use a reward bot like Engage bot. Create a point-based reward system:

• WL Spot = ? points
• GTD WL = ? points
• OG Role = ? points
• Higher Tiers = ?

Tip: Test and balance your system with math + AI. Too hard = demotivation. Too easy = WL inflation.

20. First Discord AMA

Explain the reward system, answer questions, and hype everyone up.

Tip: Reward AMA participants with engage points. Give away WL at the end to keep listeners engaged.

21. Build a Raid Army

Engage bot lets users connect their Twitter and raid new tweets directly from Discord.

Example:
300 online members → 25% raid → 75 RTs for every tweet.

Tip: Don’t over-reward raiding. Let it be the easiest, not the fastest, way to earn WL.

22. Start X + Discord Collabs

Now combine the power of both platforms.

New collabs should require:

• Follow on X
• Join Discord

This grows both channels simultaneously.

Tip: Don’t offer GTD spots to other teams; you need them for your own community.

23. Launch Discord Activities + Event Calendar

Start a new activity calendar.

Examples:

• Trivia, Quizzes, Riddles
• Meme Contests
• Lore-based storytelling
• Caption contests

Tip: Track participation and focus on what works. Drop what doesn’t.

24. AMA on X + Discord (Round 2)

You now have:

• New features live
• Better story and traction

Host a dual AMA to reinforce progress.

Tip: Give engage points for quality questions—both submitted and live.

25. WL Spot Collection

Your ideal target:

• Basic WL = Earnable in 14 days (with Discord activities)
• GTD WL = Takes more time + consistency

Tip: Track total spots given and compare it to active users. That’s your conversion health metric.

26. GTD Spots for Most Engaged Members

Keep GTD WL exclusive.

Only give it to your loyal and active members.

Tip: Transparency is key. Publish point thresholds clearly in a #how-to-earn-wl channel.

27. Grant OG Roles

OG = Elite. They’ve worked 6–8 weeks for it.

Reward them with:

• Private OG chat
• Early access to reveals
• 2 (or more) NFTs mint access

Tip: Stay professional. Represent your brand.

28. Launch First Feedback Loop

Use Google Forms. Ask 15–30 questions about:

• Community experience
• Reward system
• Activity satisfaction
• Project appeal
• Value perception

Tip: Use AI to generate these questions from your community strategy + Lean Startup principles.

29. Evaluate & Implement Feedback

Analyze the results.

Ask:

• What are we doing wrong?
• What needs more explanation?
• What do people love?

Tip: Apply good ideas fast. Kill what’s not working. Stay adaptive.

30. AMA Dedicated to Feedback

Run a dedicated X + Discord AMA.

Share what you learned and what you changed. Thank the community.

Tip: Reward contributors whose feedback was used. Give them extra points, shoutouts, or roles.

31. Start Working with OGs

OGs should feel like VIPs. Give them:

• Sneak peeks
• Early access
• Polls and influence

Tip: Don’t act like their buddy. You’re still the brand.

32. Introduce Higher-Tier Roles

Beyond OG, create elite tiers.

Rewards:

• Private team chat
• Early minting rights
• Access to strategy sessions

Tip: At this level, yes—you can build personal relationships.

33. Fill All Remaining WL + GTD Spots

Stick to your original allocation.

Tip: As mint day approaches, WL becomes more valuable. Don’t give it away easily.

34. Time Your Mint with Market Conditions

Only mint when:

• ETH/SOL/BTC is stable or rising
• NFT influencers are active
• Sentiment is bullish

Avoid:

• Crashes
• Global FUD
• Competing launches
• Weekends / major holidays

Tip: Be flexible. Even top-tier projects delay. Pivot when needed.

35. Wallet Collection

Use Discord bots, a custom solution on your website, or a ticket system.

Tip: Give your community plenty of time to submit wallets. Double-check for typos.

36. Countdown to Mint

Time to get loud.

Repost highlights from:

• Community Vision
• Roadmap
• Team
• Utility

Tip: Create countdown graphics for 7 days, 2 days, 24 hours, and MINT IS LIVE.

37. Final Market Check Before Mint

Double-check:

• Current market sentiment
• Mint success/failure of similar projects

Tip: If markets turn, delay and explain why. Transparency preserves trust.

38. Mint Day

This is it.

• Be online.
• Be responsive.
• Be ready for issues.

If something breaks—communicate fast. Stay transparent.

Tip: Even if things go wrong, your response can build trust. Everyone’s been through a chaotic mint. What matters is how you handle it.