Launch Marketing
How to Market a New ERC-20 Token
A 2026 playbook of channels, tactics, and budget guidance for new ERC-20 launches. Honest about what works and what wastes money.
If you do only three things: (1) build a Twitter/X presence weeks before launch, (2) lock liquidity and publish the lock contract URL, (3) apply for CoinGecko once you hit 250+ holders. Everything else is amplification.
Sections
1. Pre-Launch (weeks -4 to 0)
Before deploying the contract, you should already have:
- Twitter/X account with your token name as the handle, profile pic, bio explaining the project, and at least 20 posts of content in the niche.
- Telegram group with admin set up, anti-spam bots active, and a pinned welcome message.
- Website (any domain) with one-line description, tokenomics, social links, and a "deploying soon" CTA.
- Logo as PNG, transparent background, square 512x512 minimum.
- Discord (optional, only if you plan to build a real community over months).
The goal of pre-launch is to make sure when people search your token name on launch day, they find your sources, not someone scraping the contract address.
2. Launch Week (0 to +7 days)
Day-by-day cadence for the first week:
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| 0 | Deploy contract via ETHTokenLaunch. Add liquidity to Uniswap. Lock LP. Verify contract on Etherscan. Announce on Twitter and Telegram with all three URLs. |
| +1 | Submit to Dexscreener "trending" with a small paid boost ($100-300). Post in r/CryptoMoonShots and r/CryptoCurrency (educational framing, not shilling). |
| +2 | First batch of KOL posts goes live (if budgeted). Pin the contract address everywhere. |
| +3 | Start replying to relevant Twitter threads with helpful context (not promotion). Build the brand voice. |
| +5 | Submit CoinGecko listing application if holder count exceeds 100. CoinMarketCap if exceeds 250. |
| +7 | First holder count and metrics post. "100 holders in week 1" framing works for momentum even if numbers are small. |
3. Post-Launch (+8 to +60 days)
This is where most projects fail. Launch hype is finite. Sustained growth comes from:
- Consistent posting cadence. 1-3 Twitter posts/day, weekly Telegram updates, weekly community calls if you can.
- Roadmap delivery. Ship something every 2 weeks. Even a small UI improvement creates news.
- Partnerships. Reach out to 5 other small projects per week for cross-promotion, joint AMAs, or technical collaborations.
- Listings progression. CoinGecko -> CMC -> centralised exchange listings (when you can afford them).
4. Channels: What Each is For
Twitter / X (highest priority)
Where every relevant person spends time. Post project updates, market commentary, threads explaining the technology. Reply to bigger accounts in your niche. Goal: become a recognisable face in 60 days.
Telegram
Real-time holder chat. Pin contract address, links, and rules. Active mod team essential. Stays small (under 5k members) until late post-launch.
Discord
Long-form community. Only worth running if you can sustain content across multiple channels (announcements, dev, support, off-topic, etc.). Many small ERC-20s skip Discord entirely.
r/CryptoMoonShots, r/CryptoCurrency, r/ethfinance, r/ethtrader. Educational posts only - shilling is removed. Long, well-written posts can drive lasting holders.
Dexscreener / DEXTools
Trader discovery surfaces. Pay for trending placement to boost visibility. Keep social tags up to date so the token info card looks legitimate.
5. Listings: CoinGecko, CMC, Dexscreener
The three universal listings to pursue:
| Service | Requirement | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dexscreener Enhanced Info | Active liquidity | Instant | ~$300 |
| CoinGecko | 250+ holders, locked liquidity, active socials | 1-3 weeks | Free |
| CoinMarketCap | 500+ holders, active for 30+ days, audit recommended | 2-8 weeks | Free |
| RugCheck profile | Auto-generated; just check it looks clean | Instant | Free |
6. Influencer / KOL Deals
If you spend on KOLs, the rules:
- Vet engagement, not follower count. A 30k-follower account with 200 real replies per post is worth more than a 500k-follower account with 5 likes.
- Pay for one post first, evaluate, then negotiate a package. Never pay a full package upfront.
- Insist on disclosure. "#Ad" or "#Sponsored" disclosed posts perform better long-term and protect both sides.
- Track contract-address clicks. The only metric that matters is "did this turn into buyers." Etherscan tx counts on the day of the post are your truth.
7. Airdrops as Marketing
Three airdrop patterns that work:
- Holder of related token. Snapshot holders of a complementary project, airdrop a small amount. Generates organic discovery from a curated audience.
- Engagement-gated. Recipients must follow Twitter, join Telegram, and post a tweet to claim. Filters out pure farmers.
- Retroactive. Airdrop to wallets that took a specific on-chain action (used a dapp, traded a related pair). Strongest signal of audience fit.
Patterns that fail: airdrops to random wallets, airdrops with no engagement gate, and airdrops where the claim itself is the only thing recipients do.
8. What to Avoid
- Buying followers or fake engagement. Traders spot this instantly and the account loses credibility.
- Paid "presale" promotions. Often regulated as securities offerings in major jurisdictions. Legal risk and reputational risk.
- Spamming Discord servers and Telegram groups. Gets your token reported and your wallets banned from key communities.
- Misleading "guaranteed" claims. Whether on Twitter or in ad copy, this is the fastest way to get reported to the FTC, ASA (UK), or similar.
- Hiring a "marketing agency" without portfolio verification. Crypto is full of agencies that take retainers and deliver nothing.
Ready to launch?
Deploy your ERC-20 token first, then turn this playbook into action.