Since I started sharing my experiences in Community & Growth, my DMs have been flooded with the same question:

“How do we build a stronger marketing & community flywheel?”

After seeing what works (and what doesn’t) across Web3 projects, here are 10 rules every team should follow to grow beyond hype cycles.

Do Things That Don’t Scale

When you’re small, treat your first 5-20 real members like VIPs. Personalized DMs, 1:1 conversations, private calls, these early relationships set the foundation for long-term, engaged communities.

Quality is Greater Than Quantity, Stop Farming Fake Engagement

Those “like, retweet, tag 3 friends” campaigns? They don’t build communities. Fake engagement kills organic reach. Would you rather have 100 bot-driven likes or 10 real users who stick around for years? Focus on depth, not vanity metrics.

You’re Competing with Influencers, Not Just Other Protocols

When people open Crypto Twitter, they’re not searching for your project updates. They’re checking what Cobie, Ansem or the latest meme account posted.

Your real competition? Attention. If your content isn’t engaging, it’s invisible.

Association is Greater Than Information

Coca-Cola doesn’t post ingredient lists, they sell a feeling, not a product.

Stop shilling your tech. Make people want to be part of your brand first, then they’ll care about the product.

Marketing & Community = A System, Not Silos

Marketing and community aren’t separate things, they are a feedback loop.

Twitter, Discord, Telegram, everything connects. If you silo them, you weaken both. Build a system where marketing fuels community and community fuels marketing.

Invest in Community or They Won’t Invest in You

If you don’t care about your community, why should they care about your project?

If your community experience sucks, people will leave. Simple as that. Make the experience fun, valuable and rewarding, not just a dead chat waiting for announcements.

Feature Your Community More Than Yourself

Your community creates better content than your marketing team.

• Retweet their posts.

• Highlight their memes.

• Give shoutouts.

This makes your members feel valued and makes your brand feel alive.

Remember, Your Community Is Made of Real People

They have jobs, lives and other interests. They aren’t just a number on a dashboard.

If you treat your community like humans instead of “users”, they’ll stick with you when things get tough.

Final Takeaway

Web3 marketing & community aren’t just about hype, they’re an engineered system designed for sustainable growth.

If you get this right, you’ll build something that lasts beyond the next hype cycle.