Since 2021, I've seen firsthand the challenges of marketing web3 projects to non-technical customers. However, I've also seen some effective strategies that can help to bridge this gap.

Note: if your product is unusable by anyone without a PhD in blockchain, the below won’t help.

Here are a few examples:

Starting with the basics

• Sometimes, you can build excitement by educating your users. But you need to find somewhere to start and give it the context that creates excitement.

• For example: At MintStars, we hosted a Twitter AMA to introduce blockchain basics to our community of content creators, taking questions from the audience, and giving answers in the context of our platform. In subsequent conversations, we returned to these themes, making sure our audience was aware of what they needed to be.

• This approach both built awareness of the benefits of using cryptocurrency with our audience and positioned our platform as a trusted platform and source of information.

• Platforms like Hotline have used a strategy of drip-feeding educational content to their potential users.

Avoiding the deeper complexities

• Your target users don’t need to know everything about what’s under the hood to understand if it will solve their problem.

• Focus on value - I’ve written about this before and it sounds obvious, but it is key. If you’re interested in seeing web3 succeed, or getting your product into the hands of customers, then lead with direct and concise messaging about the problem and how you solve it.

• Balance this with providing sufficient transparency. If your audience asks, “How does it work?”, tell them and provide the context about why you’ve made a certain technical decision. There are trade-offs when using decentralised technology which we need to be open about with our customers, without throwing jargon at them.

Having a customer journey and funnel

• Most web3 projects have a landing page, a discord, a Twitter account and a place where you can buy or use the product (whether it’s an NFT drop, DeFi product, web app, mobile app etc).

• Many obsess over adding numbers to their follower count or increasing discord members, but don't consider how users discover and subsequently move between channels, and whether this is an optimal process.

• As a result, when it comes to trying to convert users, many projects struggle to create the momentum and anticipation of a great customer journey.

• Thinking about the user journey up front will reduce this struggle and improve conversion.

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