--- title: "PR for Apps Building on an L1 or L2: How to Stand Out" description: "Why apps inside big L1 and L2 ecosystems all sound alike, what ecosystem amplification can and can't do, and a three-ring plan for coverage beyond it." author: "Shilika Jain" date: "2026-10-28T02:19:50.255+00:00" tags: ["web3 pr", "crypto pr", "blockchain pr", "narrative"] canonical: "https://www.shilikajain.com/blog/building-on-l1-l2-ecosystem-app-pr-stand-out" --- # PR for Apps Building on an L1 or L2: How to Stand Out By [Shilika Jain](https://www.shilikajain.com/authors/shilika-jain) - 10/28/2026 Why apps inside big L1 and L2 ecosystems all sound alike, what ecosystem amplification can and can't do, and a three-ring plan for coverage beyond it. --- # PR for Apps Building on an L1 or L2: How to Stand Out PR for an app building on an L1 or L2 works when you stop leading with the chain. The ecosystem will amplify you to people who already use that chain, but reporters outside it need a reason that would still be true if you'd built somewhere else: the problem you solve, the users you serve, or the data only you have. Treat ecosystem support as your first ring of reach, then build the story for the two rings beyond it. Most ecosystem apps never make that jump. Their announcements read "the first X on [chain]," which is news to the chain's community and to almost nobody else. ## Why do apps inside the same ecosystem all sound the same? Because they borrow the same vocabulary. Everyone on a given chain describes themselves with the chain's selling points: fast, cheap, scalable, the leading something "on" that network. The ecosystem's own messaging becomes the app's messaging, and twenty apps end up with one pitch. I've been saying this about chains themselves for years. > so many EVM rollups and so little differentiation! can someone explain me why? > > [Shilika Jain on X, 18 May 2023](https://x.com/Shilika_jain/status/1659048881961807876) If the chains struggle to tell themselves apart, an app that defines itself by its chain inherits that problem twice. The reporter reading your pitch has seen the chain's announcement, the chain's grant programme announcement, and probably three other apps from the same cohort. "We're building on X" tells them where you deployed, not why anyone should care. There's also a product truth underneath this. Users increasingly don't care which chain they're on. > the true chain abstraction moment happens when a user uses your dapp without knowing which chain you're built on! > > [Shilika Jain on X, 25 Sep 2024](https://x.com/Shilika_jain/status/1839011824265552273) If your users won't know the chain, your headline shouldn't depend on it either. ## What can ecosystem amplification actually do for you? A lot, within its ring. It's worth being precise about where that ring ends. | Ecosystem support | What it does well | Where it stops | | --- | --- | --- | | Retweets and quote posts from the chain's accounts | Fast reach to the chain's existing users and builders | Rarely reaches anyone not already following the chain | | Ecosystem blog roundups and newsletters | A credible mention and a link | One line among many apps; no reporter treats it as news | | Grant or accelerator announcements | Signals the chain's team vetted you | Announces the cohort, not your story | | Ecosystem side events and booths | Face time with builders, partners and some media | Crowded; you share the stage with every other grantee | | Co-marketing campaigns and quests | Short-term user activity | Often brings incentive hunters, not lasting users | | Introductions to the chain's PR or comms team | Sometimes a warm route to a reporter | Their priority is the chain's story, not yours | There's a second limit that founders rarely plan for: ecosystem attention isn't evenly spread. I wrote about this in 2023 after working with teams in the Polygon ecosystem. > every blockchain or L2 wants to grow, have more users, need more builders and have more utility! the story is the same everywhere. however, when a chain gains traction, they start supporting only cream projects that are driving TVL. > > [Shilika Jain on X, 4 Aug 2023](https://x.com/Shilika_jain/status/1687403922716282880) So use ecosystem support while you have it. Get on the ecosystem's panels, show up at their side events, ask their comms team for introductions. Just plan on the assumption that this is ring one, and that rings two and three need your own story. ## What are the three rings an ecosystem app needs to reach? I map ecosystem apps against three rings of audience. Each ring needs a different story and a different list of outlets. 1. **Ring one: the ecosystem.** Users, builders and investors already on your chain. Story: "We're the best option for X on this chain." Channels: the chain's accounts, ecosystem newsletters, community calls, ecosystem-focused media and podcasts. 2. **Ring two: the category.** People who care about your category across all chains, such as DeFi lending, on-chain gaming, payments or RWA. Story: "Here's what we're doing differently in this category, and here's the proof." Channels: category-focused reporters at crypto outlets, niche newsletters, analyst and research shops, category podcasts. 3. **Ring three: the sector or the mainstream.** Reporters who cover the problem you solve, whether or not they cover crypto. Story: "Here's a real-world problem and evidence that this approach works." Channels: fintech, gaming, AI or business press, depending on your sector, and regional mainstream outlets. Most ecosystem apps run a ring-one campaign and then wonder why ring-two reporters ignore them. The chain name is a strength in ring one, neutral in ring two, and usually irrelevant in ring three. Building the right media list for rings two and three is its own job. [How to build a media list](/blog/how-to-build-a-media-list) covers that step by step. ## How do you test whether your story works outside the ecosystem? Run the chain-removal test. Write your announcement headline, then delete the chain's name and every word that only makes sense because of the chain. Read what's left. - **"Lending protocol X launches on Chain Y"** becomes "Lending protocol X launches." Nothing left. Ring one only. - **"First perpetuals DEX on Chain Y"** becomes "Perpetuals DEX." Nothing left. - **"Game Z on Chain Y hits 50,000 players in its first month"** becomes "Game Z hits 50,000 players in its first month." Something left, if the number is real. Possibly ring two. - **"Platform protects NFT creator royalties at the infrastructure level"** has no chain in it to begin with. Ring two or three. That last line isn't hypothetical. When RARI Foundation launched Rari Chain mainnet on Arbitrum in January 2024, the story we led with was creator royalties, not the chain it ran on. That angle was what carried it into CoinDesk, The Block and Cointelegraph in the same week. Arbitrum was a fact in the story, not the headline. The [Rari Chain case study](/work/rari-chain) has the details. Aurora Labs, in the NEAR ecosystem, is another pattern: coverage like Bitcoin.com News on Aurora's turnkey blockchain for businesses moving to Web3 led with the enterprise use, which is a ring-three idea, rather than with the ecosystem. ## What stories lift an ecosystem app out of ring one? Once you've run the test, you need material that survives it. These are the angles that work most often for apps in big ecosystems. - **A user outcome nobody else on any chain has shown.** Not "fast and cheap," but what someone could do with your product that they couldn't before, with numbers. - **Data from your own users.** Activity, behaviour or regional patterns that only you can see. Reporters in ring two value data they can't get elsewhere. - **A regional story.** A team, users or a market that gives you a local angle, especially in APAC or MENA, where local outlets want local stories. - **A partner from outside crypto.** A known Web2 company, institution or brand gives ring-three reporters a reason to care. - **A founder position on a category debate.** An op-ed or commentary that argues something about your category, not your chain. - **Cross-ecosystem moves.** Expanding to a second chain is often more interesting to ring two than launching on the first, because it says something about where demand is. Pick one or two and build around them. Trying all six at once gives you the same blur you started with. ## When does ecosystem-first PR still make sense? Sometimes ring one is the right place to stay for a while, and pushing past it is a waste. If your product only works for that chain's users, like tooling for that chain's developers, ring one is your market and ecosystem channels are your best press. If you're pre-product and your next goal is a grant or the chain's accelerator, ecosystem visibility matters more than a ring-three pitch. And if the chain itself is in the middle of a big moment, such as a major upgrade, being a well-placed example inside the chain's story can beat a solo pitch. The trade-off is dependency. If all your visibility runs through the chain's accounts, you rise and fall with the chain's attention, and its comms team will always put its own news first. Building your own ring-two relationships takes longer, but nobody can turn them off. For chains themselves, the positioning problem is different, and I cover it in the [L1 and L2 blockchain PR playbook](/blog/l1-l2-blockchain-pr-narrative-differentiation-playbook). If you'd like a team to build the ring-two and ring-three campaign for your app, that's what a [Web3 PR campaign](/services/web3-pr-campaigns) is for. ## FAQ ### Should I mention the chain in my pitch at all? Yes, as a fact, usually in the body rather than the subject line. Reporters need to know where you're deployed, and in ring one the chain is a selling point. In rings two and three, lead with the problem, outcome or data, and mention the chain where it explains something. ### Can the ecosystem's comms team pitch my story for me? They can sometimes make an introduction, and that's worth asking for. Don't build your plan around it. Their job is the chain's story, they're often stretched across many projects, and a reporter will still judge your news on its own merits once they see it. ### Is it worth launching on several chains just to get more coverage? Not for coverage alone. Multi-chain deployment is an engineering and community cost, and it only becomes a story if it reflects real demand. If you do expand, the reason you expanded is usually the angle, not the expansion itself. ### How do grant announcements fit into an app's PR plan? Treat them as ring-one moments. Share them on owned channels and with the ecosystem, and thank the chain publicly. Then save your pitch energy for news that passes the chain-removal test. *Building inside a big ecosystem and tired of being "another app on" it? [Book a 30-minute teardown](https://calendly.com/shilikajain/30min/) and we'll find the story that travels.* --- **Book a 30-min ecosystem app PR teardown** - https://calendly.com/shilikajain/30min/ Canonical: https://www.shilikajain.com/blog/building-on-l1-l2-ecosystem-app-pr-stand-out