---
title: "Web3 Startup Marketing Checklist: Pre-Launch to Post-TGE"
description: "A phase-by-phase Web3 marketing checklist: community, docs, X, KOL vetting, PR, exchange listing comms, MiCA and VARA checks, and on-chain analytics to TGE."
author: "Shilika Jain"
date: "2026-10-01T06:58:36.101+00:00"
tags: ["web3 marketing", "token launch", "checklist", "kol marketing", "crypto pr"]
canonical: "https://www.shilikajain.com/blog/web3-startup-marketing-checklist"
---

# Web3 Startup Marketing Checklist: Pre-Launch to Post-TGE

By [Shilika Jain](https://www.shilikajain.com/authors/shilika-jain) - 10/1/2026

A phase-by-phase Web3 marketing checklist: community, docs, X, KOL vetting, PR, exchange listing comms, MiCA and VARA checks, and on-chain analytics to TGE.

---

# Web3 Startup Marketing Checklist: Pre-Launch to Post-TGE

A Web3 marketing checklist has to cover more than a SaaS one, because a token launch adds community, KOLs, exchange communications and regulation to the usual work. The short version: lock positioning and docs first, build a real community and an X presence 90+ days before TGE, vet every KOL with on-chain and audience data, sequence press around a single news moment, coordinate listing announcements with exchanges, clear every public claim against MiCA, VARA and US guidance, and instrument on-chain analytics before launch day, not after.

I've worked on launches for 50+ protocols, and the checklist below is the one I wish every founding team had printed out at T-120 days. It's split by phase. Tick the boxes in order; most launch disasters I've seen come from doing phase four work in phase one, or skipping phase one entirely.

## Why Web3 marketing needs its own checklist

A standard startup marketing checklist assumes you're selling a product to a customer. In Web3 you're doing that and also asking people to hold an asset, govern a protocol, and trust an anonymous-ish team with their money. That changes three things.

First, the community *is* the distribution channel, so it has to exist before you need it. Second, every public statement about a token can be read as a financial promotion, so legal review is part of marketing operations. Third, the data that proves traction lives on-chain, which means your analytics stack looks different from a SaaS dashboard.

| Area | Typical SaaS launch | Typical Web3 / token launch |
|---|---|---|
| Core audience | Buyers and users | Users, holders, builders, validators, exchanges |
| Main proof of traction | Revenue, logos | TVL, active wallets, transactions, developer activity |
| Community role | Support channel | Primary distribution and governance |
| Regulatory exposure in marketing | Ad standards, privacy | Securities law, MiCA, VARA, promotion rules |
| Launch moment | Product launch | Mainnet, TGE, listing, often all three |

## Phase 1: Foundations (T-180 to T-120 days)

This phase is invisible to the market and decides most of what happens later. If you can't pass this section, don't schedule a TGE date yet.

- [ ] Write a one-sentence positioning line a non-crypto journalist would understand
- [ ] Pick one category to own (e.g. DePIN compute, RWA, wallet infrastructure) and stop describing yourself as five things
- [ ] Publish docs that explain what the protocol does, who it's for, and how to use it, with a quickstart under 10 minutes
- [ ] Draft the litepaper or whitepaper and have it read by someone outside the team
- [ ] Decide token utility in plain language and get legal sign-off on how you're allowed to describe it
- [ ] Set up brand basics: logo, colors, one deck, one press kit folder
- [ ] Name your spokespeople and confirm each one is comfortable on camera and on record
- [ ] Create a regulatory map: which jurisdictions you will market into, and which you'll geo-block
- [ ] Register handles on X, Telegram, Discord, Farcaster, LinkedIn, YouTube and Medium or Mirror, even if you won't use all of them

The positioning line matters more than it looks. When I worked on Fluence, the job was to make DePIN a beat tier-1 reporters actually covered. That only works if the category is named clearly and consistently, every single time.

## Phase 2: Community and presence (T-120 to T-60 days)

Community built in the last three weeks before a TGE is mostly airdrop farmers. You want people who'll still be around after the claim.

- [ ] Founder posts on X at least 4 times a week with a real point of view, not just announcements
- [ ] Company X account has a pinned post that explains the project in one thread
- [ ] Discord or Telegram is live with clear channels, rules, mod coverage across time zones, and anti-scam bots
- [ ] Community managers have a written FAQ, an escalation path and a list of things they must never say about price
- [ ] Weekly community call or AMA is on the calendar
- [ ] Testnet or early access program is running with a feedback loop that's visible to the community
- [ ] Builder program or grants page exists if developers matter to your thesis
- [ ] A content calendar covers at least 8 weeks of educational posts, threads and short explainers
- [ ] Quest or points campaigns, if used, have sybil filtering and rules published in advance
- [ ] Track a weekly "real member" metric (e.g. members who posted or voted in the last 14 days), not raw follower counts

A founder voice on X is the cheapest marketing asset in Web3, and the most neglected. The [30-day founder content calendar](/resources/30-day-founder-content-calendar.pdf) is a decent starting template if you're not sure what to post.

## Phase 3: KOL vetting and partnerships (T-60 to T-21 days)

KOL marketing is where most Web3 budgets leak. Follower counts are easy to fake and engagement is easy to buy. Vet like it's your money, because it is.

- [ ] Shortlist creators by audience fit, not reach (a 15K-follower developer account can beat a 500K generalist)
- [ ] Check follower quality with an audit tool and manual review of recent replies
- [ ] Review the creator's past paid posts and how those tokens performed after the post
- [ ] Confirm the creator will disclose paid promotion clearly on every platform
- [ ] Write a brief that bans price predictions, return promises and "not financial advice" as a fig leaf for hype
- [ ] Use unique links or wallet-level tracking so you can attribute results per creator
- [ ] Sequence posts in waves instead of one blast on launch day
- [ ] Line up ecosystem partners, integrations and co-announcements to land around the same window

The sequencing I use is three waves: credibility voices at T-72h, broad activation at T+0, and sustained posting from T+24h. Healthy cost per wallet for early-stage launches tends to land around $50 to $150; if you're paying much more, either the targeting or the creators are off. Disclosure isn't optional in the US either: the FTC's 2025 civil penalty cap is $53,088 per violation. If you'd like help running this, the [KOL marketing service](/services/kol-marketing) works with 200+ vetted Web3 creators and an independent fraud audit.

## Phase 4: Press and launch communications (T-45 to T+7 days)

Press works when there is one clear news moment and the story is bigger than "we launched a token."

- [ ] Pick the single news hook: mainnet, raise, major partnership, data release or TGE
- [ ] Build a target list of 15 to 30 reporters at crypto-native outlets (CoinDesk, The Block, Blockworks, Decrypt, Cointelegraph) and relevant regional or mainstream outlets
- [ ] Decide exclusive vs. embargo vs. open announcement for each tier
- [ ] Write the announcement post, press release, FAQ and founder quotes, and get legal review on all four
- [ ] Prepare the press kit: logos, headshots, fact sheet, tokenomics summary, links
- [ ] Media-train spokespeople on the questions you don't want: unlocks, team allocation, regulators, competitors
- [ ] Brief the community team on what's going out and when, so they're not surprised in their own channels
- [ ] Plan regional translations for Korea, Japan, Vietnam or other APAC markets if they matter to your holders
- [ ] Schedule a founder podcast or X Spaces run in the two weeks after launch

The [token launch PR timeline](/blog/token-launch-pr-timeline-90-day-pre-tge-plan) goes deeper on the exact 90-day sequence.

## Phase 5: Exchange listing communications (T-14 to T+3 days)

Listing announcements are where teams break embargoes by accident and where scammers do the most damage.

- [ ] Agree with each exchange who announces first, at what time, and in which channels
- [ ] Never announce a listing the exchange hasn't confirmed in writing
- [ ] Publish official contract addresses in one canonical place and pin it everywhere
- [ ] Warn the community about fake contract addresses and impersonator accounts before listing day
- [ ] Prepare a holding statement for trading volatility, delays or a paused deposit
- [ ] Keep messaging about the listing factual: venue, pair, time. No price talk.

## Phase 6: Compliance checks for every public claim

This is the part founders want to hand off and forget. Don't. You don't need to become a lawyer, but marketing needs a sign-off loop with one. Nothing below is legal advice; it's the operating checklist I'd want counsel to have reviewed.

- [ ] Every public statement about the token has been reviewed by counsel for the jurisdictions you market into
- [ ] For the EU, check what MiCA requires of your token's white paper and of marketing communications (fair, clear, not misleading, and consistent with the white paper)
- [ ] For Dubai, check whether your activity and promotions fall under VARA's marketing rules, including required disclaimers and licensing
- [ ] For the US, avoid language that frames the token as an investment with expected profits from the team's work
- [ ] Geo-blocking and terms of service match the jurisdictions you said you won't serve
- [ ] KOL briefs include mandatory disclosure language and banned phrases
- [ ] Keep an archive of every published claim, with date and approver

The [TGE communications compliance guide](/blog/tge-communications-compliance-mica-genius-act-sec-2026) covers the specifics of MiCA, the GENIUS Act and SEC/CFTC guidance in more depth.

## Phase 7: On-chain analytics and post-TGE (T-14 to T+90 days)

If you can't measure it on-chain, you can't tell your community, your investors or a journalist what's working.

- [ ] Dashboards live before TGE for active wallets, retained wallets, transactions, TVL or usage, and holder distribution
- [ ] UTM and referral tracking tie off-chain campaigns to on-chain actions
- [ ] Weekly report on new vs. returning wallets and cost per retained wallet by channel
- [ ] Monitor large holder movements and unlock schedules so communications get ahead of them
- [ ] Post-TGE content plan for 90 days: builder spotlights, data updates, governance proposals, milestones
- [ ] Monthly transparency update to the community covering treasury, roadmap and what slipped
- [ ] Plan communications for the first unlock cliff at least 30 days before it hits

Tools like Dune, Nansen, Token Terminal and DefiLlama cover most of what an early team needs. The [post-TGE PR plan](/blog/post-tge-pr-90-day-communications-plan) has a fuller 90-day sequence for this phase.

## How to use this checklist with a small team

You won't do all of this well with three people. Prioritize in this order: positioning and docs, founder voice, compliance review, on-chain analytics. Those four can't be outsourced cheaply after the fact. KOLs, press and translations can be bought in as a sprint when the date is fixed.

If you want a version that saves progress in the browser across 20 channels, use the [interactive marketing checklist](/tools/marketing-checklist). If you'd rather have someone senior running the press and launch sequence, the [token launch PR service](/services/token-launch-pr) explains how a pre-TGE retainer and launch sprint work.

A token launch doesn't get a second first day. Treat the checklist like a pre-flight list, not a wish list.

*Planning a TGE in the next six months? [Book a 30-minute teardown](/contact) and I'll tell you which boxes you're most likely to miss.*

---

**Book a 30-min TGE teardown with Shilika** - https://calendly.com/shilikajain/30min/

Canonical: https://www.shilikajain.com/blog/web3-startup-marketing-checklist