((( Marketing Proposal ))) Let’s Empower Businesses Using Cardano to be Better Marketers!

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

Sequoia Brown

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

7

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

An SEO marketing campaign will push The Cardano Marketing 101 Guidebook to businesses and developers to improve their ability to market Cardano and Cardano-based products.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

To fulfill this project my content marketing agency, Funnel Amp, will be partnering with Sequence SEO marketing agency.

 

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

This is an open source resource designed to be used independently by anyone in the Cardano ecosystem.

Additionally, the marketing guidebook has two components: the graphically designed guidebook, and a “living document” that is publicly available for community input for future versions. The guidebook is also distributed under a Creative Commons license that allows non-commercial use and adaptation with attribution.

 

As part of this project, the guidebook will be moved off of Funnel Amp’s URL to its own domain. This will make it easier to transfer its maintenance to an organization or entity within the Cardano ecosystem at some point in the future for continued upkeep.

[METADATA] Horizons

Marketing

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

Cardano’s Marketing Problem

 

Despite the fact that Cardano has been built to be an exceptional, academically-backed, and highly secure blockchain, many will agree that it has a marketing problem.

 

Cardano supporters appreciate the mission of the blockchain and the intricate care that has gone into ensuring it meets a high standard of performance. However, the methodical pace of its development has left it vulnerable to being outpaced by other blockchains with less impressive capabilities but better or more aggressive marketing strategies.

 

In the highly competitive cryptocurrency market, some chains have even positioned themselves as rivals to Cardano with an eye on capturing as much market share from Cardano as possible. This has led to the creation of misinformation campaigns that get picked up and repeated as “fact” by those unmotivated to engage in Snopes-style myth busting.

Lack of Marketing Support and Guidance for Builders and End Users

 

Since Cardano is a decentralized chain, no central authority determines how businesses, developers, and end users market the chain or what’s built on it. This leaves the community flush with wonderful Dapps, products and services, but somewhat lost on best approaches to attract target customers. As a result, promising products flounder and eventually die.

 

My Perspective as a Community Reviewer…

I’ve had the privilege of volunteering as a Community Reviewer in past Project Catalyst rounds. After reviewing hundreds of incredible proposals I quickly noticed a trend; while great care was taken to flesh out a proposal’s Problem & Solution statement, its milestones, team and capabilities, marketing (if even included) was often treated like an afterthought.

 

For example, I’ve seen projects mention purchasing press release blasts, or simply posting about their finished product on their social channels, and consider this activity to be adequate marketing. Also, the portion of the budget earmarked for marketing was often too small to make an impact.

 

Mentioning this is not meant to denigrate these projects or their proposers; it simply highlights the reality that many businesses in this ecosystem could benefit from targeted marketing guidance to help them grow and thrive.

Empower Cardano Users to Market Their Products

 

As a digital marketer I’ve worked with numerous SaaS (software as a service) clients who understand the power of Customer Success. When a customer is able to achieve their goals with a SaaS company’s product, they are more inclined to speak well of that company and mention it to others.

 

Savvy SaaS companies capitalize on this good will by providing happy customers with the tools and positive experiences they need to become brand evangelists. In doing so, they are rewarded by significant upticks in customer retention and growth.

 

In my opinion, one of the greatest assets that can be mobilized to amplify Cardano’s brand and attract more people to the chain is its active community of makers and builders. By empowering these business owners to be able to better market what they make, the ecosystem will retain more of its current users and be in a better position to attract new ones.

 

What Funding This Proposal Will Accomplish

This proposal seeks to assist Cardano’s builders, makers, and end users by pushing The Cardano Marketing 101 Guidebook to them and using a Digital PR campaign to ensure the resource is easier to find by major search engines like Google.

 

If awarded funding, this proposal will:

 

• Provide a high-value go-to asset for developers and businesses that are using Cardano and need some independent guidance with marketing.

• Help it get found as a go-to resource in major search engines.

• Help builders and makers on the chain quickly get started with best practices and avoid common marketing mistakes.

• As the guidebook is promoted to the community, provide a real-time case study of what can be accomplished by using marketing methods discussed in the guidebook.

• Attract more developers and businesses from outside of the chain that may be curious about Cardano, but are not sure its marketing challenges can be surmounted.

• Establish a publishing hub for future high-quality guidebooks to assist the Cardano community.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Positive Project Impact

 

Cardano is a great chain with relatively weak marketing; this status has impacted the rate of growth of its user base. By educating more Cardano-based businesses about best marketing practices, these community members will be in a better position to promote what they create. As a result, more people will be drawn into the ecosystem and the false claim that Cardano is a “ghost chain” will be easier to refute.

Proof of Impact and ROI

 

To prove the impact made by this project, the following KPIs will be tracked over a 7-month period:

 

• Completion of the guidebook (including three translated versions, transfer of the guidebook to a dedicated domain, and the addition of visual elements)
• Traffic growth to the marketing guidebook
• Session lengths and bounce rate
• Number of backlinks earned to high-authority websites (between 35-50 by 6 months)
• Increase in Page Authority
• Reader ratings and feedback via popup surveys

Sharing Project Outcomes

 

The following methods and approaches will be used to share the outcome of this project:

 

• A thread dedicated to this project will be created on the Cardano.org forum so the community can follow along and watch how it progresses.

• A case study report will be written once the project is complete and will be included in the marketing guidebook.

• An article series will be released on LinkedIn to promote the guidebook and to share the outcome of the marketing project.

• An article will be published on Medium discussing the guidebook, Project Catalysts, and this project’s outcome.

• A press release about the guidebook and the case study will be issued at the close of the project.

• Any and all closeout reporting required will presented to Project Catalyst.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Project Capability

 

I’m the founder, project manager, and lead content developer at www.funnelamp.com. I’ve been a digital marketer for over 15 years, and in that capacity I have worked with B2B and B2C businesses in a range of industries. I’ve been involved in blockchain since 2018. 

 

As a Cardano supporter, I’ve participated in the ecosystem as a PoS protocol supporter (since Testnet), a Community Reviewer in multiple rounds of Project Catalyst, I’m a member of Intersect, and I currently have a Cardano-based project under development.

 

With this experience, my goal is to educate, solve problems, and empower participants of the Cardano community with information that will help them succeed with marketing what they build.

Project Feasibility

 

This project is highly feasible; it’s simply a targeted content and SEO marketing project. I regularly manage milestone-based projects and facilitate partnerships with other vetted contractors to deliver work of this caliber for clients.

The Cardano Marketing 101 Guidebook is an existing asset that has been developed at zero cost other than my own sweat equity. The guidebook is 90% complete; the 10% of remaining work includes making final edits, finishing up on-page SEO, moving the asset off of my agency’s website to its own domain, and adding 3 different translations of the guide to reach a wider international audience.

My proposal partner, Joe Greenslade (Sequence SEO) has been selected for completing the off-page SEO and Digital PR work for this project. Joe prides himself on running a performance and results-based business while adhering to the highest standard of “white hat” SEO.

Our combined work follows Google’s best practices for earning backlinks and attracting search engine traffic; this means that this proposal will put in place a solid self-sustaining marketing foundation for the guidebook that will help it be found in search results for years after the proposal work is complete.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

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MONTH 1

 

Milestone 1 Outputs

• Final edits and optimizations made to V1 of the guidebook.
• Completed guidebook moved to dedicated URL.
• A “build in public” thread about the guidebook and the funded project will be created on the Cardano.org forum.

 

Acceptance Criteria

• Guidebook is 100% complete
• Cardano.org forum thread is live

 

Evidence of Completion

• Link to completed guidebook at its new domain address
• Link to thread at Cardano.org forum

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MONTH 2-3

 

Milestone 2 Outputs

• Digital PR/ SEO marketing activity begins. The first two-three weeks will be dedicated to audience and media partner research. By month two the first set of earned authoritative backlinks will begin to accumulate.
• The first 2 articles in a 6 article series on marketing Cardano will be published to LinkedIn.
• A new entry update will be made to the Cardano.org forum thread.

 

Acceptance Criteria

• Five-ten backlinks earned from high authority sites
• At least two articles published to LinkedIn
• Cardano.org forum thread updated

 

Evidence of Completion

• Backlink report
• Website traffic report
• Links to LinkedIn articles
• Link to thread at Cardano.org forum

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MONTH 4-5

 

Milestone 3 Outputs

• Digital PR activity for earned high-authority backlinks continues.
• Two new articles in a 6 article series published to LinkedIn.
• Cardano.org forum thread updated.

 

Acceptance Criteria

• Total high-authority backlinks to guidebook: between 20-30
• At least two articles published to LinkedIn
• Cardano.org forum thread updated

 

Evidence of Completion

• Backlink report
• Website traffic report
• Links to LinkedIn articles
• Link to thread at Cardano.org forum

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MONTH 5-6

Milestone 4 Outputs

• Digital PR activity for earned high-authority backlinks concludes.
• Final two articles in a 6 article series published to LinkedIn.
• Cardano.org forum thread updated.

 

Acceptance Criteria

• Total high-authority backlinks to guidebook: between 35-50
• Final two articles published to LinkedIn
• Cardano.org forum thread updated

 

Evidence of Completion

• Backlink report
• Website traffic report
• Links to LinkedIn articles
• Link to thread at Cardano.org forum

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MONTH 7

 

Milestone 5 Outputs

• Reader survey responses will be analyzed.
• A closeout case study covering the marketing activity undertaken and its outcomes will be written.
• The case study will be linked to the marketing guidebook.
• A press release will be issued about the guide, the project, and the case study results.
• An article about marketing Cardano and this project will be published on Medium.
• A project closeout video will be created.

 

Acceptance Criteria

• Link to press release
• Link to case study report
• Link to Medium article
• Close out video

Evidence of Completion

• Link to press release
• Link to case study report
• Link to Medium article
• Close out video

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Sequoia Brown – Project Lead / Content Developer

Sequoia (Sequoia @ Funnel Amp) is the content developer and project lead for this proposal. Her 15 plus years of experience includes providing marketing solutions for technology businesses of all sizes, from SMEs to global enterprises. As a Cardano holder and ecosystem contributor she is highly motivated to help projects building on Cardano succeed. To fulfill that goal she uses her experience in marketing and education to develop helpful content for the Cardano community. For further details about Sequoia’s credentials, view her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/funnelamp/.

Joe Greenslade – Digital PR / SEO Specialist

To complete the work described in this proposal, Sequoia is teaming up with Joe Greenslade of Sequence SEO. Joe has been a dedicated SEO and Digital PR specialist for over a decade. Since founding his agency in 2020, he and his team have helped hundreds of satisfied customers; from Fortune 500 entities, to startups and local brick-and-mortar businesses build long-term online authority and earn quality website traffic. Sequoia selected Sequence SEO for this project because of Joe’s high ethical standards and amazing track record. You can learn more about Joe’s experience at the following link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-greenslade-4a703522b/

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Content Optimization Costs

The requested funding of $2,100 will cover 14 hours of work to finalize the guidebook. This pricing reflects the industry standard that can be expected when paying a senior-level content & web site developer for services. The work to be conducted is outlined below:

• Complete final edit of current version of the guidebook
• Complete on-page/on-site SEO optimizations for guidebook
• Create up to 10 graphical elements to illustrate and enhance guidebook
• Generate and install three language variations
• Set up new website hub for the guidebook
• Generate Terms & Conditions for guidebook hub

Digital PR/Off-Site SEO Costs

The requested funding of $25,000 will cover 6 months of work required to establish the guidebook’s backlink profile, help it get found by search engines, and improve its search engine results page (SERP) rank. This pricing reflects the upper-mid range of what is expected to be paid for SEO and Digital PR services to receive a quality result. The work conducted will include the following:

• Keyword research
• Competitor analysis
• Ongoing media partner research and outreach
• Between 5-10 high-authority backlinks earned per month

Ancillary Costs

1 Year Subscription to Optin Monster - $228

Optin Monster is the tool that will be used to gather reader feedback about the marketing guide.

Subscription to GDPR Complianz Cookie Plugin - $295

A consent plugin is required to ensure the guidebook (website) meets GDPR requirements globally. The requested funding will cover a period of 5 years.

 

Register New Domain Name - $100

To ensure the guidebook is treated as an independent transferable resource, it will be moved off of Funnel Amp’s domain to a new domain. The requested funding will cover a registration period of 5 years.

Press Release Blast - $395

After the project has concluded and the case study report has been written, a press release will be issued through a blockchain-focused provider (https://blockchainwire.io/) to broadcast the results to the greater blockchain community.

BUDGET TOTALS

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$2,100 = 14 hours of content optimization costs

$25,000 = Digital PR and Off-Site SEO costs

$1,018 = Ancillary costs

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$28,118 USD = 82,279 ADA  (as of October 9th, 2024)

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

A typical enterprise-level marketing firm would look at Cardano’s case and conclude that it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more to turn around its marketing position. I beg to differ.

Part of my job as a quality-focused contractor involves helping businesses find opportunities within their existing resources, and using a scalpel to improve on a problem, where others might opt for a shotgun.

 

By spending a tiny fraction ($28,118) of what a corporate-size marketing firm might recommend, this project seeks to capture an 80/20 outcome where 20% of effort creates an 80% result. This goal will be accomplished by:

 

• A) Making sure a educational resource targeted at Cardano-based businesses ranks high in search engines.

• B) Using the resource to help businesses building on Cardano become better marketers.

 

The methods of marketing chosen for this project—content marketing, SEO, and Digital PR—represent cost effective strategies that typically deliver a ROI well over 200%. Unlike other methods of marketing such as pay-per-click ads or social media posts, the benefits of these selected methods compound over time and last for years instead of minutes, days, or weeks.

 

The guidebook as it presently exists represents around $6,500 worth of work (sweat equity) and is completely accessible to the public. After final optimizations, around $8,500-$9,500 worth of work total would have been completed to get it market-ready.

 

As the content developer for this project, I will be creating other valuable assets for which I am seeking zero compensation (LinkedIn articles, Medium post, Cardano forum posts, and guest blogs). Instead, the majority of the requested funding will cover the work being completed by my project partner, Sequence SEO.

 

Lastly, consider that this has the potential to be more than a one-off project. It establishes a new resource in the ecosystem that can be extended in the future with additional guidebooks and other types of media such as video and audio.