Become a Project Catalyst Proposer - Part III: Market your idea and help get out the vote!

Technically, this step is optional, and we certainly don’t know of a one-size-fits-all strategy. However, putting some effort into spreading the word about your proposal is a win-win investment of your time. The more excitement and awareness you can generate among other ADA holders, the more likely they are to look for your proposal and give you a “Yes” vote! Just as importantly, when you engage with the community, you are likely to get other benefits: feedback and questions you might use to improve your proposal, or collaboration opportunities with other like-minded innovators.

Here are a couple of ideas to check out:

Ideafest: Catalyst Swarm is a collective of Cardano community members who work to create more cooperative spaces for networking, mentoring, and building each other up. They host a virtual “Ideafest” event for each Fund, where proposers can present their ideas, build excitement, and get feedback. At the first Ideafest event, presenters were 36% likely to get funded, compared to 21% in the greater pool. Links below to the Catalyst Swarm Calendar

Twitter: in general, Twitter is a great platform for reaching a diverse global audience with bite-size information and marketing nuggets. Even better, in our view, is the recent debut of Twitter “Spaces” devoted to Cardano. These audio chat shows are a great way to meet the community and share ideas. One specific recommendation is the Cardano Over Coffee show, which is on every weekday, with several guests scheduled to present their projects each day. You can find the show by following @LidoNation on Twitter, or ask us!

GimbaLabs Playground: Gimbalabs is another Cardano collective of builders and dreamers, with weekly public events for sharing and learning about all things Cardano. The Gimbalabs “Playground” event is newcomer-friendly and exciting. At the “Playground”, you can expect to hear about a variety of interesting and ambitious ideas. You can also expect that presenters will be engaged with constructive questions, feedback and encouragement. If you might be interested in presenting your idea to this smart and friendly group, it would be a good idea to get involved first - don’t let a “request to present” be your first introduction. Attend a few sessions, get to know the vibe, and then perhaps put your name in the hat to present! (Links below)

YouTube: JCrypto is a popular YouTube channel that posts daily videos about all things Cardano. Video formats vary between informal news bits and interviews with creators and contributors from around the Cardano community. You could check out the JCrypto channel, learn about some of the latest topics, and reach out if you want to join the conversation! (Links below)

These are just a few ideas; Cardano pool is deep and wide, spanning many social platforms and corners of the metaverse. Dig around in your favorite channels to find more ways to engage with the community.

With any platform or community you find, you will get more out of it, and are more likely to find a receptive audience, if you start to connect with them sometime BEFORE the day you show up with a proposal you want to shill. People can spot a sales pitch from a mile away, and in general they don’t love it. Instead, start by getting to know some of these communities now. It’s absolutely ok to just show up and listen for a while. “Follow” some leaders or other interesting contributors. Get to know the different communities and how they work. And by all means, raise your hand and ask a question, contribute to the conversation, or reach out in some DMs! When you establish yourself as a familiar face and trustworthy participant, you will find many people are excited to hear about your proposal - it’s a big reason these community platforms exist.

Together we are building the future - best of luck with your next great idea!