We are excited to roll out the v0.1 of the template proposal for language accelerator grants from the growth grants program. As with all of the grant proposal templates, we will be on a continuous journey of iteration and improvement, so can guarantee this version will not be perfect (or perhaps even good!) and all feedback is welcome.
As with all of the grants that come through this program, we will take a minimum viable approach to testing out the hypothesis. In the sense of language accelerators, we’ll want to essentially take some of the energy around regional expansion and funnel it into an accountable and scaleable funding paradigm.
This template requires a short requirement of filling out fields within the proposal and is then meant to provide guidance on the benchmarks we’d like to see hit in order to continue funding. There are also suggestions (not meant to necessarily be prescriptive) that could help any prospective grantees reach the milestones which will unlock further funding.
The first month’s grant is almost entirely focused on top of AAARRR funnel activity, but further months will continue to prove out the experiment further down.
Sample Language Expansion Grant Template
Background
A key pillar of the Index Coop strategy is to generate global awareness and understanding of the Coop’s product suite and brand. Amplifying the Growth Nest’s efforts into non-English-speaking communities is pivotal for realizing that goal. The Growth Grants Program therefore aims to attract and fund entrepreneurial, multilingual community members interested in driving engagement with non-English-speaking communities.
The purpose of this document is to first provide some guidance and clarity around how a new language-based program would be funded by the Growth Grants Program and evolve over time as success metrics are met. We view grants as opportunities to experiment. If those experiments bear fruit, the initiatives would receive more funding, more autonomy, and become core to the Index Coop Growth strategy. If those experiments do not lead to results, we will assess and determine whether/how to pivot.
For existing language-based programs, some of this work is already underway. For those efforts, the Growth Nest aims to make those existing efforts more metrics-based. This document will aim to lay out specific goals.
Month 0: Research/Proposal
The first step is a 1-2 page document that lays out the business case for why Index Coop should prioritize this language. There are thousands of languages globally. We need to place targeted bets and can’t finance all initiatives, sustainably. Which languages should Index Coop invest in above all others?
All else equal, the number of people speaking the language is a good first step. But an understanding of the adoption trends of crypto investing - particularly on the Ethereum blockchain, where our products live - is also highly relevant for tying these activities to hopeful adoption. The contributor leading the effort should naturally have deep local knowledge to assess audience potential and market feasibility, language skills to complete the work, and experience with growth initiatives to demonstrate executional prowess. Prior, related work in this area would also be appreciated (e.g., running a personal social media account or blog with high followership).
We’d like all language-based accounts - even those underway - to complete this step to level set with where the initiative is today. (i,e, # of followers, impressions)
Language:
Key Regions:
Contributor Lead:
Length of Term: 1 month
Funding: $5k+ (bonuses available for exceeding benchmarks and payable bounty work should complement many activities)
Summary: 1-2 pager referenced above
Month 1
Approved proposals have targets for the first month. The following is an ideal progression, but if you are able to meet the goals by the end of the month, it is not essential to hit the goals every week. Of course, missing early targets will make meeting the monthly targets more challenging.
Week 1
Objectives:
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Set up a social channel on main social networks (often Twitter, but not always) to reach language-specific audiences. The expectation is that there will be little to no promotion from main IC accounts.
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Begin seeding followers with original content or by copying relevant sales/product value-focused content (posting, replying, tagging) from the main IC account. Follow key nodes within the social media ecosystem of the language. Become a voice in the conversation.
-
Translate one high-leverage, longer form content into the target language. In doing this task, you should be able to extract and schedule 5-10 tweets per article. Suggested articles for the first week include:
- Main Product Articles - DPI
- Value prop of products articles - DPI
- How-tos + Tutorials - DPI
-
Provide Twitter Analytics report to IC Growth at the end of the week.
Benchmarks:
- 100-200 Followers (excluding IC community members/accounts)
- 10-25k impressions
Week 2
Objectives:
-
Source relevant earned media and PR targets across: publications, Youtube, newsletters, podcasts, etc.
-
Begin reaching out to top earned media and pr targets
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Maintain high volume of impressions and reads via translated and unique content
-
Translate one high-leverage, longer form content into the target language:
- Main Product Articles - FLI
- Value prop of products articles - FLI
- How-tos + Tutorials - FLI
-
Provide Twitter Analytics report to IC Growth at the end of the week.
Benchmarks:
- 200-400 Followers
- 25-50k Impressions
Week 3
Objectives:
-
Progress check early week 3 - If lagging - diagnostic check.
If trending positively:- Source Daily Price Update Design, begin posting daily to Twitter
- Translate Daily FLI updates into daily update
- Translate weekly productive opportunities content
-
Continue to try and obtain organic appearances or placements with PR / earned list
-
Translate one high-leverage, longer form content into the target language:
-
Main Product Articles - MVI
-
Value prop of products articles - MVI
-
How-tos + Tutorials - MVI
Benchmarks:
- 400-800 Followers
- 50-100k Impressions
Week 4
Objectives:
-
Maintain high volume of impressions and reads via translated and unique content
-
Continue to Try and obtain organic appearances or placements with PR / earned list
-
Translate one high-leverage, longer form content into the target language:
-
Main Product Articles - BED/GMI/DATA
-
Value prop of products articles - BED/GMI/DATA
-
How-tos + Tutorials - BED/GMI/DATA
Benchmarks:
- 800-1600 Followers
- 100-150k impressions
End-of-Month Assessment
IC Growth will review the metrics with the contributor:
- Assuming Pass: Progress to Months 2-3
- Assuming Pass w/ conditions: Retry Month 1
- Assuming Fail: No continuation
Follow-On Funding
Length of Term: 2 months
Funding: $7.5k+/mo
- Continue growing social account follower and impressions 50-100% MoM
- Begin developing CEX and DeFi partnership opportunities
- Investment Fund CRM
- Understand CEX opportunities which cater to the specific language or key regions which service language
- Understand language/region specific-L1 usage
- Translate Crypto Texan AMA series + other audio / visual content
- Continue to mine Index Coop contributor and official content for ideas or to copy
Benchmarks/Results:
100% WoW social growth over averaged over 1 month (from say a baseline of 100)
e.g.:
0-100 week 0
100 → 200 week 1
200 → 400 week 2
400 → 800 week 3
800 → 1600 week 4
250k monthly Social Impressions
2.5k monthly Articles Read
Engagement rate: 2-3%
Resources
The following resources may help with building a business case:
Countries - ethernodes.org - The Ethereum Network & Node Explorer
Introducing the Chainalysis Global DeFi Adoption Index - Chainalysis