Proposal description
Attention: comment order is being manipulated to hurt this proposal. Every positive comment is immediately sent to the bottom, including comments from Fernando (CMO), Tao of Satoshi, Mark Mason, Arthyron, Foxrot, TanteStefana, Ageless, etc. Even the notice about Amanda was downvoted to the bottom seconds after posting.
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It is a great pleasure to submit this proposal for your consideration. Hopefully, most of you know who I am — if not please search for JulioDash on the forums and Discord. Here are some articles I've written on Dash:
- Building the Dash DAO
- Increasing Dash adoption through better consumer incentives
Thanks in advance for reading through this long proposal and I hope you find it as exciting as I do.
JulioDash
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Considerations
1. [DashCrypto.org] is accessible but is not even 5% of what is planned. It also has *no design*, logo, or images. The team is only partially assembled and we are focusing on structure, incentives, funnel goals, functionality, and content — the rest will come later.
2. Please send feedback, comments, and suggestions about the site to us separately at feedback@dashcrypto.org.
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WHAT DASHCRYPTO.ORG WILL DELIVER:
1. A portal for the entire ecosystem, with a much larger scope than what we have today.
2. Fine-tuned audience segmentation
3. Efficient conversion of visitors into members of the ecosystem.
4. Efficient marketing of Dash to the cryptocurrency market.
5. Significantly increased audience and traffic.
6. A professional data-driven portal grounded on analytics.
7. New videos by Amanda B. Johnson.
1. A portal for the entire ecosystem, with a much larger scope than what we have today.
To use an analogy, we aim to be for Dash what Bitcoin.com is for Bitcoin Cash. Dash will grow exponentially over time and what we have today does not serve the entire ecosystem. The scope of our project is much larger and include all initiatives, projects, events, tools, sites, and everything else that is happening in Dash.
2. Fine-tuned audience segmentation.
Important audiences are not represented today, such as Investors, and granular segmentation will lead to better conversions. For example, having sections such as "Online Merchants", "Retail Stores", and "Cannabis Dispensaries" leads to much better results than having a "Business" section. The narrower the category, the more targeted the incentives can be, and the better results we have.
3. Efficient conversion of visitors into members of the ecosystem.
A page is efficient when:
1. is segmented for the right audience.
2. has a clearly defined goal.
3. shows persuasive incentives to visitors.
4. has clear call-to-actions that fulfills #2.
5. has steps 1-4 measured, tracked, and improved with frequent iterations and testing.
We will do all these steps — quickly, professionally, and efficiently. The benefits of a high-traffic, frequently updated and high-conversion site will be enormous.
4. Efficient marketing of Dash to the cryptocurrency market.
Crypto is a billion-dollar industry and we can do better. Having the best product does not guarantee success and some of Dash's most powerful features are not being advertised at all to the cryptocurrency space — The Dash Trust and Treasury being the clearest examples. There are also dozens of powerful ideas hidden away from visitors, lost in Reddit replies, Discord debates, or page #3 of a forum thread. We also need proper funnels to bring investors that have other cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Bitcoin) to Dash.
5. Significantly increased audience and traffic.
Dash.org averages 70,000 users/mo. A portal for a project like Dash should aim to receive over 1 million.
6. A professional data-driven portal grounded on analytics.
Today a good portion of what we do online is based on anecdotal evidence and subjective opinions. We will deliver objectively-efficient pages and services that are proven to deliver results based on real metrics. We will share these results with the community and with Dash.org so that we can all improve together.
7. New videos by Amanda B. Johnson.
Amanda has graciously offered her video services for DashCrypto without asking for compensation. It will take the conversion rate and persuasion of our pages to a whole new level.
ASSESSMENT OF DASH.ORG
Dash.org — as analytics data indicates — does a poor job at converting visitors.
Specific problems
1. Very-high bounce rate
2. Low session duration
3. Audience is not segmented
4. Incentives are vague and non-persuasive
5. No A/B testing.
6. Performance isn't measured.
1. Very-high bounce rate.
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that navigates away after seeing only one page. A high bounce rate indicates the content isn't relevant or useful. Search engines punish sites with high bounce rates as their business model revolves around serving relevant and useful information to their customers. The general rule of thumb is:
- 80%+ is very bad
- 70 – 80% is poor
- 50 – 70% is average
- 30 – 50% is excellent
- 20% or below is likely a tracking error
Dash.org is in the "very bad” segment at 80%.
2. Low session duration
This indicates shallow engagement. Nearly 89% of visitor sessions last between 0-10 seconds — a predictable metric given the high bounce rate. Website traffic and page views are not reliable indicators of performance, and visitors need to stick around to become engaged.
3. Audience is not segmented
Different audiences that respond to different incentives are being served the same blended content, contributing to the low metrics we see.
4. Incentives are vague and non-persuasive
Incentives are things you show visitors to persuade them to complete a goal. The ones used on dash.org — Fast, secure, instant, micro-fees, Next-Gen P2P Network, Fastest Growing Network, etc. — are too abstract to persuade. Vague incentives with unsegmented audience results in poor conversion rates.
5. No split-testing
Split-testing or a/b testing when you show two different incentives to the audience and see which one performs better. Dash.org doesn't do a/b testing. Incentives should follow a Pareto distribution where 20% are responsible for 80% of conversions. We need to know what these are and use them in all of our marketing campaigns. It is also just as important to know what are the inefficient ones so we can stop using them.
6. Performance isn't measured.
An essential metric for websites is how well pages complete goals (what we want visitors to do). Dash.org does not use funnels or goals, so it doesn't know how pages perform.
RELATIONSHIP WITH DASH.ORG
Our site will be a complement to Dash.org, which will continue to be the official one. We spent a significant amount of time and resources on Dash.org's analytics and had long talks with Core. Our proposal has solutions for problems the new Dash.org will not address.
Dash.org is a bullet-proof static site because it serves mission-critical software for the community. Any new system there is a possible attack vector. Content also has to be carefully vetted for regulations and liabilities risks. We need it the way it is, and it is the way it is for a reason.
DashCrypto.org is a portal for the Ecosystem that does not have such constraints and can fulfill the needs of the ecosystem. It is designed to convert visitors, to be agile, dynamic, attract high traffic, be grounded on analytics, etc. It can also be segmented to audiences that Dash.org cannot. (e.g. Investors).
Today we do not have a single page dedicated for investors, we won't have one with the new Dash.org, and individuals and institutions buying Masternodes move the price like nothing else.
Why the domain name DashCrypto.org?
The first major reason for the domain name was shortness. DashCrypto was preferred over "dashcommunity", "dashcurrency", "dashcryptocurrency", "dashdigitalcash", "dashnetwork", "dashecosystem", “dashplatform”, etc.
Next was search volume. The second highest-ranking search keyword for Dash.org is "dash coin" (not an option), but the third one is "dash crypto". There was nothing else that would make a good domain name on the top 20. "Dash Digital cash" comes in at #30 with insignificant volume, in spite of being the official slogan for many years.
DashCrypto is easy to say, simple to type, meaningful, concise, precise and has a ton of search volume. For the extension, going with ".org" was the best option as .com indicates a business, and ".io" had possible issues with DNS under heavy traffic.
Plans for the future
Besides finishing all the pages and sections we have sketched so far, here are a few ideas we have:
1. Dash Jobs. It is an idea to attract more talent and create a marketplace for dash-related jobs.
2. Dash User Voice. Those who follow me on Discord know I place a high value on customer service — they make or break a business. We should have an efficient way to capture customer feedback, and a tool like uservoice.com would be useful. Jeffh (from dashnexus.org) and I proposed this back in Aug-Sep. It is an idea worth trying, and we will get it done soon.
3. "Dash salesperson". We don't have a proper name for it yet, but it consists of a platform to recruit, train, manage people, and a reward system.
4. Online advertising. It is the most cost-effective way to promote Dash. However, with an 80% bounce rate and no tracked metrics, investing on Google Ads for Dash.org is a waste of resources.
5. #DashFriday. The reality is that merchants have no real incentives to accept Dash, or any other crypto. One idea to change that is #DashFriday. We will try to embed in the community a cultural habit of buying something from a Dash merchant every Friday. Sending more customers and orders to merchants is the best we can do at this time — and it's easier to do with online merchants — leading us to the next idea...
6. E-commerce directory. Having 4,400 retail merchants is cool, but 44,000 online merchants is cooler. A huge catalog of online merchants where the community can order from. This will complement our #DashFriday idea above.
7. Translation. Currently in analytics the 5 most important languages are, in order: Chinese, Spanish, Russian, German and Portuguese. We will take care of these first, then move on to the other ones.
Cost breakdown:
To bootstrap the project, Amanda and I have agreed not take a salary. Once the Treasury recovers and our team is fully assembled, I will include our remuneration and be more precise with values.
- Conversion rate optimization expert = $300-400/h
- Search engine optimization expert = $250-350/h
- Social media strategist = $100-200/h
- Design = $10k-20k
- Programmer = $100-150/h per programmer
- Front-end developer = $100-120/h per developer
- Content writers = $50-90/h per writer
- Translators = $30-50/h per translator
Project Manager = JulioDash (free of charge)
Video creation services = Amanda B. Johnson (free of charge)
Requested: 325 DASH / month, for 3 months. Excess funds will be reallocated, used for future months, or saved for online advertising. In my opinion, Amanda's services alone is worth the amount of this proposal.
I hope you can support this project with your vote and thank you for reading through this long proposal.
JulioDash.
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It is a great pleasure to submit this proposal for your consideration. Hopefully, most of you know who I am — if not please search for JulioDash on the forums and Discord. Here are some articles I've written on Dash:
- Building the Dash DAO
- Increasing Dash adoption through better consumer incentives
Thanks in advance for reading through this long proposal and I hope you find it as exciting as I do.
JulioDash
-------
Considerations
1. [DashCrypto.org] is accessible but is not even 5% of what is planned. It also has *no design*, logo, or images. The team is only partially assembled and we are focusing on structure, incentives, funnel goals, functionality, and content — the rest will come later.
2. Please send feedback, comments, and suggestions about the site to us separately at feedback@dashcrypto.org.
----
WHAT DASHCRYPTO.ORG WILL DELIVER:
1. A portal for the entire ecosystem, with a much larger scope than what we have today.
2. Fine-tuned audience segmentation
3. Efficient conversion of visitors into members of the ecosystem.
4. Efficient marketing of Dash to the cryptocurrency market.
5. Significantly increased audience and traffic.
6. A professional data-driven portal grounded on analytics.
7. New videos by Amanda B. Johnson.
1. A portal for the entire ecosystem, with a much larger scope than what we have today.
To use an analogy, we aim to be for Dash what Bitcoin.com is for Bitcoin Cash. Dash will grow exponentially over time and what we have today does not serve the entire ecosystem. The scope of our project is much larger and include all initiatives, projects, events, tools, sites, and everything else that is happening in Dash.
2. Fine-tuned audience segmentation.
Important audiences are not represented today, such as Investors, and granular segmentation will lead to better conversions. For example, having sections such as "Online Merchants", "Retail Stores", and "Cannabis Dispensaries" leads to much better results than having a "Business" section. The narrower the category, the more targeted the incentives can be, and the better results we have.
3. Efficient conversion of visitors into members of the ecosystem.
A page is efficient when:
1. is segmented for the right audience.
2. has a clearly defined goal.
3. shows persuasive incentives to visitors.
4. has clear call-to-actions that fulfills #2.
5. has steps 1-4 measured, tracked, and improved with frequent iterations and testing.
We will do all these steps — quickly, professionally, and efficiently. The benefits of a high-traffic, frequently updated and high-conversion site will be enormous.
4. Efficient marketing of Dash to the cryptocurrency market.
Crypto is a billion-dollar industry and we can do better. Having the best product does not guarantee success and some of Dash's most powerful features are not being advertised at all to the cryptocurrency space — The Dash Trust and Treasury being the clearest examples. There are also dozens of powerful ideas hidden away from visitors, lost in Reddit replies, Discord debates, or page #3 of a forum thread. We also need proper funnels to bring investors that have other cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Bitcoin) to Dash.
5. Significantly increased audience and traffic.
Dash.org averages 70,000 users/mo. A portal for a project like Dash should aim to receive over 1 million.
6. A professional data-driven portal grounded on analytics.
Today a good portion of what we do online is based on anecdotal evidence and subjective opinions. We will deliver objectively-efficient pages and services that are proven to deliver results based on real metrics. We will share these results with the community and with Dash.org so that we can all improve together.
7. New videos by Amanda B. Johnson.
Amanda has graciously offered her video services for DashCrypto without asking for compensation. It will take the conversion rate and persuasion of our pages to a whole new level.
ASSESSMENT OF DASH.ORG
Dash.org — as analytics data indicates — does a poor job at converting visitors.
Specific problems
1. Very-high bounce rate
2. Low session duration
3. Audience is not segmented
4. Incentives are vague and non-persuasive
5. No A/B testing.
6. Performance isn't measured.
1. Very-high bounce rate.
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors that navigates away after seeing only one page. A high bounce rate indicates the content isn't relevant or useful. Search engines punish sites with high bounce rates as their business model revolves around serving relevant and useful information to their customers. The general rule of thumb is:
- 80%+ is very bad
- 70 – 80% is poor
- 50 – 70% is average
- 30 – 50% is excellent
- 20% or below is likely a tracking error
Dash.org is in the "very bad” segment at 80%.
2. Low session duration
This indicates shallow engagement. Nearly 89% of visitor sessions last between 0-10 seconds — a predictable metric given the high bounce rate. Website traffic and page views are not reliable indicators of performance, and visitors need to stick around to become engaged.
3. Audience is not segmented
Different audiences that respond to different incentives are being served the same blended content, contributing to the low metrics we see.
4. Incentives are vague and non-persuasive
Incentives are things you show visitors to persuade them to complete a goal. The ones used on dash.org — Fast, secure, instant, micro-fees, Next-Gen P2P Network, Fastest Growing Network, etc. — are too abstract to persuade. Vague incentives with unsegmented audience results in poor conversion rates.
5. No split-testing
Split-testing or a/b testing when you show two different incentives to the audience and see which one performs better. Dash.org doesn't do a/b testing. Incentives should follow a Pareto distribution where 20% are responsible for 80% of conversions. We need to know what these are and use them in all of our marketing campaigns. It is also just as important to know what are the inefficient ones so we can stop using them.
6. Performance isn't measured.
An essential metric for websites is how well pages complete goals (what we want visitors to do). Dash.org does not use funnels or goals, so it doesn't know how pages perform.
RELATIONSHIP WITH DASH.ORG
Our site will be a complement to Dash.org, which will continue to be the official one. We spent a significant amount of time and resources on Dash.org's analytics and had long talks with Core. Our proposal has solutions for problems the new Dash.org will not address.
Dash.org is a bullet-proof static site because it serves mission-critical software for the community. Any new system there is a possible attack vector. Content also has to be carefully vetted for regulations and liabilities risks. We need it the way it is, and it is the way it is for a reason.
DashCrypto.org is a portal for the Ecosystem that does not have such constraints and can fulfill the needs of the ecosystem. It is designed to convert visitors, to be agile, dynamic, attract high traffic, be grounded on analytics, etc. It can also be segmented to audiences that Dash.org cannot. (e.g. Investors).
Today we do not have a single page dedicated for investors, we won't have one with the new Dash.org, and individuals and institutions buying Masternodes move the price like nothing else.
Why the domain name DashCrypto.org?
The first major reason for the domain name was shortness. DashCrypto was preferred over "dashcommunity", "dashcurrency", "dashcryptocurrency", "dashdigitalcash", "dashnetwork", "dashecosystem", “dashplatform”, etc.
Next was search volume. The second highest-ranking search keyword for Dash.org is "dash coin" (not an option), but the third one is "dash crypto". There was nothing else that would make a good domain name on the top 20. "Dash Digital cash" comes in at #30 with insignificant volume, in spite of being the official slogan for many years.
DashCrypto is easy to say, simple to type, meaningful, concise, precise and has a ton of search volume. For the extension, going with ".org" was the best option as .com indicates a business, and ".io" had possible issues with DNS under heavy traffic.
Plans for the future
Besides finishing all the pages and sections we have sketched so far, here are a few ideas we have:
1. Dash Jobs. It is an idea to attract more talent and create a marketplace for dash-related jobs.
2. Dash User Voice. Those who follow me on Discord know I place a high value on customer service — they make or break a business. We should have an efficient way to capture customer feedback, and a tool like uservoice.com would be useful. Jeffh (from dashnexus.org) and I proposed this back in Aug-Sep. It is an idea worth trying, and we will get it done soon.
3. "Dash salesperson". We don't have a proper name for it yet, but it consists of a platform to recruit, train, manage people, and a reward system.
4. Online advertising. It is the most cost-effective way to promote Dash. However, with an 80% bounce rate and no tracked metrics, investing on Google Ads for Dash.org is a waste of resources.
5. #DashFriday. The reality is that merchants have no real incentives to accept Dash, or any other crypto. One idea to change that is #DashFriday. We will try to embed in the community a cultural habit of buying something from a Dash merchant every Friday. Sending more customers and orders to merchants is the best we can do at this time — and it's easier to do with online merchants — leading us to the next idea...
6. E-commerce directory. Having 4,400 retail merchants is cool, but 44,000 online merchants is cooler. A huge catalog of online merchants where the community can order from. This will complement our #DashFriday idea above.
7. Translation. Currently in analytics the 5 most important languages are, in order: Chinese, Spanish, Russian, German and Portuguese. We will take care of these first, then move on to the other ones.
Cost breakdown:
To bootstrap the project, Amanda and I have agreed not take a salary. Once the Treasury recovers and our team is fully assembled, I will include our remuneration and be more precise with values.
- Conversion rate optimization expert = $300-400/h
- Search engine optimization expert = $250-350/h
- Social media strategist = $100-200/h
- Design = $10k-20k
- Programmer = $100-150/h per programmer
- Front-end developer = $100-120/h per developer
- Content writers = $50-90/h per writer
- Translators = $30-50/h per translator
Project Manager = JulioDash (free of charge)
Video creation services = Amanda B. Johnson (free of charge)
Requested: 325 DASH / month, for 3 months. Excess funds will be reallocated, used for future months, or saved for online advertising. In my opinion, Amanda's services alone is worth the amount of this proposal.
I hope you can support this project with your vote and thank you for reading through this long proposal.
JulioDash.
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Show full description ...
Discussion: Should we fund this proposal?
Submit comment
DashCrypto.org by dashcrypto
https://dashwatchbeta.org/r/MAR19/DashCrypto-Team-Comp-Bare-Minimum
Second, dash.org and dashcrypto.org have two different scopes. Dash.org is primarily designed to provide mission-critical software and information, whereas dashcrypto.org is primarily designed to facilitate the on-boarding process for new users, merchants, and very importantly, investors, something which dash.org cannot do due to it being a DCG project. The two sites are compliments to one another, not competitors.
Third, I think this site is very important to help further decentralize Dash. Dash.org is essentially DCG's website and is going to reflect their specific perspective, not the perspective of the greater Dash community. While dashcrypto.org also won't represent the entire Dash community's perspective as there is no unified community perspective, it will at least be able to provide one "official" perspective of Dash that doesn't come from DCG.
Our forward-facing image is not anywhere near as good as it could be and the lack of a quality website has much to do with that. Julio is a highly respected member of the community and has put together a great plan. I strongly urge everyone to vote "yes" on this proposal.
Full Disclosure: I will be providing some of the content for dashcrypto.org for an as yet determined, if any, fee. However I did not agree to work on this project for the money, I agreed to work on it because I believe in it and think it's vital for Dash.
Hope to see new Amanda video soon :)
Walter
Moreover after reading Julio's analysis, it really seems like he really knows what he is talking about. And by not taking a salary here and being a long time MNO, he is showing his true motivation for the project and applying his trade-set to help the network.
Whether this passes or not this time around, a 'Dash Ecosystem' site is needed IMHO. Ideally, Dash.org would deliver the basics efficiently (what/wallets/how to get Dash ASAP vs ones Earthly location).
Would there be a prominent link to this potential new site from Dash.org?
Will DashCrypto.org receive adequate maintenance and updates years from now (at a reasonable cost)?
Side note:
Wachsman & Co: What have Dash's PR companies had to say. Have they not been taking a bird's eye view of the Dash ecosystem and identified gaping holes? ...smh (where is the professional advice received from the "professional" hired PR companies?).
For a 975 dash its quite expensive in the current bear market
Voting NO.
Thank you hope to see your proposal again when the budget can be either reduced or when dash price exceeds 100 price range.
- January's budget = 6177 DASH.
- Core will take 60% = 3706 DASH.
- All proposals passing = 1480 DASH.
- Available and unallocated = 991 DASH
- Even after this proposal, there will be still 667 DASH unallocated.
I am fully aware of the bear market and I did the math before submitting our proposal. The idea we cannot afford this is false.
As we've stated many times, at DCG we generally avoid commenting on other proposals to maintain our neutrality, but since this one is very related to us and Julio and I have worked on the website together a little, it is ok to do it.
Before getting started, let me do a side note on the new site timing. The contractor failed to meet several deadlines in December and we have asked them to provide what they have and we'll finish the work internally. We've seen already most of the work done, so it should be possible to do it quickly. We're in the process of receiving the work and deploying, so I can't be more specific on time until we get the final files we've been waiting for.
As for the proposal, a few general thoughts:
-Julio and I have had a few meetings and a lot of chats about the current and the future website. He's seen mockups of parts of the new one and has accessed some analytics data of the old one. He is a legit biz guy, cares about Dash, and knows what he is talking about.
-Julio is right that the current site doesn't work. It lacks the flexibility to do efficiently the changes it needs, and that is why we're doing a new one. We first considered to improve it, but soon it was obvious that it was better to start from scratch.
-The new site won't do everything Julio wants to do. We want to be extremely conservative in what we publish for legal, security, and resources reasons. Some topics won't have a place for the time being (dash as an investment, for example), we can't list everything happening in the ecosystem…
-The new sites ability to be updated easily will allow us the flexibility to tweak and grow as new analytic data appears.
And a few more thoughts about the new site and the specific concerns about dash.org:
1/2 bounce rate and session duration will be addressed since the structure is much better and we will have the flexibility to do changes and measure how they affect all metrics.
3 We're segmenting the audience in the new site (individuals, businesses, developers and community). However, I've discussed this with Julio and he would like to do more segments (mostly, split the businesses one into narrower categories). I'm fine with that, but I'd like to launch and have some data on our initial segmenting before introducing more complexity. We've had enough scope creep in the website project already and I want to launch.
4 The new site has more specific goals. They can be improved. But, again, I prefer to launch and refine through analytics.
5/6 We only measure a few things in the current website. In the new one, we will be measuring more because we will be able to act on the information better. However, internally we don't have anything close to the team Julio is assembling and I don't think we'll be able to afford that anytime soon. I agree analytics is important and it has been in the wishlist for a while, but unfortunately, the resources are really scarce.
"The contractor failed to meet several deadlines in December and we have asked them to provide what they have and we'll finish the work internally. We've seen already most of the work done, so it should be possible to do it quickly. We're in the process of receiving the work and deploying, so I can't be more specific on time until we get the final files we've been waiting for."
Was the contractor properly vetted? Did they have a lot of reviews or were they referred to you (or both)? I've never seen a contractor fail to deliver website-related deliverables for my business (or completely miss deadlines), so I'm curious to learn how it got to this point.
Again, I appreciate that you were upfront but I'm hoping there are lessons learned for any future contractor hiring.
1. That we should wait for the new site, or that the new site suffice.
2. That the proposal is expensive.
3. That we need to wait for the budget to recover.
4. That we should do on Dash.org what DashCrypto.org is proposing, to avoid overlap and duplicate work.
I hear the arguments, understand your points, and I am fully aware of our budget.
Our proposal didn't come out of nowhere. We spent a significant amount of time and resources on Dash.org's analytics and had many talks with Fernando. The new Dash.org will not address the problems that DashCrypto.org will. I spoke with Fernando again today and he will create a blog post to clarify the differences in scope between Dash.org and DashCrypto.org, and also update the community on the release of the new site.
Dash.org is a bullet-proof static site because it serves mission-critical software for the community. Any new system there is a possible attack vector. Content also has to be carefully vetted for regulations and liabilities risks. We need it to be the way it is — or if you disagree — it is the way it is for a reason.
DashCrypto.org, on the other hand, is a community-driven site that does not have such constraints. It can operate outside these boundaries to fulfill the needs of the ecosystem. It is designed to convert visitors, to be agile, dynamic, attract high traffic, grounded on analytics, etc. We really need it and let me demonstrate why with an example.
Imagine a group of investors with $80,000 each and assume they can buy either 20 BTC or 1000 DASH. When investors buy 20 BTC, they are just buying the coin. On the other hand, when investors buy 1000 DASH — and set up a Masternode — they are:
a) buying the coin — with superior technology and everything else Dash does better.
b) acquiring voting rights on all proposals from the Treasury.
c) earning interest on their capital.
d) earning distribution profits from Dash Ventures (in the future).
e) "acquiring shares" of Dash Core Group. (not technically, but I can't think of another way to say it at this time).
Another important point is that Dash today is 2% of Bitcoin — 0.02 BTC — or 1% adjusted for the circulating supply. Given all the amazing things we have — superior technology, decentralized governance, self-funding treasury, teams with fiduciary responsibilities to the Network, etc. — Dash is a fantastic investment. However, this is not advertised anywhere and it will *not* be on the new Dash.org.
Increasing the price is a priority because everything we do depends on our ability to fund ourselves. Very few things would move the price like individuals and institutions buying Masternodes. There is not a page anywhere in the Dash ecosystem designed to convert visitors into MNOs.
Now imagine this Investor Funnel on DashCrypto.org:
1. An investor visits DashCrypto.org. It is not just a landing page or a small site — it is a professional portal that conveys trust.
2. He clicks on "Investor" and is shown highly segmented and persuasive incentives that have been a/b tested for performance.
4. He then watches a video where Amanda discusses points a) to e)
5. After the video ends, he is asked to click on a link that shows how to buy Dash and create/maintain masternodes.
Hopefully, you can appreciate how professional this is. We have nothing to compare it against because such funnel does not exist in the ecosystem at all. Think of the impact a +$50 price increase would have on Dash, how only a few new Masternodes are needed, and how low the conversion rate for this page needs to be to convert a few investors.
This is just one example funnel for a specific audience. We are going to do much more.
Finally, let me address the issue with cost.
Consider a scenario where we already have a site with low bounce rates, highly segmented audiences, pages with persuasive incentives that are not the result of anecdotal evidence or opinions — but instead are the result of thousands of a/b testing iterations — a marketplace for Dash-related jobs, etc. Then add videos made by Amanda specifically for these pages, with all her talent and charisma.
Now put a $ value on it.
This value is the cost of not having DashCrypto.org — far more than the investment. If the Treasury could not afford it, I would vote against my own proposal, but it is not the case. I will be subsidizing it by not asking for a salary — and so will Amanda. Going cheap with the rest is a false economy.
If there are any other questions or concerns, don't hesitate to ask.
Julio.
About the proposal, I have a few concerns.
Q. Do you not approve or have confidence in the soon to be published Dash.org redesign?
I have seen the final mock-ups and believe it's due to launch this month. I'm happy to report that it's a major improvement that I feel addresses a lot of the issues you have raised in your proposal.
As a public and heavy critic of the the old (current) Dash website, I believe Core have done a fantastic job on the new Dash.org website and I personally feel the network will not be able to make an informed decision until it's revealed to the public.
Yes, I do agree with you that the current Dash site was not best suited for online marketing campaigns. However, the new site design is very different with dedicated sections and landing pages that target each use-case specifically for Users / Merchants / Developers / Community which now creates a perfect opportunity to refer direct traffic or create online advertising campaigns that we the community have all been hoping and wishing for.
That's why I feel slightly uncomfortable when you use the metrics and performance of the old dash site as a justification to create an alternative when the results and performance of new site is still yet to be seen. Therefore, respectfully I do not agree with the statement "investing on Google Ads for Dash.org will be a waste of resources." as with the new site design, I'm now very happy to evangelize and directly refer users looking to learn or purchase Dash, or merchants looking how to accept Dash, or Developers looking to explore Dash. I feel Core have ticked these boxes with the new site. Especially as the new site design also acts as a portal hub.
Rather than have a variety of sites for users to visit and bookmark. My preferred choice will be to have a one stop shop solution. The official Dash website will always have the highest authority. That is the ultimate solution that we all seek and should be pushing for and yes that even includes the news. This is something Bitcoin.com has done well, and the new Dash website design has taken inspiration from that and I feel delivers on that with a focus on new users and a user friendly experience. We need the official Dash website to be the best it can be. If something needs refining or changing the answer is fix the main Dash site not create numerous alternatives to mask the problem. I believe the majority of people who are interested in using their hard earned money to exchange for Dash will no doubt check official source first for legitimacy before proceeding. So it's absolutely fundamental that our first priority as a network is to get main website correct. When you mention split-testing and online campaigns I can't help but be reminded of the previous project dashinformer.com efforts that presented the same arguments about old Dash site. https://www.dashcentral.org/p/dashinformer The only difference now being that Dash.org is about to be revamped to address those previous issues and in my opinion will now be well suited to online media campaigns. I want what is best for Dash long-term and for me that means we MUST have the best official Dash website possible as I believe that will yield greater results. I agree with the points you have outlined with regard to marketing as a direct need however I think the focus should be on how we can get the main Dash site to deliver and meet these objectives.
With regard to "online merchants where the community can order from" have you communicated with treasury funded project http://www.dashop.io as that is still being developed with Dash payment integration. Rather having multiple efforts it might be wise to collaborate? as your goals seem aligned.
The only thing that stands out to me in your proposal that fills a direct need that is currently missing from eco-system is Dash Jobs. It might be worth having a conversation with the people behind this project - https://www.dashcentral.org/p/dashlancer-a-use-case-in-freelancing as I felt their solution and offering was perfect use-case that may save you time and energy in research, development and expense.
I'll ping Fernando to comment as I'm sure the release of new site design is very soon but I do not have the authority to say when that date will be.
Cheers, Mark
All this simply to say that we *definitely* need a central hub with all the most important information and "directions" to the other relevant, important parts of the ecosystem in a way that makes sense and is intuitive to most visitors.
However, this was partially the impetus in funding Dash Nexus to serve as the central hub for all things related to the DAO (and Dash itself by extension). I felt it was important for the DAO--and not merely the technology or cryptocurrency--to serve as the axis mundi or central foundation from which the rest of the ecosystem stems, so the way this site is implemented seems--rather than simplifying and consolidating the ecosystem--to fragment it even further.
I also echo some of the sentiments expressed here and on Discord about paying for parallel development, for work that has been/is already being done by the Core team on the new Dash.org. Fernando has clarified below that this site explicitly wants to take many concepts further in a way that Dash.org cannot or will not, so I can understand the need for a secondary site, but is there some way we can settle or sort out the continual expansion and "sprawl" of the Dash ecosystem utilizing existing resources instead of adding yet another which could further confuse new entrants?
I suppose we could decide that this will be the final "expansion" for now and that Nexus--being focused moreso on the DAO/governance/treasury systems--would be appended to this site as secondary/specialized with this site being the primary hub, but I think it's pretty clear a decision on that front needs to be made and implemented ASAP ahead of Evolution and Dash Ventures.
That being said, this is a pretty costly endeavor, and I'm not sure we can afford an expenditure of this magnitude under these market conditions, but perhaps if it can perform as expected, it might pay off in the long run. I'll hold off on voting for the time being until more discussion has been had, but I'm definitely open to a project of this nature on a hypothetical level.
How much is this "great idea" going to cost us afterwards?
Still a few thousand Dash more, perhaps?
If the MNO network really decides that we need this, i'm sure we will find somebody else who charges us a reasonable amount, maybe 10 Dash per month.
Voting no.
> How much is this "great idea" going to cost us afterwards?
The maintenance cost should be significantly lower than the startup.
> If the MNO network really decides that we need this.
Please review the section "Assessment of Dash.org" in the proposal. I can provide objective proof because today Dash does not have a site that is efficient at converting visitors into members of the ecosystem. The opportunity cost of not having one is too high and also our online presence, at 70,000 visitors a month, is too low.
> maybe 10 Dash per month.
I am confident that no one can build a project that is going to move the needle in a billion-dollar cryptocurrency with $770.
Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'll be happy to respond.
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Hi, Julio and team.
Wanted to tell you that I saw your new proposal. I appreciate your focus on conversion (sales) using visitor metrics, as well as the acknowledgment that there are different market segments which require different messages to achieve conversion.
I want to offer my video services to DashCrypto.org in the case that you get funded and find yourself desiring such. Following Julio's lead, I would provide these services free of charge.
I don't expect a response -- I'm certain you're busy fielding comments on your proposal. Simply let me know at any point should you like to discuss my offer further.
Best and thanks,
Amanda B. Johnson
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That being said, I would like to see the new Dash.org being dropped before running headlong into a site that will significantly overlap my expectation of what the new site will do.
I suspect that I will still support this project even when I see the new site, so voting yes for now.
Our CURRENT target customer should be people who already buy cryptocurrency. Every person who owns Bitcoin should own Dash instead, and the same is true for many other high-value cryptos.
Julio seems to understand that, so voting "yes" in the hopes that he can help steer us there. Our research, development, and product are already the best in the industry. This needs to be communicated in a way that actually converts.
An echo chamber that helps keep the already-converted excited is great, but it would be a severe mistake to think that's where we ought to stop.
I gave up hoping for a newbie friendly site. A site that sells who Dash is and what it can do for "you". Maybe this is the solution?
However, your proposal appears to me to say "we're doing it from scratch, only better" and what I think we should do is "we're building a complementary site for a different audience, the "user" There is a difference. If you focus on capturing users, you can simply ship them off to dash forums or discord, etc... if they want to become more active in the community. Send them to dash forums, wiki and github if they want to get involved in design, etc.... Don't even bother with providing redundant information. Dash.org does a fine job for insiders. The forums do an excellent job of bringing community members together, the news sites do an excellent job of informing. Right now, we can't afford more redundancy. What we need is a sales site. A how to use Dash, sign up your user name and password site, sell the use case to merchants - direct them to the services that have integrated Dash. Maybe help Discover Dash improve their system.
Linking into other websites is not just more efficient, it helps in search rankings.
So I guess, I want to know, are you planning to build an "improved dash.org" or create a new portal for a different audience?
> A site that sells who Dash is and what it can do for "you". Maybe this is the solution?
Exactly. We will funnel the audience into well-defined segments and show persuasive incentives that likely to turn visitors into members of the ecosystem (online merchants, developers, investors, mobile users, future proposal owners, etc).
> What we need is a sales site... sell the use case to merchants
Yes, and that's what we aim to do quickly and professionally.
> are you planning to build an "improved dash.org" or create a new portal for a different audience?
It is hard for me to answer analogy-based questions. The goal for the project is listed in the "Mission" segment of the proposal. If you want a more detailed answer, I'd need to you to be more specific with the question.
Thanks again for the comment.
No, the "more information" part stays on DashCrypto. We will do the entire "selling" and pass along visitors that are ready to convert. It is not a matter of principle, it is just because we will employ professionals whose sole expertise is CRO (conversion rates optimization). If another site becomes more efficient, we will gladly send visitors their way. Being funded by the Treasury will allow us to only care that a visitor becomes a member, not how and on which site.
It's looks like it will be very open to collaboration and keeping up to date with the rest of the ecosystem whereas dash.org feels somewhat closed off and slow to pivot or include new developments. I am liking the competition. I will vote yes for now, subject to what what funding is needed in other areas, but I really am excited to see how this develops.
Dash.org feels closed off to you perhaps in part because it has a vital role: deliver mission-critical software to the network. Because of that, it needs to be static and bullet-proof. Content also has to be carefully vetted due to regulations and liability risks. Dashcrypto can be dynamic, frequently updated, do extensive A/B testing, etc., so the community is better served by having both.
This has also been clearly outlined in your proposal, “Our project is a complement to Dash.org. We can deliver pages and online services the ecosystem needs today”.
Sorely needed IMO. Easy yes.
The community should be encouraged to participate in the accuracy and delivery of content as much as possible for a balanced resource that we can all agree accurately reflects Dash’s vision, while being geared towards on-boarding new users. In this regard the site should be a considered a dynamic and community driven project based on analytics, facts and feedback.
You have encouraged many community members to participate already while gathering information, and it’s great that Amanda has offered her video services for example, although I hope dozens of other community members can contribute with ideas, skills and input to help make this site a valuable resource for newcomers. This may realistically take a period of time to complete sufficiently, providing the proposal passes this cycle.
Bare in mind, that the requirement for this website to be created as a complimentary resource may not be realized until the new dash.org site itself is unveiled to the community.