Want to kick off your own Solana token? We're here to guide you through the simplest way to get it done. You're going to need somewhere between 1.5 SOL and 5 SOL to cover everything from creating your token, handling setup with authorities, listing on OpenBook Market, and starting a Liquidity Pool. Don't forget, you'll also have to budget for design, marketing, and injecting funds into your liquidity.
If you're thinking of launching a memecoin, big spending and "professional preparation" aren't as critical – snagging a catchy meme is most of the battle. But for those aiming for a more serious venture, crafting a solid marketing strategy that includes collaborations, airdrops, and partnerships is crucial.
Hold off on launching until you've got the essentials dialed in: Branding, Marketing Plans, Social Media presence, and well-thought-out Tokenomics are all must-haves.
It's also vital to grasp what fuels the market and identify the most popular platforms out there.
In terms of marketing tactics, successful tokens often gain traction through influencer promotions and by getting attention in DAOs.
As for where people are trading these tokens? Raydium, Birdeye, Jupiter Aggregator, and Dexscreener are among the hotspots.💡
HOW TO LAUNCH A SOLANA TOKEN STEP BY STEP
In this guide, we'll use Smithii No-Code Tools to create and launch our token. Let's break down the process into 3 steps: Creating an SPL Token, Setting up a Liquidity Pool on Solana, and Listing your SPL Token.
How to Create an SPL Token?
To make an SPL Token, we need to open the Solana Token Creator (https://tools.smithii.io/token-creator/solana) that lets us create tokens without needing to code, including the option to create Tax Tokens (Token 2022). But for this guide, we're sticking to the standard version.
Once we're on the Solana Token Creator site, we should follow these steps:
Connect your wallet to use the tool
Name your Token
Set your SPL Token's “Ticker” or “Symbol”
Choose the Decimal points for your Token (6 decimals is most common)
Write a description for your token
Upload an image for your token (PNG or GIF)
Set the Supply
Add a link to your token's metadata (optional)
Choose the authorities you want to revoke (optional)
Click “Create Token” and approve the transaction
“Immutable”, “Revoke Freeze”, and “Revoke Mint” refer to the types of authorities. Let's explain what they mean and whether we should opt for these choices.
Make a Solana Token Without Code
Solana Token Authority
On the Solana blockchain, a Token has three different Authorities: Update Authority, Freeze Authority, and Mint Authority.
The Update Authority allows you to update the token’s metadata. When we remove it, we make the token "unchangeable."
The Freeze Authority lets you Freeze the Tokens in the holder's wallet. You can't create a Liquidity Pool if you don't remove the freeze authority.
The Mint Authority allows you to print more of the token supply you created.
It's important for us as founders to remove these authorities to make sure that people feel confident and safe when investing in our token. We can remove all of them using Smithii Tools.
CREATE A LIQUIDITY POOL FOR SOLANA TOKEN
Once our token is ready, we can immediately set up a liquidity pool. On Solana, we first need to create an OpenBook Market and then add liquidity, but we can do it all in one go using the "Create Liquidity Pool" tool by Smithii.
This tool allows us to create a liquidity pool on Raydium with a user-friendly interface starting from just 1 SOL (up to 3.5 SOL depending on your settings).
Solana Liquidity Pool Creation
Go to Create Liquidity Pool ( https://tools.smithii.io/liquidity-pool/solana ) and connect your wallet to use this tool.
Choose "Base Token". The token you've created that doesn't yet have market value.
Select "Offering Token". A token with value in the market. Usually SOL or USDC.
Set the "Minimum Order Size". This is the smallest number of tokens a user can buy.
Determine the "Tick Size". This indicates the smallest amount by which your token's price can change.
You can use this chart as reference for setting the Min order size and tick size.
Choose advanced options (only if you want to use a low-cost Market ID, starting at 0.4 SOL). This is the "input" you need for different Market IDs based on their cost.
0.4 SOL:
Event Queue Length: 128
Request Queue Length: 63
Order Book Length: 201
1.5 SOL:
Event Queue Length: 1400
Request Queue Length: 63
Order Book Length: 450
2.8 SOL:
Event Queue Length: 2978
Request Queue Length: 63
Order Book Length: 909
Remember, the bigger the market, the more transactions can be processed. We'll explain below how it works.
1. Set the number of tokens and SOL/USDC you want to add.
2. Choose a launch date (optional).
3. Click “Create Liquidity Pool” and accept 3 transactions.
It takes a bit of time to complete, and then you'll see your Market ID and Liquidity Pool Address. Keep it safe, as you may need it for future use.
You can also go through the usual process of creating a liquidity pool by following the next 2 steps.
Setting Up Your OpenBook Market
The average cost to start an OpenBook Market is usually 2.8 SOL. This size is what works best according to the rules we follow. But, we can change how we set it up to save some money.
If your project is meant to make a big difference, you should stick with the standard market size. But if you're thinking about starting with memecoins, you can go for a smaller OpenBook Market that costs only 0.4 SOL. Keep in mind, though, that with a lot of people trying to buy or sell at once, some transactions might not go through.
In this guide, we're giving you three choices for the size of your market: small at 0.4 SOL, medium at 1.5 SOL, and the regular size at 2.8 SOL.
To set up the OpenBook Market, we're going to use another Smithii Tool to create the OpenBook Market (https://tools.smithii.io/openbook-market/solana). To make sure everything goes smoothly, follow these steps:
First, connect your wallet to use the tool. Choose "Basic Token." These are tokens you've made that don't have any value yet. Next, pick "Offering Token." These are tokens with value on the Market, usually SOL or USDC. Set the "Minimum Order Size." This is the least amount of tokens users can buy. Decide on the "Price Tick." It's the smallest amount your token's price can change by. If you don't want to go with the suggested market fees of 2.8 SOL, adjust the advanced options. These "inputs" vary based on the different market ID fees.
For a 0.4 SOL fee:
- Event Queue Length: 128
- Request Queue Length: 63
- Order Book Length: 201
For a 1.5 SOL fee:
- Event Queue Length: 1400
- Request Queue Length: 63
- Order Book Length: 450
For a 2.8 SOL fee:
- Event Queue Length: 2978
- Request Queue Length: 63
- Order Book Length: 909
These are considered standard lengths, but you're free to choose others. After filling in all the details, hit the "Create Market" button and approve the transaction. You'll get a Market ID—make sure to copy and save it. You'll need this ID for the next steps.
Add Liquidity to Raydium
After we get the OpenBook Market, we can add liquidity to our chosen DEX. Here, we're going to use Raydium because it's the most popular. Adding liquidity to Raydium costs about 0.45 SOL.
To add liquidity: we'll head over to “Liquidity Create” (https://raydium.io/liquidity/create/).
On this page, we need to paste the Market ID and then click continue.
Next, we can set the starting price and how much liquidity we want to add. To finish up, we can set the launch date (optional) and hit confirm.
Remember to get your tokenomics and strategy ready before taking this step.
Want to get your Solana Token noticed? Listing it on various platforms can make it more visible to users and help promote our project. Let's talk about how we can register our token on Birdeye, Dexscreener, Jupiter, Coingecko, and Coinmarketcap.
**BIRDEYE AND DEXSCREENER**
Both are trading platforms with thousands of users. Our token will automatically get listed there once we create a liquidity pool, so we don't have to do anything else. We can also pay to add our social media to our token profile and to trend on the platforms.
**JUPITER AGGREGATOR**
As the largest Solana platform for token trading, we can always trade our token on Jupiter, but we won't be "verified" until we're accepted. We can apply through GitHub by following this guide: How to register your Solana token on Jupiter.
**COINGECKO AND COINMARKETCAP**
These well-known platforms offer free exposure. To get listed, we need to fill out an application.
- Coinmarketcap application: [Coinmarketcap Application Link](https://support.coinmarketcap.com/hc/en-us/requests/new)
- Coingecko application: [Coingecko Application Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfpIPMsCvVokn7l6OpjJmJoYRxvpArYpO4rvcps-0XQxLQ7DQ/viewform)
**CONCLUSION**
Creating and marketing a token on Solana can be a challenge without coding and marketing knowledge. By following this guide, you'll only need to focus on the marketing part!
