How can I reduce cost per acquisition in DeFi campaigns?

[Zuri Rayden]

I’ve been running a few DeFi campaigns recently, and one thing that keeps bothering me is how expensive my conversions have become. I knew going in that DeFi isn’t exactly cheap traffic, but I didn’t expect my cost per acquisition to climb this fast. It made me wonder, is this just how the space works now, or am I doing something wrong?

At first, I thought it was just bad luck. Maybe the market was slow. Maybe people weren’t ready to trust new protocols. But after looking at my numbers more closely, I realized my CPA wasn’t just slightly high. It was eating into almost all of my margins. And if you’re in DeFi, you already know margins can disappear quickly.

Another thing that helped was learning more about how others approach performance marketing for DeFi protocol . I came across some useful insights on performance marketing for DeFi protocol strategies, and it gave me ideas on tightening funnels and tracking the right actions instead of vanity metrics. I realized I was optimizing for clicks, not actual wallet connections or deposits.

The biggest pain point for me was targeting. I was going broad because I assumed “crypto audience” meant they’d naturally be interested in DeFi. That was a mistake. A lot of crypto users are into trading, NFTs, or just holding tokens. They aren’t automatically interested in staking, lending, or liquidity pools. So I was paying for clicks from people who were curious but not serious.

I also noticed my landing page was trying to explain everything at once. DeFi can be complex. I had too much text, too many features, and not enough clarity. People would click, scroll a bit, and bounce. So technically I was paying for traffic, but not for real interest.

What started helping was narrowing my audience. Instead of targeting all crypto users, I focused more on people already engaging with similar DeFi platforms. I adjusted my messaging too. Instead of talking about every feature, I focused on one clear benefit per campaign. That alone improved my conversion rate more than I expected.

I also started testing smaller budgets across multiple ad creatives instead of dumping everything into one “best guess” campaign. In DeFi, small tweaks in wording can make a big difference. For example, “Earn passive yield” performed differently than “Put idle assets to work.” Same idea, different reaction.

Retargeting was another game changer. A lot of users don’t convert on the first visit, especially in DeFi where trust matters. Once I set up proper retargeting for visitors who checked pricing or tokenomics pages, my CPA started dropping. Not overnight, but steadily.

If I had to sum it up in simple terms, reducing cost per acquisition in DeFi campaigns wasn’t about finding cheaper traffic. It was about being more precise. Better targeting, clearer messaging, tighter funnels, and smarter tracking. It sounds basic, but in a competitive niche like DeFi, the basics really matter.

I’m still testing and learning, but at least now my CPA feels manageable instead of scary. If you’re struggling with high acquisition costs, maybe start by checking who you’re actually attracting and what action you’re really optimizing for. Sometimes the problem isn’t the platform. It’s the focus.

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