link to previous article on what ICOs are - https://steemit.com/steemit/@cryptobanyan/ico-investment-series-2-what-is-an-ico-after-all
Each topic that I touch upon can be very detailed and complex. Where possible I give links that help give deeper details. I refrain from any deep discussions because of 2 simple reasons - 1. I am not authority on these topics, but more importantly 2. I want to cover a broader perspective of ICO investments and any deep discussion will take us away from our goal.

How to find an ICO for investment

This article will be very simple, since all I plan to do here is give you a list of links where you may go and search for ICOs.

You need to know the name of the ICOs being launched, the company behind them, the dates they are being launched etc. This is called prep work. Without this you are relying on hearsay (and mostly that will create herd mentality (which may not be bad, given the way ICOs are going), but may also create fear of missing out (FOMO) and coerce you into making a wrong investment).

There are many ways to go about, like first chalking out the industries that interest you etc and then searching for startups in that space. I outline below some steps I find useful.

Websites that will give you a list of ICOs

https://icodrops.com
https://www.coinschedule.com
https://www.icoalert.com
https://icoranker.com
https://www.coinhills.com/ico/
https://icoholder.com

The above is not a holistic list. There are many more and many are better than others. I just use the above.

Now that you have a list of websites that you can use to find ICOs for investment, I will outline some steps I take, that help me get first in line for making my investments and hopefully some of the investments are profitable because of the process I followed.

ICOs categorisation on these websites

• Most of the above sites list ICOs under ongoing, upcoming, ended
  • Ongoing ICOs - These are the ones where the ICO investment round has already started. If you find something interesting you must act fast. It is my sincere suggestion, not to rush. If you missed a great opportunity, then it was never yours. Don't rush in just in the fear of missing out. There will always be another great idea. Just wait until you do your due diligence on the ICO before investment. I would steer clear of any ICO that is to end in less than a week (not enough time for you to do your due diligence, unless you are an expert at blockchain or at identifying killer ideas that will disrupt the market and give you windfall profits for your investments).
  • Upcoming ICOs - this is where you should be spending most of your time. These ICOs are not yet started. Some of their dates are not even published. The situation gives you time to do your due diligence, make note of interesting ICOs, register with them, be ready with the right cryptocurrency when the time comes for you to make investment and buy (for good ICOs there is a limited window of purchase and being ready beforehand is very important. More on this topic in later series).
  • Ended ICOs - You do not need to bother with these from investment perspective. The ICOs in this section have stopped taking investment.
    • These ICOs are very good for your analysis in spare time - for you to understand what all ICOs successfully raised money, if any of them were listed on exchanges how they fared, what ideas / projects did well, what industry has more advantage and investor interest etc. It is always important to have this perspective, not just for knowledge sake, but also because many new ICOs may come up with similar ideas and you would already know how similar ideas fared in the market and also who has a first movers advantage. It may always be beneficial to invest in a winning idea, even if at a higher price on the exchanges than invest at ICO stage on a stale idea or one that won't be met with much enthusiasm on the exchanges, even if the price you pay per coin / token is /10th of the winning idea (think of Google, Amazon or apple - even at $100 they were a great investment, given where they are today).

Make a list of ICOs that interest you

• First and foremost - just make a list of ICOs you want to invest in. Don't try to understand each ICO in detail. We will come back to this later. I am sure this sounds like strange advice, just because all the while I am pointing to the risks of ICO and doing a detailed study of the ICO and its offering before making an investment. Don't worry about it. At this stage I am not asking you to starting planning an investment. All I am asking is to make a list. I would only suggest on investment very much later in my ICO investment series.

  • Ongoing ICOs - You need to act fast and complete your due diligence in record time to enter these ICOs. Too much fear or missing out is created when are in this process and therefore I would request you treat carefully here.
  • Keep more focus on upcoming ICOs. These give you plenty of time to complete your due dilligence.

• Once your list is ready, it is time to register for ICOs of your interest and line up with your fiat or cryptocurrency to make an investment. My next article in the series explains the common steps to register for ICOs.

You are not yet completed with your due diligence for making the ICO investment. You are still in process, so bear with patience and read on my further articles in the ICO investment series.

• Disclaimer - I am only sharing my limited knowledge and for the sake of knowledge alone. This is in no way an investment advice or legal or taxation counsel. I am not qualified to provide any of these. This is also not a recommendation or encouragement to invest in cryptocurrencies or ICOs.*