ON your way to Minting Your First NFT?
NFTs are changing the dynamics of how the creative industry operates, enabling artists and creators to monetize their work in the digital realm.
So, before going into the other details, why not know how you can begin minting your first NFT.
What You Should Consider Before
The first thing you need to do is to carry out market research on what kind of NFTs are in the market. You should need to do the research, especially for your specific niche of art. Having an idea of what is already there can be an inspiration. You can take inspiration of what your own NFT or NFT collection call looks like.
Or even how your work(s) can fit into the scene.
Secondly, decide on what you want to sell. Is it a visual art piece? A book? Music? Because for minting NFT, you have to make sure that you can have the item in digital form.
Thirdly, look at the blockchains and marketplaces that can help you mint your NFT. There are many blockchains on which you can mint NFTs, including Ethereum, Solana, BNB Smart Chain, and more. Also, while doing this research, look at the way each blockchain operates, the financial implications, and the size of its NFT community.
Once you have the information, it will be time to move on to the next step.
Minting
Minting your first NFT: A Step-by-Step Guide
To make sure you are getting a clear idea of minting your first NFT, we’ll look at how you can mint NFT on OpenSea, the most popular NFT marketplace.
Basically, OpenSea lets people mint, sell and buy NFTs in its marketplace. It is on the Ethereum blockchain and powered by the Wyvern protocol. Recently, the platform has also started supporting additional chains.
Step 1: Visit the OpenSea Website
First, head over to the OpenSea website and click on the ‘Create’ button located on the top right side of the screen.
Step 2: Enable Your Ethereum Wallet
After clicking on ‘Create’, you will work on an Ethereum wallet such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, and more.
Since we are using a PC in this example, you can install any of the above as a browser extension. OpenSea gives you several alternatives, also showing the ones that are PC compatible. We will use MetaMask in this case.
The importance of having this wallet is so that you can store your NFTs and pay for transaction fees (gas fees). Simply click on your wallet of choice. We will use MetaMask in this case.
Once you have downloaded and installed MetaMask, be sure to keep your recovery phrase safe and secret. This is important to help you keep your NFTs and crypto safe from theft.
Step 3: Connect Your MetaMask
Next, click on the ‘Profile’ tab on OpenSea. The site will ask you to connect to a wallet, which then you click on ‘MetaMask’.
MetaMask will ask you for your password. After the verification, you will connect successfully to OpenSea and create your new profile.
Step 4: Create Your NFT
Next, you will click on the ‘Create’ button on the OpenSea website. This is to help you to create your NFT. Clicking on the button will bring up a MetaMask prompt asking to connect to your wallet, which you need to approve. Then, you will be taken to a page where you can upload and describe your NFT or collection.
Once you are done filling in all the details, click on ‘Create’. And that’s it!
At this point, you can decide whether to keep your NFT private or put it up for sale in the OpenSea marketplace.
Something to note while in this process are the fees incurred during minting and selling. When you sell an NFT for the first time on the platform, there will be two transactions that you will need to pay for. The first will help to activate your account for orders, while the second will grant access to OpenSea so that they can access your NFT after a sale. Lastly, you OpenSea will also deduct a 2.5 percent fee.
How & Where to Market Your NFTs as a Budding Crypto Artist
Once you are done with minting your NFT and have put it up on the OpenSea marketplace, the next step is to get it into the market.
This step requires you to come up with a marketing strategy. While that sounds complex, it can be really simple.
The main thing you need to look at in the strategy is the channels you will use to communicate that you have created an NFT collection. Social media channels are the easiest way you can do that. Some social media channels you can look into using include Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Telegram, and Discord. These channels might also give you the option of paying for an advertisement to reach more people.
Another channel you can use is online blogs and newsrooms. You can create a press release outlining the story of your NFT and/or collection, then reach out to relevant blogs or newsrooms to ask them to publish the release for you. In many cases, this might incur a cost, which will be in the communication by the publication.
Using Word of Mouth is yet another way to market your NFT. In this case, you can ask the people around you, such as friends and family, to hype up your release to their friends. Similarly, you can also enlist the help of a social media influencer who you can pay to mention your NFTs in one of their posts or even create a campaign around it.
Lastly, it is important to have your own supporters. Perhaps by starting a social media page or website and sharing your work consistently. This consistency will help you build a ‘fan-base’ or potential market before you decide to drop your NFT or NFT collection.
Since NFTs will likely remain a part of the creative industry, you should know how you can create and sell your own NFTs. In fact, we can say it is an essential skill set in any creative’s life.
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