Everything you need to know about Creating, Listing, and Marketing NFT’s
Everything you need to know about Creating, Listing, and Marketing NFT’s
What is a Non-Fungible Token and Why Should I Care?
A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is an online token that is uniquely identifiable and not interchangeable with another of the same type. It can be used for authentication, digital ownership, or to represent assets like physical property. An NFT is different than a fungible token because it is only transferable across certain channels. With fungible tokens, all tokens are equal and interchangeable — but with NFTs each token has its own value that may vary depending on where you are transferring them.
As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, it has become increasingly important to understand what they are and why they matter. Here’s what you need to know about non-fungible tokens!
If you have read anything about cryptocurrency or Bitcoin, you may have heard of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT). But what exactly are NFT? In a nutshell, NFTs are tokens built on a blockchain such as Ethereum that verify guaranteed ownership of unique digital assets. It’s similar to owning the copyright for a physical product, but in this case, it’s a digital product.
For example, if you were to buy an original canvas painting created by a famous author, you would receive a signed statement of authenticity from the artist and a receipt for the sale. If any others were to be sold, they’d be copies of that original and would hold less value than the original. NFTs work the same, only with digital items.
One of the best examples of an NFT is the first-ever published tweet on Twitter. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sold that tweet for $2.9 million dollars via NFT. Sounds crazy, right?
While it may sound unbelievable, digital assets and NFTs are gaining in popularity. You can take advantage of them too, by either buying or selling digital assets.
Adding Your Work to OpenSea
OpenSea is one of, if not the largest marketplaces for Non-fungible Tokens. It’s also one of the easiest places to set up and sell your work on. Here are the steps for creating an account and setting up your first NFT collection on OpenSea.
Before you can add your work, you need three things
1. Ether (ETH) — the currency you need to mint your NFT and pay the associated fees.
2. Crypto Wallet — what stores your ETH and processes the transactions on the Ethereum blockchain.
3. OpenSea.io account.
Let’s walk through the steps.
Step 1: Setting up your wallet
Go to OpenSea.io and click the Wallet icon. Select the wallet you wish to you. For this tutorial, we’re using MetaMask.
Install MetaMask for your browser, iOS, or Android device.
Click the Get Started button
Select to Create a Wallet and follow the prompts given, agreeing to their terms, creating a password, seed phrase, etc.
Once you’ve gone through the setup phase, it should ask if you want to add funds to your wallet. Simply click Add Funds and follow the steps to add the funds.
Step 2: Connect your Wallet to your OpenSea profile.
Now, you’ll go back to OpenSea.io and click the Wallet icon again to connect it with your profile. Follow any prompts given to complete that process.
Step 3: Complete your profile.
Your new account will be created and titled “unnamed” to start with. At this point, you can customize your profile to include:
· A username
· Your bio
· Your email address
· A profile picture
· A cover banner
Step 4: Add your art to OpenSea
Now, it’s time to add your digital assets to your OpenSea account. Click Create in the upper navigation inside OpenSea
If you’re going to be doing a collection of items like the CryptoPunks, you’ll want to create a collection first. You’ll want to name and describe the collection as well as upload an image that represents the collection.
Now create a new item & upload an image of it. As you can see, the item you are selling can be an image, video, audio, or 3D model. You have a variety of file formats to choose from. Do take note that the maximum file size for any item is 40MB.
Complete the rest of the required details for your item including:
· Item name
· A link to your website or where viewers can learn more about the item.
· A description of the item
· Complete the rest of the required details for your item including:
If this item belongs to a collection, you’ll have additional things to fill out including properties, levels, stats, and more. You’ll be able to choose whether to include unlockable content and note whether the item is explicit and sensitive content
When you’ve filled in all the details, click Create.
Your listing is now created and ready to sell.
Step 5: Place your item up for sale
When you are ready to sell, click your profile image in OpenSea and then click Profile.
From your wallet, select the NFT you want to sell. Select Sell in the upper right corner of the listing page. When the listing page opens, enter the price you want to receive for the item and the type of sale you are looking for — either fixed price or through a timed auction. You can choose the duration of the sale from 1 day, 3 days or a week.
Next, you’ll confirm the sale by signing a transaction. If this is your first listing, at this point, you may be required to pay your minting fee and any other fees involved. Like we mentioned before, typically you just pay this fee once and you don’t have to do it again.
Once all fees are paid and the listing is completed, you can view your listing by going to the Activity tab on your profile page.
That’s it! Your first NFT is now available to purchase on OpenSea.
MetaMask and OpenSea both have healthy help sections if you need more direction.
https://support.opensea.io/hc/en-us
Marketing Your Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)
You may have a great NFT but if nobody knows about it, it isn’t going to do you much good. While you may prefer the creative side of this, it’s important that you also promote your collections. Here are 15 ideas to help you promote your NFT items.
1. Post in your social media accounts — Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Those who already follow you may turn into your biggest buyers so don’t skip this step. In fact, if you have a big following, you can even plan a week or two in advance to start promoting the upcoming drop. This will generate buzz and build excitement in your followers.
2. Start conversations on BitcoinTalk, Reddit Bitcoin Community, Bitcoin StackExchange to get to know others who may be willing to promote your drops.
3. See if there are any conferences, events, meetups in your area of that you can attend. Look at places like Bitcoin.org, Bitcoin Meetup Groups, Bitcoin Meetups on Wiki.
4. Participate on places like Quora, Reddit, Askfm, Yahoo Answers, Stack Exchange, Blurtit, Experts Exchange and other Q&A type sites to spread your knowledge, increase awareness and obtain new followers.
5. Talk about it ahead of time. If you have a mailing list or a blog, talk about NFTs to educate your readers. Keep them updated on the progress of your newest creation. Post teasers to pique interest. You can also do all these things on social media.
6. Add your drop to NFT Calendar. This place lists new drops from a variety of marketplaces so visitors can see everything that’s new in one location. It’s free and easy to list your new art drops.
7. If you have a mailing list, social media followers, podcast subscribers, etc. Ask them to share your NFT details or drop dates with others.
8. Create a drop countdown calendar on your blog or social media accounts. Some marketplaces offer these countdown calendars or release calendars for featured drops. Check with the marketplace(s) you are using to see if they offer such features.
9. Create posts or pages on your blog about each of your NFT drops, including photos, descriptions, stories, and more.
10. Look for paid promotion opportunities. Do any of the marketplaces, crypto platforms have newsletters or mailing lists? Do they have advertising options? Don’t forget about the paid ad options on social media sites as well.
11. Reach out to influencers you regularly interact with. Check-in with those you’ve collaborated with previously to see if they’d be interested in spreading the word about your upcoming drop.
12. Once you’ve got a few NFTs created and sold, or you have a large list that may entice other sellers, look for ways to collaborate with others selling similar or complimentary NFTs. When you team up everyone wins.
13. Look for other places where you can talk about NFTs such as on podcasts, webinars, in-person speaking opportunities, and even guest blog posts.
14. Hire an NFT Marketing Agency. If you are selling high-dollar items, it might be worth hiring a professional service to help spread the word.
15. Take advantage of media and public relations companies. Create a press release to submit to various brick-and-mortar news agencies. Use online press release sites such as newswire.com, prnewswire.com, and prweb.com.
Planning Your Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT)
NFTs can consist of images, video, audio, 3D models, or a combination of them. Use this worksheet to help you plan your next NFT.
Who is your target audience?
These are people who already follow you, buy from you, or that you want to target. Be specific. Not just “music enthusiasts” because that could be anyone who writes, creates, sells, promotes, and listens to music. Narrow it down to those who most likely will buy or those you want to buy.
Main Target (those most likely to buy):
Secondary Target (who else might be interested):
What are you selling?
What will this NFT consist of? What does your target audience want? If you know your target audience, you have a good idea of this. If you don’t know your target audience, figure out who they are and what they want before you start creating NFTs willy nilly.
Main NFT:
Other NFTs you could create in the future for this target audience (individual or collections):
Which Marketplace will you use?
There are lots of options for marketplaces. Which one best fits your needs and attracts your target audience?
How much will you charge?
Base on similar NFTs selling in this marketplace, what price will you ask? Will you be doing a Buy It Now option or will it be up for auction?
Things you need to do or gather.
If you need to create your NFT, fund your wallet, package your NFT, etc. Make a list of the things you need to do before you can upload it to sell.
8 Popular Marketplaces to Buy & Sell NFTs
Which marketplace you choose should be based on your personal needs. Some specialize in certain types of NFTs such as gaming. Some are open to almost every type of NFT. These marketplaces earn their money through fees and royalties which can fluctuate so we will not be including that data in this list.
Here are some of the more popular marketplaces for NFTs.
1. OpenSea.io is the most popular and by far, the largest marketplace platform to buy and sell NFTs. It uses the Ethereum blockchain. It offers both buys it now and auction-style buying and selling. Payments are made with Ethereum Tokens called ETH.
In addition to its easy-to-use dashboard, it supports a variety of NFTs and offers a huge number of payment token options. OpenSea costs nothing to sign up and browse through the available digital assets so use it to get a feel for how others are listing their products. As we mentioned in the guide, you only pay once you’re ready to mint your NFT.
2. Mintable is an open NFT marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain. It’s very similar to OpenSea. Anyone can choice and it’s pretty easy to use so it’s great for beginners.
Mintable supports all types of art, music, audio, video, games, collectibles, and more. Unlike many of the other marketplaces, Mintable has a gas-free minting option. It offers timed auctions, standard auctions, and a buy it now option.
3. MakersPlace is a great place for artists, writers, and photographers who already have a decent sized social media following. As with OpenSea, it resides on the Ethereum blockchain and uses ETH for buying and selling. MakersPlace also offers an escrow service and allows for credit card payments for secondary sales which can be nice.
As part of the registration process, you are required to follow a certain number of existing artists. You’ll also need to request an invitation to join the platform. This can be done directly on the site.
4. NBA Top Shot Marketplace is where you’ll find those NBA collectible moments and highlights video clips we spoke about in the Insider’s Guide. This marketplace was built by the National Basketball Association and therefore is considered a closed marketplace, meaning you can only buy and sell these collectibles on Top Shot. It also has its own blockchain. Signing up is easy as Top Shop links with your Google account.
5. Rarible is another good marketplace for all sorts of digital assets. It is hosted on the Ethereum blockchain, but they also have their own tokens called RARI that one can use to buy and sell on the marketplace.
If you visit the site, you will see some creators and collectors showcasing “Verified” badges. These creators have submitted proof of authenticity for their work to receive the verified badge. It’s not too hard to earn this badge, but there are some steps you have to follow to do so.
6. SuperRare is all about CryptoArt. The developers consider it a social platform as it is more heavily curated than some of the other platforms. SuperRare uses the Ethereum blockchain.
One important thing to note about SuperRare. They focus on quality over quantity and work so work has to be submitted for approval prior to being listed in their marketplace. They also require artists to submit applications for review before being accepted or denied joining. In our research, we found a few resources suggesting it’s fairly difficult to be accepted on this platform, so you may want to use other sites to start with and save SuperRare for when you have a rockin’ portfolio and a large following.
7. Foundation.app is a newer marketplace that has gained a lot of popularity. Similar to SuperRare, Foundation is community-curated which means existing creators and collectors invite new artists to join. You can learn more about their invite system here.
While it may not be the best platform for a beginner, if your art is wow-worthy and you can gain community awareness, you’ll have a much better chance at obtaining an invite.
8. Nifty Gateway is a premier marketplace that focuses on top artists, celebrities, musicians, and brands such as Eminem, Cey Adams, Grimes, Paris Hilton and more. As with many others in our list, it’s built on the Ethereum blockchain and the NFTs are known as Nifties.
Artists can invite other artists to join but the vetting process is said to be tough. You can also get in by participating in the Community Upvote where your work is ranked by community votes. So, like SuperRare, this may be best for those who have unique, top-quality work.
There are many more marketplaces to buy and well NFTs but these will get you started. We encourage you to browse through each one to see examples of how others are listing their NFTs including their product descriptions, pricing and more.
Setting Up Your NFT
Use this quick reference sheet to remember the steps to setting up your Non-fungible Tokens using Ethereum, MetaMask, and OpenSea.
1. Create or choose the digital item you want to sell. Remember, it can be anything that was created personally by you and can be reproduced digitally.
2. Install & set up MetaMask.io in your browser or download the app. This will be your wallet where you pay for minting your items and receiving payments when your digital products sell.
3. Add funds (ETH) to your wallet. It’s recommended to have at least $100 in your wallet to start with.
4. Using MetaMask, connect to the OpenSea marketplace and complete your account profile by following the instructions in your wallet.
5. Set up your first collection, adding a nice description and image for it.
6. Post your first item for sale, paying any gas fees required to mint your item.
7. Start promoting your NFT collections.
That’s it! It really is simple to get started selling NFTs.
