How to Create and Sell an NFT - 2022 Step-by-Step Guide

NFTs are in the news on a daily basis. For example, Yuga Labs practically interrupted the entire news cycle when they announced their purchase of CryptoPunks and Meebits from Larva Labs to add to their Bored Apes collections. NFTs are now a multi-billion-dollar collectibles industry. But they are so much more than just digital artwork. Before you create and sell NFTs for the first time, it is essential to understand this emerging technology and the impact it may have on the future.

What Is an NFT? What Does NFT Stand For?

The acronym NFT stands for non-fungible token. The short explanation is that an NFT is a digital asset. Those are very broad terms and for good reason. The fact is that NFTs can represent many things. Consider some of the following applications of holding a digital asset:

· Proof of ownership – An NFT can provide on-chain proof of owning an object, not only in the digital work but even in the physical world.

· Ticketing – Having an NFT in a digital wallet could serve as an entry ticket to a live event.

· POAP – NFTs are the perfect way to prove you attended an event or were part of a community at a specific milestone in history (for example, the Motoko NFT collection proves that someone attended the DFINITY event at NFT NYC or was already using the Internet Computer regularly and was active on DSCVR - or at least that they bought the NFT from someone who was there).

· Gaming – NFTs can represent assets used in a video game or could even be the game itself.

· DAOs – NFTs can represent voting power in a DAO.

· Collectibles – Sometimes, an NFT is nothing more than just a collectible, and that's okay too, as long as there is a community built around the project that is passionate about collecting it.

· Land ownership – This goes back to the proof of ownership concept and expands on it. Land in the real world can be very expensive, and there isn't much to go around. Land in the metaverse is just being sold for the first time now. Will metaverse real estate become a valuable investment in the future? Only time will tell.

And these are just a few of the many ways that NFTs are being used now and will be used in the future. Now, you may think that all of those things are great, but should you personally sell NFTs? Let's examine the reasons for creating NFT collections.

Why Create an NFT?

Why may you decide to create NFT collections yourself? There are many reasons, and here are a few to consider.

· Expand accessibility to your art – Many modern artists learn how to make and sell NFT art to expand how many people around the world collect their work. First of all, you may decide you can sell NFT art for a more affordable price than your physical art. This certainly increases accessibility. Second, you may find it is easier to sell NFT artworks to people in faraway lands because you don't have to physically ship anything.

· Build a community – Many developers want to create a community but are not sure how. An NFT collection can bring people together as they celebrate the art and meaning behind it.

· Commemorate a milestone – A perfect example is the OG Medals collection from DKLORD89 that was airdropped to users on DSCVR. The airdrop is intended to commemorate Bitcoin integration on the Internet Computer. Imagine looking back years from now on the benefits of that integration and having an NFT to celebrate that you were there when it happened.

· Crowdfund your project – This is becoming an increasingly important reason to create NFTs. Perhaps you are developing an app, a game, or some new form of technology. Selling an NFT collection can help you to fund the development process. In the meantime, collectors receive something in return for their investment, which will likely increase in value as you hit roadmap milestones.

Perhaps you can think of other reasons to create NFT collections to share with the world. Regardless of the reason, you'll need to start by learning how to create an NFT. So let's get to the step-by-step guide.

How to Create an NFT Art Project

How to create and sell NFT collections is changing as technology changes and advances. So what I want to do is compare and contrast the difference between how to make and sell NFT art on a chain like Ethereum versus how to do it on the Internet Computer.

Step 1: Create a Crypto Wallet and Fund It

If you are wondering where to sell NFT collections, this is the first place to start. No matter your choice, you will have to begin with a crypto wallet and cryptocurrency. Creating an NFT collection isn't free, so you will have to buy some crypto and fund the wallet.

Of course, you will also need a wallet to receive crypto once you sell NFTs and the money starts coming in. On Ethereum, MetaMask seems to be the most popular wallet. On the Internet Computer, the current favorites are Stoic and Plug.

You will have to buy the cryptocurrency on an exchange and then send it to your crypto wallet in order to use it to create NFT projects. This is the first place the Internet Computer begins to distance itself. When you move Ethereum from the exchange to a wallet, it could cost five, ten, even twenty dollars or more depending on current gas fees.

The Internet Computer charges a transaction fee of 0.0001 ICP per transaction, so you'll pay less than a penny to send your crypto from the exchange to your wallet.

Step 2: Connect Your Crypto Wallet to the Platform Where You Will Create NFT Collections

There are many choices when it comes to where to sell NFT art. You will want to choose wisely as this may have a huge impact on the success of your project. Ethereum NFTs can be created and sold on OpenSea, Rarible, Nifty Gateway, SuperRare, KnownOrigin, Foundation, Mintable, and many other marketplaces.

On the Internet Computer, the two marketplaces that are currently functioning for new NFT launches are Entrepot and Crowd-Created-Canvas (C-C-C). However, many more are in production from the teams at Gigaverse Labs, Psychedelic, ICSnakes, AnvilNFT (a place for creators to basically make their own NFT marketplace), and others.

Step 3: Upload Your NFT Files

For sites that offer self-minting, it is as simple as uploading the assets and then putting a price on them. Things are a little more complicated if you want to offer a blind mint, especially if you are doing so from your own website.

That will mean developing your own front-end to be able to sell the assets from your site. So when you are talking about how to create an NFT, there are really two entirely different approaches.

If you want to create a blind mint, you are going to need at least a backend developer. If you have your own website for the mint, that will require front-end development as well. However, you can also work with a marketplace. For example, on the Internet computer, you can work with Entrepot.

They will sell your NFT from their launchpad, and collectors will be able to buy directly from the Entrepot marketplace on mint day. If you want to self-mint, many marketplaces will allow you simply to upload the assets and put a price tag on them.

Step 4: Pay Listing/Minting Fees

I should include a price alert here. If you want to sell NFT collections on the Ethereum blockchain, there is often an expensive gas fee associated with everything from uploading the assets to listing the asset. There is no such thing as free airdrops either. A free airdrop for a collector means that you are paying the gas fee.

Keep in mind that gas fees for an asset can be ten times as high as the gas fee for transferring crypto. Therefore, it could end up costing $100 or more per NFT you want to transfer, either for you or for the buyer depending on how you structure the sale.

On the Internet Computer, the reverse gas model is used. This means that transactions are paid for by the minting project rather than the collector. Don't worry. Remember, those transaction fees are less than a penny, so the first few NFTs you sell will likely cover all the transaction fees, even on a 10k collection.

How to Sell NFT Collections?

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how to create an NFT. But it is just as vital to understand how to sell NFT art if you are going to make any money and please your collectors. When a project is listed for sale and doesn't sell out in minutes, you are likely to start hearing complaints on your Discord server.

People will do everything from saying the project has failed or is dead to asking for refunds or claiming it's a rug pull. Of course, they know you can't make people buy your art. But that won't stop the fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) from rolling in.

The best way to prevent FUD is to sell out – and fast! If you want to know the secret to selling NFT art, you have to look at what successful projects in the past have done. Here are some of the primary things that will ensure people buy your NFT.

· Quality - The number one factor in selling an NFT collection is the quality of the product. This is often related to the art itself. Whether you are creating the art yourself or you are a developer who is hiring an artist to create content for you, keep the importance of quality in mind.

· Community – Building a huge community using resources such as Twitter, Telegram, and Discord is crucial. When using the Internet Computer, other community-building resources such as DSCVR and Distrikt become available to you.

· Contests – Many scour social media looking for contests to enter. So be sure to use this marketing tool to grow your community and get your project out there. Again, the Internet Computer will help because it will cost you almost nothing to send airdrops when the time comes to do so.

· Transparency – Keep everything on the level. It doesn't mean you have to dox yourself or your team. Just be sure to let the community know things like whether some rare NFTs in the collection will not be available in the public mint because they are being provided as rewards to team members. Finding out about things like this later could break the community's trust in the project.

· Fun – If your project is fun, that will make people want to buy. For example, ICDinos had the great idea to have their NFTs mint as eggs. While the eggs are all unique, there is no rarity to them. Instead, they are just fun artwork to enjoy until they can be hatched (about two weeks after mint). This adds both fun and excitement to the project by building anticipation.

· Marketing – You want to be able to market your own project well, but it doesn't hurt to have help. For example – on the Internet Computer – Dfinity Community operates a massive community with tens of thousands of followers on social media channels and many thousands who read our daily newsletter and blog. An article, AMA, Twitter post, contest, or even just a shoutout can introduce your project to thousands of potential collectors instantly.

Let's consider one more essential element to selling NFT collections that are not just pure art for art's sake – utility.

This goes back to what I was discussing earlier about the use cases for NFTs. You don't have to create a roadmap for an art collection, but let collectors know if there is any utility besides just owning the art. Here are a few examples using NFT collections that currently exist on the Internet Computer.

· Mint pass – You can use an NFT as a mint pass for future collections. For example, anyone who held a BTC Flower in their wallet at the time of the snapshot last week is guaranteed an airdrop of an ETH Flower later this month. ICP Flower will also be available later this year as an airdrop for those who meet the snapshot requirements. Additionally, BTC Flower holders will automatically be whitelisted for a presale of other collaborations and artworks in the future. So holding one serves as an all-access pass for certain airdrops and private sales.

· Perks – I'll use Internet Astronauts as the example here. The first perk from holding astros that has become a reality is the colorful writing in the IASC DSCVR portal. Of course, the team may collaborate with other projects in the future to expand where colorful writing may appear. They are also working with other projects to obtain perks, such as airdrops of tokens for holders.

· Gaming – ICmojis are actually characters that can be used in the ICmoji Origins game to compete in weekly contests for prizes. The upcoming ICmoji Legends characters will be used alongside the original collection in their upcoming Adventures game. On the other hand, ICSnakes is the game in itself, with each NFT being playable.

· Gated communities – You have to hold a Motoko to interact with posts on the MotokoDropClub portal on DSCVR, and many other projects are following suit to carve out exclusive content for holders.

· Staking – Projects like ICPCS are setting up ways to stake NFTs to earn tokens. The cumulative rarity of your NFTs determines the part of the rewards pool you receive from staking your NFTs rather than selling them. This is one way to discourage the community from reselling their NFTs cheap.

· Earning opportunities – At ICPSquad, we want our avatar NFTs to be more than just a profile picture. They are designed to help you play our engage-to-earn game with a future dashboard that will allow you to earn rewards simply by interacting with the Internet Computer in ways that you normally would anyway. Just collect or mint accessories and wear them, and you'll gain an even higher chance of earning some of our daily reward drops.

· Land ownership – Projects like ICPBunny are exploring the value of land ownership in the metaverse with their Bunny Island project. Other NFTs are intended to serve as avatars in the metaverse. ICGallery's Moonwalkers are a perfect example of this.

So you can see that there are so many use cases for NFTs and that projects are already exploring many of them. We hope this article helped you understand more about how to create and sell your NFT art. Remember to subscribe to our daily newsletter so you can get these articles in your email, and you never have to worry about missing the latest community news.

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