It Only Takes a Few Steps to Mint Your First NFT
Looking to sell your work as an NFT? Whether you’re an artist, musician, or photographer, the NFT world is ready to welcome your creations with open arms. Since NFTs are essentially digital files given scarcity (and therefore value) by way of the blockchain, nearly anything goes in NFT land. Art, music, GIFs, and even items in a video game; they’re all fair game to be sold as NFTs.
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need to get started.
First off, once you’ve decided what to sell, what comes next is where to sell it. Specifically, on which blockchain you’d like to offer your new contribution to Web3. Most NFT artists opt for Ethereum, but alternatives like Tezos and Solana exist for more environmentally conscious folk, among other reasons.
Many factors go into choosing the right blockchain for your project. Thankfully, we’ve prepared a comprehensive guide on the most notable ones in the space. What blockchain you opt for will also play a role in your next step, which is choosing the right NFT marketplace for your work.
Unfortunately, whether it is a photography NFT or music NFT or some other art form, getting your NFTs set up on a marketplace won’t come free. If you haven’t done so already, you’ll first need to set up a crypto wallet to pay for your initial fees. On OpenSea — by far the largest NFT marketplace online — there are two fees new users need to pay when setting up an account. First is a fee to initialize your account, which ranges from $70 to $300. Next is a smaller fee to enable access to your account, which tops out at $30.
Still with us? Once you’ve sorted this out, your next step deciding how to sell your NFT. For a single piece, you can sell it as a one-of-one, or as part of a limited or open set of editions.
The final step is minting your NFT. This is when you officially etch your work onto the blockchain, enabling other users to purchase it. With that can potentially come more expenses on your part, in the form of gas fees. On OpenSea, you have the option to only pay gas fees once your first sale is completed. Sadly, there’s no avoiding the setup fee, but the potential profits are truly boundless.
Want to know everything about NFTs? See our comprehensive guide. Prefer having the key points explained in under 400 words? See the other articles in our NFTL;DR series: