How to Create and Sell an NFT

Non-fungible tokens, also known as NFTs, are booming right now, and many people are starting to see it as a great way to earn some extra cash (or, bitcoin). And some can earn huge amounts of money — one digital artist who goes by Beeple sold an NFT of an art piece for $69 million, and he’s not the only one cashing out on multi-million dollar deals.

We’ll walk you through how to create — or mint — your own NFT, but be aware that there are costs associated with selling NFTs, and making millions upon millions of dollars on these non-fungible tokens is still incredibly rare. That being said, here are the steps you would need to take to mint your own NFT, and get the ball rolling on sales.

It may seem obvious, but the first step has to be deciding what your NFT will be! It can be any digital asset, from poetry to art to music and more (yes, even GIFs and memes). Just make sure that you own the intellectual rights to whatever property you’re selling.

There are a few different blockchain technologies that NFT creators use to sell their product. The most popular is Ethereum, whose token is only second in cryptocurrency to Bitcoin. There are other options as well, such as Polkadot and Binance Smart Chain, so spend some time doing research to find the best blockchain technology for you. If you want a quick refresher on blockchain, check out our previous blog post here.

As mentioned before, there are costs associated with minting and selling NFTs, so its necessary to have your own cryptocurrency and digital wallet in order to meet those costs. There are also many options here. The top digital wallets are. Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, and TrustWallet, all of which can be used with Ethereum.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, there are numerous platforms you can use to sell your NFTs. For example, the most popular that can be used with Ethereum (the blockchain mentioned earlier) are OpenSea, Rarible, and Mintable. Basically, this is going to be the marketplace where you sell your NFT, so finding the right platform for your needs is critical. OpenSea in particular is a great place to start for beginners, as it allows you to mint your own NFT and has an option that allows you to bypass “gas fees,” or the creator fees mentioned earlier. It also is fairly user friendly, and will give you a step-by-step guide on how to upload your NFT.

Your NFT has been created, funded, and minted. Now is the time to decide how to monetize your product. Setting a minimum cost is key, especially considering all the fees you can run into, including listing fees, minting fees, sales commission fees, and transaction fees to transfer between digital wallets. Add in the fluctuating nature of cryptocurrency, and you have a recipe for confusing and ever-changing fees that you want to make sure you’re adjusting for.

Also, be sure to check out this introduction to NFTs for a another perspective from a designer.

With the pros and cons in mind, it’s time to decide if creating and selling an NFT is right for you. And who knows — you could be the next Beeple!

Let us know in the comments what you think about the minting process for NFTs, and if you’d ever consider selling. And check out our previous blog post to brush up on some new tech definitions, so you know exactly what you’re working with.