How to Sell NFTs Professionally: A Basic Guide for Beginners

Non-fungible tokens, known as NFTs, have become popular in the digital market over the last few years. For digital artists and creatives, the rise of NFTs provides a growing opportunity to enter a new career industry: monetizing digital creations and selling the ownership of original digital pieces. The expanding popularity of digital collectibles has the potential to open new career opportunities in the future and revolutionize the online marketplace.

Before entering this industry, read on to learn the basics of NFTs, how to set yourself up to sell NFTs professionally, and what qualifications may help you succeed in this exciting industry.

What are NFTs?

NFTs are digital assets based on blockchain technology, in the same way cryptocurrency is. When you create an NFT, you record your ownership of that artwork or digital piece in the blockchain. The blockchain is an unalterable record synced to thousands of computers simultaneously, so you have indisputable proof of your work. 

In essence, NFTs are simply tokens created on the blockchain to represent digital ownership. They are non-fungible, meaning each token represents a unique asset. Even if the asset's image appears the same, it will have a unique token ID number.

Many people consider NFTs to be the newest form of collectible art. Like baseball cards, coins, or figurines, buyers can create collections of NFTs and spend time searching for new pieces.

Why many creators choose to sell their NFTs professionally

Many digital artists sell NFTs because of the ability to set their own prices, maintain control over their work, and securely transfer ownership of pieces. Digital artists can sell the original NFTs to buyers, who they will then record on the blockchain as the new owner. While people can copy NFTs, the value of having the original brings in interested buyers, similar to how an original piece of physical art or a rare baseball card might attract customers. Many digital artists start collections of art pieces that include different rarities for different pieces. Because the blockchain secures their ownership, an undisputed volume of art is available with little room for fake pieces. 

Another massive reason artists create NFTs is smart contracts and built-in royalties. A smart contract allows for automated execution given a specific set of parameters. Because of smart contracts, an artist can now sell their art without a middleman and receive royalties anytime their art is resold. Yuga Labs, the creator of one of the most popular NFTs Bored Ape Yacht Club has reportedly generated millions of dollars in passive income off royalties to their collection.

Selling NFTs also provides a stream of income previously out of reach for creators. The option to monetize more digital products, such as the first draft of a book or an album cover, encourages artists to be creative and look for ways to expand their work and profit opportunities. Because NFTs are so new, only minimal boundaries on what you can sell exist, and creators have the exciting opportunity to forge their own path.

How to set yourself up to begin a career selling NFTs

Selling NFTs as a career or hobby can be an exciting new endeavor. When getting started, follow these steps to help make sure you are on the right track to enter the digital marketplace safely and successfully as a new creator.

1. Learn about NFTs.

When you sell an NFT, you'll need to consider several factors. Determining the platform you use, how many times you sell each piece, whether you retain the rights to your work, and the bounds of each contract will all affect your profits and long-term success in the marketplace. Learning how to use a block explorer is essential, as it allows you to search for real-time and historical data about a blockchain. By doing background research on the NFT industry and available opportunities, you can learn from the advice of current sellers and make educated decisions when marketing your products. 

2. Create a crypto wallet.

Cryptocurrency wallets are places where you can securely store your cryptocurrency. If you don’t have a crypto wallet, you will need to make one before selling your NFTs. One easy way to do this is to set up a hosted wallet, which means a third-party site keeps and manages your cryptocurrency. Popular choices for hosted wallets for NFT sellers include sites like Trust Wallet, Coinbase, Metamask, and Math Wallet, but doing some background research will help you set up the best crypto wallet for your needs.

3. Fund your wallet.

After you set up your crypto wallet, the next step will be to add funds. You can do this by linking your bank account to your crypto wallet and choosing an amount to import. After this, you can use the money to buy whichever type of cryptocurrency you need. Depending on the platform where you sell your NFT, you may need to buy a specific coin. For example, OpenSea is a popular NFT marketplace that runs on Ethereum coins. Think of this like buying tokens at a carnival. Before you can play the game, you must buy the appropriate “currency.” 

4. Select a platform or marketplace.

Next, you will need to determine the right platform for you. You'll find many options for selling your NFT, each with its own benefits. OpenSea and Rarible are popular platforms for NFT sellers and provide user-intuitive functions to help you get started. Other platforms, such as Shopify and Binance, recently opened their operations to allow NFT sales. 

You can think of choosing your platform for NFTs like you would for any other product. If you were selling necklaces, you might want to choose Amazon, Etsy, or another popular medium to reach the most customers. The same is true here. You will want to look at your product and compare the benefits of each marketplace before choosing the right one for you. 

5. Link your wallet to the platform.

After choosing a marketplace or platform, you will link your crypto wallet to the site. For some wallets, such as MetaMask, Chrome plug-ins, or other extensions, make linking the wallet simpler. For the easiest upload, we recommend choosing a connected wallet and platform.

6. Upload your NFT.

Once you are all set up with your NFT platform and linked crypto wallet, it is time to upload the digital file you would like to sell. As long as you are the legal owner of the material you sell, you'll find few limits on the type of file you can upload. PNGs, GIFs, MP3s, and more can all be uploaded into the platform and converted into a minted NFT.

7. List the NFT for sale.

Lastly, you will need to set up the boundaries for the sale of the NFT. You will click on the “Create” button in your marketplace and choose how many copies of your NFT to sell. You'll also need to create a title and description for the piece. Since this is your primary way of enticing buyers to invest in your token, writing an engaging description can help build your customer base.

When setting the price of your token, you will have a few options. You can sell it at a fixed price, meaning it will go to anyone willing to pay the full amount. Otherwise, you can set it as a timed or unlimited auction. For a timed auction, it will go to the highest bidder at the end of the amount of time you set. For an unlimited auction, you can end the auction whenever you feel the highest bid has been made. You can also establish a minimum price to ensure your NFT doesn't sell for a price lower than you'd want to accept.

When pricing the NFT, you will want to consider the cost of creating the asset. When entering this space professionally, accounting for this cost when calculating profit is essential. In addition, many marketplaces take a small percentage of your sales as a fee. At the moment, OpenSea and Rarible take 2.5 percent from every sale. These costs don’t include making your NFT, which can vary depending on the product. 

8. Promote your art.

As with any product, promotion is vital to attracting new customers and bringing attention to your collection. Adding your products to the NFT calendar, advertising on social media channels, creating Reddit threads, and designing engaging teasers can help attract new buyers. You can also send your art to promotional accounts or social media influencers, many of who will feature you for a small fee. As you grow in popularity, customers will also spread the word of your brand through word of mouth. Promotion can feel overwhelming at first—but the work is worth it.

Do you need special skills to enter a career selling NFTs?

As with any new pursuit, patience, and practice will help you build confidence and develop the skills you need to be successful over time. The digital art world is evolving, and competition will continue to grow. As you set out to sell your first set of NFTs, taking the time to cultivate and focus on the following skills will help set you up for success:

• Be consistent with your short- and long-term plans. Getting started can be challenging, but taking small steps to build your platform and market your products will increase your chances of building a client base.

• Create a brand image or theme with your work. If you create a specific style unique to you, you will likely get repeat customers looking to build a collection from your work.

• Research market trends. Try to understand the patterns of the digital art world and how to maximize your returns. For example, in the NFT world, you'll encounter “gas fees.” Gas fees are the price buyers must pay to make a transaction, such as buying an NFT. Generally, selling NFTs when the gas prices are low can entice buyers to make a purchase. Awareness of trends like this can help you maximize your success in this space.

• Promote yourself and your work. Many creators are out there, so show the world what you have to offer this space.

• Be confident in yourself. Success takes time, and you have to believe in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals.

• Have fun. After all, this is a space for people to promote the art and creations they love to make. 

Take your next steps and enter the NFT marketplace.

Learning the basic principles of the digital marketplace can help you build the skills and confidence needed to sell your NFTs successfully. To get started and build your foundation, consider taking an introductory course on Coursera. Courses like Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce by Google or Decentralized Finance (DeFi): The Future of Finance Specialization by Duke University can help you take your first steps.

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