How to Make an NFT: NFT beginners guide 2022

You will have no doubt heard the buzz recently around Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). If you are not aware of what an NFT is we will explain this in the article, NFT beginners guide. We will also explain what NFTs are not as there is quite a lot of confusion about this.

NFT beginners guide : NFTs are Digital Assets that are Unique

An NFT is a digital representation of something in the real world which is unique. One of the most common types of NFTs is digital art. People create NFTs and trade them with collectors. Usually, NFT transactions are based on cryptocurrencies such as Ether.

NFTs are not entirely new and have been in existence since 2017. A lot of money has already been spent trading NFTs. An NFT may not be a one-off. It is fairly common to see limited editions of NFTs with a few copies available. The most valuable NFTs are only available as a single item.

You cannot replace an NFT with another asset as you can with a cryptocurrency for example. This is why they have the “non-fungible” element to their name. A $1 bill is fungible because there are lots of them and it is easy to replace one with another. These bills all have the same value which is $1.

NFTs are always on a Blockchain Network

An NFT cannot exist without a blockchain network. The most popular blockchain for NFTs is the Ethereum network. Blockchain provides distributed ledger technology and every element of a blockchain is unique. This provides a very high level of security.

As the name suggests, blockchain is a chain of data blocks. Each of these has unique identifiers which links all of the chains together. Users of a blockchain network must have a public key and a private key for identification and uniqueness of transactions.

NFTs are not the same as Cryptocurrencies

A lot of people think that NFTs are the same as cryptocurrencies but this is not the case. It is possible for you to hold a number of cryptocurrencies that have the same value. You cannot do this with NFTs. Many people hold more than one Bitcoin or Ether unit for example.

It is easy to see where the confusion comes with this. Both cryptocurrencies and NFTs rely on blockchain technology for their existence. But NFTs are unique assets and cryptocurrencies are not. It’s that simple.

There are different types of NFTs

You could be forgiven for thinking that NFTs are just about digital art because this is what makes the headlines the most often. The truth is that an NFT can be something else that is considered of value. Other examples of NFTs include:

• Video
• Audio (usually music)
• In-game resources
• Images and avatars
• Designer items

There is a classic NFT story where the founder of Twitter created an NFT from his first tweet on the platform and sold this for nearly $3 million. Think about an NFT as a digital item that a collector is interested in.

An NFT has only one owner

There can only be one owner of an NFT at a time. Anyone that purchases an NFT has the exclusive rights of ownership. Every NFT has totally unique data associated with it. This is ideal for verification and identification purposes.

The Benefits Of NFTs

As you venture into the world of NFTs it is essential that you understand the benefits that they provide. This will provide you with the inspiration and motivation to continue with your NFT projects so that you can make a profit with them.

NFTs operate in a Decentralized Market

Creating and selling your own NFTs means that there is no requirement for a middleman. If you think about the art world, creators need to secure the services of galleries or agents to showcase and sell their work. This is not the case with NFTs.

When you create an NFT on a marketplace you will be able to interact directly with potential buyers. If people are interested in your NFTs you will be able to directly answer any questions that they may have. If a buyer is ready to purchase your NFTs then they can do this easily using the secure decentralized network.

Another advantage of the decentralized market is that NFT creators can build in royalties. A lot of NFTs will change hands from the original owner to a new owner and the creator can set a percentage commission that they will receive on the sale price.

Proving Ownership and Authenticity is easy with NFTs

It is easy to prove ownership of an NFT. This is due to their association with blockchain technology. You cannot have an NFT with multiple owners because they are indivisible. Both creators and owners of NFTs can rely on the technology to prove ownership.

All NFTs are unique on a blockchain network. This makes it easy for the authenticity of a token to be established. Even if the NFT creator decides to create a limited edition of the same item, each one will have unique characteristics which prove its authenticity.

You cannot change NFT Records

Once an NFT is created it immediately becomes immutable. This means that all of the data pertaining to the NFT cannot be changed. You cannot remove or delete an NFT from a blockchain network. After an NFT is created on a blockchain then it will stay there for good.

Trading NFTs is Simple

You can easily trade an NFT on the same blockchain network. This means that free trade of NFTs is available which is another great advantage. NFT creators and owners can list them for sale on NFT marketplaces. Usually, an auction takes place and the NFT goes to the highest bidder. There can also be a fixed price set with an NFT trade.

NFT Owners can retain Copyright

This is a really significant benefit for NFT creators. If you create an NFT you are able to retain full copyright in it. It does not matter who currently owns the NFT, as the creator the copyright will belong to you. Copyright retention allows NFT creators to claim royalties when the ownership of a token change.

The New NFT Economic Opportunity

With other methods of showcasing and selling items, the creator has to forego some of their profits to the platform or person that is doing the selling for them. This is not the case with NFTs and a lot of creators see this as an excellent way to maximize their profits.

There is now a new digital economy with NFTs. Creators can sell their work directly to collectors and other buyers and not have to share their revenue with anyone else.

How Do NFTs Work?

Anyone that wants to venture into the world of NFTs to make money needs to know how they work. A lot of people make costly mistakes with NFTs because they do not really understand how they work. In this article, we will provide you with an overview of how NFTs work.

Public Keys and Private Keys for Identification and Security

We will use layman’s terms as much as possible in this article to describe how NFTs work but there are some technical elements that you need to understand. An NFT must be on a blockchain network and we will explain more about this below.

Security for NFTs comes from the use of cryptography. This means that all NFTs must be modified in a unique way. The recipients of the NFTs are able to view them in detail but to others, they will just seem like a lot of randomly used characters.

A public key and a private key are used to provide the cryptography with NFTs. All blockchain users will have a public key that they can share with any other users. An NFT is encrypted and the only way to unlock this encryption is through the use of the public and private keys that are associated with it.

You will create a unique digital signature by using both your public and private keys. This is a fundamental element in blockchain technology. It ensures that all records are immutable and that transactions are anonymous, authentic and secure.

NFTs must use a Blockchain Network

It is only possible to create NFTs on a blockchain network. Blockchain technology deploys cryptography to form chains of data blocks that will grow into a list of verifiable records. Each block is linked to the previous one using a cryptographic string or hash.

All of this means that a blockchain network user can identify unique sets of data within blocks. There is a special structure used for the data known as the Merkle tree. This is used because it allows the retrieval of records from a blockchain to happen fast.

Blockchain networks such as Ethereum can be used to support both non-fungible assets (NFTs) and fungible assets such as units of Ether. The use of blockchain technology provides the necessary verification that an NFT is really unique. All NFTs are tokens stored in a blockchain network.

You need a Crypto (Digital) Wallet to store and trade NFTs

When you create an NFT on a blockchain network you need to be able to store information about it for later retrieval. This is achieved through the use of a crypto wallet. There are online and offline versions of digital wallets available. Some of these are free while others are available at a premium.

People use crypto wallets for exchanging fiat currencies like the USD dollar for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether. You can use your crypto wallet for storing the details of the NFTs you have created and any that you have purchased and now own.

If someone purchases one of your NFTs then you will release the token for it to the buyer after receiving payment. This provides proof of ownership. Any NFT trade will require the use of a crypto wallet to store the relevant tokens. 

How To Create Your First NFT

There is a common misconception about NFTs that you need to be a technical expert to create them. Some people believe that you need to be a programming expert to create an NFT. This is not true at all. Anyone can create an NFT without any technical knowledge at all.

In this article, we will explain what you need in order to create your first NFT. There are 6 simple steps that you need to follow to create and list an NFT for sale. We will explain them all here.

1. Decide on an NFT Marketplace

You will need to use an NFT marketplace to create and sell your NFTs. There are a number of NFT marketplaces available now and more will be available in the near future. Some marketplaces cater to specific audiences and others require that NFT creators are approved before they can mint and list.

At the time of writing this article, the largest NFT marketplace is OpenSea.io. This website gets nearly 40 million visitors every month and this is increasing. There are millions of NFTs on the OpenSea marketplace. It is one of the easiest marketplaces to use for the creation and listing of your NFTs.

2. Get a Crypto Wallet

A crypto wallet is necessary for the creation of your NFTs. It is also necessary to hold the necessary cryptocurrency that you will need to pay listing and gas fees. Most NFTs are found on the Ethereum blockchain, so it is a good idea to have some Ether crypto available in your crypto wallet.

You can set up a crypto wallet for free. The OpenSea marketplace recommends that you go for a MetaMask wallet which is available as a Chrome browser extension. When you create your NFT, you will store details of it in your crypto wallet.

3. Convert your Item into an NFT

NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea will allow you to use a number of different file formats to create an NFT. If you are creating a digital art NFT then you can use a JPG, GIF, or PNG file. For movies, you can usually upload an mp4 file and for music, you can use an mp3 or WAV file.

If you need to convert your item into one of the supported file formats then you need to do this before you create your NFT. You may have a video clip that is in another format than mp4 for example.

4. Collection Creation

The next step is to create a collection on the NFT marketplace. Give your collection a name and provide a description that will encourage users of the marketplace to check out your NFTs. You can add an image to your collection as well to make it more appealing.

5. Digital Token Creation

With your collection created you are now ready to create or “mint” your NFT. You can only create one NFT at a time. Check to see what file formats are supported and also not any upload limits (on OpenSea this is 100 MB).

Upload your item from your computer and add all of the associated metadata. You have now created your first NFT!

6. List your NFT

The final step is to list your NFT for sale. Some NFT marketplaces charge a listing fee so you need to check this. You will need to have your NFT verified and approved but usually, this is a formality.

Choosing The Right NFT Marketplace

It is really important that you list your NFTs for sale on the right marketplace. Some marketplaces appeal to a different audience than others so you need to know who your target audience is and where they hang out to look for new NFTs.

Two Types of NFT Marketplace

There are actually two different types of NFT marketplace that you can choose from. The self-service NFT marketplace allows anyone to create any kind of NFT. This means that you can create image-based NFTs, video-based NFTs, audio NFTs, and more. Most self-service marketplaces will permit you to associate royalties to your NFTs as well.

A curated NFT marketplace is the other type. Here you will need approval from the management of the marketplace to create and list your NFTs. The reason that curated marketplaces exist is to ensure that only NFTs of the highest quality are listed on them.

You will always need a Crypto Wallet

No matter which of the NFT marketplaces you choose to use, you will always need a crypto wallet for the storage of your NFT information and also to hold the necessary cryptocurrency to pay for any gas and listing fees.

Check the Blockchain Networks the Marketplace uses

Although the Ethereum blockchain network is the most popular for creating NFTs it is certainly not the only one available. A lot of NFT marketplaces will have support for the Ethereum network but this may not always be the case.

There are a number of different blockchain networks that can be used to create NFTs. Some of these networks are closed such as “Flow” and are not interoperable with other blockchain networks. Always check that the NFT marketplace supports the blockchain network that you intend to use for your NFT creation.

Most Popular NFT Marketplaces

• OpenSea is by far the most popular of the NFT marketplaces. It gets millions of visitors each month and there are always millions of NFTs available. Almost anything goes with OpenSea and it is a self-service marketplace.
• Rarible is another popular NFT network that is self-service. It is owned by the community and members can be awarded the ERC-20 RARI token. If a user is active on the marketplace with NFT creation and trading then they are likely to receive the token. While you can mint different kinds of NFTs on Rarible, the main focus is on digital art.
• Mintable is a good choice of NFT marketplace if you are looking for self-service and a variety of auction options for your NFTs. The minting of NFTs with Mintable is “gasless” which makes it unique.
• Nifty Gateway is an NFT self-service marketplace that accepts fiat currency through the use of credit cards. If you want a curated marketplace then one of the best is SuperRare. They are very choosy about the kind of NFTs they will accept because they want to ensure they only list NFTs of the highest quality.

Niche NFT Marketplaces

NFTs are not just about digital art. There are niche NFT marketplaces available for the creation and listing of things such as in-game items and fantasy sports cards. You will find some of these marketplaces tied directly to games such as Axie Infinity and Decentraland.

If your NFTs are focused on sports, you can check out the NBA Top Shot marketplace and others such as SoRare which specialize in collectible cards.

Different Ways To Promote Your NFTs

You know how important it is to promote your NFTs so that you can attract the most attention and sell your tokens for the highest prices. There are other ways of promoting your NFTs other than social media and we will explore this in the article.

Find Communities on Discord Forums

Discord is a great platform that allows the creation of different communities and chat rooms. There are a lot of people interested in buying NFTs on Discord forums so this is something that you definitely want to take a look at.

The Discord platform offers more than just chat rooms and posting. It is possible for you to store and share images on this platform as well as documents. This is good news when you want to showcase your NFTs.

There are public and private communities on Discord. Some of the larger communities of NFT and crypto art require that you are invited to join. It should not be too difficult for you to obtain an invitation to these communities if you are genuine and honest.

Forget about blatantly trying to sell your NFTs on Discord forums. This will not go down well at all and you will probably end up getting banned if you do this too much. Instead, you need to demonstrate your expertise in the market and tell people what your NFT projects are about to build up anticipation.

Make an application to NFT Hunters

NFT Hunters is a very popular newsletter for collectors and others that are interested in purchasing NFTs. People that subscribe to NFT Hunters receive weekly emails or Telegram messages about what’s new and what’s hot in the NFT world.

Often, the people at NFT Hunters will send out a “breaking news” email or message about some hot NFTs that are generating a buzz. You can use this to showcase your NFT offerings to potential buyers. Send the NFT Hunters team an email stating the reasons why they should take a look at your NFT creations.

Reddit is a good place for NFTs

There are many different communities on Reddit and these are known as subreddits. Reddit has an upvoting feature where users can vote on their favorite content in the communities. The content that has the most votes will appear at the top of the listings. This can get a lot of eyeballs on your content.

You will find a number of subreddits already existing for crypto art. The largest of these has around 8 million users. A lot of these will actively scan the subreddit for new content. It is in your interest to join these subreddits and use them as a way to gently introduce the users to your NFTs.

When you are using Discord or subreddits to promote your NFTs, have a back story prepared that you can share with the various communities. People on these platforms are interested to know why you got involved in NFTs and how passionate you are about them.

Get on Clubhouse

Clubhouse is a fairly new platform that only accepts audio content. There are clubs within Clubhouse dedicated to NFTs etc. You can join in on audios from other members of the communities and request to speak.

There are also general communities on Clubhouse called rooms. These are around many different subjects and crypto art and NFTs feature fairly regularly. Get yourself in these rooms and request to speak so that you can share your NFT expertise.

Promoting NFTs On Social Media Platforms

A lot of NFT creators will list their tokens on a popular marketplace such as OpenSea and hope that this will be enough to make sales. Although you could be lucky with this approach, it is better to promote your NFTs on social media platforms to generate more interest.

At the end of the day, you want to get as many people interested in your NFTs as you can. As most NFTs are sold using an auction process, the more people that are bidding on your tokens will usually mean that you will get a higher price for them.

In this article, we will explain the best strategies for promoting your NFTs on social media platforms. You need to use the right platforms to ensure that you get the best results. Also, you need to present your NFTs in the right way.

What is Special about your NFTs?

It is essential that you generate a buzz around your NFTs so that you have the best chance of selling them at the highest prices. You need to tell your audience what is special about your NFTs and why they should invest in them. Most NFT creators do not do a good job with this and find it hard to sell their tokens as a result.

Know your Target Audience

The first step in promoting your NFTs is to understand who your target audience are. What are their interests? How old are they? What social platforms do they tend to use? People use different social platforms for different reasons.

When you clearly identify who your target audience are you will have a much better chance of getting in front of them on social platforms. Some people prefer to use Instagram while others like Facebook or Twitter.

Instagram is a good Visual Medium

Instagram is famed for being a visual medium. People use this platform because they want to see images and videos. It is good to showcase your NFTs with various images and you can do this easily on Instagram.

One of the drawbacks of using Instagram is that you cannot place direct links to your NFTs in your posts unless you have more than 10,000 followers. You can add a single external link in your bio and that’s it.

If your audience uses Instagram (a lot of NFT collectors do) then the best way around this is to create your own website where you list your NFTs and let people know when they will drop. You can add the same images that you would with an Instagram post on your website. Add the URL of your website in your Instagram bio.

Twitter is a good Social Platform

There are usually quite a lot of people that are interested in NFTs on Twitter. Unlike Instagram, you can create direct links to your NFT listings with each tweet. You can also add an image and even a series of images in tweets now.

Target your Audience on Facebook

Facebook is the largest social network of them all and it is something that you should definitely consider for showcasing your NFTs. You can create reasonably inexpensive ads on Facebook to promote your NFTs. You can specifically target your audience using a number of different demographics. This is also possible with Instagram ads.

Investing In NFTs To Flip For A Profit

Flipping is the term used for purchasing an item at a low price and then selling it at a higher price to realize a profit. People have been flipping NFTs for profit over the last few years and you can learn to do this as well.

The NFT market is still quite new and there is not much competition right now. Experts are predicting that there is still a lot of growth possible with the NFT market and this is good news as it means that there should be flipping opportunities available for a long time.

If you do this right, it is possible to make a profit on an NFT flip in just a few days. It is not always about the short-term gain of course. A lot of NFTs will increase in value as they age and it can be a good idea to hang on to some of your investments for a while so that you can get the best price when selling them.

Two Important Aspects to NFT Flipping

There are no guarantees with NFT investing and flipping. Opportunities do exist but you need to be smart and find them. People are successfully flipping NFTs for profit so always bear this in mind. When you are looking for flipping opportunities always look for these 2 things:

1. An undervalued NFT listed
2. The expectation that the value of the NFT will increase

Don’t try and find NFTs to flip in all of the different niches. It is much better to focus on one niche and really get to know all there is to know about it. Your chances of profiting from NFT flips will go way up when you know a lot about the niche. Decide what niche you want to focus on and learn all you can about it.

Look for NFT Flip Opportunities on Marketplaces

You are going to find your NFT flip opportunities on the various marketplaces. The very popular NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Rarible will tend to have NFTs of lower value. Anything goes on OpenSea and it may be difficult for you to spot opportunities there.

If you have chosen a niche like trading cards or sports-related NFTs then you need to look on other platforms for flipping opportunities. For anything related to the NBA try their Top Shot platform. Atomic Assets is good for trading card NFTs and there are specialist marketplaces available for in-game NFTs.

Digital art is a good NFT market and you can find some flipping opportunities on marketplaces such as Known Origin and Nifty Gateway. If you want to flip high-end digital art then take a look at the SuperRare marketplace to see if any opportunities exist there.

The bottom line here is to use the marketplaces that relate to your chosen niche. We are not saying that it is impossible to find good NFT flipping opportunities on Rarible and OpenSea either. They do exist and you can find them.

Bulk Buying and Haggling

Another good couple of techniques to use when you are flipping NFTs is to be prepared to purchase them in bulk for a lower price and haggle with NFT creators to reduce the price of their NFTs. Both of these can work well, especially if the sellers believe that you are an expert in the niche.

You Must Avoid These NFT Mistakes

Although the world of NFTs is fairly new, people have already made lots of mistakes when they are creating and selling their tokens. In this article, you will learn about 5 common mistakes that people make with NFTs. You need to avoid these at all costs.

1. Trying to Make Money too quickly

People see that some NFTs have sold for millions of dollars and they think that it is a good way to make money quickly. This is short-term thinking and has been the undoing of a number of NFT creators and sellers.

If you want to succeed with NFTs then you always need to provide value first. Focusing on making money fast with NFTs is a recipe for disaster. You need to trade NFTs that people want to buy and be consistent with your promotional efforts.

2. Not Promoting Listed NFTs

This is the “build it and they will come” syndrome. You create an NFT or a series and list on OpenSea. Because OpenSea gets millions of visitors each month you think that your NFTs will sell like hotcakes. What you need to take into account is that there are millions of NFTs available on OpenSea all the time so yours can just get lost in all of this.

You need to do more than just create and list your NFTs on a marketplace. Determine who your target audience is and then promote your NFT drops to them. Use social media platforms and find communities that are dedicated to your NFT niche.

When you are promoting your NFTs you need to avoid outright sales tactics. Nobody likes to be sold to and this is particularly true in the NFT world. You need to showcase your NFTs and let people know what is special about them to generate interest.

3. Listing your NFTs on the wrong Marketplace

This is something that happens a lot. A lot of NFT creators are not prepared to spend a little time researching which marketplace is best for the creation and listing of their NFTs. Many beginners will use the OpenSea platform for their NFTs because it is the largest. But this can be a big mistake as your target audience might not hang out there.

You need to do your homework here and find out which NFT marketplace your target audience is the most likely to use. Find out what the community is like with the different marketplaces and see how responsive they are.

4. Not Investing in your NFTs

It is usually not free to list your NFTs for sale on a marketplace. If you are going to use the Ethereum blockchain network for your NFTs then you will need to pay a “gas” fee. A lot of people think that they can create and list NFTs for free but this is not the case.

If you are creating NFTs that have high value then you need to invest in them. We are not just talking about paying the different fees here. You need to invest in marketing to spread the word about your NFTs.

5. Not Understanding NFTs properly

This mistake is so easy to avoid but there are many people that make errors with their NFTs because they do not have a good overview of how they work. You need to know the basics about crypto and blockchain and there are many resources online available to help you with this.

---

Big money is changing hands on a daily basis and there are genuine communities and collecting movements developing. Celebrities and Artists have been creating, buying, and selling NFTs, and average joes have been flipping NFTs to become overnight millionaires. From virtual trading cards like crypto punks to virtual land in the metaverse, NFTs are super hot. 

In this course, you will learn everything you need to know to get in on the ground floor and start earning some great profits in the NFT world. Ready to get started? Download the course now and I’ll see you in the first lesson.