How To Mint NFTs: The Best Step-By-Step Guide
When you buy something through one of the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Even with the rush for NFTs hitting a new high in recent times, few people are getting a hold of this explosive digital asset concept. To give a hint of what may be to come, physical artwork such as the famous Mona Lisa painting racked up millions of dollars for a very long time.Â
In the same way, NFT items, because of their uniqueness, command high prices on the crypto markets today. These assets can range from music to video clips and memes to digital stickers, among others.Â
NFTs are a goldmine for immediate profits and long-term gains for artists and collectors who are ahead of their time.Â
If you're thinking about getting started with NFTs, this step-by-step guide will provide you with all you need to know about the NFT space.
Contents
- What Are NFTs?Â
- How to Mint NFTs
- What Does Mint Mean in NFT?Â
- Is It Worth It to Mint an NFT?
- Is Minting an NFT Expensive?
- Is It Better to Mint an NFT?Â
- How Long Does It Take to Mint an NFT?Â
- What Happens After Minting NFT?Â
- Does Minting an NFT Mean You Own It?
- Is It Free to Mint on OpenSea?
- What Happens If Your NFT Doesn't Sell on OpenSea?
- FAQs
- Final ThoughtsÂ
What Are NFTs?Â
An NFT or Non-Fungible Token consists of a unique digital asset created and traded online using crypto, especially Ethereum.
NFTs are not interchangeable with each other or any other assets. The reason lies in their unique features which can’t be replicated.
Since 2014, NFTs have slowly penetrated the crypto space to the point that artists and collectors find them the most reliable platforms for doing digital artwork business.
We also took a look at this phenomenon in our post about what is Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Unlike the common digital assets known to most people, NFTs come with unique identifying codes that create digital scarcity.Â
This scarcity means that the value of digital items can rise exponentially to the benefit of the owner, buyer, or collector.
Back in the day, an image, Everydays: The First 5000 Days by Beeple, was sold off for $69 million in an auction at Christie's.Â
Even though everyone can enjoy seeing or even using digital art, the owner has the bragging rights thanks to the NFT's securitized, built-in authentication.Â
How to Mint NFTs
As an artist, it's essential to monetize your work if you want to benefit from it. NFTs provide artists and collectors the opportunity to do just that.Â
So, whether you're into artwork, 3D models, PDFs, video creation, collectibles, or music, it's vital to know how to turn these digital assets into NFTs in a process called minting.Â
To mint an NFT, you need a marketplace. The best NFT marketplaces exist online.
The largest include OpenSea, Rarible, and Foundation. There's also Mintable, a free marketplace for creators who are just starting in this field.
Here's how to mint NFTs, although the process may be slightly different depending on your preferred marketplace:Â
- Once you're on the site, create your profile. To do this, you'll open and connect your crypto wallet to the NFT marketplace.Â
- Upload your content and make sure to give it a name and proper description. In some marketplaces, this is the point at which you set up your price or royalty payout.Â
- Ensure that your wallet has the funds to cover the gas or transaction fees. Make sure you have some appropriate crypto like Ethereum in your wallet. OpenSea even allows creators to purchase crypto directly on their platform.Â
- You can now put your NFT up for sale by clicking the ‘sell' button on whatever marketplace you may be using. Don't just leave it there; you can build relationships with potential buyers and collectors to ensure you gain as much support as you can.Â
However, the above process is a general method of minting NFTs. You may have to follow a different procedure on an NFT marketplace.Â
What Does Mint Mean in NFT?Â
The only secure way of monetizing your artwork or collectibles online is by minting. When you mint your artwork, you turn it into a non-fungible token.
To mint, you require two things: access to crypto blockchain and an NFT marketplace. So, your token is published on a blockchain, and it can be listed on the marketplace for purchasing. Â
By doing this, not only are you able to gain profits from its sales but also boast exclusive ownership rights. As a bonafide creator, you're recorded in the public ledger since your work is on a blockchain.Â
Minting ensures that artists can create a real income from their talents and skills. There are different marketplaces where you can list your NFT for sale, but it's prudent to find the ones that will make your work easy to sell.Â
Is It Worth It to Mint an NFT?
You have to know a few things before you jump into minting NFTs. And the most important of all is that minting your NFT doesn't mean you can always have success with its sales.Â
Generally, though, it's worth minting an NFT if your content is value-packed and investors and other consumers love every bit of it. You can sell it directly to these people for higher profits.Â
Alternatively, you can also set up royalties for your NFTs to a certain percentage, usually between 10-30%. Royalty payouts are a great way to enjoy unending profits from your artwork, even after it is first sold.Â
You don't have to look further than Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, when he sold his first-ever tweet for $2.9 million.Â
On the flip side, the largest, most lucrative markets for NFTs also come with many costs to incur and may have some restrictions.
You have to buy crypto and pay for space in the marketplace. These costs involve using your money.Â
If you don't gather support and build partners who can purchase your NFT, you're staring at a failed project. You may likely make losses sooner than later.Â
Is Minting an NFT Expensive?
One of the most common questions from many enthusiasts is whether minting an NFT is an expensive venture.
Frankly, it depends on which NFT marketplace you're minting on.
But on average, it can cost you at least $60 to mint an NFT, especially on the Ethereum blockchain.
Different marketplaces have different costs of creating a token in their space. And it's not a surprise to experience hidden costs besides the advertised ones.Â
When these costs are calculated, the math becomes a bit complex.
You're required to pay these costs in advance on some platforms, and they could be anywhere between $60-150.
Other platforms, like OpenSea and Rarible, don't charge before sales. They term this as “free minting” but they take a certain percentage when your NFT is sold.Â
In some instances, the mint fee can be costly, even to a point higher than the price of the NFT itself. So, check regularly to see when this fee is lower before transacting on a platform.Â
Is It Better to Mint an NFT?Â
To mint or not to mint is a dilemma that gets the better of many speculative enthusiasts when it comes to NFTs. Besides minting, one can buy and resale an NFT and gain the benefits after that.Â
However, it's better to mint an NFT as it may be a bit cheaper since it's your original idea and you're the first owner.
Depending on your platform, you may be required to pay a small gas fee. The NFT is something you've loved creating and are passionate about it. Therefore, you won't have a hard time doing it.Â
Once you sell it, you can still get royalties of the NFT on resales in the long-term future. If your NFT becomes viral and popular, you could stand to gain more.Â
How Long Does It Take to Mint an NFT?Â
As a newbie in the NFT assets arena, you're probably wondering how long it takes to mint an NFT. On average, minting an NFT isn't a hard process that takes very long.
It could take you anywhere from one minute to three minutes, although different platforms take different timeframes.
Another thing you want to consider is the size of your uploads.
The file size is a massive factor as some files are too small while others are a bit large; hence, they take varying periods to mint.Â
Less gas can also delay minting. Always ensure you mint with enough gas and when the day is generally quiet to make the process faster. There is a waiting time when the NFT transaction processes, and you've got to factor that in as well.Â
In general, minting an NFT is similar to uploading digital items on Amazon, Spotify, Etsy, or eBay.
What Happens After Minting NFT?Â
After you mint your NFT, it's ready for selling. You want to find the ‘sell' button and click it to enter its crucial sale information.Â
This is the time to set up the price of the NFT or program how many royalties you want to earn from resales in the future.
Most marketplaces open up how many fees you'll pay once the NFT is sold.Â
At this point also, gas fees are required. Remember that the activity of your cryptocurrency network determines gas fees at any given time.
Therefore, this fee varies from time to time. If you pay these fees and approve the terms, your NFT is listed on the marketplace, ready for purchase.Â
Does Minting an NFT Mean You Own It?
As you mint an NFT, you're simply making it known to the public that it's your work. Generally, the digital assets you mint are stored in a blockchain that can never be manipulated.Â
This means that minting an NFT basically provides creators with the absolute rights to ownership of the digital items because the blockchain always points to the source. You also get recorded into a distributed public ledger as the work's original owner.
Nevertheless, there are still problems with NFT copyrights from a legal perspective.
Cryptocurrency and blockchains are not centrally regulated. In fact, crypto is a peer-to-peer network thing free of any legislative control.Â
In such circumstances, copyright problems become a real problem that needs to be addressed urgently.Â
Is It Free to Mint on OpenSea?
OpenSea won’t charge creators a fee when they initially mint their NFTs. But this doesn't mean that it's free to mint on this platform.Â
What happens is those creators have their digital assets minted on OpenSea without paying the transaction fee upfront.
Nonetheless, OpenSea charges a mint fee after you make the sale of the NFT. The fees charged amount to 2.5% of the final sale price.
Because of this, many artists have rushed to this platform to list their NFTs. Again, OpenSea is one of the largest NFT marketplaces on the internet, providing a massive audience for creators and collectors.Â
What Happens If Your NFT Doesn't Sell on OpenSea?
Even though OpensSea is currently the largest NFT platform with a broad audience, it can get tricky for new creators. Your digital item may fail to attract any consumer, and that can get annoying.Â
If your NFT doesn't sell, you may be concerned because some people don't want to buy an NFT from an unknown creator.
Besides being patient, the best step to take is to market your NFT collection only to a target audience. These could be NFT collectors and patrons who can take your story to the next level.
You can reach these collectors on NFT collector groups. Reddit, Discord (don't miss how to make money on Discord), and Quora are popular sites for NFT collector groups.Â
FAQs
How Much Does It Cost to Mint 10,000 NFTs?Â
The cost of minting NFTs can vary widely across different platforms, and minting 10k NFTs can be a huge thing.
Fortunately, you can pay a one-time smart contract fee plus another storage fee totaling $1,000 on OpenSea and be set.
Can You Sell NFTs Without Minting?Â
Minting allows the NFT to be available in the marketplace. So, if you don't mint your assets, you may not be able to sell them in the first place. But you can also buy minted NFTs as a collector and sell them.Â
Can Someone Else Mint Your NFT?Â
Someone can mint a copy of your NFT if they have permission from you as the copyright owner via written authorization. Otherwise, no person can mint your NFT just out of the blue.Â
Final ThoughtsÂ
NFTs are gaining traction each day. If you have a strong interest and passion for these digital assets, this guide is a perfect place to start learning how to mint NFTs and do it like a pro as you progress.Â
Remember to do your research well to get two things right — the blockchain to transact on and the marketplace for listing your NFTs.
Fast forward ahead, and with quality NFTs, not only will you be minting NFTs but also racking up some profits when the prices increase. There's plenty of potential for blockchain-based assets.Â
Want to learn step-by-step how I built my Niche Site Empire up to a full-time income?
Yes! I Love to Learn
Learn How I Built My Niche Site Empire to a Full-time Income
- How to Pick the Right Keywords at the START, and avoid the losers
- How to Scale and Outsource 90% of the Work, Allowing Your Empire to GROW Without You
- How to Build a Site That Gets REAL TRAFFIC FROM GOOGLE (every. single. day.)
- Subscribe to the Niche Pursuits Newsletter delivered with value 3X per week
My top recommendations