Best practices in NFT Creation and Marketing

Building Your Brand and Audience

If you’re a relatively new artist, starting out with NFTs is tough. The market is full of people trying to make a quick buck, and it’s hard to get the attention of buyers if you don’t already have a name for yourself.

To be a successful NFT creator, you need to build your brand and audience. The following you gain will be an essential part of your promotional strategy as these are the people who will spread the word and create hype around your art.

Build your Brand

Tell the world who you are as an artist, and what you are trying to achieve through your art. Have a consistent style that is unique and distinct to you, so that you can be easily recognised and remembered. Set up an artist page, either on your own site or on platforms such as ArtStation and DeviantArt, and on social media platforms so that people can easily find you and see what you, as a creator, are all about.

Create With Intention

“DESIGN IS THE SILENT AMBASSADOR OF YOUR BRAND”– Paul Rand

Indeed, art is subjective and design can be interpreted however one likes, but to create something that has the holding power, and generates continuous demand for your work as a creator – that is something that transcends good design or a pretty composition. This applies to every art form, whichever you as a creator might fall under. Whether it is music, photography, fashion design, videography, or otherwise, it is always useful to think about your work in the same vein, and to treat it like the ambassador for your brand. Visually, it works to your advantage to develop your own style when creating. It makes you recognisable, which works to strengthen your brand. After all, people like consistency when it comes to purchasing, a consistent aesthetic and strong branding is always a plus.

Tell A Story

People are more drawn to art that they can relate to, so tell your story. What are you trying to say through your art, and what inspires your work? Give significance and meaning to your work that allows your audience to identify with your art by explaining the conceptual and emotional dimensions of each piece. We have a handy guide on how to write good NFT descriptions here.

Engage Your Audience & Build A Community

Find ways to continuously engage your followers to maintain a good level of interest in your work. Aside from using your social media channels, you can also use your NFTs themselves to maintain engagement. Reward the people who supported your work by occasionally sending them free additional NFT content, or allow them to use their NFTs as a ticket to your next show.

Designing Your Content

When someone buys your NFT, what they really want is the content attached to it.

The NFT itself is not your artwork, but a token on the blockchain that acts like a certificate of ownership for your artwork. When designing content, it’s important to keep in mind that the same quality standards apply as if you were to sell on the traditional marketplace.

Maintain High Quality Standards

Your content should be of the highest quality you can offer. Images, audio, and videos should be in the highest resolution or fidelity that makes sense for your work, and how you expect buyers to interact with it.

Use The Right File Formats

There are many different file formats available for images, audio, and video. You should pick a file format based on how you expect your buyers to interact with your art. Each format has its pros and cons. For example, .tiff image files are best for printing, so you may want to use that format if you’re selling artwork that buyers may want to print and display. If you’re feeling generous, you could even offer multiple format options as additional content.

Add Value To Your Work

Don’t be afraid to create additional elements to add value to your NFT. When you go to a museum, you exit through a gift shop. While at concerts, there’s often a merch stand that offers you the opportunity to walk away with something material from your experience. This creates a new dimension for buyers’ experience, e.g. being able to take home a tangible piece of the concert or museum that layers on to the experience itself. It’s all about generating higher levels of engagement – with your community as well as with your buyer. Think about what else can they take away from your creation, perhaps it’s something as simple as a print of your work.

Many platforms like Mintable offer unlockable content to help creators generate more value for their NFTs. Read more about what unlockable content can do for you as a creator here.

Be Familiar With Limitations

If you’re confident in the kind of content you’d like to put out, it is good to be aware of what your limitations are as a creator.

For example, minting erotic-themed art on most platforms will get your listing removed, so do find out what platforms work for you. This ultimately determines whether or not your NFT gets sold.

Selling Your NFTs

The process of selling your NFTs can be daunting. There’s a lot of information that you need to provide when selling an NFT, and it’s important that you understand what users are looking for so that you can make your listing stand out, and be more attractive to potential buyers.

Make An Attractive Listing

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but your NFT may not be as appealing if it has a bad name. When browsing the marketplace, users typically assess the preview image, title, and price of the item before they even click on your listing. Make sure you have a good title for your work, and a preview picture that captures the beauty of your art. Also, set reasonable prices for your work – the more affordable it is, the more likely you are to make a sale.

Provide Relevant Information

Writing a good item description will help your NFT be more attractive to buyers. Provide relevant information that tells buyers what they are buying, and why they should buy it. Explain your NFT, what it contains, and tell its story. Appeal to the buyer’s emotions, and write descriptions with a good call-to-action. If you’re transferring copyrights, set the terms in the item description too. Give your buyers some security by letting them know what they are paying for.

Be Honest About Your Intentions

Probable scarcity is one of the reasons that NFTs are so attractive. Nothing is more annoying for a buyer than to see that what they thought was a unique artwork has been released 3 more times by the creator in different colour variations. State your intentions upfront – is the work you’re selling part of a limited series, or is it unique? Will you be releasing any more in the future?

Do Promotion

Promote your NFTs on your own social media to increase visibility. The optimal posting frequency and content type for promotions varies between platforms, so learn how to use each platform properly.

Be patient

The last tip from us to you is simply to be patient. Creating is a process and creativity is not something you can rush either. Remember to invest time into making your masterpieces, and do not rush the process. Once your work is minted and out in the world, it will take some effort to get noticed as well, so do not get discouraged when your newly minted NFT does not immediately get picked up by a buyer. Promotion and marketing are key in the arena of selling.

But do not fret, we will be addressing key components to help get your NFTs sold in the coming articles of our Creators' Guide. Hey there aspiring creator! Now that you’ve read everything you need to know about NFTs, you must be wondering what’s next. Trying to figure out the best ways to make and market you NFTs can be daunting. Don’t worry, we’re here to help! But before we get to the nitty-gritty of minting an NFT, here are some of the best practices for creating your first NFT: