The global art market is valued at 65.1 billion USD, according to a 2022 report by Statista. Before now, notable artists made tons of money, selling off their artworks in auction houses or displaying them in cherished museums worldwide. Like other assets, the value of their work increased with time. However, a particular class of artists, the digital artists, could not relate with this reality.
Digital artists did not find it easy. Unlike regular artists that used physical, tangible mediums for expression, they could not sell their works for their worth. Worse still, what made an item valuable was its rarity. With the internet, anybody could make a copy of digital artwork, thereby lowering the value of the original piece.
How could you even identify the actual creator or distinguish the original from a free downloaded copy? This posed a major disservice to digital artists across the world. But the narrative changed with the introduction and virality of NFTs.
Non-Fungible tokens are another use of the Blockchain to record digital assets and track their transfer from one person to another. With the introduction of NFTs, digital creators and artists could verify and authenticate their works and, most importantly, sell them for good enough prices, as would makers of physical art.
You may have heard about NFTs and how people are making millions of dollars selling ugly ape images and random cats from their basements or attics. The entire process may seem surreal, but many people are cashing out. NFT sales make up about 55.3 million dollars every year.
If you are an artist or digital content creator and wonder how you can sell your art as an NFT, this article provides a comprehensive guide, as detailed below.
Pick a Wallet For Your Project
NFTs operate on the blockchain network, and there are different blockchains, each with unique features. It is also important to note that not all blockchains allow you to create NFTs. In addition, the different Blockchains are not interconnected. This means that whatever Blockchain you choose to work with houses your NFT Forever.
The Ethereum blockchain is the most widely used network for NFTs and smart contracts. Hence, we will stick to the Ethereum blockchain in this guide.
To use the Ethereum blockchain, you need to identify with a crypto wallet (although you are anonymous, your wallet represents you and holds the money for all your transactions). There are different available wallets, but an excellent choice would be the Metamask wallet.
Set up your metamask wallet and take note of the secret keywords. It also has a chrome extension for ease and functions well with other websites. Confirm your information, and you are ready for the real deal.
Fund Your Wallet
Remember you created a metamask wallet on the Ethereum blockchain? Now, you need to fund your wallet with some ETH. ETH is the native token of the Ethereum blockchain and is used to pay gas fees. Gas fees are small charges paid to miners who confirm transactions on the Blockchain.
However, the price is not fixed as it depends on the volume of transactions on the Blockchain. It is advisable to fund your wallet with about $150. You can fund your wallet through your card on some platforms or exchange services.
Choose an NFT Marketplace and Connect Your Wallet
Just like how regular artists showcase their work or list them for sale in auction houses, you will need a platform to list your digital art (NFT). These platforms are called NFT marketplaces, each with its unique features. Some include OpenSea, Rarible, Super Rare, and Nifty Giveaway. The first two are open platforms and allow anybody to create an account, mint, and list their works.
The latter two are curated platforms. Unlike open platforms, curated platforms have moderators that decide which pieces appear on their marketplace. The accepted works cannot then be sold on other platforms. In addition, curated platforms allow auctions where the highest bidder gets the art, either through open edition sales or silent or limited auctions.
If you are using open marketplaces like OpenSea, you only have to confirm ownership of your wallet to connect your wallet. You should also verify your details, like your email address.
Upload Your Art as an NFT
We assume you already have a beautiful piece of digital art you want to sell. Select the create option and select my collection.” Select the “new collection” and enter your information. After making the necessary edits, go to the commission” section.
This is important if you would like to earn royalties on every secondary sale. Set the percentage fee you wish to charge every time your art is sold. Now, you are set to make your art an NFT. Select “create new item” to upload your art on the collection page.
Pricing and Description
The different marketplaces have similar formats to upload your art. You can sell at a fixed price, allowing people to buy at your set price. The unlimited auction will enable people to place bids until you are ready to sell. The timed auction will enable people to place bids for a limited period.
If you are selling your art as an NFT, choosing a price could be tricky. You don’t want to price too low that charge would cut into your profit or too high that nobody gets interested in your piece. Nonetheless, you can be inspired by Beeples. You can give the buyer access to a high-resolution version of your art or additional resources in hidden links through the “unlock once” option.
Create Your NFT
Congratulations, you are at the final stage of making your art into an NFT. Select “create item,” and you will be required to connect your wallet to pay the listing fee. If this is the first NFT you are listing, a series of transactions will be set in motion to confirm your wallet. After successfully confirming payment through your netmask wallet, you have successfully listed your digital art as an NFT.
Promote Your NFT
Many artists are looking to sell their artworks on these platforms. To turn a profit from your NFT, you need to adopt an effective marketing strategy. NFT projects thrive because of the solid communities behind them. Don’t be left out. After leaving a compelling description and tags on your brilliant artworks, leverage the power of communities to sell your art.
You can additionally list your NFT on various NFT Calendars, such as RiseAngle’s Calendar. This is free to do but you can also pay extra to have your listing be a featured NFT to be shown to a larger audience. This is usually the best option for getting your NFT seen, along with Twitter, Discord and other promotional and community-based outlets.
Conclusion
Digital artists used to find it challenging to sell their artworks for substantial sums. With the advent of NFTs, tables have turned. You can use this golden opportunity to sell your art as an NFT if you have a good project, follow the proper steps, and implement a quality plan.
