Congratulations! You’ve made it through several chapters and in the last chapter, you made the art for your first NFT. Now, it’s time to get that puppy on the blockchain with a process known as minting. 

Minting your NFT creates a secure record of ownership on the blockchain – giving you the ability to sell your art to collectors. Here are the steps to getting started. 

Step #1: Sign Up for a Marketplace

The first thing you’ll need to do is sign up for a marketplace. That’s because NFT marketplaces facilitate minting. Of course, you could mint manually, but that’s a daunting process that just isn’t worth doing considering the tools available today. 

Keep in mind that NFT marketplaces aren’t all equal. It’s important to choose your marketplace wisely based on:

  • The types of NFTs the marketplace is popular for offering;
  • the fees you’ll pay to mint and sell your NFT on the marketplace; and 
  • the audience the marketplace gives you access to. 

If you haven’t already chosen a marketplace, read this guide to doing so. Once you choose one, sign up and move on to the next step. 

Step #2: Connect Your Crypto Wallet

Your NFT will be stored in your crypto wallet. Moreover, unless you choose a marketplace with gasless minting, you’ll need to have a bit of crypto to pay gas fees when you mint. That crypto is stored in your crypto wallet. 

With that said, it’s easy to connect your wallet to most marketplaces. 

For example, on Opensea, the world’s most popular NFT marketplace, you simply navigate to your profile, select “Connect a Crypto Wallet,” and follow the prompts to make the connection. Of course, different marketplaces will have a slightly different processes, but most are relatively straightforward. 

Follow the steps your marketplace requires to connect your wallet and move on to Step #3.

Step #3: Mint Your NFT

You’re ready! It’s time to mint your first NFT. To do so, navigate to the minting page of the marketplace you’ve chosen to use and click the Mint option. Now, follow the prompts to mint your first NFT. Here are a few things you should keep in mind as you mint:

  • Minting Options. Many NFT marketplaces offer several minting options like gasless minting, batch minting, and others. If you don’t know what these options mean, do your research. Knowledge is power! Once you know what you’re looking at, choose the minting option that works best for what you plan to accomplish. 
  • Royalties. Most NFT marketplaces give you the ability to attach a royalty to your NFT. That way, every time it trades hands, you get a cut of the sale. Don’t be too aggressive here. If your royalty rates are too high, buyers won’t be interested. It’s generally a good idea to keep your royalties below 7%. 
  • Timing. Blockchain demand plays a major role in gas fees. Since the blockchain experiences higher demand during the day, you’ll get the best rates if you mint your NFT in the very early hours of the morning or in the very late hours of the night. 

That’s All for Today

That’s all for today, go work on minting for your first NFT. We’ll chat about marketing and selling it next week!