From minting an NFT for free to building hype around your artwork, here is a comprehensive guide by CoinMarketCap Academy to kickstart your journey with zero fees!
NFTs are all the hype these days. It has taken the crypto market by storm as a novel edition. Not just that, it has already developed a large community of creators and investors. All crypto nerds want to mint an NFT but not many can afford to trade them due to the huge gas fee.
The cool thing about NFT is that you can mint one irrespective of the bucks in your bank. You only need to know the right platforms that benefit your cause. Even though some NFT marketplaces have expensive gas fees, there are many that have come up with better & cheaper minting methods favoring “the broke people.”
The good news is that many popular platforms have now introduced a free minting feature to create NFTs, exclusive for broke people looking to hop onto the NFT bandwagon. The feature is relatively easy and, of course, free for everyone. Also, there is no coding required to complete the process.
If you are looking for a platform to mint your NFT for free, this article can help you kickstart your journey.
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Firstly, Let’s Get Familiar With Minting!
The process of making your NFT a part of the Ethereum blockchain is called minting. It is done when an unchangeable and tamper-proof public ledger welcomes and stores your NFTs. A usual process requires users to go through some steps. Then, they take some percentage of the profit as commissions gained by the sale of your NFTs.
Once created, your NFT is ready for trading! A number of marketplaces are available when you can sell them. But, what are these marketplaces, and what is the criteria to complete the minting process? Are they minted for free or require some fee? We are going to shed light on all of these concerns right here.
All the developers, artists, and investors know that mining is not free. In fact, there are heavy gas fees that need to be paid while minting an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain. The more congested the blockchain becomes, the more pricey the fees. Luckily, with the efforts and help of some programmers, users have found a cheaper way. Now artists can skip the gas fees and mint their NFTs for free.
Over time, several NFT marketplaces have revised their fee structures to make sure they attract a wider audience. For this reason, whether you’re broke or have half a million dollars stacked in your bank account, you are eligible for minting an NFT of your choice. This helps people become a part of something new and exciting that has taken the tech world by storm.
So if you feel like you don’t have a spare stack of 10 grand to spend on an ape NFT that is smoking a dope cigar, don’t worry! There are plenty of options for you to still make money without having to spend any. The following platforms allow you to create and sell your unique NFTs in only a matter of minutes.
How to Mint an NFT for Free?
Rarible
Rarible has introduced a new ‘lazy minting’ feature that neither asks you to pay gas fees nor write a smart contract. You can now mint a free NFT by using short lines of codes provided by Rarible. This next step aimed to improve the platform's sustainability by eliminating the need for an Ethereum blockchain and unnecessary transactions. Hence, there is no upfront cost required to monetize your creation.
How Does “Lazy Minting” Work?
The traditional way to create an NFT requires users to mint it to the Ethereum blockchain. Doing so requires a gas fee to be paid right away, which is costly. However, the new lazy minting feature lets users skip the minting process when creating NFTs, which is then done while making a purchase. This means the buyers will pay the fees instead of the seller.
So unless an NFT is purchased, it is listed on the marketplace and the data remains stored on IPFS (decentralized storage). While creating an NFT, you will sign the “minting authorizations” with your wallet, which is free and guarantees your ownership rights so that your creations remain in your control.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Mint an NFT
To mint a free NFT on Rarible using the lazy minting option, follow these steps:
- Go to the Rarible.com website
- Click on “Create”
- Choose the wallet of your choice.
- Choose the type of listing for your NFT
- Enter the required information.
- Select the “Free minting” option
- And lastly, tap on the “Create Item” button and sign free authorizations with your wallet.
When a buyer purchases your NFT, it will be automatically minted and transferred to the new owner. Isn’t that simple?
Please note: if you wish to burn the lazy minted NFT, you will need to pay the gas fee as with the regular NFTs.
NB: The lazy minting functionality is available for Rarible default collection only. It will be applied for owned collections soon.
OpenSea
OpenSea is renowned as a best marketplace for buying and selling NFTs. It has introduced a user-friendly creation experience that enables creators to have a fast and efficient NFT creation process. However, it does ask its creators to pay some fee to sell an NFT. It means that creating an NFT is free, but the sale is not.
OpenSea is among the most preferred platforms that are trusted by a lot of NFT traders. Further, the platform has some advanced features that have added many contributions to its fame. For example, it allows NFT holders to sell their NFT in bundles with other sellers' NFTs, which is a much more unique and profitable way that widens the audience.
How to Create an NFT on OpenSea?
To create an NFT on the OpenSea marketplace, follow the below steps correctly:
- First and foremost, go to the official website of the platform, https://opensea.io/ (Avoid using a fake unauthorized website since scammers are all over there)
- Then tap on the “Create” button.
- You will see a window that will ask you to enter through a MetaMask wallet. Users can use other wallets, but MetaMask is the most reliable and efficient among the rest.
- Follow the given procedure to connect your wallet.
- Then you will need to create a collection to add a token. For this, click "Create" on the top right corner.
- Then, a window will pop up asking you to agree with the Terms of Service. For doing it, you will need to sign confirmation with your Metamask, which is free.
- Now add the collection name, logo, and details. Your collection is ready.
Add the Following Things Into Your Token
- After this, you will add items you want to tokenize. For this, you will click, "Add new item." After this, you will sign the action in the Metamask pop-up.
- Add the media file that you want to link to the token. The media file can be a video, picture, sound, or a 3D model. The acceptable formats are PNG, SVG, JPG, GIF, MP4, MP3, WEBM, OGG, WAV, GLB, and GLTF. The recommended size is not more than 100 MB.
- Then add the name of the token.
- Also, you can add several characteristics to the token.
- You may even add blocked content that is only visible to the buyer who owns this token.
- Then you will determine the number of copies in which the token is issued. The default number of copies is usually 1.
- Then click "Create" when each step has been completed
Sell Your NFT
After the token is created, it will take a couple of days in the authenticity checking process until it gets thoroughly verified. After its verification, you are now free to sell it.
To sell your token, click on the ‘"Sell" button. OpenSea usually conducts sales in an auction format and requires a complete procedure. Set the price at which you want to sell it and post your listing.
How to Create NFTs for Free on Mintable?
Mintable is another convenient platform for traders finding cheaper ways to create or sell their NFTs. Surprisingly, it gives users a free creation process that requires zero fees for creating or listing NFTs for sale, making it a much more promising option for young and broke traders.
Mintable has created a suitable platform for artists looking for zero investment and higher gains. With its zero minting fees, it can soon become the top-visited marketplace. One more fact that might be the reason for its low traffic is the lengthy registration process which may annoy users. It might be a less user-friendly website, but it does offer NFT creators a free minting and sale process. Considering this, we must try this platform in this guide!
Mintable
Mintable is offering its online customers a free minting process for creating NFT. If you want to have a free NFT, then go follow the following steps:
- Visit this site https://mintable.app/. Also, keep in mind that the internet is full of scammers and data breaches. So make sure the site you are visiting is authentic.
- Then, you need to sign up to access the website. Follow the given procedure to make your account on Mintable.
- After the sign-up is completed, log in and click on “Mint.”
- Select “Create a new item” when the pop-up appears on the screen
- Then you will see another pop-up that will offer you an easy or advanced way for minting NFT. You have to choose between the available options.
- After choosing the easy way, the website will ask you to connect your wallet. The most preferred wallet remains MetaMask, so connect it if you already have it.
- Fill in the details of your NFT and upload the item you want to tokenize. You can choose from a variety of types. The item can be an image, audio, document, or even a ZIP file. Also, you will be required to add a preview of the item you want to upload, followed by filling in the description of the same item.
- Then, choose if the copyright is transferred with the purchase.
- Be it a fixed price, auction, or auction with buy now, select how you want to sell it. Auction with buy now means buyers can immediately purchase a token set for a special price regardless of the competition.
- After completing all of the above steps, click on the “List This Item” button.
- Then, you will be required to sign this transaction with Metamask, which is free.
- After the signing step, your NFT will be listed and available for purchase at Mintable Gasless Shop. You can boost the sale on the NFT page as well.
Promoting Your NFTs and Making the World Rave About Them
The next step after dropping your NFT is promoting it by following a systematic marketing plan. The NFT market is getting saturated day by day, so making sure that crypto nerds find your creation and buy it right away is crucial. Therefore, intriguing people regarding the stuff you created is the next part of your job. Wondering how? Keep scrolling.
Show up on NFT Calendar!
As the name suggests, being an aspiring NFT creator, NFT Calendar should be your go-to place to build hype around your NFT drops.
By clicking List Your Event, you can begin the free process of promoting your NFT art by setting up a calendar entry for the date you release your NFTs.
Fill in the required details along with a sneak-peek to your drop with the help of an image that represents your art.
After filling in the required information, you can click Submit Event and check your listing in the upcoming NFT drops section.
Leverage Social Media
Social media is undoubtedly the single most effective tool in marketing your NFT art. Irrespective of your promotion budget, you can achieve success in promoting your NFTs with the help of appropriate social media marketing skills. Twitter, TikTok, Discord, Medium, Instagram and Reddit are your best friends here. The correct usage of hashtags, accurate captions, and of course, appropriate visuals will help you attract the right kind of audience that would convert into potential collectors of your art pieces.
However, if you wish to take the easy way out by spending money on promotions to bring traffic to your artwork, that can be done too.
Contact Influencers Regarding Your Artwork
It’s 2022 and it’s a no-brainer that you need collaborations with influencers to create awareness around your product. Similarly, in this case, reach out to relevant influencers who’ve shilled NFTs of a similar genre to make sure to kickstart your marketing journey. Considering that influencers hail from a loyal community, they will be able to generate substantial traffic provided that their promotion contains significant information regarding your NFT collection.
Initiate Collaborations
Initiate collaborations with different artists before releasing your NFT collections. The start of collaboration will result in you gaining access to an untapped audience that may appreciate your work and generate sufficient sales.
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