Minting NFTs - An Extract From The Ultimate Guide to NFTs

Minting is the process of encapsulating a digital asset into a blockchain as a public ledger, i.e., as an NFT. It is a straightforward process that everyone can learn about, and eventually, put into practice.

This is an extract of the upcoming 'Metaverse NFTs Uprising Ultimate Guide to NFTs' By Dinis Guarda.

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are virtual representations of real-world assets. Early examples of NFTs are more than just the media soundbites around NFT trading, art speculation, or NBA sports collectives. There is something deeper, transformative, and radical going on. NFTs open the floodgates to new possibilities of creating, storing, selling, buying, and collecting value. So how do these tokens work in practice? First, if you want to create an NFT, you will have to “mint” it first. This piece explains the process of minting in an accessible, easy to understand way. Promoting it is another piece of the puzzle. Let’s demystify it.

What is Minting?

Minting is the process of encapsulating a digital asset into a blockchain as a public ledger, i.e., as an NFT.  NFTs ensure authentic representation for your digital work whilst at the same time also ensuring that it can be flexibly traded or purchased in the market.

When you “mint” a file, you turn it into a part of the blockchain.  Minted NFTs are unique and cannot be replaced, edited, tampered with, or substituted with any other tokens (even by the owner!).

Minting guarantees the originality of NFTs and ensures that the items can be traded or purchased in the NFT market without issue.  This process also enables users to track the ownership and resale in the future.

Once an NFT is minted, the tokenised information is stored on its blockchain until the blockchain ceases to exist.

How to Mint an NFT

There are multiple ways to mint an NFT; some are more complicated than others.  The easiest way to mint an NFT (‘lazy minting’) is using the minting feature provided by NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea and Rarible.

In general, one would only use a more complex method of minting using features not supported within the marketplace or if developing a bespoke blockchain implementation, which would require specialist technical knowledge.

On most platforms, minting isn't free.  Executing a contract on the Ethereum blockchain platform (and others) incurs a ‘gas fee’ and a service fee, so make sure your e-wallet is in funds.

Most minting functions work in the same way.

In general, you will simply need to select the "Create" option, which will ask you to upload a file (your creation) and provide additional information, including the file name and write a brief description of the work and possibly a description also of terms of use.

Once the details are complete and finalised, you will likely be redirected to a preview page to show how your new NFT will appear on the website.

Marketing your Creation Once Minted

The process above makes your shiny new NFT available for purchase; however, as with all products, it needs marketing to get the best return on your NFT so that it is visible and attractive to the broadest pool of likely buyers.

Although anyone can create an NFT, this does not mean it is easy to make money selling NFTs.  It can be challenging.  Many NFTs either never trade or sell for extremely low values.  There are two main reasons for this: the work has no market appeal or has not been adequately promoted.

To the first point, for an NFT to have value, the media needs to have some sort of significance.  The value of the most sought after NFTs derives from the artist’s reputation or the historical importance of the asset.

The second, however great the artist and their creation, their uniqueness is not the only factor.  Most creators and their work benefit from some form of promotion.  Planning this out is key to optimising financial return. Effective promotion is vital in all cases, which may seem obvious; however, many creators do not have a marketing perspective and finish with minting the NFT.  Promotion is essential for making money and developing a reputation.

In conclusion, minting and using NFTs is relatively straightforward and requires relatively little expertise.  Most marketplaces provide functionality enabling non-technical users to create, sell and buy NFTs easily and quickly. So mint away and market your creations as well as possible!

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