The NFT market is complex and confusing. There are many different types of tokens, with various technical components.
As the interest in NFTs continues to rise, questions from The Bigger Pie community led us to hold NFT Workshops where they could get answers.
A big thank you to @Gyan Lakshmi and @Ani Alexander for sharing their insights, and to the wonderful community for their curiosity and commitment to the blockchain space, and to @Amber Sutera and @Zaremba for sharing their notes. You can view the full workshop recordings at the end of the post.
Pre-Meeting Questions:
What are the different types of NFTs?
What are the first steps to making an NTF?
How do you decide which platforms to use?
What are the technical components?
What are the economics of NFTs?
What are some self-learning resources for research?
Step 1: Prep
Before you begin any project, whether that be creating a one-off asset using an existing marketplace, or creating an entire marketplace of your own, it is important to think about the lifecycle of the project. Ask the following:
What is the intrinsic value of the asset/project?
What is the USP? Is this project unique or rare?
Does it come with a community already or does one need to be established before the launch or drop?
How will the concept resonate with and sustain a community in the future?
What are the legalities around my project? Do I fully own each element?
What else can the token holder do when they own my NFT?
Creating an NFT means that you are making a digital footprint of an asset and securing it on the blockchain. This process is called Minting.
It is incredibly important to do your own research before you start. There are many platform choices for storage, minting and selling which all support different blockchains. Ensure you are using platforms which compliment not only your own digital wallet preferences, but also the best selling opportunities within your target community.
Building Your Own Marketplace
Building your own marketplace requires a large commitment in order to get up and running. Be prepared and ensure that you are able to:
Raise funds for your project
Hire a team (at least 5-7 member team)
UI UX Developer & Blockchain Developer
Designer
Marketing and Community Engagement Team
Step 2: Storage and Compatibility
Ensure that your digital copy of your NFT is stored in a decentralised location on an (IPFS) interplanetary file storage system. (Examples below)
There are two types of storage elements to an NFT. One component of storage is the digital copy of the NFT itself, the other is the unique metadata associated with the NFT.
Meta data should include:
Comprehensive and detailed description of what the NFT is all about.
Meta data should NOT include:
Information on it which is changeable. For example, owners address which will change every time it is sold, etc.
Step 3: Community
Most successful projects will have a strong sustainable community surrounding them. It is worth being prepared for the investment of time and resources you will need to get the word out about your latest drops. Options for this include:
Organic growth – Starting your own community from scratch using all available social platforms. Discord, Twitter, etc.
Paid Brand Consultancy – Getting a tailored brand strategy for your go-to-market launch (resources below)
Paid Influencer and Agency – Engaging with a social agency to start to promote your drop or approaching influencers with large followings to buy into and to be in partnership with your brand. (This is usually crypto, cash, or equity based contracts)
Step 4: Economics & Pricing
Pricing depends on the kind of NFT you are selling. Questions to ask when doing marketplace research:
Is there already large community traction that has a higher demand?
Is it a rare one-off piece of art or a bulk utility token that is part of an existing brand?
Which marketplace are you using to sell it?
If you build your own marketplace, you will set your own pricing structure. Ie Percentage the artist gets vs the seller.
If you use an existing marketplace to launch your NFT, they might already have a pricing/royalties structure in place.
Fees:
Minting Fees, Listing Fees, Commission Fees, and Transaction Fees related to your project can be varied and depend on the amount of assets you are selling, the marketplace and currency/protocol you have chosen.
Resources
WalletExamples
Metamask
Coinbase
Electrum
Mycelium
Ledger NanoX
Individual Storage Examples
Pinata Cloud
NFTStorage
Medium
Minting with storage
Rarible
Mintable
Opensea
Mintbase
Building Tools Examples
Solana
Near
Community News
SCMP
Enjin
D-Core
Techcrunch
GrowthChannel
Case Studies
Marketing, Community Building and Branding Consultants:
You might also be interested in our interview with Nanu Berks and her perspectives on being an NFT artist: