The world of NFTs has allowed many unknown artists to propel themselves into fame and fortune. While NFT success stories are striking, they are one in 69.3 million. With thousands of collections languishing on OpenSea with floor prices that barely touch the hundredth decimal points, how can you create an NFT that people want to collect and trade?
The Eye of the Beholder
While some of the top collections are truly beautiful, it is no secret that a lot of the others could be mistaken for your teenage nephew’s doodles. We have had webcam selfies, pixelated punks, and vaguely-human silhouettes with wavy overlays trading in the thousands, so the good news is that the lack of conventional artistic skill is not a stumbling block when it comes to NFTs.
Art is a hard concept to define. So, how does one create art that speaks to the crypto crowd? The answer is to connect with their personalities. If sold, your NFT will likely become the new avatar on someone’s Discord, so you need items that will appeal to the mass audience. At the same time, details that make each item unique will ensure their collectability.
When we talk about mass appeal, note that digital aesthetics are rather far removed from what we used to consider fine art. Flaws are cool and pixels are classic. Whether you are into photography, pen and paper, or pure digital art, do something different and edgy. One does not simply add a Shiba Inu illustration to your NFT and assume that it will automatically sell.
More Than Just a Pretty Face
The strength of your collection on the whole will determine your NFT sales. Remember that NFTs hinge largely on collectability so the larger the number of owners, the higher the volume traded, and the more valuable the items. Keeping to a lower number of mints will ensure rarity but can affect your trade volume at the same time, so consider wisely.
Collectors are more likely to buy from collections that offer peripheral benefits or utilities. Access to member Discord servers and websites are some of the normal benefits that are often accorded to NFT owners. There can be exclusive merchandise or events as well. In this form, a collectible NFT is essentially a membership card to a sought-after digital community.
That said, many buyers prefer tangible benefits over love and community. This is why many collectible NFTs come with stats and double up as avatars for online games. You can also give your NFT owners perks such as whitelist access to future mints or airdrops of limited edition items. By increasing the implied value of your collection, you can appeal to a greater audience.
Expose Yourself
By now you may have gathered that the design of an NFT collection is sometimes less important than its inherent collectability. If you happen to know Elon Musk or Justin Bieber and can get them to Tweet about your NFT, then you are well on the way to success. Otherwise, you will have to undertake some good old-fashioned marketing for your collection.
Having a website for your NFT collection is a must. It may seem pretty basic but this is where you are going to land most of your leads. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a highly relevant and effective strategy to get more traffic from Google Search. With 8.5 billion searches being made every day, even a tiny percentage of that will increase your sales potential.
The great thing about investing in SEO is that you can pinpoint the keywords that you want to work with. If you are optimizing your site for ‘buy new NFT’, then you know that the people who are directed to your site are already reaching for their crypto wallets. Having other sites with good reputations link back to yours will boost your search engine rankings too.
Working with crypto influencers and legit crypto news sites is one way to get some eyeballs on your project. It is best to connect with these platforms before you start minting, but never too late to start introducing their audience to your collection. Negotiate to pay them by airdrops, this way they may feel more invested in supporting your project.
Marketing in existing Discord NFT chatrooms or on Twitter NFT hashtags is another way to connect directly with crypto enthusiasts. You know that they already own NFTs so they are more likely to be interested in your project. Most Discord chats have special chatrooms for advertising or promotions and you can explain your project in detail to anyone who asks.
NFTs are an exciting new frontier for artists and collectors. Anyone with inspiration and innovation could make it big. However, there is a lot more to collectible success than just fun images. You need a strong concept for your collection and a metaverse that supports it. Increase its visibility and hype by marketing your collection on a variety of channels. Good luck!