We cannot talk about the current crypto world and fail to mention non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Data collected between June 23, 2017, and April 27, 2021, shows that there were 6.1 million trades of 4.7 million NFTs. The numbers have since risen as 2021 has been the year of NFTs.
NFTs have been a milestone in art, culture, and music development. They have also provided an awesome chance for many artists to showcase their work and change their lives. The beauty of the NFT marketplace is that it welcomes all, irrespective of whether they have millions of followers on social media or they are unknown.
Millions of creators release their artwork daily. You may have seen some of the best and unique artworks. However, that is not enough to grab collectors’ attention. What should you do then? That is where marketing comes in.
Why You Should Market Your NFT Collections
- Make money. Most people create NFTs to sell their collections and make some money. Art is a job like no other. However, some creators mint NFTs and stop at that and hope to make money. Sales in the modern NFT world go hand in hand with PR and marketing efforts.
- Get noticed. You may be used to a small crowd. However, you may never know what the world holds for you unless you get out there. NFTs allow you to get out of your comfort zone and create a new community of followers who will genuinely fall in love with your work. Create those NFTs, market them, and let your brand grow.
- Grab the attention of other artists. Some hand-holding might be all you need to move to the next level. Marketing your NFT collections not only grabs the attention of collectors but also other creators and artists as well. You may find other artists contacting you and opening doors for future collaborations.
How to Price Your NFTs?
Determining how much an NFT is worth is never an easy thing. It is unlike NBA player cards (physical collectibles) or a tangible Mona Lisa artwork which comes with predefined values. There are incidences where creators overvalue their creations and fail to attract collectors. On the other hand, there have been instances where creators underestimate the value of their creations. The following are some of the factors that determine the value of an NFT:
- Rarity. How hard-to-get or rare is this NFT? An NFT created by a famous celebrity or a first-of-a-kind artwork is a perfect example of rarity. The effect that such an NFT will provide on areas such as a video game is another factor that determines rarity. Collectors are drawn to such NFTs based on their intrinsic value. The holder of the NFT also gets blockchain proof of ownership.
- Tangibility. The NFT world now allows anything to be backed by an NFT to solidify ownership. Some of the NFTs are created based on real-world objects, which basically makes them valuable and are backed by ownership immutability. However, creating an NFT from a real-world object does not give it uniqueness or raise its demand. The object’s underlying value will be based on scarcity, practicality, and the personal satisfaction that users get. NFTs with tangible value are best suited for short-term trading as some, like tickets, have expiry dates. On the other hand, collectibles like NFT-tethered limited editions of jerseys tend to accrue value with time as they continue to become more scarce.
- Utility. How will people use the NFT in question? Some NFTs in the modern world are not just collectibles as they have applications in virtual lands, games, characters, and spells. Such a feature will give NFTs an immediate value that can grow based on the popularity of the underlying project. A perfect example is when a decentralized community grows, players are willing to pay top dollar for certain unique cards.
How to Market Your NFTs?
Inspired by artchick’s Twitter Thread
1. Build a Community (inspired by @punk2476)
The most successful NFT projects you see today are promoted organically by holders, which are simply happy community members. Perfect examples of NFT projects with such ambassadors is Apes, where Tropo did most of the promotion. On the other hand, Andrew Wang and Farokh have been the biggest marketers of the Cool Cats project. The good news is that none of these ambassadors have been paid by the founders.
Why not pay influencers?
Influencer marketing is quite popular in many industries. However, it does not seem to be the right approach in the NFT world as influencer tweets tend to attract more flippers than potential ambassadors to NFT projects. Flippers are not the best as they apply buying pressure after coming across influencer tweets. Eventually, the prices rise and lockout potential ambassadors.
These flippers will then sell when the pump is over and non-flippers will be left holding the bags. What follows is floor panics and some people end up selling at a loss. Flippers are always chasing the pumps not only from influencer tweets but checking other accounts. Influencer tweets may attract big spenders, but it is not worth it.
How to empower ambassadors
An NFT project should organically find and empower ambassadors from an early phase of the project. However, it is worth noting that this isn’t the role of founding members but that of community members. The founding team’s role is to deliver a roadmap.
Marketing by the founding team should be done before the minting starts. This is an important phase for founders as they organically build and hype up a community that is made up of some ambassadors. The founders need to power the marketing machine, which simply means building the community.
2. Select the Right Place to Sell Your NFTs
After creating an awesome project and a community around it, it is time to put it up for sale. You have to evaluate the available NFT marketplaces and compare their fees and terms. To determine if a marketplace is popular, you should check liquidity and market volume as the key metrics.
Transaction fees, which range from 2.5% to 15%, is another important metric to check as it affects profitability. The overall usability of the platform is another consideration as the ideal marketplace should have features that suit both collectors and artists.
Some of the marketplaces where you can list your NFTs include:
- SuperRare — for digital artworks
- KnownOrigin — for rare digital art
- NBA TopShot — for NBA collectibles
- Rarible — for crypto assets
- MakersPlace — for digital creations
- Enjin — for blockchain assets
- Foundation — for digital artworks
- OpenSea — for art collectibles, trading cards, sports & domains
3. Take Advantage of Social Media
About 4.48 billion people use social media, and you never know who will become your next collector. Create social media accounts for your NFT collection on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Ensure that you always attach links to your social profiles when you post articles and blog posts and drive organic traffic.
Build a social media community, educate and highlight your roadmap. Include sneak peeks of upcoming events and features to arouse anticipation and interest within your social media circles. Ensure that the content is creative and interactive enough to engage followers and stimulate them to share the posts and engage in chats.
The social media space can also be the perfect space to share educational content on topics such as ‘how to purchase NFTs on the marketplace’. Balance between marketing, educating, and informing your followers on social platforms.
4. Host a Livestream/AMA
Communicating directly with your followers is an awesome approach to creating connections. Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions will allow you to connect at a personal level with your target market. Potential collectors can get the backstory to your project and understand better why they should be part of your community. To have the best Livestream or AMA session, follow these rules:
- Share the date of the Livestream/AMA in advance. You can utilize the ‘Ask Me Anything’ function on Instagram in advance and let the questions trickle in. Analyze these questions and be armed with the answers before the session.
- Answers about 10–15 most important questions. Remember to thank the followers for being part of the journey.
- Make the sessions short but engaging. 30 minutes to one hour is enough for your NFT project, bearing in mind that you will cover the most important topics in about 15 minutes.
- Have a Q & A session (10–15 minutes) where followers can ask any questions that haven’t been covered so far.
- You can have a rewarding session where you reward your followers with either NFTs or anything else that will make them feel appreciated.
- You can as well check with your marketplaces to determine if they can help you hold this AMA session and enjoy a wider reach.
5. Embrace Content Marketing
You can explain what your NFTs are all about using text, images, and videos. You can remain simple but ensure that you are informative. You can share content through:
- Compiling industry news
- Creating infographics
- Interviewing thought leaders on the blockchain and NFT space
- Sharing NFT hacks
- Creating blog posts
- Creating credible research articles
6. Organize a Giveaway
Humans are created to crave free things, and creators are known to create NFT giveaways for an upcoming collection. Such giveaways are awesome approaches when you want to grow followers, drive engagement and build awareness. Your social media pages are the perfect places to hold such giveaways. Your marketplace can also be a perfect platform for holding the giveaway.
Follow these tips to hold the perfect giveaway:
- Come up with the rules. The rules of the giveaway will depend on your end goals. Some of the rules can be liking your social media pages, sharing posts, and even tagging friends. Just ensure that the rules will help grow traffic to your project.
- Schedule your giveaway. Holding the giveaway, a week or two before the launch will help create a buzz and anticipation around the project. It also gives your followers enough time to learn about the project.
- Tag your marketplaces during the giveaway so community members will know where to buy your NFTs.
7. Take Advantage of PPC Campaigns
We cannot ignore the power of ads in the modern era. You may have come across awesome products through ads and you can as well push your NFTs through them. Think about YouTube ads, Google ads as well social media ads on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
The beauty of ads is that you can target certain demographics to increase your reach. Ensure that your ads are creative and personalized. Check what your competitors are doing in the space to understand what is expected.
8. Join Community Platforms
Even though NFTs were introduced several years ago, they are still confusing and community platforms are helping people understand them better. The internet has made it easy for like-minded people to come together and share ideas. Community platforms like Facebook groups, Discord and Telegram channels, Reddit, and Quora are perfect places to market your NFT collections.
It even gets better as you can get feedback on your project from such platforms. You can create a thread and invite people to learn about your project. However, ensure that you familiarize yourself with the community guidelines on such platforms.
9. Invest in SEO
If you are a musician and have music NFTs, what is the probability of someone landing on your NFT when they type “music NFTs”? It is all about search engine optimization. The nature of the content that you share will determine whether your NFT is visible or not. Start with keyword research to understand the nature of searches that people are typing on search engines
Wrapping up
NFTs have found a special place in the hearts of most crypto enthusiasts. However, that does not mean that you will make it as long as you mint them. Marketing is an important ingredient that will determine if your project will succeed or flop. Creating a solid community is the most important marketing tip to get you started.
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