NFT is all the hype these days. It has taken the crypto market by storm as a novel edition. Not only that, it has already developed a large community of creators and investors. Every crypto nerd wants to mint an NFT, but not many can afford to trade them due to the huge gas fee.
The good thing about NFT is that you can mint one regardless of the dollars in your bank.
You just need to know the right platforms that will benefit your cause. Although some NFT marketplaces have expensive gas rates, there are many that have come up with better and cheaper minting methods that favour “the broke people”.
The good news is that many popular platforms have now introduced a free minting function to create NFTs, exclusively for people looking to jump on the NFT bandwagon. The feature is relatively easy and, of course, free for all. In addition, no coding is required to complete the process.
If you are looking for a platform to mint your NFT for free, this article can help you start your journey.
FIRST OF ALL, LET’S GET FAMILIAR WITH MINTING!
The process of making your NFT part of the Ethereum blockchain is called minting. It is done when an immutable and tamper-proof public ledger welcomes and stores your NFTs. A usual process requires users to go through a few steps. Then, they take a percentage of the profits as commissions earned from the sale of their NFTs.
Once created, your NFT is ready to trade! There are a number of markets available when you can sell them. But what are these markets and what are the criteria for completing the minting process? Are they minted for free or do they require a fee? We will shed light on all these concerns right here.
All developers, artists and investors know that mining is not free. In fact, there are heavy gas fees to be paid when minting an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain. The more congested the blockchain becomes, the more expensive the fees become. Fortunately, 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 ensure that they appeal to a wider audience. For this reason, whether you are broke or have half a million dollars stacked in your bank account, you are eligible to mint an NFT of your choice. This helps people become 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’s smoking a doped up cigarette, 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 a matter of minutes.
HOW TO MINT A FREE NFT?
Rarible
Rarible has introduced a new “lazy minting” feature that does not require you to pay gas tariffs or write a smart contract. You can now mint a free NFT using short lines of code provided by Rarible. This next step was intended to improve the sustainability of the platform by eliminating the need for an Ethereum blockchain and unnecessary transactions. Therefore, no upfront cost is required to monetise its creation.
How does “Lazy Minting” work?
The traditional way of creating an NFT requires users to mint it to the Ethereum blockchain. Doing so requires them to pay a gas fee right away, which is costly. However, the new lazy minting feature allows users to skip the minting process when creating NFTs, which is then done while making a purchase. This means that buyers will pay the fees instead of the seller.
Then, unless an NFT is purchased, it is listed on the marketplace and the data remains stored in IPFS (decentralised storage). When you create an NFT, you will sign “mint authorisations” with your wallet, which is free and guarantees your ownership rights so that your creations remain under your control.
A step-by-step guide to minting 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 advert for your NFT
Enter the required information.
Select the option “Free Coinage”.
And finally, tap the “Create Item” button and sign the free authorisations with your wallet.
When a buyer purchases your NFT, it will be automatically minted and transferred to the new owner. Isn’t it simple?
Please note: if you wish to burn the lazy minted NFT, you will need to pay the gas fee as with regular NFTs.
Note: The lazy minting functionality is only available for the default Rarible collection. It will soon be implemented for proprietary collections.
OpenSea
OpenSea is recognised as the best marketplace for buying and selling NFTs. It has introduced a user-friendly authoring experience that allows creators to have a fast and efficient NFT authoring process. However, it asks its creators to pay some fee to sell an NFT. This means that creating an NFT is free, but selling it is not.
OpenSea is among the most preferred platforms trusted by many NFT operators. In addition, the platform has some advanced features that have added many contributions to its fame. For instance, it allows NFT holders to sell their NFT in bundles with other sellers’ NFTs, which is a much more unique and cost-effective way that widens the audience.
How to create an NFT on OpenSea?
To create an NFT on the OpenSea marketplace, follow the steps below correctly:
First, go to the official website of the platform, https://opensea.io/ (Avoid using a fake unauthorised website as scammers are everywhere).
Then tap the “Create” button.
You will see a window asking you to log in 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.
You will then need to create a collection to add a token. To do this, click on “Create” in the top right corner.
Then, a window will appear asking you to accept the Terms of Service. To do so, you will need to sign the confirmation with your Metamask, which is free of charge.
Now add your name, logo and collection details. Your collection is ready.
Add the following things to your token
After this, you will add the items you want to tokenise. For this, you will click on “Add new item”. After this, you will sign the action in the Metamask pop-up window.
Add the media file you want to link to the token. The media file can be a video, an image, a sound or a 3D model. Acceptable formats are PNG, SVG, JPG, GIF, MP4, MP3, WEBM, OGG, WAV, GLB and GLTF. The recommended size is no more than 100 MB.
Then add the name of the token.
In addition, you can add various features to the token.
You can even add locked content that is only visible to the buyer who owns this token.
Next, you 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 creating the token, it will take a couple of days in the authenticity verification process until it is thoroughly verified. After verification, you are now free to sell it.
To sell your token, click on the ‘Sell’ button. OpenSea generally conducts sales in an auction format and requires a full procedure. Set the price you want to sell it for and post your ad.
How to create free NFTs on Mintable?
Mintable is another convenient platform for traders who find cheaper ways to create or sell their NFTs. Surprisingly, it provides users with a free creation process that requires zero fees to create or list NFTs for sale, which makes it a much more promising option for young and broke traders.
Mintable has created a platform suitable for artists looking for zero investment and higher profits. With its zero mintage fees, it may soon become the most visited marketplace. One more fact that could be the reason for its low traffic is the lengthy registration process that can annoy users. It may be a less user-friendly website, but it offers NFT creators a free minting and selling process. With this in mind, we must try this platform in this guide!
Mintable
Mintable offers its online customers a free minting process to create NFTs. If you wish to have a free NFT, please follow the steps below:
Visit this site https://mintable.app/. Also, be aware that the Internet is full of scammers and data breaches. So make sure that the site you are visiting is authentic.
Next, you must register to access the website. Follow the given procedure to create your Mintable account.
Once the registration is complete, log in and click on “Mint”.
Select “Create a new item” when the pop-up window appears on the screen.
You will then see another pop-up window offering you an easy or advanced way to mint NFT. You have to choose between the available options.
After choosing the easy way, the website will ask you to connect your wallet. The preferred wallet is still MetaMask, so connect it if you already have it.
Fill in your NFT details and upload the item you wish to tokenise. You can choose from a variety of types. The item can be an image, audio, document or even a ZIP file. In addition, you will be asked to add a preview of the item you wish to upload, followed by completing the description of the item itself.
Next, choose whether the copyright is transferred with the purchase.
Whether it is a fixed price, an auction or a buy it now auction, select how you want to sell it. A buy-it-now auction means that buyers can immediately purchase a set token for a special price, regardless of competition.
After completing all the above steps, click the “List this item” button.
You will then be asked to sign this transaction with Metamask, which is free of charge.
After the signing step, your NFT will be listed and available for purchase in the Mintable Gasless Shop. You can also upsell on the NFT page.
PROMOTING YOUR NFT AND GETTING THE WORLD EXCITED ABOUT IT
The next step after abandoning your NFT is to promote it by following a systematic marketing plan. The NFT market is getting saturated day by day, so it is crucial to make sure that cryptocurrency nerds find your creation and buy it right away. So, intriguing people about the things you created is the next part of your job. Wondering how? Keep scrolling.
Show up on the NFT calendar!
As the name suggests, being an aspiring NFT creator, NFT Calendar should be your go-to place to create publicity around your NFT drops.
By clicking on List Your Event, you can begin the free process of promoting your NFT art by setting up a calendar entry for the date you publish your NFTs.
Complete the required details along with a preview of your drop with the help of an image that represents your art.
After completing the required information, you can click Submit Event and check your listing in the next NFT drops section.
Take advantage of social media
Social media is undoubtedly the most effective tool in marketing your NFT art. Regardless of your promotional budget, you can achieve success in promoting your NFTs with the help of the right social media marketing skills. Twitter, TikTok, Discord, Medium, Instagram and Reddit are your best friends here. The right use of hashtags, accurate captions and, of course, appropriate images will help you attract the right kind of audience that would become potential collectors of your art pieces.
However, if you want to take the easy way out by spending money on promotions to drive traffic to your artwork, that can be done too.
Contact influential people about your artwork.
It’s 2022 and it’s obvious that you need collaborations with influencers to create awareness of your product. Similarly, in this case, reach out to relevant influencers who have written NFTs of a similar genre to make sure you start your marketing journey. Considering that influencers come from a loyal community, they will be able to generate substantial traffic as long as their promotion contains meaningful information about your NFT collection.
Initiate collaborations
Initiate collaborations with different artists before launching your NFT collections. Initiating collaboration will result in you gaining access to an untapped audience that can appreciate your work and generate sufficient sales.
