An easy step-by-step guide to mint your first NFT!

Are you still wondering how you to mine your first NFT? Or you have been thinking about it for quite some time... But, not sure how to go about it and might be having a little FOMO...

This blog post will solve your "How to do it". It's a step-by-step easy guide that shows the exact directions for mining your first NFT and maybe making some money from it. But I'll keep this blog very specific for people in India. It will showcase what someone sitting in India needs to do or in simple words, “what I did”.

Before I get into the details, a quick word of caution: I AM NOT AN EXPERT on this subject, just sharing my process and experience as it might help someone trying to mint their first NFT. Also, this is how I have done it, and there must be a ton of other ways to do it (please share your fav way, if you find this to be trash!)

Also, I will not get into the basics of NFT (Non-Fungible Token), etc in this post, as you can find tons of info about the same online. I will share a few related links at the end, that I found quite interesting:

Now, let's dive in head first...

All you need to do is follow these 5 steps:

1. Buy some cryptocurrency

2. Decide on a digital wallet

3. Connect your digital wallet to an NFT Platform

4. Create the NFT

5. Sell the NFT

Step 1: Buy some cryptocurrency

You will need some ETH (Ethereum) for this transaction and you need a place to stash this currency. Here's what you can do. Download Binance. Buy around ₹10k worth of USDT, then convert the USDT to ETH. This is an extra step that I had to go through, to do this transaction securely in India. I found this process to be quite smooth and my transaction went through quite fast, with zero glitches! The Binance app is quite easy to figure out, I am leaving a link here that you might find useful during your transaction.

INR —> USDT —> ETH

Step 2: Decide on a digital wallet

I used and can only recommend Metamask. The first step is to download MetaMask. It’s a secure ETH (Ethereum) wallet and it’s completely free. The easiest way is to install it as a Google Chrome extension and then click on Create a Wallet. Keep in mind that the password you choose is not as important as the secret recovery phrase! The best practice is to memorize the secret recovery phrase or write it on a piece of paper and store it in a secure place. The link here will help you with setting up the Metamask wallet.

Now, you need to recharge this wallet with ETH. Remember Step 1, you already bought ETH and it’s lying in your Binance app. This is the right time to transfer the ETH to your Metamask.

Binance —> ETH —> Metamask

Step 3: Choose an NFT Platform and connect it to your digital wallet

There are a host of different platforms. Like: Foundation, Mintable, Rarible, or OpenSea. Again, I used OpenSea, and can say it's fairly easy to set up... All you need to do is to link your OpenSea account with your MetaMask account. On OpenSea, click on the user icon, then on “My Profile”. Now connect MetaMask, to the platform. Follow the prompts it’s pretty straightforward.

Opensea —> Metamask

Step 4: Create the NFT

Finally, you are all set to create your NFT. Hit the create button in the upper right corner, and create a collection. Upload your artwork (photos, videos, .gifs, etc.). You'll need to come up with a name and description of your artwork, then save it. Optionally, you can also add an external link to promote your art.

Congratulation, you’ve successfully created your first token! That means this completes your minting process! I know, it involved a few steps and maybe a bit of a cash burn but it was quite fun to try something new!

Just keep in mind, that the price requested to create the NFT is highly volatile. Have at least 100$ worth of Eth, but be aware that the minting process could cost you even more, based on the daily market movements and dynamic pricing. Here’s a tutorial link in case you get stuck somewhere.

Step 5: Sell the NFT

Now, you can see your artwork in your collection. To sell it, click on Listings, and then hit the Sell button. You will be taken to a new screen where you can select the type of listing (fixed or timed auction), and set the price, and duration. There are also additional options to sell it as a bundle or reserve it for a special buyer. Keep in mind that you need to pay the fee (2.5%), so if your wallet balance is below 0.05 ETH, you may have to deposit additional funds to complete the listing.

So, you’ve created an NFT, and you’ve listed it successfully for sale on the OpenSea marketplace. What now?

Waiting for someone to notice your artwork is probably not a great sales strategy. Like, everything else in life, this is where it gets tricky… There’s nothing artistic about this process! Unless you are a great marketer and consider selling an art… You’ll have to market yourself, and your artwork, if you want to seriously make some money from it. If you have an audience, or a fan base, good for you… Tell them about your NFT. Your tribe on social media might be interested in your work!

Here’s a very interesting video on how to take photos/videos that sell as NFTs.

Anyway, as for me, such projects keep me updated and push me for newer experiences every now and then, at least for the sake of bragging rights, you know!

Well, that summarizes my NFT Project click the link to it, in case you have read this far...

PS. Some more research links that were helpful:

Link 1 - Basics and overview of NFT

Link 2 - How NFT works & How it’s going to change the Digital Artspace

Link 3 - A photographer’s take on NFT and what the hell it is!

@the.photoguy
Rajarshi Mitra