How to Make an NFT and Where to Sell It

What On Earth is an NFT, Anyway?

An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a unique digital asset that is truly yours – with provable ownership via the blockchain. Most often, it’s a scare and desirable digital item that you can add to your carefully-curated online collection. 

If you want an analogue equivalent – think about when you buy a signed photo which comes with a certificate of authenticity. The blockchain-based NFT is your “certificate” that proves you own the original copy rather than a simple replica.

These tokens are stored on the blockchain, so there’s a public record available of who has created, sold, bought and traded the asset. Importantly, you can also see the corresponding transaction prices – an invaluable source of information on NFT traders and investors. 

The raw file of the media itself is rarely stored on the blockchain. Instead, the NFT refers to a particular link to the asset. Otherwise, the process of minting the NFT would be far too energy-intensive and expensive.

From Idea to Asset- How to Make Your Art an NFT

In short, pretty much anything can be converted into a compatible file type. Some marketplaces may prevent you from selling certain files – but let’s cover where and how to sell your NFT a little later.

The most common types of NFTs are images, video clips, GIFs, and audio, and all major marketplaces support these file types. 

More niche sorts of NFT’s include recipes in raw text files, trading cards- even tweets!

The ways you can turn your art into an NFT are practically endless!. It can exist as a unique, 1-of-1 entity, or you may prefer to release hundreds or even thousands of extensive series of collectables. 

The exciting fact is, we’re just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible in the world of NFTs. To give you an idea, there’s a private restaurant opening in New York where membership is secured through the ownership of an NFT. 

Under such a decentralised system, your imagination is the limit. The only caveat to that is you should avoid plagiarising copyrighted material – unless you enjoy lengthy and expensive legal battles! 

Cashing In- How to Make Money From an NFT

Before we get into how to make an NFT, let’s cover why you’re probably here. How do you turn your files into some sweet, sweet dollar, and where to sell your NFT.

There are two main ways you’re going to accrue revenue from your digital assets.

The first is the most obvious- the sale price. Begin by listing your NFT on a marketplace and make a sale. Congratulations – you just learnt how to make money from an NFT!

The second one is a little more complex – but can have some serious long term revenue generating effects. Most leading NFT marketplaces allow you to insert a “royalty” rate during the minting process, where you make a commission on every subsequent sale of your NFT. 

The standard royalty rate is somewhere around 10%, meaning that every time your NFT changes hands, you’ll get a sweet 10% for doing nothing. This is a great way for you to capitalise on the growth in value of your NFT’s if they happen to take off and go viral.

Let’s Talk Costs- How Much to Make an NFT?

Unfortunately, minting NFT’s doesn’t come for free. It takes a lot of processing power to perform a blockchain transaction, and someone has to field the cost.

These fees are called “gas fees”- like when you fuel up a car, this provides the power needed to get your NFT live on the blockchain.

Annoyingly, gas fees fluctuate depending on the demand that’s on the network at any given time. Generally, uploading an image to a popular marketplace like OpenSea or Rarible will cost $30-40 dollars, but they can range from $10-100 depending on the demand on the network.

But if you want to know how to create an NFT for free- it’s called lazy minting! 

This is where your NFT is not added to the blockchain until the sale is concluded, and the gas fees are bundled into the price at the buyers’ expense. Rarible and OpenSea both offer this function- and it’s worth considering when deciding where to sell your NFT. 

With some marketplaces, you can also incur fees of $10-$30 if you change your mind and want to remove your NFT.

It’s also worth noting that any NFT marketplace you’re going to use will charge a transaction fee in return for your use of their platform. These tend to be small, at around 2%-3% of the final sale price. 

Beyond that, you can sometimes run into initialisation costs for producing your first NFT. That’s a one-time fee of $200- $300 to get your account up and running. But don’t worry- in this guide, we’ll be focusing on Rarible, and show you where to sell your NFT without these fees. 

So How Do I Sell One?

There are three main elements in how to create an NFT

1. Purchase a small amount of cryptocurrency for paying gas fees.
2. Set up a cryptocurrency wallet and fund it with your cryptocurrency.
3. Create a profile on an NFT marketplace and connect your wallet to begin publishing your first NFTs for sale. 

So how long does it take to make an NFT? From start to finish, you should be able to go from idea to published NFT in 2-3 hours.

If you follow the steps, it’s no different to making a couple of bank transfers.

For this guide, I’ve chosen to explain how to use Coinbase to buy crypto and set up a wallet. They’re the most popular provider worldwide, and in our experience, the easiest for beginners to set up, fund and navigate. 

We’ll be connecting to the Rarible marketplace as it’s one of the most popular platforms (so more eyeballs on your work), and you don’t need an invite to join.

There are other providers out there – but just make sure you use a company you can trust. It’s a sad truth that there are quite a few bad actors in the crypto space. So please be safe, do your research, and ensure you comply with financial regulations to protect yourself from scammers. 

How to Buy Cryptocurrency the Easy Way

You buy cryptocurrency through what is called a “hosted wallet”. This is where a company essentially holds your crypto on your behalf, like how your bank holds your Australian dollars.

We’re going to use coinbase.com to buy Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin and the currency upon which the vast majority of NFT transactions are based.

1. Create an account with Coinbase, and sign in.
2. Navigate to “buy” (in the upper right) and select “Ethereum”.
3. Enter how much you would like to purchase. You can view current gas prices and “how much to make an NFT” for Rarible with this handy tool. 
4. Complete the transaction with your chosen payment method.

How to Fund Your Wallet 

Unfortunately, you’re not able to send our ETH straight from Coinbase to an NFT marketplace. Instead, you need to move this cryptocurrency to your own, “self-custody” wallet. 

This means that you are in complete control of your currencies, and the corresponding code is stored directly within your wallet. Think of it as withdrawing cash from an ATM.

Here’s how you get your crypto from coinbase.com into your Coinbase wallet:

1. Download the coinbase wallet app.
2. Create your account. You won’t need any personal details at all, as it’s an anonymous system.
3. Make a note of the private key that is produced for your wallet. It will appear as a seemingly random phrase of 12 words. 
4. In your Coinbase app, click “receive” to view your wallet address.
5. Return to coinbase.com and transfer your ETH from your hosted wallet to your new, self-custodial wallet.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 

A self-custodial wallet stores your crypto completely independently of any company. This means the responsibility of remembering your 12-word password- or “seed phrase”- lies solely with you. 

If you forget or lose it, you won’t be able to access your funds. There’s no way around it, no takebacks, and nothing any customer support can do for you. 

So for goodness sake, make sure you write your seed phrase down somewhere safe! And then write it down again somewhere even safer!!

How to Connect Your Wallet to an NFT Marketplace (Rarible)

When you get to rarible.com, you’ll probably be looking around for a link to register for an account. 

Well, you’ve sort of already done it. 

For NFT marketplaces, your wallet is your profile. We just need to connect your Coinbase wallet to Rarible, and you’re in!

1. On the Rarible homepage, click sign in with Ethereum wallet.
2. Click mobile wallet.
3. Scan the QR code with the reader in your Coinbase wallet app.

That’s it! Boom, you’re in. 

Now the Fun Part- How to Make an NFT 

Okay, you made it to the last piece of the puzzle – how to create an NFT!

How long does it take to make an NFT in Rarible? About five minutes.

1. Click the alluring purple “create” button in the top right.
2. Rarible will ask which blockchain you’d like to mint on. Select Ethereum.
3. Now you’ll have the option to choose whether to publish a single NFT or release a collection. For this example, we’ll follow the process for a single release (it’s also cheaper for gas fees). You also get to select how many copies of your content to produce.
4. Now it’s time to upload the file! You can select any PNG, GIF, WEBP, MP4 or MP3 under 100MB.
5. Now choose a collection for the NFT to be stored under. A collection is a folder to help keep your NFTs organised.
6. Next, give your NFT an attention-grabbing title and description. You may also be asked to upload or select a preview image (like a thumbnail) depending on your file type.
7. Pick your sale type and set your price. Do you want to sell through an auction or buy it now? Keep in mind that Rarible takes 2.5% of any sale. You’ll also have the chance to set your royalty rate from future sales (remember, the standard is around 10%).
8. Add any unlockables or bonuses for purchasers. Examples could include extra content, a thank you note, or a password for a private group chat.
9. Finally, you’ll have the option to enable lazy minting to skip the gas fees and pass them on to the eventual purchaser.

Great- you’re all set! Now all that’s left to do is click “create item”, verify the transaction with your wallet, and hey presto- that’s how to create an NFT!

Let’s Make Some Money- How to Make an NFT That Sells

You’ve probably seen articles about pictures of cartoon monkeys selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars and thought “I can draw a weird monkey, where’s my yacht?”.

Unfortunately, everybody wants to know how to make an expensive NFT. On Rarible, you’ll find literally thousands of NFTs for sale. So you’re going to have to find a seriously effective way to stand out from the pack. If you want to land sale, you need to get noticed.

In the design phase, think carefully about how you can generate content that is attention-grabbing, collectable and shareable. This is what it takes to go viral.

Some of the most valuable NFT’s harness pop culture and current events to generate a buzz. Is your work relevant to people’s lifestyles and the content they consume? Can you align your work with popular brands and trending styles?


On-brand aesthetics and emotive appeal are a sure-fire way to inspire your audience to make that expensive NFT purchase!

One of the most effective ways to get your NFTs in the public eye is through social media. By posting in NFT communities, you’re going to gain exposure with individuals who are passionate about NFT projects and believe in the future of the platform.

Twitter is particularly good for this. It’s the platform of choice for NFT fanatics, and allows users to easily retweet your work to their followers, who may also retweet. This strategy can lead to exponential exposure when coupled with a captivating NFT.

Community channels on Discord and Reddit are also very useful for finding hyper-engaged NFT experts who can help you learn how to make an NFT that sells. 

Still Feeling a Little Overwhelmed? 

NFTs are such a new and rapidly shifting technology. It can be hard to keep up to date with all the trends and terminology you need to succeed. 

So if you need help coming up with an effective NFT marketing strategy, then make the smart choice and speak to the experts at Mooning.

We can help you decide where to sell your particular NFT, figure out your pricing strategy, and how to build a community around your art. Whilst the industry is still complex – getting the help you need to become an early adopter is invaluable. 

So if you’d like to learn more, reach out to our friendly team today. We LOVE to talk about all things NFTs. We find the rapidly emerging opportunities that are right for you and your next project. And while you’re here, why not click here to find out more about NFTs and why you should invest in them.