How to Mint a NFT! (Step by Step Tutorial)

I’ll admit that me writing this article is probably the indicator of a top for NFTs 🙂

If you haven’t already read my post about the use cases (both good and bad), that is a good overview of my opinion on NFTs (so I won’t cover that as much here). 

The point of this post is to walk through the entire process of creating a NFT and to share my experience. The plan is to create a NFT of my original mainstreetwolf logo. Wow so neat and cool! /s

Don’t worry, I’m not about to create a NFT collection to pump to my audience! 

Maybe in the future, if I figure out a way to incorporate actual utility through the creation of NFTs, that’s when I would actually look more into the idea.

Cryptocurrency Options

See NFTs aren’t a new concept, I remember the explosion of crypto kitties back in 2017. But then the excitement over this use case of blockchain faded until all of a sudden. BOOM. NFTs are all the rage and people are making millions of dollars selling them!

The reason I bring up crypto kitties is because it ran on the Ethereum block chain and even recently, Ethereum is the popular choice for minting NFTs. In actuality it isn’t the only crypto that can be used to mint and own NFTs. 

You can also use other smart contract blockchains like Solana (SOL), Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Polkadot (DOT), etc. The point is Ethereum is no longer the only player in town when it comes to NFTs. If fees are too high, user friendliness sucks, or if you just want to be the cool kid that used something different there are options out there.

Pick a Platform

When I was looking at which platform to go and create a NFT on, I’ll be honest I just went with the one I have seen referenced the most and that is OpenSea. Of course there are other platforms and I’m sure they all have their pros and cons, but I just went with most popular.

Process of Creating the NFT

I created a NFT in a total of 1 minute. It was not a difficult process one bit, so I have to give props to the OpenSea platform for making it relatively easy.

1. Create an account on OpenSea.

2. Connect a MetaMask wallet (or whichever browser wallet you prefer).

3. Go to the create option at the top of the platform.

4. Upload digital media. The platform allows you to create a NFT of not only images that you see most people reference but also videos or audio.

5.  Then you can go into more advanced settings for more features if you want to create something more than just a media file. I think the coolest one would be the unlockable content as this in my eyes would provide more utility that I am looking for in NFTs.

6. Lastly you pick the amount of NFTs (copies) you want minted along with the blockchain that you want to create the NFT on (Ethereum or Polygon).

Now you probably are asking what is the big difference between ethereum and polygon. This infographic from niftykit does a great job explaining the difference.

For my first NFT I went with the Ethereum blockchain as a tribute to the OG tech and the fact that it is the most widely used blockchain for NFTs. 

7. Minting the NFT is where I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting to have to pay a minting fee as that is a big drawback I often hear about. Well it turns out I didn’t have to pay anything due to something known as “lazy minting”. Alright! Who doesn’t love stuff when it is free! Here is the link talking about fees (one-time, recurring, and free).

8. Selling the NFT is the part people also may be interested in because is that also free? Can I just make NFTs of rocks and become a millionaire without spending any money?

Not exactly. In order to list items for sale you have to connect your wallet with Ethereum in it and pay an account initialization fee.

So I went ahead and tried to do this myself to see how much it was. I had around .005 ETH in my metamask wallet and went to hit the listing of my beautiful NFT for a low price of 100 ETH (clearly a joke price).

When I hit the list complete listing though, I was hit with a surprise… it was going to cost around $262 in order to initialize the wallet (I like you guys, but not about to spend $262 to list this NFT that I don’t actually plan on selling). So what do we do now?

Remember earlier when I mentioned polygon? Well maybe if we create a NFT on MATIC the fees overall won’t be as bad and I can actually follow through on the full process!

So I went ahead and set up a polygon wallet on MetaMask. Here is a great video going over in detail how to do exactly that and I ended up just buying some MATIC to send over to the wallet. I can tell you based on the fee to send from crypto.com to MetaMask (it was like 16 cents vs. like $20 on the Ethereum network lol, they better come out with ETH 2.0 sooner than later).

So lets go back to step 4 and try this all again to see if we can go from creation to listing the NFT for sale!

I went ahead and repeated the exact same thing but listed on polygon. When you hit complete listing you are referred to unlocking currency and then signing the message (both of which do not cost anything) and the rest is history.

We have it listed on polygon for the cheap cheap price of 100 ETH (until June 1st). Again that is a joke price, unless…you know…no…well? No. 

*this is the part where a whale follower of mine buys it for 100 ETH just for the giggles*

Well if there is one thing clear to me. If you are making NFTs, go the polygon route to avoid fees! Honestly never used MATIC before this, but I may going forward if it is applicable!

Deleting a NFT

So because I hate having duplicates, you may be wondering if I deleted the original Ethereum NFT I created?

Well before I had anything else in my collections, you can actually delete a collection (so as long as you own all the assets in it). Go to your profile in the top right corner.

Once you are looking at your collections. Go to the edit button on the collection with the NFT you want to delete.

And scroll all the way to the bottom of the screen and just hit the delete collection. 

So if you are creating NFTs and you happen to screw something up, no issues. Just go and delete it and start over (especially if you are a perfectionist)!

Conclusion

I can now claim that I created and own a NFT! Am I hip yet?

Here is the link to my first official NFT 🙂

Overall the entire experience was simple and I can see why these influencers are getting in on the hype and making NFTs (because it doesn’t really cost to much to create NFTs and if you are selling 1000s of them for a $100 then it is the easiest money ever made). It’s the new merch!

With merch there is overhead, logistic issues, and lower margins. With NFTs the cost is small, no logistics or inventory, and the payment is made instantly to the creator! At least with the merch, people get a piece of clothing that may have more utility than saying you own a drawing of a stick figure.

Of course NFTs are more than a way for scummy influencers to cash in on their followers. One area that I think I could potentially use this technology with utility is if it integrated with my website or Patreon content to give access to tiers for a lifetime. This would make NFTs more as a digital pass and access key vs. a piece of digital art.

I definitely see the potential and look forward to see how NFTs transform and provide more utility!