Ultimate Guide To Getting Started With NFTs For Beginners

You’re probably feeling left out… everyone on your Twitter and Instagram feeds is talking about NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), and you don’t even know what it is. Well, if you are interested in knowing what the rave is all about, then you should read this detailed guide to getting started with NFTs for beginners.

NFTs have been around for a long time. But today, they show as much promise as Bitcoin did in its heyday, and many pioneers are taking their cut out of this pie. 

Getting Started With NFTs

Before you think of buying or making NFTs, you should understand what they are.

What Are NFTs?

A non-fungible token or NFT is a smart contract that runs on a blockchain and is used to indicate the ownership of an item. The items, in this case, could be a song, digital art, a video, an in-game avatar, or even real-world assets like real estate and cars.

These tokens are termed non-fungible because they are unique and irreplaceable. For example, new iPhones come out in batches every year, and each one has equal value to another in that series. So, if I took your brand new iPhone 11 and replaced it with mine, there wouldn’t be a difference since they are both the same, i.e, fungible.

A non-fungible item, however, is one of a kind and can’t be replaced. For instance, you want to get a piece of land to build a mall. While you can get a couple of plots anywhere, you’d most likely go for one that’s close to busy areas.

But not just that, you’d also consider its proximity to bus stations, security in the area, population, etc. All these are unique traits that make the land rare and valuable. So you can say the land is non-fungible since you cannot replace it with the same piece in a suburb. 

You can also say the same for a pair of cut diamonds. Even if they’re from the same mine, they are not equal in value since some diamonds are cut better than others, are much larger than others, and are of a higher quality than others. So you can say that both are non-fungible since one has a higher value than the other. 

How NFT Works

NFTs help artists and creators to prove ownership of their items. While it’s mostly geared toward digital artists, it also benefits traditional creators. 

Before now, the digital era was the graveyard for artists. Someone can drop an image online, and it’ll spread immediately without anyone remembering its true source. People can even retouch and reproduce it without crediting the author. The same thing happens to songs, videos, articles, codes, and much more. 

With NFTs, owners can add another layer of authenticity to their original works by storing them on the blockchain in a process known as minting. Minting is when you create a smart contract containing several information and commands and encode it into the blockchain.

So, when you purchase an NFT, the smart contract automatically includes your information as the new owner and other unique metadata, including the art itself, the date you minted it, and how royalties are handled. Check out our guide on how NFT smart contracts work. 

So when you buy a digital asset, you can easily verify your ownership by visiting the token address on the blockchain and viewing the metadata. Even though people can right-click on the image and save it, they still can’t call it theirs.

What do you get when you buy an NFT? 

Although buying an NFT allows you to legally own digital art, it doesn’t give you complete rights over intellectual property. 

Simply put, buying an NFT allows you to own a key to the lock containing that digital art. You can display it, and brag about it to your friends, but you can’t modify it. Only the original author can do that. 

So what you get when you buy an NFT is a digital receipt that grants you ownership of a specific file along with the necessary information to prove its authenticity. 

Or, you can say that in an era where copy and paste are prevalent for digital art, owning an NFT gives you (and only you) the right to copy and paste that digital art. 

Why would anyone buy an NFT? 

So what else do you stand to gain besides just being the legitimate owner of an asset that anyone can copy and paste? Well, NFTs are quite valuable as they offer lots of benefits for anyone buying them. 

Here are some reasons why you would buy an NFT

• Owning an NFT allows you to own and boast about rare images. I mean, how many people can say that they’ve got a copy of Jack Dorsey’s first tweet? 
• Many concerts these days sell tickets as NFTs. Concerts held on Decentraland are examples.
• Play-to-earn blockchain games store most character power-ups and features in the form of an NFT. So, owning one allows you to empower your in-game character.
• Most NFTs also have great market value and the potential to make you a millionaire in the twinkling of an eye. For instance, people who got Crypto Punks for free when they first launched now sell their PFPs for millions. 

How to get started with NFTs for beginners: the essentials 

Your essential kit to getting started with NFTs includes a smartphone or laptop, a crypto wallet (preferably MetaMask or Walletconnect), and some coins in the wallet. Since most NFTs launch on the Ethereum blockchain, you’ll have to purchase some Ether. 

Of course, some projects launch on cheaper blockchains and layer 2 platforms like Polygon, Arbitrum, or Immutable X. For Polygon, you’ll need to purchase some $MATIC; Arbitrum works with $ETH or $MAGIC if you’re using TreasureDAO, while Immutable X works with $ETH, only cheaper.

Your first step would be to set up your Metamask. Simply download the phone app or web extension and set up your wallet. Check out our in-depth guide on setting up your MetaMask wallet so you don’t make mistakes that might leave your assets vulnerable to hacking. After that, you need to buy some coins from an exchange.

You can purchase Ether or MATIC on Metamask or popular exchanges like Binance or Coinbase. However, they don’t sell MAGIC since it’s a Layer 2 coin. But you can swap from ETH or other currencies for MAGIC using the Arbitrum bridge or Uniswap. There’s a full website with ample information on how to get started with $MAGIC.

Once you have your wallet and coins, you can now purchase your NFT.

How Do You Buy an NFT?

Buying an NFT is simple; all you have to do is find a profitable NFT, follow the project’s progress, grind on their Discord server to get a whitelist spot, or wait for a public launch and mint one for yourself. You can also buy an NFT on the secondary market, which is basically people who minted first selling to others on a designated marketplace.

Most projects hold their public minting on their website while secondary sales are made on popular marketplaces like OpenSea, Treasure Marketplace, or TofuNFT – this usually depends on the blockchain they launch on. 

So, once you’ve set up your wallet and purchased some coins, follow this step to purchase your first NFT. I’ll be using OpenSea for this guide, but the process is usually the same across platforms.

• Open the OpenSea marketplace in your web browser.
• Find the NFT you’re looking for by exploring the platform.
• Click the “Buy Now” button.
• Select “Checkout” once you’ve agreed to the marketplace’s conditions. The MetaMask addon will open, displaying your purchase price. In addition, you may be charged a gas fee based on network usage, which can occasionally exceed $100. 

Note that most projects are sold using Dutch auction, meaning you have to bid for them.

Where to start with NFTs for beginners

Now that we’ve given you some tips on getting started with NFTs, your next option is where you can start buying and selling them. When starting with NFTs, there are many places to look – you have social media platforms like Twitter and NFT Reddits. Then you have NFT marketplaces.

As a beginner, a good place to start will be NFT marketplaces. Some popular options include: 

• OpenSea
• Rarible
• Binance
• Nifty Gateway
• SuperRare

We have a complete list of the best NFT marketplaces on different blockchains. This provides more options according to your budget and other preferences. Your best option is to stick with marketplaces that support multiple chains like OpenSea and Binance.

How much money do you need to start NFTs?

The amount of money you need to buy NFTs as a beginner depends on your risk level. On average, you can start buying NFTs for $85 – $200 (that’s if you’re sticking to smaller projects with a decent community). You could also get NFTs for lower or higher than this. 

But for this article’s sake, $300 should be enough to start buying NFTs as a beginner — you can spend less if you’re buying on primary sale. 

How to get started making NFTs [step-by-step]

Another way to get started with NFTs is by making them. The benefit of making your own NFT as a beginner is that it gives you first-hand experience on how the entire technology works. 

Plus, you don’t even need to be a coding expert to start making NFTs as a beginner. Here are six steps you can follow to start making your own NFTs and share them with friends. 

1. Choose what you want to make

As we discussed, the NFT is just a digital receipt of an underlying digital file. So before creating an NFT, think of the file you’d like to link it to. This file could be a piece of art, song, video, or even a meme. 

For starters, you can use an image. Just ensure you have full ownership of the image so you don’t get into copyright issues. You could also try some NFT creator apps or these 10k NFT generators for bigger collections.

2. Pick a blockchain

Your next step to making your own NFT is to choose a blockchain. There are many NFT blockchains to choose from. You have Ethereum, Arbitrum, Cardano, Polygon, Solana, and so much more. 

Since you’re just starting, we recommend using Polygon or Cardano since they offer lower minting fees. You wouldn’t want to spend up to $100 for a start. 

3. Set up your NFT wallet

The third step to making your own NFT is setting up an NFT wallet that supports the blockchain you choose—Phantom Wallet will do since we’re using Solana. Ensure you purchase some $SOL in the wallet to pay for gas fees—don’t worry, you won’t spend up to $1.

If you choose to use Ethereum, you can try Metamask or Coinbase wallet.

4. Pick an NFT platform

So you have your image, you’ve chosen a blockchain, and you have created your wallet. What you need next is an NFT platform where you’ll create the token. Since we’re using Solana, you can choose OpenSea or Solanart.

5. Make the NFT

Simply create an account on the platform—we’ll be using OpenSea. Once done, follow these steps to make your NFT.

1. Connect your wallet to the platform: simply click the “connect wallet” icon and select your wallet (Phantom or any wallet you have funds on) from the menu.
2. Select “Create”: This button will show you several options to start the creation process. This includes uploading the file, choosing the blockchain, and adding the features and properties.
3. Upload your file and fill in the necessary details: You can upload the image directly on OpenSea or add a link to the image source. Then fill in details like the name, unique features, and more. You can also add extra perks like a link to a Discord server or exclusive content. 
4. Choose your blockchain and create the NFT: Once done, choose Solana as your blockchain. Note that you can’t switch blockchains once you’re done. Click the Create button, and your file will upload—and you will have an NFT.

6. List the NFT for sale

Now here’s the fun part. To complete your NFT-making process, you have to list the item for sale. Here you’ll be required to sign some transactions that’ll add the image to the blockchain and list it for sale. To complete this transaction takes just $0.01 on Solana.

You can now share the NFT with your friends or promote it on Twitter and other social media platforms to make a quick buck.

NFT Discords To Follow

If you’re just getting started with NFTs, you need to stay updated on all the latest development in the space. This also ensures you don’t fall into common NFT scams or make wrong investment decisions. Most projects and reputable NFT communities have Discord servers where you can interact with others and learn more about non-fungible tokens. 

There are a lot of NFT Discords out there, with some focusing on NFT investors, others on NFT artists and some catering to all things NFT for beginners like you. So, just find a suitable Discord from the options below and join one.

• OpenSea
• Decentraland
• NFT
• Rarible
• VeeFriends
• MekaVerse
• NFT Hideout
• Ether

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) For Getting Started with NFTs

Conclusion

This detailed guide to NFTs for beginners should help you understand what NFTs are, why they matter, and how to get started with creating your own. I hope this article provides all the knowledge you need for getting started with NFTs and preparing you to start making your own or investing in other peoples’ creations.