NFT Marketing Plan for Artists - Step by Step
For an artist making his or her first venture into the NFT world, it can be daunting. Countless NFTs sit unspoken for in the dark corners of the blockchain, waiting to be adopted. But don’t fret, there’s hope for your little friends yet!
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- So you want to see my operation
- Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee
- Nya nya nya nya nya nyaaaa nya
- Get yer poop together
- Shill baby, shill
Last week we talked about how to use certain words to increase your NFT sales and community. I call it the "NFT Soft Sell". If you missed it, read it by clicking here!
If you prefer to listen to Nick reading this newsletter on our video/podcast, you can click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuyoCCoq4f0
So, you want to see my operation!
As an unknown solo NFT artist, or more specifically an artist with talent but no following, it can be intimidating to launch an NFT collection.
After all, OpenSea, Magic Eden, and countless other NFT marketplaces are full of incredible NFT artwork that next to nobody has seen or heard of, much less bought or minted.
For an artist making his or her first venture into the NFT world, it can be daunting. Like souls stranded in purgatory, countless NFTs sit unspoken in the dark corners of the blockchain, waiting to be adopted.
But don’t fret, there’s hope for your little friends yet! For a good artist who is willing to come into your first launch with an open mind, a willingness to learn and work, and realistic expectations, success is within your reach.
I am far from an artist... so bad that I am sure if I tried to draw stick figures, they would end up round. While I am the last person to seek help from with your creatives, I AM qualified to hand you some simple steps to get you off and running on the right foot with your first NFT launch.
First, let’s qualify where I feel you should set your expectations and why, and the type of person this article has been written for. There is a significant difference in what to do and where to start if you are an artist with a large following or known and published works, and someone starting fresh with nothing but a twinkle in your eye, your creativity, and a vision.
I will be writing this newsletter for the latter... someone who has more ambition and talent than endorsements and numbers of followers on social media. I am also going to be focusing on the new NFT artist who might have a little money to toss into the project, but not enough to toss a few thousand smackers into social media ads or hire a marketing agency.
Having said that, a lot of this plan will still work for someone who has a following, who CAN afford a paid marketing campaign or agency, and/or who has “a name” and is published... it will just be a little easier.
Don’t feel sorry for yourself if this isn’t you... they were where you are yesterday!
Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee
I mentioned above that you will need to be willing to work hard and have realistic expectations. Both are required when you are starting ANY business... and do not be confused, launching an NFT collection IS a full-time business.
Treat it otherwise without help, and unless you are scamming for no reason other than a cash grab, you will not succeed.
Second to that, know that your artwork needs to be exceptional. Incredible. Amazing. I realize that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but as an artist, I assume that you have assorted unique styles and ideas. Know that you’re not on an island, the competition is steep, and your work will be compared side-by-side to others.
For your first endeavor, I suggest you lean in the direction of pleasing most of the people, most of the time. "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee.”
Be like Sara Lee.
Assuming you’re ready to go to work and your talent is superb, you need a plan. This plan should “include” a marketing plan, but not be limited to it. After all, there is a lot more to do before and alongside the marketing if you want your new NFT collection to become successful.
Step 1: Define Your Niche and Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Determine your niche within the NFT market and determine what makes your collection unique or different from others. Identify your USP to stand out.
If you’re not sure exactly what we mean by a “USP”, I recently wrote a detailed article about it here. (you NEED to read this, for the sake of your collection!)
I know what you’re thinking: “But my artwork is my niche.”
Yes Pablo, we know... but remember that competition I was talking about? This is not a gallery, so do something that turns the heads of internet onlookers as well. When you’re rich and famous you can let your soup cans carry you. For now, you need a USP.
Your USP is the window to your brand, so determine if your brand will be your personal name, a business name, or your collection name. Some are better for certain types of NFT collections than others of course. The decision needs to be yours, but in my opinion, as an artist, you should probably be using your actual name. (or a pseudonym, if preferred)
Partner with some social media influencers. Find a company to endorse you and toss in a coupon, discount, or freebie with each NFT someone buys. This will make you stand out, allow you to co-market with their name included market to their followers, and give more VALUE to the mint/purchase.
If not a partnership, do something on your own. Choose several (or all?) buyers and send them the original piece, a printed copy, a watercolor, a framed copy, a tee shirt, or something unique from the collection.
Give them both the ETH and the Solana versions... or hand-write thank you notes to the minters for potential future value. Who knows, your signature may be valuable someday!
Somehow, do something to stand out. Do more than the last guy. (or the last several hundred guys!
Step 2: Create High-Quality NFTs
Ensure your NFT artwork or assets are of the highest quality. This will be the foundation of your collection's appeal. All future work will be judged by this one, so don’t skimp.
Step 3: Set Up a Website and Social Media Profiles
Create a professional website with a bio, and examples of your NFT collection. If possible, show them all. Share interesting things about yourself and what motivates you. Be vulnerable.
Establish social media profiles on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Discord to connect with your target audience. This will be an important part of your marketing strategy. Name them either after yourself, using your real name, or after the collection with your name. This is not a place to be “cute” and risk someone not having any idea who you are, or what the offer is.
Step 4: Develop a Marketing Strategy
Plan your initial marketing efforts in advance. Consider how you will create anticipation and excitement leading up to the collection's launch. I will share a more detailed plan for this on its own later in the article.
Nya nya nya nya nya nyaaaa nya
Step 5: Start a Teaser Campaign
Start a teaser campaign as you grow your social media platforms. Share sneak peeks of the NFTs, behind-the-scenes content, some videos showing you creating the artwork, and whatever else creative you can think of to build anticipation.
Step 6: Plan a Launch Event, Prices, and Quantities
Plan a launch event and details for the launch or drop day. When I oversaw and designed a launch in the past, we implemented a circus-type theme. There were games, contests, and rewards given for writing poems, drawing pictures, suggesting names for our characters (it was for a web3 game) writing backstories, and more.
Make your launch FUN! It’s like serving Champagne at a gallery launch. Use your imagination and make it memorable. Send personal invitations, and make people feel special.
Create scarcity, urgency, and “fear of loss” (FOMO) by limiting the number of NFTs available initially or reducing the cost for the first 24 hours. Give them a reason to mint immediately at release, or to mint in multiples.
Finalize your “USP” and the details of the launch. Keep in mind that you can always release more in the future, a new collection, or add additional utility. Make a grand gesture on the launch day and do whatever possible to draw attention to your community.
Step 7: Determine Minting Details & Technical Matters
Decide what NFT Marketplace you’ll be launching on, viable Marketplaces include but are not limited to OpenSea, Rarible, Magic Eden. OrdinalsWallet or Mintable.
Find and determine who will handle creating the contracts and mint coordination, what blockchain(s) to utilize, wallet creation, and other “tech” matters.
The “tech” part of a launch isn’t in my true wheelhouse of expertise, but at some point, I’ll find a post or author so I can provide this information accurately as well.
Step 8: Put the Proper Additional People in Place
Decide if you be doing most everything on your own at first, or if you will put people into positions like Discord Moderators, Shillers, Community Managers, Marketers, Virtual Assistants, and others in advance. They are certainly not all needed at first, can be paid or voluntary, and some can come from the future community.
Step 9: Become Informed
Stay updated with NFT trends and industry news. Long before launching, buy some art NFTs on your own, and start spending time in other project Discords and begin to follow other project’s social media channels.
Learn the industry lingo and language, get some new ideas, then adapt your strategy to the evolving market. This is not a one-time thing, but ongoing.
Step 10: Seek Feedback
Collect feedback from your community and use it to improve your future collections, changes, events, and more. The launch, even if you sellout, is only the beginning, not the end.
Building a successful NFT collection and brand takes time and persistence. Stay authentic to your artistic vision, and over time, your marketing efforts will help your NFT collection gain the recognition it deserves.
As the artist, stay present and available to your community, and they’ll support you long-term.
Get yer poop together
There are other tasks and responsibilities that you’ll find are needed as you progress, but the above will get you off on the right foot. Planning is critical because unlike someone purchasing your artwork for home display who may never interact again, NFT sales are community-driven and many NFT communities are critical and outspoken.
In other words, they will know if you don’t have your poop together. So poop up.
Next, of course, is marketing. Some things on the list below will cost a few Sheckles to put in place, many are free. This is nowhere close to an exhaustive list, as there are thousands of places you can advertise, from Facebook Ads and billboards to smoke signals or carrier pigeons.
What I list below are strategies I have found to be both simple and doable by the average person without marketing training, from free to inexpensive, and the most effective for the output. Of course, I will remind you about my comments above concerning being willing to go to work. Now is the time.
These will typically be done concurrently, so while I have labeled these “step 1, step 2”, etc., this is NOT in order. They all need to be done, do them as soon as possible, and as entirely as possible.
How often should I post? Post more
Some of the tasks below are done once, and some are ongoing. The ongoing work can be started by you, hired out to an agency, or you can even train someone to work for you and do it for you. A good VA, or “virtual assistant” can do an excellent job for a fair price, especially if you hire someone in the Philippines, Pakistan, India, or other non-western countries.
I’m not suggesting someone from the US/UK wouldn’t do an excellent job of course, but that you’ll pay 3-10 times more for the same effort. I’ve had full-time VAs since around 2005 and can refer some as well.
Start on your own if needed, and as you bring in some money, use it to grow your marketing team.
Step 1: Build an Online Presence
If you remember, we included the start of this above, so a website to display your art and your social media profiles should be complete. You should also have profiles on whatever NFT marketplace you are using, and a Discord setup for your community.
You should have profiles on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Show your best art in the header images and be consistent.
These platforms are essential for promoting your NFTs. If I had to rank them in order, I would say Twitter is the most important, but do not ignore the others. You never know where your biggest fans will come from.
Step 2: Content Creation
This will be the longest of the steps, and probably the most important, so bear with me. This is where the rubber meets the road in free marketing... AKA “posting.”
In time I will have plenty of articles teaching how to write headlines, use keywords, choose/create images, and more... but for now, just know you need daily content.
Check here to see what individual articles I’ve already written for “how to post on social media” specifics: https://arisingfloor.com/articles
You should be posting pictures of your artwork, links to your project, Discord, website, and marketplace. Also share your artistic process, behind-the-scenes content, and stories about your artwork. Tell your story and engage with your audience to build a loyal following.
Use social media both to educate and entertain your current holders, as well as find new ones. You should also mix in interesting stories about NFTs, art like yours, and more. Be creative and follow and watch other collections' social media accounts for ideas.
How often should you post? Always post more.
You should AT LEAST post daily on each channel. According to a lot of social media and marketing gurus, you should be posting at least 12-15 times daily on EACH social media channel. Are you shaking yet?
Personally, I have never done this much posting myself, but there are easily days I hit 10 or more posts on Twitter. The people teaching to post 10-15 times on each channel, or 60-70 posts a day, typically have a staff of 10 doing it for them.
So realistically... do as much as you can with what you have at your disposal. Just know that unless you are posting 50+ times a day, you should always be posting more, whatever “more” is in your instance.
Having said that, if you are on your own and cannot focus on quantity, which is fully understandable, pour all your efforts into quality, and make the posts educational, intriguing, exciting, and superb. In addition, focus more on the headlines, they will grab, or “hook” the attention of the readers.
If you want to automate the process, here is a new AI software I bought that claims it will create the posts, schedule them, upload them to social media sites, and re-post them. All hands-free.
DYOR, but I bought it myself and will report back after testing. If it works as promised, it will truly rock! You can click here to take a look.
Step 3: Collaborate with Influencers
Start to reach out and partner with NFT influencers, art influencers, and influencers who may have something in common with your work or your USP. They can help you reach a broader audience through shoutouts, collaborations, or reviews.
Be creative and create “win-win” partnerships.
If possible, do some live streams or live Twitter spaces with other influencer communities. This will give you an opportunity to get the information in front of their people in an extended way. Consider giving them a private contest or a special offer for their people only as well.
Step 4: Collaborate and partner with other NFT projects
I am not the biggest fan of this type of collaboration, but they can be useful if used properly. Most of the time you will be approached by other projects who want you to promote their collection or hand out WL offers.
Only do it if you get exposure to their community as well, and if you are either sold out, or comfortable enough to send your people to buy their NFTs. Again, make sure it’s a “win-win.” opportunity or do not bother.
Step 5: Marketing to your warm market
I am going to keep this pretty short because I have already authored a soup-to-nuts article explaining this in its entirety. You can read that by clicking here.
I would say read the complete article, but if not, skip down to the “Fish Where the Fish Are” section.
Most of you will not want to do this because you will be too self-conscious or intimidated. I suggest you suck it up and make it happen.
It will get you buyers consistently, with no budget needed, and quickly. The condensed version is to collect email addresses from people you know, or more importantly, people who know you, and create a list.
Contact them and many will mint. I even included a script at the link above, telling you exactly what to say. Go get’em tiger!
Shill, baby, shill
Step 6: Shill
“Shilling,” in this context, is simply going to other NFT project Discords, social media sites, groups, and other places NFT and art people spend time together and telling them about your project. some might call it spamming, but if you do it gently, it will not be.
Do it yourself, have your VA do it, give your community a contest to help... but it is free, and it works. Again, be creative.
Step 7: PR and Press Releases
In the case of most NFT projects, I would not suggest a press release unless you have extra cash. However, if you are an artist... truly an artist and not just promoting 2k animals with diverse types of eyes, hats, and cigars, then it is worthwhile.
You can google “press release services” and find lists of them for pay. Preferably, use a place that will get your post on Google News, you will have a better chance of success. For a fee, they will write and distribute it to hundreds of PR sites, news sites, and more.
Afterwards, make sure to send your press release manually to art and NFT-related blogs, websites, and media outlets on your own for potential features or interviews. Of course, include it in your own social media as well.
Step 8: Engage with Your Community
I know this sounds obvious, but actively participate in discussions, respond to comments, and build relationships within the NFT and art communities, including your own! (especially your own)
So many founders make the grave mistake of not being active in their OWN community. Do not put this nail into your own coffin.
Step 9: Offer Rewards and Incentives
Reward early supporters and minters with exclusive benefits like bonus NFTs, access to future drops, or limited-edition merchandise.
This should go hand in hand with your USP, but things like hats or tee shirts with your artwork and web address can be a great reward and a walking billboard to boot!
Step 10: Paid Advertising
I want to plant the seed, so you start thinking about this and keep it in the back of your mind. However, since this article is more of a guide for starting on a shoestring, I will not go deep into it here today.
I will write a complete newsletter someday and know that if you have any specific questions or want personal help, please reach out in our Discord and we can chat.
There are thousands of places and various media types we can use with paid advertising.
For an NFT collection, paying the most watched YouTubers for a shout-out, running paid ads on social media, and renting banner ads on websites that already have the perfect eyeballs reading them is usually the best.
HOWEVER --- Know that paid ads can be a fast track to either riches or the bankruptcy courts, depending on how well you use them. I do not suggest you do them without help, training, or an advisor.
Step 11: NFT Calendar Websites
There are a respectable number of websites that list all of the upcoming launches to the public. An “NFT Calendar Website” is just that... but they won't seek you out, you'll need to register... so do your homework and find them.
Step 12: Analytics and Feedback
Use analytics tools to track the performance of your marketing efforts. This is CRITICAL!
Adjust your strategy based on what is working and what is not. It does not matter if you use Google Sheets, an automated program, Excel, or a yellow pad on your desk. Make sure to use something.
If you have good enough records... even simply recording and tagging tweets and posts that get a lot of likes can be useful. You can repost them, re-share them, edit them a little to reuse them, and more.
Data, data, data. Without data, marketing cannot be as effective in the long term.
So there you have it! Sure, you’ll find other ideas if you search, but these are the most important known to me now, at the time of this writing. As I already wrote, I will elaborate on paid advertising strategies as we move ahead... but I think the above information will keep you plenty busy.
Like always, if you have any questions, please jump into the Discord and ask. It's my honor and pleasure to help. As always, I’ll have the Podcast that goes along with this newsletter uploaded soon.
Each newsletter is recorded as a video podcast a few days after publication. Watch all of our past podcasts and videos: https://www.youtube.com/@arisingfloor/videos
Until next week: if you need help ask for it, if you don’t, prove it!
Deacon Z
PS – I'll be re-writing this to focus on NFT collections NOT being started by an artist in the future. To make sure you get all the updates and new marketing info, register here. https://arisingfloor.com .
A Rising Floor is a weekly newsletter and Discord Mastermind created for NFT and ordinal collection owners, staff, and founders, as well as NFT industry gig workers and anyone who wants to promote their NFTs. It’s a free source of news, NFT marketing help, and a place to communicate with peers for the advancement of the industry.
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