How To Stand Out In The NFT Marketplace: 7 Tips For Making Your Collection Unique

What is an NFT and how do NFT marketplaces work?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have likely heard of NFTs. However, like the rest of us, you were probably left scratching your head the first time you heard the topic of NFTs mentioned. You’re not alone. Even those who are more savvy with the NFT world likely find themselves reaching their fingers to their head when attempting to navigate the NFT marketplace. So, what are these damn NFTs? How does the NFT marketplace work? How can you make sure your NFTs stand out on the NFT marketplace? 

Let’s dig in. The term NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. It’s quite simply a record of an asset on the blockchain. In case you’re not aware of what the blockchain is, we’ll help you understand a bit about it before we go explaining how NFTs and the NFT marketplace runs on it. The blockchain is simply a system that runs across multiple computers in a peer-to-peer network. The blockchain is where transactions for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are maintained. 

So, NFTs and the NFT marketplace call the blockchain home. This is where they are sold and traded. NFT creators make their NFTs and list them on their profiles in the marketplace for others to explore and purchase with crypto or by trading an NFT for another NFT. The NFT marketplace can be likened to any kind of marketplace in the physical world. Imagine your local markets. The awesome thing about NFT’s is that they can be created by anyone, you don’t even have to be a pro at coding. NFTs can also be fun to make and usually related to videos, photos, audio and other creative digital files. So, referring back to our original definition, NFTs are a digital record of something on the blockchain that can be sold and traded. Now, it’s important to note that really what people are selling and trading on the NFT marketplace is the public certificates of ownership. When you have this, you can basically wave it around saying “this NFT is mine, I bought it!”. The term ‘non-fungible’ can be understood as ‘non-similar’. Unlike cryptocurrencies or physical money, one NFT is not the same as another. They contain a digital signature which makes them completely unique. NFTs and their digital signatures could be likened to human fingerprints. 

Understandably, you might be thinking NFTs are some silly idea that could never take off. Ooh boy are you wrong. From 2020-2021 there was a 21,000% increase in the trading of NFTs to somewhere in the ballpark of $17 billion. Now we’ve got your attention. So, you might be thinking, “how do I get a piece of that NFT marketplace pie?”. Perhaps you’re just starting to explore NFTs, or perhaps you have even created one and are ready to throw it onto the marketplace. Perhaps you’ve even got NFTs on the marketplace. Whichever stage you’re at, you’ll eventually face the question… How do I ensure my NFTs are successful on the NFT marketplace? 

Short answer? Stand out. 

Why should you care about making your NFT collection unique?

Ensuring your NFT collection is unique before putting it up on the NFT marketplace is important for a number of reasons. Interestingly, despite the NFT world being all about uniqueness (remember the finger prints), it will become harder and harder to come up with NFT collections that are unique as the NFT market continues that upwards trend beyond $17 billion. When it comes to NFTs, people buy uniqueness. Typically they want something that no one else has. This human desire is what has driven NFT’s and the NFT marketplace to where it stands today. So, how can you ensure your NFTs are unique before throwing them up onto the NFT marketplace? Here are 7 hot tips.

 Tip #1: Choose an interesting subject matter

Choose a subject matter for your NFT that is interesting and engaging. We’ve seen the success of some pretty simple and non-interesting digital assets recently (a coin with a dog meme as its emblem?). However, on the NFT marketplace, ensuring the subject of your NFTs is interesting and engaging is vital. What does this mean for your NFTs? It means don’t create an NFT collection containing images of burnt toast… Choose something that will catch peoples eye and have them coming back to the NFT marketplace for more of your NFT collection. What could this look like? Your NFTs could be characters based around a world you’ve created, have something to do with the human experience, or even draw on childhood experiences of the target market. Whatever it is, your NFT collection needs to be interesting, eye-catching and dynamic before hitting the NFT marketplace.

Tip #2: Make it interactive

Interactive NFTs often do the best. We hear you, we hear you… How can an NFT be interactive? Well, NFT’s don’t have to simply be single digital assets you collect. They can be part of something bigger. Perhaps your NFT collection consists of characters for a video game. Once people own an NFT they get to be that character in your game. This might sound like a complex example, and it is. Simpler examples could be that different NFTs in your collection go together. For example, buyers still collect characters but there are also clothing items, or powerups, or hairstyles they can purchase as further NFTs. 

This interactiveness will take your NFT collection to the next level on the NFT marketplace. It is what will keep people coming back to the NFT marketplace for more to grow their NFT collection as they interact with what you’ve created. As an example, imagine how crazy people would go if Leonardo Da Vinci released five more versions of the Mona Lisa with varying facial expressions… collectors would be going mad. That same interactiveness and ‘collectibility’ needs to apply to your NFT collection. If only Leonardo had an NFT marketplace at his disposal. 

Tip #3: Think outside the box

We’ve spoken about ensuring your NFT collection’s subject matter is interesting before putting them on the NFT marketplace. We’ve also covered the importance of ensuring your NFTs are interactive. That’s all well and good, however that won’t really happen unless you think outside the box with your NFTs. Unsurprisingly, the NFT marketplace is full of people trying to think outside the box. So, you really need to try and take ten steps out of it with your NFT idea. 

Let’s revisit the toast idea, we wrote it off too soon. Let’s say you did create an NFT collection of images of toast. On its own it’s not interesting or interactive… but let’s say you give them faces, different hairstyles, and a variety of clothing items available on the NFT marketplace… ooh and you could give each NFT different names and the whole NFT collection could all be toasted to varying degrees ranging from too soft to carbonized! You could go as far as having a simple game where when buying an NFT from your NFT collection, buyers press a button on an animated  toaster. After a set amount of time they receive a random piece of toast cooked to a certain degree with a unique name, facial expression and clothing item. This might all sound ridiculous, but this isn’t far from an NFT idea that could be somewhat successful on the NFT marketplace at a very basic level. To think outside the box, start from within it and start walking out. 

Tip #4: Use creative licensing

Okay so you’ve got an idea for an NFT and want it to stand out on the NFT marketplace. Perhaps you’ve got an idea of how your NFT will be of an interesting subject matter, how your NFT will be interactive, and you know how to get it on the NFT marketplace. You just lack the skills to actually make the NFT eye catching so that people don’t scroll past it on the NFT marketplace. Well, have no fear, creative licensing is here. Using creative licensing essentially means taking what others have created and using it for your own where they have given permission to do so in their licensing. This means that if you are struggling to design a range of cartoon toast slices (your NFTs) cooked to varying degrees, you could jump online and search something along the lines of ‘free cartoons of toast’. Despite the fact that our NFT toast example isn’t likely to turn up much of a result, perhaps an artist has already created some whacky cartoon toast images and put them under creative commons licenses that you can snap up to use as your NFTs. 

Even if you’re not directly searching for what will be your NFT, keep your eyes peeled online. Perhaps you’ll come across something that has a creative commons license that you think could do well on the NFT marketplace. Imagine NFTs are unique items hand crafted overseas and you’re a shop owner exploring a country for potential items to stock in your store back home. The internet is that country, and all of us are constantly exploring it. For your next NFT idea, simply keep your eyes open. 

Tip #5: Offer something different – bonuses, extras, or exclusive content

One of the best ways to keep your NFT unique and interactive is to offer something different, beyond your base NFTs. We’ve touched on this slightly already with the hairdos and clothing items for our range of NFT toast slices. This is important if you want your NFT to stand out on the NFT marketplace. It will get people interested and have them coming back. You could consider:

• Bonuses offered if buyers purchase a certain number of or a certain combination of NFTs within your NFT collection. 
• Extras for buyers to purchase in addition to the base NFT such as clothing items if they’re characters, power ups if they’re used in a video game, or cool new designs or audio tracks. 
• Exclusive content that can only be purchased in a certain time frame, through a certain avenue, or with certain prior NFT purchases from your NFT collection.

Tip #6: Use social media and other online platforms to market your collection

To stand out on the NFT marketplace, don’t rely on the NFT marketplace alone. You need to ensure that you are getting your NFTs out there and attracting attention to them in as many ways as possible. You have a product to sell (NFTs) and you need to bring people into your store (your profile on the NFT marketplace). If you were running a stall in a fish market, would you be more successful standing at your stall all day, or heading out into the street handing out pamphlets with your store name (NFT profile) and product on them, with a direct route to your stall drawn down? It’s the same with NFTs. Get onto social media and share your NFTs through photos, written content, paid advertisements or podcasts and the like. Be the loudest stall in the fish market, outside of the fish market that is.

Tip #7: Keep your collection updated and relevant

Toast characters as an NFT could be cool for a while, until they’re lame again (were they ever lame?). The NFT marketplace is like any other marketplace. It has its trends, ups and downs. Let’s go back to our fish market analogy. If you’re selling your NFTs without keeping them updated and relevant, you’re offering fish that have expired for cash only. You’re not going to have many interested buyers on the NFT marketplace. Keep your NFTs up to date technology wise and in relation to what is trending. Keep an eye on what other NFT creators are doing and what other NFTs buyers are buying. Most importantly, stay ahead of the curve by coming up with something unique in the first place. 

How will you make your NFTs stand out?

So, you’re thinking of making an NFT? You’ve already got an NFT that you’re about to list on the NFT marketplace? You’ve already got an NFT on the NFT marketplace but it’s not performing as you’d hoped? Whatever stage you’re at, you have a battle ahead of you. It’s a battle to ensure your NFTs stand out and stay relevant in an ever-growing market. Take on board these 7 tips and equip yourself and your NFTs to take on the challenge. If you do, there’s a $17 billion (and growing) NFT industry waiting for you. What will you do so your NFTs stand out?