📈 NFT Sales Strategy 101
Basic tricks well-established crypto artists are using to optimize their sales
Recently, I had over 50+ conversations with up-and-coming and established crypto-artists and collectors as part of my newsletter research. I also spent many hours (seriously, many!) checking sales numbers, graphs, and trends to figure out how the space works. My curiosity led me to identify patterns creators are using to increase their sales. Although they seem simple, many newcomers are not aware of these tricks. Take these bullets as the theory they would teach you in the NFT school 😉
There is no magic in magic, it's all in the details.
Walt Disney
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1. Volume vs. Margins
First of all, we need to go back to simple business concepts. If you want to be a crypto artist and live the dream of having a stable life out of it, you need to understand the consequences of volume and margins. You will sell in a non-optimal way if you ignore them.
Volume means the frequency of transactions, purchases on your art, while margins refer to how much you make out of it after your costs. You need to factor in intangible costs like your time and tangible expenses like laptops, Ipad, screens, software licenses, advertisements, etc.
To get things started, you need to be aware of your style. Let’s say you make 1/1 piece for 10 Eths, and they sell every three months. You have a low volume and high margins style. The opposite side of the coin would be to create 20/20 pieces every 4 hours for 1 Tez, and you sell half of it. You have a high volume, low margins style - @iamwessel is an example of a successful high volume, low margins style. There is nothing wrong with mixing both styles.
Your objective is to increase both variables (high volume and high margins) at the end of the day. Do you know who has done it? The great Beeple, who sells pieces for millions while creating them daily.
2. Pay Attention to Royalties
What is the difference between old art markets and the crypto market? Royalties! They are gamechanger, and you should count royalties into your strategy. Most sites have a default of 5% to 10%. If you are a high-volume artist, I suggest you stick with the defaults. If you transition into a low-volume artist, you should probably increase your royalties to 15%+. Whatever % you pick, make sure you have royalties appropriately set.
Why are royalties so attractive? Well, imagine yourself in 10 years. You have created hundreds of pieces, you have developed a community of more than 1k collectors, and your pieces are moving from hand to hand over the years…. That’s the dream, and it is pretty much alive as long as you develop your secondary market slowly over time.
3. Burn Baby, Burn
Burning an NFT might be counterintuitive at first glance. The truth is, the burning function is essential, and you should use it properly. When should you burn one of your pieces? Whenever they do not sell.
Every time I see sold-out artists is like seeing Twitter’s blue check. But don’t get me wrong. I do buy pieces that aren’t sold out too. Just keep in mind, many collectors buy crypto art for the chance of flipping for a profit, either short-term or long-term. For that reason, shortening your collection makes it look better from a collector’s standpoint.
You may be thinking, “Ok, but they will know I burned them. Is not that complicated to see the logs….” That is right, but there is another advantage of burning NFTs. When you burn a piece, you can’t bring it back, increasing the value of the previously purchased pieces.
The question shouldn’t be, should I burn my NFT? The question should be, how long should I wait to burn them? I’ve seen artists doing it after a couple of hours and others waiting months. Use your frequency style as a reference. Are you a low-volume artist? Then burn slowly. Are you a high-volume artist? Burn fast.
4. Create Collections
Do you know why clothing brands release collections? Because they are flexible and let brands experiment with creativity, pricing, and target different groups.
Here is how you could do it:
Release collections targeting different collector groups—Mix high-end (pricier NFTs) and low-end (cheaper NFTs).
Create art-type collections. Would you like to explore 3D, but you are selling 2D already? Launch a new collection and see how it goes.
Did you run out of names? Try to find cycles like summer collection, autumn collection… - Zara, Massimo Dutti, H&M have been doing it for years. It must be working.
Treat each platform as a different collection. The pieces you release on Foundation should differ from those you release on OpenSea or hic et nunc. NFT artist Multivac has been doing this masterfully.
If you are already selling, I hope you learned new moves to optimize your strategy. If you are starting, I hope you feel more confident about your early decisions. Unfortunately, understanding the theory doesn’t guarantee success; you need time and practice.
Until next time,
- Kaloh
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Been slowly picking up these strategies intuitively over the last year but nice to see it codified here. Look forward to reading more...
Nice article! I've been doubting if to have separate collections with variations around the same theme (in my case there are 3D/2D balls). Good to know this is actually a better strategy. Also treating each platform as a different collection sounds like a good advice. Cheers!