written by: Mellap Murila
Introduction
It’s easy to think that as a creator, you know how to sell your own art. But if you’re selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs), then there are some things you should be doing and others that will hurt your sales. In this article I list 10 ways you may be hurting your NFT sales:
Not using metadata.
Metadata is the data that describes your NFTs so that they can be found and understood by users. Think of metadata as the “tags” in Gmail or Facebook that help people find content.
Metadata helps you:
- Find NFTs faster (and more easily) when you are searching for them on a marketplace or third-party app.
- Make your items stand out from other content on a marketplace. This will help drive sales and increase traffic to your store/site, which will lead to more sales over time. Metadata also makes it easier for potential customers who are looking through lists of items on marketplaces like OpenSea or Rarebits because they can quickly identify what kind of asset it is—for example, an artwork or an in-game item—without having to click into each asset individually first!
Not participating in an NFT community.
It is extremely important to participate in an NFT community. Participating in an NFT community will help you learn a lot about the NFT ecosystem and how to be successful at it.
There are many different types of NFT communities, including Discord channels, Telegram groups, websites/blogs, etc.
The benefits of participating in an NFT community include:
- Learning more about how to be successful with your NFTs
- Finding new people to trade with (and maybe make friends!)
- Leveraging network and social capital
- Collaboration opportunities to leverage each other’s networks
Not using a platform that supports artists.
- You are not using a platform that supports artists
- Not using a platform that has a good reputation
- Not using a platform that is easy to use and learn how to use
- Examples of platforms that support artists
Selling to the wrong audience.
Selling to the wrong audience is a common mistake that most investors make. But it’s one that can easily be avoided.
So, who is your audience? If you aren’t sure, then ask yourself: what type of person or business will benefit from my product? What are their needs and wants? What are their pain points? Where do they spend their time online? What kind of marketing research have I done on this topic so far? This information will help you figure out who exactly should be buying from you.*
Once you know who your audience is, the next step is making sure that they can find the products they want from your store — no matter where they are in the world. To do this, there has to be some sort of consistency between all elements on your site (e.g., colors used throughout).
Missing the point of NFTs.
You might be thinking that you want to sell your work so you can make money. That’s great! But NFTs are not just about money and sales, they are a way to connect with people that you may not have been able to in the past.
It’s important to remember that an artist is never really done with their work. They always see new ways of looking at it, and can tweak things here and there when needed. Since NFTs allow users to enjoy your artwork for an indefinite amount of time, it allows them room for change. In other words: if someone buys a piece of art from you today, they will still be able to enjoy it in 10 years when they decide they want something different hanging on their wall or desk!
Not building presence on other platforms before selling your first NFT.
- You don’t have a presence on other platforms before selling your first NFT
- You haven’t built a following on other platforms before selling your first NFT
- You aren’t active on other platforms before selling your first NFT
Not utilizing your website.
Your website is one of your most important assets. It’s where you can set up a store and sell your NFTs, it’s the place you can use to announce new products, and it’s also the perfect space to run contests and giveaways.
But if you don’t have a website, then none of that is possible!
Not thinking outside of the box.
- Not thinking outside of the box.
- Being afraid to try new things.
- Being afraid to fail.
- Thinking that if you’ve done something before, you don’t need to do it again in the future (e.g., “We already have a NFT market, so there’s no need for us to do this”).
Not allowing others to remix your art.
This is a bad move.
Despite what you might think, allowing people to remix your art is not going to hurt your sales. In fact, it can have the opposite effect: The more people who try your art and create their own versions, the better chance there is someone will buy it because they liked the piece so much they want one for themselves.
Not understanding that it is not just about money and sales, but also about people and relationships.
Many entrepreneurs think that it is all about money and sales. However, it is not just about these things. It is also about relationships and art. It is also about community and people. All of this creates a collective experience that goes beyond just the art or money. Once you understand this concept, you will see how important it is to create an emotional connection with your buyers so they will want to keep coming back for more art as long as there are new artists on the platform with new pieces for sale!
It can be hard to know what you are doing right and wrong when selling NFTs without hearing from someone who has been there and done it.
This list helps to Alleviate those frustrations and provides actions to take today to improve your NFT Sales and presence!
It can be hard to know what you are doing right and wrong when selling NFTs without hearing from someone who has been there and done it. This list helps to alleviate those frustrations and provides actions to take today to improve your NFT Sales and presence!
- Community: The community around a game is its core, which makes it especially important that you make an effort to build relationships in the community. You should go out of your way regularly (weekly/monthly) to engage with other users online or offline, reach out for feedback on how they feel about your product, etc., so that you can get a sense of what’s working well or what needs improvement in order for everyone involved with the project at large – including yourself – to succeed. Especially if one person does not have the capacity for this type of communication alone, consider hiring someone specifically tasked with building rapport between all parties involved so there’s less chance of them feeling ignored even though they might be spending thousands upon thousands on their purchases each week due solely because they want recognition from whoever created these items first before anyone else has access.”
Conclusion
Hopefully, this list has given you an idea of where to start with your NFT sales. As always, the most important thing is to have fun and remember that it is a learning process. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t sell out of all your inventory right away! The best way for us to grow as artists and creators is by sharing our work with others who are interested in it—and we hope this article has helped you do just that!
About the Author

Mellap Murila is a web3 educator, content creator, and creative copywriter based in Columbus, GA.
Her educational background is in International Business Administrations. Her career has mostly been in sales and marketing roles, and she is a certified blockchain consultant—so she has her fingers on the pulse of business fundamentals as well as web3.
She started her freelancing business to share her passion for all things blockchain with others.
She believes that by educating people on this new technology, we can help them understand how it can be used to improve their lives and businesses. Web3 is not just the future, it is now and it is changing lives.
Find out more on how you can work with her here.