This comprehensive guide walks creators through minting NFTs easily without upfront costs using lazy minting technology on Gate's recommended platforms like OpenSea and Rarible. Learn how to set up a MetaMask wallet, connect to marketplaces, and create both single NFTs and collections on cost-effective blockchains like Polygon. The guide covers essential steps from uploading digital assets to setting prices, managing royalties, and listing for sale with only 2.5% transaction fees. Discover lazy minting's revolutionary approach that defers gas fees until purchase, enabling new artists to enter the market risk-free. Master community building and promotion strategies across social media to maximize NFT visibility. Whether you're an artist, creator, or collector, this step-by-step tutorial provides everything needed to successfully launch and sell your NFTs on the world's leading blockchain marketplaces.
What Is NFT Minting?
NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token, which is used to prove ownership of specific assets. Typically, NFTs refer to digital assets. Simply put, NFT minting is the process of creating artwork on the blockchain.
What can be turned into an NFT? Basically, anything you own in the digital space can be minted. You can create NFTs from tweets, digital artwork, and even music albums. Among these options, art pieces gained the most popularity in recent years.
Artists worldwide can now create and sell their artwork in a secure manner thanks to blockchain technology. Moreover, anyone can create NFTs and sell their work.
However, when tokenizing digital assets and minting NFTs, terrifying gas fees occur. Since most NFTs are issued on Ethereum, we will introduce how to mint using Ethereum. However, every transaction on these popular networks incurs gas fees, typically expensive gas fees.
The NFT minting process is not much different from uploading content to streaming platforms, but gas fees cannot be ignored, and they fluctuate over time. When minting and creating NFTs, you need a cryptocurrency wallet like MetaMask and a small amount of Ether to pay for gas fees. In this guide, we will explore how to create and sell NFTs for free on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains.
Minting NFTs for Free
Before learning how to sell NFT artwork, you need to choose a marketplace where you can mint NFTs for free. Additionally, you need a cryptocurrency wallet to pay fees when your NFT is sold and receive payment.
You can create and sell NFTs on numerous platforms, each with different features. We will explore the most famous platforms for NFT trading: OpenSea and Rarible.
However, an important point to note about popular NFT markets is that while NFT minting is free, they charge a 2.5% service fee (based on the sale price) for listing NFTs.
How to Mint NFTs for Free on OpenSea
Step 1: Install MetaMask Wallet and Create an Account
MetaMask is a popular cryptocurrency wallet, and you can install it as a browser extension. If you have never used it before, first download the wallet from the MetaMask website.
If you already have a MetaMask wallet, you can import it using your secret recovery phrase. If you are a new user, you can create a wallet by following the instructions. Since problems may occur with your device, write down the secret phrase needed to recover your wallet using pen and paper. You also need to set a password that will be required every time you connect to a new device.
Navigate to the OpenSea marketplace and click the wallet icon in the upper right corner to connect your wallet. Select MetaMask from the wallet options that appear in the popup and click confirm. Once your wallet is connected to the NFT market, you can view your profile and create your first NFT.
Step 3: Create and Mint NFTs for Free on OpenSea
Choose between a Single NFT or an NFT collection. NFT collection minting, which has a higher success rate than single NFTs, is more popular.
You can create a Single NFT by clicking Create in the upper right menu. To create an NFT collection, click the account icon (upper right, right next to the wallet icon) > My collections > Create a collection.
The minting process for singles and collections is quite similar. NFT collections require additional information, and after creation, you can add items or select the number of NFTs to mint.
You must include the following details for each piece of artwork or NFT:
- Digital artwork (image, video, audio, 3D model)
- Name
- External link
- Description
- Collection (if you have created one)
- Properties
- Unlockable content
- Supply
- Blockchain
Since we are discussing how to create and sell NFTs for free, it is very important to select Polygon instead of the default Ethereum setting.
As you already know, Ethereum is mainly used as the blockchain for NFTs, but other blockchains that support smart contracts and NFT minting also exist. Polygon's fees are considerably cheaper and faster, making it one of the main networks suitable for NFT and cryptocurrency transactions. In this case, OpenSea creators can create NFTs for free using Polygon.
Click Create to generate your first NFT. However, it is not yet listed for sale and will not appear in searches.
Step 4: Upload NFT
To list your NFT, you need to click Sell in the upper right corner. You can set your desired price.
After entering all the details, click Complete listing. It will then appear in the sales list.
Keep in mind that when your NFT is sold, you must pay 2.5% of the sale price as an OpenSea fee.
All done! Now you can create and sell NFTs on OpenSea.
What Is Lazy Minting?
Lazy minting, also known as gasless minting, refers to NFTs that are minted at the time of purchase (not creation), allowing new artists to mint NFTs without upfront costs. Lazy minting is a feature offered by popular markets including OpenSea and Rarible.
The lazy minting feature was introduced in late recent years in response to skyrocketing gas fees. This feature is particularly suitable for creators who are just entering the market or do not want to pay expensive amounts before their work is sold.
With lazy minting, advanced technology allows the cost of NFT minting to be deferred until it is sold to the first buyer. After the sale is made, it is actually recorded on the blockchain. Before being minted, related data is stored in IPFS, a decentralized file storage system.
NFT transfer fees are also included in gas fees. This is why creators do not have to pay additional costs. A certain percentage of the purchase price is used when recording the NFT on the blockchain.
How to Mint NFTs for Free on Rarible
Rarible is another NFT market famous for NFT artwork, game items, and other NFT assets. We will now introduce in detail how to sell NFTs for free on Rarible. Since you need a wallet to connect to Rarible, we will use MetaMask as we did on OpenSea.
This step is identical to Step 1 on OpenSea. If you do not have a MetaMask wallet, create and download one. You must safely store your secret recovery phrase in case of device problems.
Go to Rarible.com and click Sign > Sign in with MetaMask to connect your MetaMask wallet.
Step 3: Create and Mint NFTs for Free on Rarible
Once you have connected the marketplace from your wallet and agreed to Rarible's terms of service, click Create in the upper right corner to generate an NFT.
Click on the Ethereum blockchain and select either Single or Multiple NFTs.
Clicking multiple allows you to create an NFT collection, which is commonly chosen. However, since we are learning how to create and sell NFTs for free, there is not much difference. Therefore, we will select Single.
Enter the following details for your new NFT:
- Digital file (image, video, audio)
- Select sale type (fixed price, bid, timed auction)
- Price
- Unlockable content
- Collection (select Rarible for free minting)
- Free minting (must be enabled)
- Name
- Description
- Royalties
Be sure to select the Rarible collection to enable the free minting feature.
Also, make sure the free minting feature is enabled. In fact, this feature is the lazy minting function. Using this feature, when your NFT is first sold, the buyer pays the gas fees required for NFT minting.
After filling in all the information and confirming its accuracy (cannot be changed later), scroll down and click Create item. You have minted your first NFT on Rarible.
Once the NFT is created, it can be purchased immediately on Rarible. However, until someone actually purchases the NFT, it is only minted on the Ethereum blockchain and not stored on the blockchain.
Congratulations! You have now learned how to sell NFTs for free on Rarible.
How to Sell NFTs
You now know how to sell NFTs for free on OpenSea and Rarible. Let us now explore two methods: building an NFT community and promoting your NFTs.
Forming an NFT community is very important and is something new artists must pay attention to. OpenSea and other famous NFT markets use social verification for artwork approval. OpenSea requires at least one social media platform that manages NFT collections and is open to the public.
First, inform your subscribers that you are interested in NFTs. Then share your first NFT collection as soon as you create it.
Experts recommend releasing limited edition NFT editions to increase revenue and followers.
You need to know how to promote your NFTs to increase the chances of selling your work. Do not fall into the illusion that people will buy your work automatically just by listing it. You must promote your NFTs through all possible social media channels. The majority of NFT artists and creators use Twitter, Telegram, Discord, and Reddit to communicate with fans.
OpenSea and Rarible
You have now learned how to sell NFT artwork on both OpenSea and Rarible platforms. So which market is better? The results will vary depending on your community, already established fan base, differentiated features, and personal preferences. Since there are differences between OpenSea and Rarible, you can utilize each according to your preferred specific features.
In conclusion, both are popular NFT markets, so they have many similarities. However, a representative difference is that NFTs can be minted on different blockchains. On OpenSea, you can mint on the Ethereum or Polygon blockchain, while on Rarible, you can mint on Ethereum, Flow, and Tezos.
Additionally, Rarible allows you to introduce a verification badge. Artists prefer this feature, and it will serve as an important factor in choosing a platform for selling NFTs.
FAQ
What are NFTs and why would I want to create and sell them?
NFTs are unique digital assets representing ownership of specific items or content. Creating and selling NFTs monetizes your digital art, collectibles, or unique works with verified ownership and authenticity on the blockchain.
OpenSea offers free NFT minting through lazy minting, allowing you to upload art without upfront costs. Rarible also provides free minting options. Some platforms may charge gas fees during the actual sale transaction.
What is the step-by-step process to create an NFT without paying gas fees?
Use zero-gas platforms like Rarible or Mintable. Create an account, click Create, upload your digital asset, add details, and mint for free. No ETH required for the minting process itself.
How do you list and sell NFTs on different marketplaces?
Create your NFT, connect your wallet, set a price, and list it on major platforms. Most charge transaction fees around 2.5%. Follow each platform's verification steps, then your NFT becomes available for purchase by collectors worldwide.
NFTs support image formats（JPG, PNG, GIF）, MPEG-4 videos, and GLB files. You can also add bonus content up to 3GB in any format. Ensure files are high quality and properly sized for optimal display.
No hidden costs exist. OpenSea charges a standard 2.5% transaction fee on every sale, clearly disclosed upfront. Gas fees may apply depending on blockchain network conditions, but these are transparent and shown before transaction confirmation.
How do you set royalties and pricing for your NFTs?
Set royalties by choosing a percentage (typically 5-10%) of resale revenue on secondary markets. This percentage is automatically deducted from each resale transaction. You control the royalty rate and pricing, earning passive income from future sales while managing applicable taxes on earnings.
What legal and copyright considerations should you know before selling NFTs?
Ensure you own the original work and hold all copyrights before minting NFTs. Never use copyrighted material without permission. Comply with intellectual property laws in your jurisdiction. Clearly disclose what rights buyers receive with the NFT purchase.
Engage your community through social media and Discord. Collaborate with influencers and creators. Offer limited editions and exclusive perks to create urgency. Build partnerships with other projects. Use strategic storytelling to highlight your NFT's unique value and rarity.
What are the tax implications of creating and selling NFTs?
NFT sales are taxable events subject to income and self-employment taxes. You can deduct business expenses related to creation, such as software, tools, and platform fees, to reduce taxable income.
* The information is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice or any other recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by Gate.
