Let's Put Out An Audio NFT (Part 1)
This is part one of a three part series on how to release an Audio NFT...
Putting out an Audio NFT is something that you can theoretically do at any time, but the fact of the matter is if you want to be successful in putting out Audio NFTs, you need sales.đ How are people going to know that youâre putting something out? When do you announce it? Should you do a launch party? These were just some of the questions that I had as an artist at the beginning of my NFT journey. What I quickly realized, was that selling my art on the blockchain was incredibly similar to selling my art in a brick-and-mortar storefront or on my own e-commerce site. I realized that my success as an artist would be based on the relationships I cultivated with my existing fans and supporters.
Over the past several months, Iâve gotten a lot of questions about how to put out an Audio NFT, and I realized that there was a lot more that went into my process than just uploading a .wav file. There was a lot of work that went into putting together the narrative behind my work, getting a team together, and cultivating my image as an artist and what kind of artistic contributions I wanted to make to the world.
When releasing an Audio NFT the first thing you want to do is get your team in place. Who is helping you to push your project online? Do you need people to make graphics or additional promo materials like flyers and promotional videos? How are you going to push your art, who are you marketing to and what do you need?
Never fear, Inna Dominus has got you covered like an overcoat! 𧄠Weâve put together a three-part guide on releasing Audio NFTs and have broken Part 1 of this series focuses on: Creating a Roadmap for your Art, Goal Setting, and Your Narrative or Artist Bio.
This is our first article in this series so be sure to subscribe to be the first to be notified about Parts Two and Three.
Put Together a Roadmap đ
When releasing any creative project itâs important to make sure that youâre set up for success from the beginning. After all, if you fail to plan you plan to fail, so how will you promote your work, engage with fans, track your bids, etc? This is where you want to start your journey. What is the end goal of your release? Do you want to raise a certain amount of money or awareness around a cause or topic?
These are all things you want to think about as youâre planning for your release. At the very least, your end goal should be to increase awareness of your brand, at the best, you engage with lifelong fans and collectors that continue to support your work in the future.
My roadmap looked a little like this:
đŁLet users get to know you as an artist, help them to engage with your story and your existing artwork
đPre-Release music on streaming platforms to engage listeners
đOffer exclusive music on BandCamp or on your website to capture user info
đOffer giveaways and competitions on social media to increase your brand awareness, engage with new listeners and drum up interest for your work
đPromote other artists and publicize their works âSupporting other artists in your genre or with similar styles is a great way to interact with a fanbase that will likely be interested in your product
đEngage. Engage. Engage with your tweets, DMs, mentions, etc. the more you reply and interact with the other users on most social media apps generally speaking the more that the platform will push your page and help boost your organic growth.
Remember: Your fans and followers are your #1 repeat customers. You have to make sure that youâre engaging with them and encouraging them to share and interact with your art, because theyâre more likely to buy it
đDetermine what you want to achieve with your art before you place it on the market. Stick to your goals and donât let the initial excitement of getting a bid on your piece sway you to accepting less money for your work. While getting a bid can be exciting, you need to think about how this bid will affect the prices of your art long term. If the majority of your pieces have sold for 20 ETH on average, your buyers might be a little upset if they find out that your artwork is now going for .1 or .2 ETH. There are many collectors buying NFTs as an investment in your artwork in the future. If you start lowering your prices and increasing the number of pieces available for sale, you could end up decreasing the value of your artwork in the long run.
Set Goals â
Setting goals when it comes to your art is 100 times easier said than done. How much money do you want for your piece or pieces? Have you considered all of the costs that went into you creating the piece?
When youâre setting your goals you want to set S.M.A.R.T Goals (which stands for Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). Setting SMART goals will allow you to stay on track and stick to your guns even after you have bids on your work. Getting your goals in place will help you to stay consistent with your overall branding and messaging and it will allow you to track what marketing and messaging is working with your fanbase and whatâs garnering attention from your collectors.
Your Narrative đ
Your narrative is so important in facilitating meaningful connections and conversations with potential fans and buyers. Who are you? What do you represent? What is your piece about? How does this piece connect with you as an artist and contribute to the overall narrative and philosophy that you want to share with the world?
In a lot of ways, your narrative will be your lifeline and keep you tethered to why you started creating your art and will inspire you to continue, it will give you inspiration when there is none, and it will help you to stay within the boundaries of who you are as an artist. Creating your narrative and making it something that youâll love and be proud of might take time, but it will help you to find the right collectors and fans to connect with. This, however, can be a double-edged sword. You donât want the lifeline that keeps you tethered to your narrative to be the rope that chokes you when youâre ready to make a change to your artist bio and artistic narrative. Youâre free to grow and change as an artist at any time.
Take the time to put together a narrative that will allow you to be authentic and connect with the communities that are important to you. You are the artist and YOUR work is what is going to inspire others and change the world. Be sure that the message that youâre sharing is what you want to communicate to the world and that your messaging fits with your overall brand. Donât be afraid to be yourself; people want to see and support your art and there is a lane, a community, and support that is waiting for you.
Wrapping It Up đ
Releasing art can be intimidating because you want people to see your art, love it, and eventually buy it and continue to support your work. If you want people to follow you on your artistic journey and believe in your art, itâs important to keep your narrative consistent as you move along in your career. Your art will be around far longer than you ever will so make sure that the legacy that youâre leaving is a part of the narrative youâve created. The easiest way to do this is by setting goals consistently and knowing what it is that youâre trying to gain at the end of your release.
With the way that music is created today, itâs 100% possible to sit at your computer all day, upload your art, and then have it sold without ever getting up or waiting for feedback from another person. This is something that makes Audio NFTs extremely innovative, lucrative, exciting, and dangerous. The danger comes in when you donât get feedback or time to stop and think about what it is youâre releasing and how it furthers your long-term goals.
As Audio NFTs are increasing in popularity, weâre seeing this growing trend of people just minting their work before really thinking about its overall impact on the community and in the space. Itâs so easy to do because all you have to do is upload your work and pay to mint it and boom! đ„You have an NFT. đŒ Itâs great that the process is so fast and easy, but putting time into your work before itâs minted is essential to creating a community of long-time fans and supporters. People can tell when a job has been rushed. Donât do that and disappoint your buyers by just throwing something subpar online to be auctioned. Think about how this piece is increasing (or decreasing) the overall value of your work. The easiest way to sell art is by making your work a good long-term investment.
Sticking to your narrative, goals, and plans will keep you consistent and on track and allow you to build a base of supporters that will want to see you grow and succeed. While it may be hard, itâs crucial to stay on track with what youâve planned. Even when you get discouraged remember your friends over at Inna Dominus feel your pain, but even as hard as it is sometimes, you just have to trust the process.
Cheers!! đŸ
Aina Moyé
Inna Dominus
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Reminder: This is our First article in this series so be sure to subscribe to be the first to be notified about Parts Two and Three.