4 Steps Towards Owning Your First Art NFT

Are you looking to add an NFT to your art collection but don't know where to start? You're not alone. Our recent report on the "State of Art Collecting 2022" found that 37% of art collectors have heard of NFTs but have not yet purchased one. There are a number of reasons why many interested collectors haven’t yet taken the plunge—from a basic unfamiliarity with the landscape to questions on how to get started.

As the general manager at one of the world’s leading online galleries, I often hear from collectors who want to enter this new, innovative world of art NFTs. While there is a bit of a learning curve to familiarizing yourself with what NFTs are, how to acquire them, and who’s creating them, the following four steps will demystify the process for you so that you approach purchasing your first NFT with confidence and excitement.

1. Start With An Established Online Gallery

There are plenty of art collectors who have purchased NFTs — 63% of those surveyed for our report and upwards of 74% found in other industry research. Those who have not purchased an NFT yet have cited various reasons, many of which revolve around misinformation or a lack of information. They see the process as overly complicated, are uncertain about where to buy them, and aren’t confident when it comes to determining which NFTs are worth collecting.

What would need to change in order for the uninitiated to consider purchasing an NFT? The most popular answer was, "they’d need someone to show them how to buy one." And that's just the aim of many established online galleries. Online galleries that work with artists to create NFTs and price them have gathered invaluable knowledge from experience and can help new collectors get their questions answered about purchasing their first NFT. Art advisors and curators can help you to better assess the worth and quality of NFTs, get you onboarded with web3 tech, and more.

2. Buy What You Love, Not What Might Increase In Value

Many collectors wanting to buy their first NFT simply aren’t sure which are worth collecting. Newcomers to the space can certainly be distracted by the high prices, especially when they see an NFT jump from a first sale price of a few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand dollars on the secondary market. Newcomers can also be deterred by the recent crypto market crash and question whether it’s even worth it or not to begin collecting NFTs. Collectors may wonder if they should follow a trend or if there's a secret to knowing which NFTs will increase in value.

What’s the answer? Seek out art that you love and artists you’re excited about. Maybe there's an artist doing something unique that you admire or a community you want to be part of rising up around a series of NFTs. If you're drawn to art for a particular reason, look for NFTs that uniquely inspire, challenge, and move you. You'll be more motivated to collect and satisfied with what you do buy if you focus on the art rather than trying to speculate.

3. Get To Know The NFT Community

An overall reluctance to get involved in NFTs can also stem from FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt. New technology often evokes FUD, but what better way to counter it than immersing yourself in the NFT community. Including everyone from artists and collectors to curators and crypto investors, the NFT community is strong and growing.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Discord, and begin to follow artists and accounts that can not only keep you informed on what's new and trending but on how it all works, too. Joining in the conversation will allow you to connect with other collectors who may point you in the direction of new artists you may enjoy, and following artists will help you get to know their work and their story, too.

4. Evaluate NFT Utility and Benefits

Another hesitation of many would-be collectors is that NFTs are "too complicated." They may be looking at all the extras the technology offers and wondering why NFTs have to be more complicated than a painting in a frame or a sculpture on a pedestal. The reason for the "complicated" nature of NFTs is that the technology backing the creation of NFTs offers a number of benefits not only for the artist but for the collector as well.

Many NFT projects have built-in features that make ownership like being part of a club. Some offer fractional ownership, where fans can be partial owners of work or can become a group of patrons for that artist. Others involve owning one NFT of a limited series drop. NFT projects can have other built-in utilities as well, like being attached to physical work, an experience, a reward, a membership, or another extra.

Just the Beginning

If you’re looking to purchase your first NFT—and with the market at a low, now is a great time to do so—don’t go it alone. There are many resources and many people out there willing to guide you through the process. Getting acclimated to what NFTs are and how they work is only the beginning. Once past the initial hurdles, you can then begin to explore the fascinating, innovative, challenging, and exciting art that’s being created each day and find works you’ll truly love to add to your collection.