Whitelists: tickets to buying NFTs for cheap
Flipping NFTs to make huge profits is no longer a strange topic, but it is more of a technique than a game of chance. One of the factors that make this difference is the whitelist - the key to maximizing your flip by buying low and selling high.
Theoretically, a great strategy to acquire low in the NFT space is to buy (AKA "mint") the NFT as soon as it is released (AKA "dropped") on the project's website to avoid price rises once it enters secondary marketplaces. However, if you already know even a little about minting NFT, it’s not a piece of cake. In this article, we'll provide you with some tips to get a whitelist and explain how it helps you successfully implement the strategy above.
What is a whitelist?
Like we said about minting, this activity has two big obstacles: the first is that you can be slower than others, and the rest is that you may not stand the gas war. To solve these issues, NFT projects have introduced whitelists. A whitelist in the NFT world is a list of people who get early and guaranteed access to the mint at a specific date and window of time.
Sometimes, the whitelist not only guarantees a supporter a spot to mint but could also allow for a reduced price for the NFT (or even a free NFT). By doing so, supporters are incentivized to stay engaged with the project and promote the project to friends very early on in the project lifecycle.
How exactly are you benefiting from being whitelisted?
You get guaranteed access to mint
The NFT space is constantly growing, and good projects attract a lot of interested buyers who rush to mint as soon as the project drops. There is a high chance that someone else will get their hands on an NFT before you do. Being on the whitelists means that you will always be "reserved" until the mint is successful without having to worry about the early birds.
You can get an NFT for an 'early bird' price or even for free
This is especially beneficial for folks who are new to the sector and want to give it a shot but don't want to risk their money. This is also advantageous for NFT professionals. When flipping, a low buy equals a bigger profit margin. What person wouldn't desire that?
You avoid gas wars
When you are accepted to the whitelist, you may choose a precise time within the timeframe offered to mint your NFT. This enables the transactions to be spaced out, resulting in less competition, less network traffic, and lower gas fees.
For example, The Prime Ape Planet NFT project launched at a mint price of 0.25 ETH excluding gas fees and jumped to a floor price of 2.3 ETH on the secondary market within 48 hours of launch. So, a person who got hold of an NFT from that project at mint almost 10xed their investment within 2 days!
To give you a better idea: 0.25 ETH is around $700 and 2.3 ETH is more than $6000.
Given the benefits, whitelists are like a golden ticket in the NFT world. They are wildly sought after and sometimes difficult to get on because of the competition.
Basic steps to get your name on the coveted list
Find a good project early
A whitelist only works if the project has not been launched. You must find a good project before its drop and before it accumulates a mass following. One of the best channels for this is Twitter, and I've got a more specific post about it here.
Exploring NFT ranking tools is also a good idea, such as Trait Sniper. There they not only list unrevealed projects but also help you score them according to many criteria, you will know which is "good" for you. If you have more time, you can browse through some of the NFT marketplaces (which I've helped you list and review here) to have a practical sense of trends.
Join the project's Discord group
Discord is where most of an NFT project’s activity takes place ie., introduction to the founding team, major announcements, giveaways, project’s roadmap, instructions to getting on the whitelist, etc. Links to the Discord group can usually be found on a project’s Twitter bio.
Follow the eligibility requirements
Each project has its own set of standards in order to be considered for a whitelist. All you have to do is ensure that you satisfy their requirements.
Once you have been determined to be qualified, you will enter your crypto wallet address in order to be pre-approved for minting. You will next choose a time to mint from the possibilities they present. Just make a note in your calendar of the time and date you've chosen so you don't forget!
Never forget OR share your crypto wallet's seed phrase/password.
Whitelists benefit both the founders and the buyers of an NFT initiative. Most whitelist eligibility requirements include a need for persons to "remain engaged in the community." This is due to the fact that founders need help from supporters in order to market the project and guarantee that it sells out on launch day.
Stay ‘active’ and get yourself on the whitelist
Stay engaged
Most projects offer a whitelist spot to supporters who are genuinely interested in the project and add value. To really get noticed by the founding team and earn your spot, you must actively engage on the Discord chat and have meaningful conversations about the project with other community members. You can tweet, retweet, and talk about the project on your social channels to show your support.
But be mindful not to spam! Keep it authentic.
Invite people
Many NFT ventures appreciate it when supporters bring in additional potential buyers. You may invite others to the NFT project you're promoting by sending out your unique invite code to your friends and other Discord servers.
Each Discord server contains a number of chat rooms for various purposes. When advertising an NFT project on other NFT Discord servers, only post in the server's "shill" chat area. In the NFT culture, "shill" implies "to flaunt."
Make fan art
Take inspiration from the project and make your own fan art to show your support. This is free marketing for the project and more brownie points for you.
Participate in giveaways
Most NFT projects host giveaways on Twitter and Discord where they ask their followers to share, retweet, etc for a chance to earn a whitelist spot. Take part in as many as you can.
Not a typical way but if you’re lucky enough, you’ll get the whitelist from the NFT ranking platforms give away programs. Take Traitsniper as an example, we have several white lists that give way every day, sometimes even NFTs give away. Winners’ announcements will be updated after 24hrs.
5. Get in early
To create initial demand for the whitelist itself, most projects easily give away spots on the whitelist to early supporters without too many asks. The key here is to identify a project at an early stage and become one of the first few members of their Discord channel. However, this can cause risks like rugpull. Be sure of the legitimacy of a project before jumping into it. We have a regularly updated list of rug signs, which you can refer to here.
Conclusion
Getting on a whitelist takes some effort, but a few days of labor may earn you a chance to mint an NFT and sell it for a large profit margin. You may possibly make thousands of dollars in a matter of days just by spending your time and not too much money.