I have a question for you, are you tired of buying into an NFT project on the secondary market, only to watch the floor price drop? If so, this article is perfect for you. Together, let’s explore how the Whitelist can be the solution to your problem.
The Whitelist, holy grail, Shangri La, the sacred space within a project’s community that guarantees a mint should you want it. The Whitelist is something that provides the luxury of observing from the sidelines and analyzing the secondary market metrics before entering into a trade. Ultimately, this means that you can almost guarantee that a trade will be profitable before entering it.
Back in the NFT dark ages (last year), securing Whitelist spots was an incredibly agonizing task. It consisted of an unhealthy amount of grinding, with the hopes that the Discord moderators would spot you as an active and contributing member of the community. This often led to wannabe minters sitting in front of their devices for hours upon hours, partaking in small talk and spamming phrases such as “WGMI” and “to the moon”. Some even utilized chatbots to exploit the system with pre-set text outputs on a loop. Does this all sound familiar to you by any chance?
Thankfully, these days, our time and mental health are valued. Now, the majority of projects have a no-grind approach. Despite this, there are still certain strategies that can be implemented to increase your chances of getting on a Whitelist. Before we explore the best strategies, let’s cover the basics first.
When minting an NFT, we usually encounter two main issues. First of all, as the NFT space continues to grow, we see more interested buyers flock toward projects. The more hyped the collection, naturally, the more people will be hoping to mint. When demand is far beyond that of the supply, it will lead to tokens being sold out before you get a chance to mint. This leads us directly onto issue number two, gas wars. Ah, the dreaded gas fee, whilst not an issue on the Solana network, Ethereum is, and will likely continue to be the home of the majority of NFT collections. These transaction fees can become ridiculous as excited buyers look to mint, and with increased competition, comes increased gas fees.
With the above in mind, the Whitelists have become an integral part of the NFT minting process. The Whitelist eliminates the frenzy, and instead allows plenty of time to buy your token within the set time allocation. The mint window given to Whitelisted members greatly decongests the amount of traffic on the ETH blockchain, leading to lower gas fees. If you try to mint early and the fee is high, no stress, simply give it an hour and try again, there’s no rush!
Those lucky enough to be on the Whitelist often get to the mint at a discounted rate. This provides people with the chance to enter a project’s ecosystem with reduced financial risk, and for you flippers out there, a better chance of making that sweet profit.
With all that out the way, let’s explore the top 7 ways to get Whitelisted.
1. Get in early
This one is self-explanatory, the earlier you integrate into a project’s community, the better chances you have of securing a Whitelist spot. Almost all projects will award early adopters for being involved early, and displaying faith and trust. The later you enter into a community and the more hyped the project is, the harder it is to get on the Whitelist.
In order to find projects early, there are a number of websites that can be used such as Rarity.Tools or NFT Calendar. Influencers in the space can also be followed on YouTube and Twitter, which is usually a surefire way to learn about upcoming collections early.
2. Join the Discord server
It goes without saying, joining a project’s Discord server should be the first thing you do for any project of interest. Not only is it an entry point into the project’s community, but it also provides more detailed information on it, including the founding team and roadmap etc. In most cases, there will be clear instructions on how to get on the Whitelist within the server. Following these instructions is the best way to secure a Whitelist spot.
3. Giveaways
Whilst purely luck-based, giveaways are still a viable option to get onto the exclusive Whitelist. After all, we need to take every opportunity that we can, right? Almost all projects will provide opportunities to win Whitelist spots through Twitter giveaways by asking people to comment, tag, share, and retweet. This is an easy task to complete, whilst the odds are against you, there’s no reason to not do this with as many projects as possible given the minimal effort involved.
4. Fan Art
If you have a creative side, then fan art is genuinely a great method to secure a Whitelist spot. This can come in the form of your own unique version of the NFT, or a comic strip detailing some lore. If you can’t draw or animate, then think outside the box and do something truly unique that will gain the attention of the team. This example of a fan creation for Multiversal Walkers shows exactly what can be done to differentiate yourself and earn a spot on the Whitelist. Fan art doesn’t have to be limited to drawings and paintings. If you have musical talent, it’s common to secure a Whitelist spot by creating a song about a project.
5. Be Active
An evolution from the previous grind meta, being active does not mean spending 24/7 spamming worthless chat on the server. It simply means you should become an active and engaged member of the community. To do this, you can take part in meaningful, stimulating and engaging conversations, join the voice chat, host community events and participate in games and activities. Projects want to award people within the community that they feel are genuinely passionate about the project, and if that is the case, your passion should shine through with little effort.
6. Promote the project
Perhaps only applicable to a few, this is a strategy for those who have been able to build a following for themselves on Twitter. People can use their influence on social media to leverage collaborations and take advantage of free Whitelist spots. Projects tend to flock towards influencers in order to gain access to their audiences and push promotions for exposure. Whitelist spots are often given in exchange for publicity to the influencer’s community in the form of giveaways.
7. Own associated NFTs
In some cases, NFT projects will have allocated Whitelist spots or a free mint for partner projects as a part of their ongoing roadmap and utility. In these cases, you may not have the choice of which collections you are eligible to mint, however, it still provides the opportunity. In other cases, when collections are directly linked, for example a project’s second generation launch, then you can often be granted a spot on the upcoming projects Whitelist. A recent example of this is seen with Jukiverse NFT, which offered presale spaces to holders of their genesis collection.
Ultimately, while the days of endless grinding are more or less over, it should never be too easy to secure a Whitelist spot. If this is the case, it suggests that the project’s priority may be to cash grabby and to sell out. This is always a red flag and should raise alarm bells. Always exercise caution, do your due diligence and get a second opinion if you are unsure. If you are given a Whitelist spot too easily, the project will act as if you have won. The reality is that if you mint, then really the project has won.
Getting Whitelisted should still provide a level of challenge, whether through engagement, adding value, or creativity. After all, founders should only want the most passionate members of the community to be the first in line.
Please remember that even if you do get on a Whitelist, it does not mean you have to mint. A Whitelist spot gives you the luxury of having time in which you can analyze the situation before buying. Be sure to utilize this luxury and analyze trading activity and volume by using the likes of icy.tools. It can also be a good idea to enter the project’s Discord and feel the vibe in general chat.
Please do not succumb to FOMO and ape in blindly, this is a recipe to get wrecked. Always remember, being on the Whitelist certainly gives you a head start, but does never guarantee wins.
