Digital products can be created once and sold repeatedly. Learn what digital products are, how to sell your own digital products, and some ideas to inspire you.
Many entrepreneurs are building entire businesses around digital products—such as ebooks, online courses, music, or custom templates—due to their popularity and ease of distribution. Other companies are launching them to complement physical items and services.
Learning how to sell digital products offers the potential for passive income, since they can be created once and sold repeatedly to different customers without needing to replenish inventory or deal with order fulfillment. That makes them ideal for creatives, bloggers, educators, and freelancers looking for efficient ways to make money online.
What are digital products?
Intangible things that are available digitally are known as digital products. These consist of virtual products in video games, software, music, digital art, ebooks, and online courses. Usually sent to clients through email or download, they give companies an opportunity to add value without having to hold actual inventory.
Why sell digital products versus physical goods?
Selling digital goods has several benefits that set them apart from other products in the eyes of businesses.
- Low overhead costs. You don’t have to hold inventory or incur any shipping charges.
- High profit margins. There’s no recurring cost of goods, so you retain the majority of your sales in profits. Calculate your profit margins ahead of time.
- Potential to automate. Orders can be delivered instantly with no oversight.
- Flexible products. You can offer free products to build your email list, monthly paid subscriptions for access to exclusive digital content, or licenses to use your digital products. There are many options for incorporating digital products into your business.
- E-learning is increasingly popular. Online educators have a massive opportunity to expand their business and impact with e-learning, an industry expected to be worth $840 billion by 2030.
But online digital products also come with specific challenges you’ll need to watch out for:
- You’re competing with free content. With digital goods, consumers will usually have access to free alternatives to what you’re selling. This necessitates careful thinking about your niche, the types of products you sell, and how to write your product descriptions.
- You’re susceptible to piracy. You’ll need to reduce the risk of content theft by employing tools to protect your products.
Where to sell digital products
There are three main channels for digital products: self-created online stores, social media, and digital marketplaces.
- Start an online store using an ecommerce platform like Shopify, then integrate a digital product app for seamless selling and management.
- Promote your digital products to your audience via social media. Use native shopping features or connect your Shopify store.
- Create a profile on an established digital marketplace within your niche and access a pre-established audience.
Recall that certain marketplaces may charge up to 50% commission on each sale in return for exposure. Create your own digital goods destination online to avoid paying seller fees.
10 best digital products to sell online.
- Online courses
- Ebooks
- Licensed digital content
- Premium content libraries
- Digital templates and tools
- Product photography
- Music, art, and entertainment
- Digital services
- Printable digital products
- Digital memberships
1. Online courses
The most effective way to deliver in-depth content in a paid digital format is through online courses. You can make a course using the voices of subject-matter experts, record a video walkthrough, or make a presentation.
Thousands or even hundreds of thousands of students can enroll in your course after it is created. Updates are only necessary when your content gets stale or irrelevant.
Visualize the learner outcomes at the beginning of the ideation process. After completing your course, what do you want your students to know or be able to do?
Knowledge checks, quizzes, and other interactive exercises can be incorporated into online courses to increase student participation and break up passive learning material.
2. Ebooks
You might also compile your knowledge into an ebook if you are the instructor for an online course. How to Prepare Cake For instance, in addition to their classes, it offers digital cookbooks that are easy to browse and save while baking.
Ebooks are a widely used digital format that can be accessed on a computer, mobile device, or ereader. You can publish an ebook on any subject, but do your homework on what is available for free first before deciding on a theme.
Should your visitors currently have unrestricted access to a multitude of blog entries or YouTube tutorials, you will need to distinguish your material with a unique selling proposition (USP).
One USP for your ebook can be your track record as a successful or knowledgeable person in your field. As an alternative, your book can claim to explore your subject in greater detail than any free online resource now available. Alternatively, present your book as the indispensable tool for readers who want to advance in your field.
Remember that most ebooks have competitive prices and often have free download parts in an attempt to sell a lot of copies.
3. Licensed digital content
There is a global ecosystem of licensable digital assets published by creatives for use by other creatives in their work, ranging from stock pictures to music, sound effects, and video footage.
You can make passive money from your creations by granting licenses to individuals and corporations to utilize your content. Put forth the effort to produce some excellent background music or video transitions, then profit from their usage for as long as they continue to be in demand.
In the same way that EditStock sells licenses to students, you may sell licenses from your own store. Alternatively, you can sell on internet markets like these stock photo websites.
When generating ideas for assets, start with your target audience’s demands in mind. Consider what kind of material is now in demand and the gaps in the market that current makers are not filling.
Make sure you use watermarks and other security measures to safeguard your digital assets, particularly if you’re selling photographs online.
4. Premium content libraries
Bundling your works is one approach to improve your offering if you’ve had success selling an ebook, online course, or content license. You have the option to charge a one-time, monthly, or annual subscription fee that grants complete access to your entire digital product inventory.
One paid resource for all snowboarding is called Snowboard Addiction. In addition to purchasing actual snowboarding equipment, customers can download instructions and register for live online courses.
A subscription-based business strategy has the benefit of creating an engaged, driven community. When it comes to creating fresh material, your subscribers are your best potential audience. They may also serve as a valuable resource for you to think through your options.
As your library will only be available to customers who have paid, you might also think about holding events like livestreams and Ask the Expert sessions.
Using a subscription billing tool, you may use Shopify to sell subscriptions for digital products.
5. Digital templates and tools
Digital products also take the shape of instruments, enabling experts to complete jobs more swiftly or skillfully. Digital solutions for typical problems in a role or typical online action, such video editing, can be sold.
Tools can be stand-alone programs or products that interface with other computer programs. For instance, RetroSupply Co. offers brushes, textures, and templates that designers can utilize with well-known applications like Photoshop and Procreate. (Observe that they also provide ebooks and online courses.)
Other digital tools and template products to sell online include:
- Digital marketing strategy templates for entrepreneurs
- Resume templates for job-seekers
- Mobile apps for businesses
- Graphic design templates for brochures, flyers, posters, etc.
- Adobe Photoshop filters and plugins for media editors
- Icons, fonts, or UX Kits for web designers
6. Product photography
Selling your photography online can be a successful business if you’re a photographer. The need for expert product photography has never been greater, owing to the growth of e-commerce.
The most skilled product photographers are able to pinpoint the characteristics of a product that consumers are most drawn to and highlight those elements in their images. Getting a decent tripod and learning how to set up the ideal lighting are two more pointers for getting excellent product shots.
You can sell product images on your own website, through an agency, through a marketplace, or all three (unless you sign an exclusivity deal), just like you can with other digital products on this list. When marketing your services, think about creating varying packages according on the quantity of images, the kinds of goods, or particular fashions.
7. Music, art, and entertainment
Digital product ideas don’t have to be purely functional. If you’re a musician, artist, or content creator, chances are you’ve explored these or similar ways to monetize your talents online:
- Crowdfunding platforms such as Patreon allow fans to support creators in return for exclusive content.
- For artists, online galleries like Saatchi Art are a good place to find buyers for your work.
- To build your following, upload or stream content on social media in return for a share of ad revenue, sponsorship deals, and audience tips.
Beyond creative and enjoyable content, branded digital goods and commodities exist in a whole other realm. Individuals who appreciate a specific podcast or album, for instance, could be drawn to products with artwork references.
You may use print-on-demand businesses to generate branded merchandise that you can sell on a Shopify site without having to pay for production until a sale is made.
This type of online product marketing frequently performs well in specialized target markets. Materia Store, for instance, offers downloadable sheet music for well-known video game soundtracks.
8. Digital services
Services complement digital goods nicely. Together with downloaded templates, a designer may also provide a logo-creation service. Subscribers to their fitness plans may be eligible for live personal training sessions from a personal trainer. Similarly, you can market services as extras for your online items, whether they are digital or physical.
For instance, you could package consultations with an Excel spreadsheet or customized report. Alternatively, you might use a strategy that many internet firms use, which is to provide a free downloadable product to attract leads for your email marketing list.
If you frequently perform certain jobs as part of your service business, you might want to think about breaking those duties out into separate products in order to generate more income.
9. Printable digital products
This category of digital products includes a broad range of print-at-home options, such as customized wall art, planners, greeting cards, and 3D printer models. Clients may print and download your designs for their own crafts or personal use.
Printable worksheets and coloring pages are a popular combination of entertainment and education for younger audiences. For instance, coloring posters are sold as mailed prints or as downloadable downloads by the digital download company Caravan.
10. Digital memberships
Digital subscriptions are your best bet for accessing a private group focused on your product or brand. A membership in your digital club may grant members access to exclusive material, the chance to buy products in limited quantities, or event tickets.
There are other online members groups that provide networking opportunities. For instance, Nomad List is a global network for digital nomads that offers trip planning tools, city information, and memberships that link users with other nomads.
But as the popularity of token-gated initiatives has demonstrated, virtual communities don’t have to be built around a physical good or service. Being a part of an open-ended collective might have benefits on its own. Blockchain technology is being used by digital enterprises like the Bored Ape Yacht Club to offer membership verification and privilege access without a central purpose.
Make sure your digital membership experience exudes exclusivity in all that you design. The objective is to give members ongoing value while also giving potential customers the impression that they are missing out.
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