The easy definition of digital products is intangible assets like pictures, e-books, online courses, and music. In short, items without a physical form. This blog covers selling digital products, marketing strategies and the financial and lifestyle benefits of this venture.
How to Sell Digital Products on Your Terms
Imagine the freedom of running a business that operates around the clock, across the globe, without the need for inventory management or physical shipping—unlocking a world where your creativity and knowledge can lead to substantial income and flexibility in how you live and work.
Meanwhile, selling digital products can be a full-time job or a side hustle. You can sell them on your website or through an ecommerce platform. The choice of platform doesn’t limit your success.
Next, let’s explore how you can tap into this lucrative market and transform your digital assets into profit, all while enjoying the freedom it brings to your professional and personal life.
Next, we’ll look into generating ideas and solving problems, which are foundational steps before marketing.
Idea Generation and Problem Solving
The journey begins with brainstorming. Focus on current trends, emerging technologies, and challenges within your niche. This stimulates creativity and aligns your products with market needs. Identifying gaps helps create solutions that appeal to your audience. We’ll show you how to ignite innovation, ensuring your products address real issues and draw in customers.
Top Tips to Use When Marketing Digital Products
After developing your product, marketing becomes your focus. Effective marketing is essential, regardless of whether you’re aiming for a global market or a specific audience. Here are strategies to enhance your online presence and sales.
Have a Lead Magnet
This is a marketing tool used to build an email list. Selling software? Try enticing people to opt in with a case study. Samples and discounts are popular too. Boldly highlight the value of your lead magnet to ensure it’s irresistible to your target audience.
Drive Traffic to Your Site with Excellent SEO
Keywords are important here. You can use them to optimize product descriptions. Or write blogs that boost your rankings. Consistently update your content to keep it fresh and SEO-friendly, ensuring higher visibility.
Create an Affiliate Program
These are programs where you pay another small business to send you traffic. Generally, they post links back to your site. Keep a dashboard of affiliates to look at sales and traffic. Then, monitor and reward your top-performing affiliates to encourage continued traffic and sales.
Offer Discounts and Coupons
These are a great way to sell your online product. Shopify offers a discount report. Use discount codes or a reduced dollar value. If your product or course costs less than $100, a percentage discount works best. Make your offers time-sensitive to create a sense of urgency.
Consider Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing can help you get the word out on social media platforms. These people are experts in their field with good followings on social media.
A good influencer is relevant in your industry. Make sure they have real followers by checking out the comments on their posts. Short comments like “great post” may only be bots. Engage influencers who genuinely connect with their audience for more authentic and effective promotions.
Have Fantastic Email Marketing
This helps to drive sales. Simple tools work. Pop ups are a great way to ask for information. Try opt-in forms that come up just a a visitor leaves your website. Or boost your email list with special bonuses for referrals. Personalize your emails to make your subscribers feel valued and increase engagement.
Invest in Excellent Marketing Tools
Excellent tools will help you sell your products. When you sell online, you’re in a competitive environment. Make sure the tools that you use to sell digital products online generate sales for your course. They should also engage subscribers and provide good customer service. Regularly review and update your toolkit to stay ahead in the digital marketing game.
How to Come up with a Digital Product Idea
When seeking the perfect digital products to bring to the market, it’s paramount to tailor them to resonate with your target demographic. This requires an in-depth understanding of their needs and preferences.
Delve into social media platforms, where many consumers openly share their desires and pain points. Crafting a comprehensive questionnaire can be a strategic move, allowing you to directly gather insights from potential customers.
Furthermore, consider hosting focus groups or virtual brainstorming sessions. By immersing yourself in these feedback channels, you’ll be better equipped to ideate and conceptualize a product that addresses genuine needs and captures attention.
Solve a Problem with a Digital Product
Here are a few business problems that can be solved selling digital products.
- Low Productivity: With digital technology, tasks can be completed faster. Find out which ones.
- High Admin Costs: Cut costs with digital products to pay employees and suppliers. Research other needed areas.
Target a Specific Niche
You can narrow down the products to specific niches. These digital products already have demand from specific buyers. Web design is a good example.
Use Google Keyword Planner and Google Trends
Get product ideas through Google Keyword Planner. Search terms and get keyword data. Filter results by metrics like location and language. Find out what people are looking for.
Google Trends displays info like audience behaviors. See popular topics in a given area. Here’s a link for the international version.
25 Digital Product Ideas to Sell Online that Potential Customers will Love
Having a profitable product idea is a good start. Following are 25 more notions for products to sell online.
1. Online Courses
Online courses have become a staple in the digital marketplace, covering a vast array of subjects. Before diving deep, validate your course content by offering a free sample or module. Craft a compelling sales page that highlights the transformative benefits of your course.
Subjects can be diverse – from intricate skills like graphic design or mobile app development to holistic approaches in yoga and fitness.
Remember, the key is to present content that adds value and addresses specific needs or gaps in the market.
2. Membership Sites
Membership sites thrive on exclusivity. They function as digital VIP rooms, where only paying members can access the treasure trove of content.
Setting up a membership site involves strategizing the kind of content you’ll offer and ensuring it’s continuously updated to keep members engaged. Explore the different software options available for building these sites.
By providing exclusive, high-quality content, you ensure a steady stream of recurring revenue.
3. Stock Photography
In today’s visually driven digital era, high-quality images are essential. Whether for websites, blogs, or advertisements, the right image can make a difference. As a photographer, consider diversifying your offerings.
Offer images in both low and high resolutions to cater to varied customer needs. Moreover, having a clear licensing model can help streamline the sales process. Platforms like Shutterstock or Unsplash can be a starting point, but having your own dedicated website can increase credibility.
4. Online Music Lessons a Musician will Love
Musicians have a unique opportunity to monetize their skills online. Rather than offering one-off sessions, consider bundling lessons into comprehensive packages. This approach can provide better value to students while ensuring a steady income for instructors.
Entice potential students with a free basic tutorial or a glimpse into your teaching style. Emphasize the distinctive elements of your teaching methodology and the genres you specialize in.
Using tools that capture email addresses can help in building a dedicated student community and keep them engaged with regular updates or tips.
5. Videos
Video content is undeniably powerful in the digital space. However, its success hinges on meticulous planning and using the right tools. For instance, if your course is software-centric, screen recording tools can capture intricate details, ensuring clarity.
On the other hand, hands-on subjects like car repairs demand a more dynamic approach. High-quality cameras that can capture nuances are essential.
No matter the topic, ensure your video is clear, well-lit, and professionally edited to maintain viewer engagement and foster trust in your brand.
Record from your computer screen with this tool.
6. Audio Products
The digital audio landscape is vast, encompassing a range of products from music tracks to podcasts. If you’re looking to set up music streaming in the US, ensure compliance with Public Performance Rights to avoid legal pitfalls.
Licensing is crucial to navigate in the audio space. Moreover, if you’re venturing into creating sound apps, consider the infrastructure. Storage is paramount, especially if you aim to offer high-quality files.
Engaging, high-quality audio can establish an emotional connection with listeners, driving brand loyalty.
Building a music or sound effect app? Don’t forget to factor in storage. People will respond.
7. E-Books
The rise of self-publishing has democratized the literary world. Leveraging this can be highly lucrative, especially in sought-after niches like thought leadership or health care.
To set your e-book apart, incorporate visually appealing elements like photographs, charts, and infographics.
These not only enhance comprehension but also make the reading experience enjoyable. A well-designed cover, engaging content, and professional formatting can propel your e-book to the top of bestseller lists in the digital realm.
Using ready made templates for ebooks makes it easier to get started.
8. Software Solutions
The digital world thrives on efficiency, and software solutions play a pivotal role in this. But before deep-diving into development, gather feedback. Early user engagement through beta testing can provide invaluable insights, helping tailor your software to genuine needs.
When it comes to deployment, consider cloud hosting. It offers scalability, security, and cost benefits over traditional in-house hosting. With the right approach, your software can become an indispensable tool for users, ensuring steady revenue and growth.
Get some other great SaaS tips here.
9. Graphic Design Templates
The first step is to choose the kind of graphic design product you want to sell.There are many different types of templates. Here’s some tips to make these items stand out.
- use cheap design tools if you’re just starting.
- contrast the colors because opposites attract.
- Images and big letters go together.
And here’s a marketplace to showcase and sell your work.
10. Sound Effects
Getting into this business demands not only creativity but also the right equipment. It’s vital to invest in a high-quality audio recorder capable of capturing intricate nuances from diverse sound sources.
Beyond recording, a tool with a batch editing feature becomes indispensable, enabling seamless processing of multiple sound bites. Remember, the goal is to create soundscapes that transport the listener, immersing them in the ambiance you’ve crafted.
Here’s some tools that work with Windows 10.
11. Craft Patterns
Crafting is both an art and a passion. If you’re venturing into creating craft patterns, initiate with thorough market research. Ensure your designs bring fresh perspectives.
Once confident in your product’s uniqueness, utilize sophisticated page layout software, like Adobe InDesign, for presentation. Embrace the popular PDF format for dissemination, as it retains design integrity.
From intricate crochet designs to delicate ornament patterns, the potential for profitability is vast in this niche, provided your creations resonate with craft enthusiasts.
12. Recipes
For culinary maestros looking to monetize their creations, selling recipes online is a tantalizing prospect. But success demands more than cooking prowess. Mastery over culinary terminology and accurate measurements ensures that your recipes are easily replicable.
Consider curating a niche e-book collection or explore platforms like Pabbly for subscription-based dissemination. The fusion of tantalizing dishes and digital platforms can lead to a delicious revenue stream.
13. Templates
Designing templates is all about simplifying tasks for users. Collaborate with platforms like Canva that offer an array of ready-to-use templates spanning various categories, from captivating presentations to professional logos.
Opting for packages like Canva Pro can further enhance your offerings, integrating features like brand management and strategic social media scheduling. By providing adaptable and versatile designs, you can cater to a vast user base with varying needs.
14. Infographics
In an age of information overload, infographics stand out for their ability to convey complex data in a digestible format. Crafting compelling infographics involves data collection and harnessing design elements like charts, timelines, and graphics.
Personalization is crucial, so select templates that allow tweaking of icons, text, and colors. Moreover, designing with social media sharing in mind enhances reach.
Regular updates and adaptations not only keep content fresh but also optimize visibility in search engine results.
15. Video Games
Video games are more than mere entertainment; they’re immersive experiences. To venture into this domain, understanding the distinction between game design and game development is paramount.
While game developers bring technical prowess, coding the virtual world into existence, game designers shape its aesthetics and narrative. Embarking on this journey, first envision your game’s universe, mechanics, and aesthetics.
Determine which programming languages best fit your vision. Often, assembling a dedicated team, with skills spanning both design and development, is instrumental to manifest a captivating gaming experience.
16. Audio Assets
The audio marketplace is vast, ranging from soulful vocals to rhythmic beats, intricate samples, and engaging audiobooks.
Identifying platforms that cater to this diverse range is essential. If opting for a solo venture, ensure your website is equipped with a user-friendly shopping cart and offers smooth digital downloads.
This ensures customers can effortlessly access and integrate the audio files into their projects or leisure listening.
17. Web Plugins
Web plugins cater to the needs of numerous small and medium-sized businesses, enriching their websites with added functionalities. Venturing into areas like SEO optimization can be highly lucrative.
Moreover, with the growing concerns around cybersecurity, creating a WordPress plugin emphasizing two-factor authentication or other security features can cater to a significant demand in the market.
18. Web Themes
In today’s digital age, uniqueness in web design is coveted. To develop standout web themes, initiate with a local development environment, effectively replicating a server setup.
Once this foundation is in place, immerse yourself in designing themes that not only look captivating but also offer seamless user experiences. The goal is to create themes adaptable across diverse niches.
It is essentially a server like this. Install that and start working on a website theme to sell.
19. Logo Design Services
Logos are the visual embodiments of brands, and designing them is both an art and science. When delving into logo design, careful selection of fonts, colors, and symbols is crucial.
Emphasize simplicity, as minimalistic logos tend to be more recognizable and timeless. Integrating the brand name effectively within the design can further enhance brand recall.
20. Printable Calendars
Digital calendars, especially sales calendars, hold significant appeal for businesses and individuals alike. Dive into designing versatile formats, be it for Google Docs, MS Word, or other platforms.
Offering a diverse range, such as an editable annual sales calendar or a structured training calendar, can cater to varying organizational needs. Ensure these calendars are both functional and aesthetically pleasing, adding value to the user’s planning process.
Batch the ideas together for different customers and people.
21. Video Editing
Video editing is becoming an indispensable service, especially for effective social media marketing. Should you contemplate offering video editing services? Familiarize yourself with cinematic techniques, such as understanding shot compositions, narrative structures, and effective transitions.
Crafting a video isn’t a sprint; it’s a meticulous marathon. Depending on the intricacy and length, producing a refined video might span from mere hours to extensive days, ensuring every frame tells a tale.
22. Fonts
Venturing into the font-selling business demands more than just design skills; it requires strategic marketing. Build a captivating portfolio to showcase your typographic designs and consider establishing a dedicated website.
Alternatively, partnering with established font-selling platforms can ease your journey. These typographic designs particularly resonate with ebook authors and web designers seeking distinctive text styles.
23. Tutorials
Tutorials are mini-courses, perfect for imparting specific skills without overwhelming learners. They provide an avenue for experts to condense and share a fragment of their knowledge efficiently.
These can either stand alone or be integrated into more comprehensive learning packages. Utilizing tools like PowerPoint or interactive platforms can enhance engagement and retention during these tutorials.
24. Email Tutorials
Among the myriad of digital products, email tutorials offer direct and personalized knowledge delivery. By sending lessons straight to a client’s inbox, you foster a sense of direct communication.
Incorporate diverse content forms, be it attachments, external video links, or concise text explanations. This format suits busy individuals who appreciate learning in manageable, emailed chunks.
25. Digital Art
Whether you’re a seasoned graphic designer, an amateur doodler, or a passionate photographer, the digital art domain offers lucrative opportunities. The key lies in identifying reliable platforms to showcase and sell your creations.
Platforms like Etsy and PayLoadz provide secure environments for artists. Starting with a basic, free account can pave the way, and as your digital artistry garners attention, considering premium options can further boost your entrepreneurial journey.
Where to Sell Digital Products
It’s important to understand where you can sell your digital products. There are several different ecommerce solution options. Look for a place that is simple to use. And one that will market your inventory in an online store people will respond to.
Best eCommerce Platforms
Finding the right e commerce platforms gets your products in front of a target market. Look for features like a good drag and drop builder. And analytics.
Selecting the right platform is crucial when venturing into selling digital products online. Below is a comparative table highlighting some top platforms. After the table, we will delve deeper into the features and advantages of each platform to help you make an informed choice.
| Platform | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| Your Online Store | Full control, customizable, brand identity | Initial setup, may require technical knowledge |
| Amazon | Large audience, industry leader | Competition, seller fees, restrictions on advertising |
| Shopify | User-friendly, vast themes, POS app | Monthly fees, transaction fees (if not using Shopify Payments) |
| Etsy | Unique landing page, community-driven, specific niche | Transaction fees, competition |
| E-Junkie | Supports various digital goods, easy setup | Less popular than other platforms |
| Sellfy | Quick setup, no transaction fee for starter | Monthly fees, sales cap for starter |
| SendOwl | Versatile (memberships to services), device-responsive checkout | Monthly fees |
Your Online Store
You might want to build your own store. Start by choosing either a B2B or B2C business model. Pick a domain name your customers will identify with.Then you can look at e-commerce website builders. Check out features like SSL security and payment gateway integration. Don’t forget to work out product descriptions and pictures with customized texts and fonts. Get a custom email address too.
Here’s a page builder that can help.
Amazon
Amazon is an industry leader for selling digital products online. Before you start looking for revenue on this platform, you need to choose a plan. If you are selling more than 40 products per month, you should consider the professional seller plan.
Amazon also offers advertising features like pay per click advertising. Be aware that individual sellers can’t create ads. This is a good product market fit for entrepreneurs.
Shopify
Shopify offers a free trial for users. There are thousands of themes to choose from when you are designing a shop. The 14 day free trial provides you with a URL to get started.
There are other advantages like a POS app and several different plans to choose from when it comes to what to sell on Shopify.
Etsy
This platform is upfront about costs. You only pay a small fee to list your first item. And off-site advertising payment processing and transaction fees once you start selling. There is an Etsy app you can use to communicate with buyers and add listings.
The Etsy shop allows you to design a unique landing page and there are some useful tools to learn how to start a successful Etsy shop.
E-Junkie
This platform supports inventory management. You can create your own online store and sell digital goods on eBay here. The process for getting started is easy.
- Start by linking up Paypal or your other payment processor.
- Add the products you want to sell.
- Copy the link to your social networks, or blog.
Sell everything from codes and games to files for ebooks,music and videos.
Sellfy
Have a store ready to go in five minutes. This company offers file hosting. The starter package goes for $19 a month. There is no transaction fee and you are allowed up to 10k in sales per year.
SendOwl
Sell everything from memberships to subscriptions and services with this digital sales platform. The standard plan starts at $15 a month with a free trial. The checkout feature works on every device and browser or screen size.
Why You Should Sell Digital Products Online
There are big advantages to selling digital products over physical ones. Here’s a quick list of 6 reasons why you should be selling products online.
- The Overhead is Lower. An online store doesn’t have physical storage, packing and shipping to pay for.
- Digital Products Create an Extra Revenue Stream for your Business. You can reach a global audience through your computer.
- They Don’t Wear Out. Generally, digital products don’t deteriorate or break down over time. Even if they become irrelevant as the technology changes, they can be updated.
- You’ll Get A Passive Income When You Sell Online. This type of product will continue to make sales even when you’re not online. You don’t need to keep putting in effort to make money.
- Inventory Never Runs Out. Sell as many software programs or digital courses as you want.There is no limit to how many times these products can be duplicated.
- Entry Barriers Are Low. You can sell your experience as a service through online courses. Real estate advice, accounting services and copywriting are just a few examples. You’ll only need your experience and a digital product marketplace to get started.
FAQs
What are the most profitable digital products?
Here’s a list of the most profitable digital products to sell online.
- Audio Products. These create revenue because you can sell them on a variety of platforms. Put together courses, sound effects and music and podcasts. Look for platforms that have cloud technology and payment features. Those are great places to sell your audio product.
- Software. SaaS is a big moneymaker because it works in the cloud. There is usually a subscription involved and not just a one time sale.
- Videos. These are powerful digital marketing tools. Many video creators look to YouTube to monetize a course they create. Building a strategy is important. Make sure your video content is exclusive and adds value. Are you trying to educate, instruct or entertain?
- Ebooks. Doing some keyword research will help you find a saleable topic.You can create professional e-books with a tool like Canva.
What is a digital product?
Digital products are assets that exist in a virtual format, primarily consumed or utilized electronically. Unlike traditional physical goods, digital products are intangible, which means they don’t occupy any physical space and cannot be touched or held.
However, their non-physical nature doesn’t reduce their value or usability. An e-book, for instance, can offer the same information and reading experience as a printed book but without the constraints of print, shipping, and storage.
Beyond e-books, the world of digital products encompasses a vast range of items, including web templates, software suites, digital art, music files, online courses, and mobile apps, to name a few.
How do I sell digital products internationally?
Your product market fit might be global. If that’s the case, you might need to tweak your business. First, make up separate product pages for global visitors. That means displaying prices in the local currency. And you might need to translate some content.
Consider changing the images to suit international customers . Take a good look at your product pages and home page on your website. People from around the globe have different cultural preferences. You might need to change your images to make sure they are not offensive.
Customer support might need to include several languages. Most people respond best in their own language.
What is the best place to sell digital products?
Looking for the best place to sell digital products? It all depends on the type of products that you’ve got in the market. And to the people you are selling to.
Having your own website is one option. However, Etsy is considered one of the bigger online marketplaces to sell these types of items.
Shopify is great if you are selling templates, downloadables and printables. You’ll need to do your own marketing and install the right apps.
There are other places if you want to use templates for web designs, fonts and illustrations. Like Creative Market.
Is an app a digital product?
There’s a difference between building an app and digital product development. But apps are considered digital products.
Apps
- Apps are programs designed to run on mobile devices, smart phones computers or tablets. They are broken down into two categories. Mobile and web based applications.
- There are several phases involved in developing one. The design needs to be put together. Then programming requirements are made before application programmers start coding. There are other steps but this is a big part.
Mobile apps are one of the best selling digital products.
Digital Products
Creating an app is usually part of developing digital products. But there could be more to your business than an app. For example, you can sell your own stock photos through an app on your smart phone.
How do you make money selling digital products?
You need to follow a few strategies to sell digital products online and make money.
- Find your target market on social media start and blogging. You can also write guest blogs for other sites. It’s a great way to get your products out in front of your market.
- Remember that today’s consumer expects quality. That means your digital products should be properly tested and designed. That way you will have repeat customers.
- Engaging with your target market increases sales. Social media, email marketing and texting will help you to stay in contact. Remember to respond to any comments people make. Maintaining relationships boosts sales.
- Find the sweet spot for pricing online. Set your prices too high, and your customers will flock to the competition. Charge too little for your digital products, and consumers will think you do subpar work.
Making money selling digital products means choosing the right ones. Video tutorials and educational videos are big in today’s society. People are always looking for high quality information in one location.
Image: Depositphotos
This article, "How to Sell Digital Products" was first published on Small Business Trends
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