If you’re considering selling digital products, you’re in luck: all you need is a computer, a WiFi connection, and some elbow work to get started.
Yet, jumping in without a plan is a formula for disaster.
Developing digital products can take a lot of time and work – after all, it would be a bummer if you spent weeks building the “ideal” digital product only to have it fail to sell, right?
So, what should you sell? And how can you be certain that your idea will be a success before devoting all of your time and attention to it? In short, how do you start selling digital products online?!
In this beginner’s guide, we’ll look at the benefits and drawbacks of selling digital products, as well as the many sorts of digital products available and how to sell digital products online.
What are Digital Products?
Digital Products are any virtual items that may be purchased and downloaded immediately. They are intangible in the sense that you cannot touch them. But they are valuable, with an estimated $331 billion business in 2022.
Streaming movies and TV, video games, software, and applications are the major hitters, and they’re probably the first things that come to mind when you hear the term “digital products.”
Yet there are many other ways you can produce digital products using your own knowledge, creativity, talents, and expertise – and you don’t need a film crew or a team of software developers to achieve it.
Benefits of Selling Digital Products
Developing, marketing, and selling digital products can be daunting, especially if you are not the most technologically savvy person on the globe. Yet, with the help of internet tools like Etsy, Shopify, and Thinkific, the learning curve can be surprisingly short.
Furthermore, there are other advantages to selling digital products online:
- Save time: You do not need to source or maintain inventories when selling digital products. You also avoid dealing with shipping and logistics.
- Spend less money: Physical products must be sourced, stored, and shipped at a cost, as does inventory management. You can completely avoid these costs with digital products.
- Scalable: Digital products can be scaled indefinitely. The difference between supplying 10 units per day and delivering 10,000 units per day is negligible. (But, when your business grows, you’ll need to hire more customer care representatives and modernize your website to manage the increased traffic.)
- Profit margins are high: The profit margins for digital products are significantly higher because there is no need to purchase and manage physical inventories.
- Automation Potential: It is extremely simple to automate digital product distribution, allowing you to focus on building your business.
- Flexibility: You can create new products or change the method you sell your existing ones at any time. For example, you might give away a digital product to create your email list, or you could sell a monthly subscription to access several products.
- Opportunity: Before COVID-19, e-learning was fast expanding, and now more individuals than ever are working and learning from home. As a result, the e-learning business is predicted to be valued at $374 billion by 2026.
Having said that, it’s not all roses…
The Downsides of Selling Digital Products
- Competition: Because it is extremely simple to begin selling digital products, competition can be fierce. Furthermore, whatever you intend to sell, you will very certainly be competing with others who provide identical information for free.
- Piracy: You must take safeguards because thieves can readily steal and resell digital products.
Tips for Selling Digital Products
Keep the following advice in mind if you’re starting a new business or adding online digital products to an existing one:
#1. Make a fantastic product.
The fundamental criterion for developing digital products is to bring value to the lives of your customers. Because you’ll be competing with free information on the web, invest in creating a product that customers won’t be able to find anyplace else.
#2. Promote a lead magnet.
Create a free light version of your product, regardless of how much it costs. A free product can assist you in building an email list to which you can sell in the future. It also allows for up-selling and retargeting potential clients with various promos. Free fosters trust between your company and potential clients.
#3. Create an affiliate program.
For producers selling digital products, affiliates are a big source of traffic and sales. Identify recognized and reputable influencers in your business and pay them a commission for each sale they make. You can set different compensation rates for different affiliates, so if someone has a large following, you can pay them more to market more and attract clients.
#4. Gather preorders.
Giving a discounted “early bird” price is a terrific method to generate early sales. If you’re releasing a new digital product, you can offer a 50% discount to the first 100 purchasers, a 25% discount to the following 100 buyers, and then the product at full price once the 25% discount expires. You can only offer a 50% discount to your current audience in order to reward their loyalty, solicit feedback, and promote prelaunch sales.
#5. Provide a money-back guarantee.
It makes sense if you’re afraid to offer a warranty on your products. Some customers may purchase and use your product before requesting a refund. Yet it’s all part of having an online business. The benefits of higher conversion rates outweigh the tiny number of people who may misuse the program. A money-back guarantee reminds potential purchasers that you’re putting your money where your mouth is and placing the risk on you, not them.
Best Online Selling Digital Products In 2023
There are numerous forms of digital products that can be offered online. These are some of the most lucrative digital product categories, along with samples of successful sellers in each category, to help you narrow down your possibilities.
#1. Ebooks (and audiobooks)
There is a lot of money to be gained from selling ebooks. They are one of the most popular information products on which people spend their money.
The market has expanded significantly in recent years, with the number of ebook units sold increasing from 170 million to 191 million between 2019 and 2020. And, with sales still on the rise, now is the ideal time to write your own and take your piece of the pie.
So don’t worry, you don’t have to be Stephen King to create a good book. Simply write about what you know—there are numerous ebook genres that are surprisingly lucrative, particularly in the non-fiction / instructional area.
You may also convert your publications into audiobooks to attract a wider audience of casual listeners. If you don’t have time to compose an entire ebook, you can sell shorter texts such as how-to instructions, food prep plans, workout guidelines, blueprints, and other papers.
#2. Online training
Creating and selling an online course is another excellent approach to monetizing your knowledge. Do you have a particular area of expertise? Do you have any special skills that you believe others may benefit from? If so, you can package and market those abilities and knowledge as a digital product.
Here are some examples of online course niches that sell really well:
- Exercise classes
- Cooking classes
- Music Lessons
- Business and entrepreneurship courses
- Courses in language acquisition
- Art classes
- Dating and relationships courses
Once you’ve decided what you want to teach, you’ll need to pick how you want to present your course (i.e. video, text, audio, etc). Following that, you can establish a curriculum and begin developing educational content.
When your content is complete, you must select an online course platform to host your course.
#3. Digital art
Do you consider yourself an artist or a graphic designer? There is a sizable market for digital art, so monetize your skills and convert your pastime into a source of cash.
For example, new entrepreneurs are constantly in need of competent designers to build original logos for their firms.
While there are online logo makers that provide an affordable option for small businesses, they can’t match what a skilled graphic designer can create. This enables you to charge a premium for your services.
Stock icons (vector pictures), brand kits, backdrops, emotes, badges, banners, and 3D artwork are further art-related digital products that are popular.
You could sell add-ons for popular graphic design programs in addition to your own original creations. Brushes, gradients, and palettes for software like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate are now in high demand, therefore it’s a sector worth investigating.
NFTs are also a prominent topic right now, particularly in the digital art world. If you’re already selling digital art, you should think about expanding into NFTs. But, this can be a risky venture, so do your research and understand the hazards.
#4. Memberships and subscriptions
Establishing a members-only site and selling subscription products is another wonderful idea, especially if you already have a significant audience as an influencer.
Your subscription packages could contain weekly or monthly material, such as periodicals or meal plans, access to a gated social group, and other perks.
#5. Video content
Customers nowadays can’t get enough video content, and they’re prepared to pay for it. The success of VOD streaming services like Netflix demonstrates how large the demand for video content is.
If you fancy yourself a director, you can create your own entertaining or educational video content and sell it online.
Educational video material, exclusive vlogs, trip documentaries, comedy videos, short films, and gaming videos are examples of video content that can sell well.
#6. Printables and patterns
Millions of crafty consumers search sites like Etsy for patterns and downloads to aid them with their DIY projects.
You can sell sewing patterns, knitting patterns, and macrame designs, as well as printables such as coloring pages and workbooks.
#7. Templates
Another intriguing category of digital products that sell well online is templates. Resume templates are quite popular and extremely simple to make, even if you have no design experience.
Templates, though, aren’t just for resumes and CVs. You may sell templates for anything and anything, from emails to social media posts to PowerPoint presentations to Twitch, overlays to business cards.
#8. Photography
High-quality images are always in high demand. If you enjoy photography, you may convert your pastime into a full-time job by selling your photos online.
Selling stock pictures on sites like Shutterstock is one option, but it’s a competitive industry and it can be difficult to cut through the noise and earn sales. Selling client-commissioned images, event photography services (such as weddings and birthdays), and portraits may yield better results.
Whatever path you choose, a strong photography portfolio that exhibits your greatest work is essential. This will help you stand out from the throng.
#9. Fonts
Fonts are yet another one of the best digital products to offer online. Because design trends and customer tastes are continuously shifting, brands, designers, and individual artists are constantly on the lookout for new fonts to incorporate into their branding and artwork.
You may design your own fonts in tools such as Illustrator and sell them as downloadable OTF or TTF files on your own website or through online marketplaces such as Creative Market.
The majority of sellers use a licensing model in which they charge separate rates for commercial licenses and personal licenses. As part of your marketing plan, you may choose to make your fonts free for personal use and charge for commercial use.
#10. Software
Of course, no list of digital products would be complete without mentioning software.
Selling SaaS (software-as-a-service) products online may be a lucrative business model, with companies such as Ahrefs and Mailchimp raking in millions.
Selling software, on the other hand, is more difficult than selling some of the other digital products on this list. You’ll need to identify a market need and invest time and money in developing a software solution that consumers require.
This usually necessitates the hiring of a development team to work on your software product, which might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Despite the high initial costs, if your software product is successful, you could see a significant return on your investment and end up with a seven- or eight-figure firm.
Is It Possible to Make Money Selling Digital Products?
Certainly, selling digital products may be incredibly successful, and you avoid many of the overheads and costs involved with physical product sales.
Selling digital products online can be a very profitable company if you pick the proper products and market them well.
Can I Make Money Selling Digital Products on Facebook?
Indeed, selling digital products on Facebook Marketplace is entirely doable. But, selling digital products on platforms like Amazon and Etsy is becoming widespread. Utilizing social media and Facebook advertisements can also be a wonderful strategy to market your products.
Can I Make Money Selling Digital Products on Instagram?
Instagram offers some shopping functions, but it isn’t really designed for selling digital products. It’s better suited to selling actual products. Instagram, on the other hand, maybe a terrific tool to market your products and drive visitors to your e-commerce site.
Conclusion
Because they eliminate the need to source, store, and ship physical products, selling digital products is very scalable.
Furthermore, you may offer a wide range of digital products online, from ebooks and video courses to stock footage and graphic design templates.
If you want to learn how to produce digital products to sell online, follow these steps:
- Idea generation and research for digital products
- Choose an unpleasant issue to address.
- Specify a niche and a target market.
Here’s how to sell digital products online if you’ve got a brilliant idea:
- Validate your concept to confirm that it is a winner.
- Create your digital product.
- Create an online store to offer digital products.
- Use digital marketing to increase traffic.
What kind of digital products are you considering selling? Tell us in the comments!
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