The easy definition of digital products are intangible assets. Think pictures, e-books, online courses and music. Something that doesn’t have a physical form.
This blog will cover how to sell digital products. From coming up with the idea, to where to sell them and how to market the product. And anything else you need to know to increase your profit margins.
What is a digital product?
Here’s a better explanation. A digital product is software enabled without a physical form. They start in the digital format, but they can become physical. For example, you can buy an e-book in PDF and download it.
Some other examples include customized web design templates, software programs and even recipes.
Mobile applications are another big product.
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.
How to Come up with a Digital Product Idea
Looking for the right digital products to sell? Keep in mind you need to cater them to your target audience. Find out what their concerns are on social media.
You can develop a questionnaire and send out a survey to potential customers. And you can use the following to come up with an idea.
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 behaviours. 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 come in many different niches. One of the best ways to test your course is a free offer. Start by making up the sales page that offers the courses you have.
There is a wide range of topics to from things like graphic design, building a mobile app to yoga and fitness.
2. Membership Sites
These are online businesses that gate their content. A membership site requires customers to pay to get in. Find some excellent software choices here.
3. Stock Photography
Blog and site pictures are in high demand. Start out setting two prices. One for low resolutions files and the other for high resolution items. You can license the pics through a website.
4. Online Music Lessons a Musician will Love
Get more customers selling this service through packages rather than hours. Draw in potential customers with a free tutorial where possible.
Stress what makes your courses unique. And consider email address opt in tools.
5. Videos
Video tutorials and courses require planning. And you need to choose the right tool. Selling online courses that deal with software? Record on your home screen.
A course about fixing cars is different. Best to use a camera and upload the video.
Record from your computer screen with this tool.
6. Audio Products
There are many digital products in this category. Like music files and streaming services to name a few . Remember you’ll need the Public Performance Rights to set up in the US. Your streaming service can get fined otherwise.
Building a music or sound effect app? Don’t forget to factor in storage. People will respond.
7. E-Books
Self publishing is a great way to sell digital products online. Thought leadership and Health Care are two profitable digital categories. Ebooks that sell include photos, charts and graphics.
Using ready made templates for ebooks makes it easier to get started.
8. Software Solutions
People want the best when it comes to online products. Get feedback before you invest too much money. A Beta test works. Cloud hosting is better than doing it all in house. 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 means having a good audio recorder . Look for a tool that can capture sound from different sources. And it should have a batch editing feature.
Here’s some tools that work with Windows 10.
11. Craft Patterns
The first step is to do some research to make sure your product isn’t already for sale. When you’re sure it’s unique, use page layout software like Adobe InDesign.
The most profitable downloads are in PDF format. Some top sellers include crochet and ornament patterns.
12. Recipes
Are you a cook looking to sell recipes online? This idea applies to anyone who wants to list and sell recipes. You need to understand culinary terms and cooking measurements to come up with easy to follow products.
Put together a short e-book that you can sell. Or, you can use a subscription service like Pabbly. You can embed this service on a WordPress site. Or consider gathering the recipes into a series of ebooks.
13. Templates
Take the work out of designing these digital products with a company like Canva. They supply a variety of templates for everything from infographics to posters, logos and presentations.
The pro package even offers brand management and social scheduling.
14. Infographics
These products are in high demand for businesses. You’ll need to collect data then use features like charts, timelines and graphics. If you want to use a template, look for one where you can customize the icons, text and color.
Make sure that you can reformat these products to share on social media. Updating them helps your Google search results.
15. Video Games
These are popular digital products too. You need to know the difference between game design and game development to start. Game developers are people who know how to code. Game designers deal with the artistic side.
Start by deciding what the game will look like and the coding languages you need. It’s possible you might have to hire people to help with these products.
16. Audio Assets
There are lots of places to sell these items online. Find one where you can sell a variety of different audio files. Like vocals, samples, beats and even audiobooks.
Sell these yourself or choose a place to showcase your tracks. Dont forget to install a shopping cart if you’re going solo. Offer digital downloads so customers can use the files.
17. Web Plugins
These are popular with small businesses. If you can develop one for a useful tool like SEO, all the better. Developing a WordPress plug-in with two factor authentication is good. Consider focusing on security.
18. Web Themes
Everyone wants a website that stands out. You can get started developing these products with a local development environment. It is essentially a server like this. Install that and start working on a website theme to sell.
19. Logo Design Services
This is a digital product that helps online businesses establish themselves. Designing logos means picking fonts and colors carefully. Remember that a simple logo is striking and memorable. Try to include the company name.
20. Printable Calendars
Sales calendars are a big product to sell online. You can design one in different file formats like Google Docs or MS Word. Try to include different templates like an editable annual sales calendar. And maybe even a training calendar.
Batch the ideas together for different customers and people.
21. Video Editing
This is important for social media marketing. Thinking about a service editing videos? You’ll need to understand different features like angles and sequences. A polished product can take anywhere from an hour to several days.
22. Fonts
To sell fonts as an entrepreneur, you’ll need to have a portfolio and a website.You can also work with a company that will sell them for you. These are popular with people writing ebooks.
23. Tutorials
These are great if you don’t have the time to put together a full online course. Teach a portion of your skills to your customers. These can stand by themselves or be part of a bigger package. PowerPoint slides are a good tool to use.
24. Email Tutorials
Here’s another one of the digital product ideas you can sell online. You can deliver this product right to your clients inbox. Use attachments and links to external videos. Consider text based content too.
25. Digital Art
You might be a graphic designer or photographer. Selling digital art is profitable. However, you need to find a secure and safe platform. There are a few different options like Esty and PayLoadz. You can start out with a free account and then upgrade as your business takes off.
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.
Here are some different platforms for selling digital products online.
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.
How to Sell Digital Products
You can sell digital products online full time. Or as an outside hustle to make some revenue. Here’s some tips on how to sell online either way.
Top Tips When Marketing Digital Products
You might be selling a digital product on your own website. Maybe you’ve got an account on an ecommerce platform. It doesn’t matter how you’re selling your idea.
These tips will help you market the items you have for sale. Like a course.
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.
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.
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.
Offer Discounts and Coupons
These are a 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
