There’s never been a better time to cash in on the creator economy. One of the most effective ways to do that is to know what digital products to sell. Unlike physical products, digital products have low overhead, are simple to create, and can make money while you sleep.
That’s because once the digital product is finished, your work is basically done. All that’s left is to market it effectively. I’ll teach you about different digital products to sell so that you can start profiting from your valuable skills and experience.
What Are Digital Products?
But you may be wondering what digital products are. Well, they’re intangible assets or pieces of media that we can sell and distribute repeatedly online. Some call them digital downloads, and because of their nature, we no longer have to replenish inventory now and then.
What’s more? We can also sell them without the costs associated with manufacturing and shipping physical goods, making them scalable and available to the global audience.
Unlike physical products, consumers can download, stream, or access digital products online. That’s why digital products can be attractive options for both creators and consumers.
So whether you’re an entrepreneur, artist, educator, or developer, you can monetize your skills and knowledge through a digital product.
Where to Sell Digital Products
No matter how good your digital products are, if you’re not selling them on the right platform, you may not turn your product idea into a passive income. Thus, selling digital products on the right platform is crucial for reaching your target audience and maximizing sales.
So, where should you start selling your digital product? Check out these avenues to sell your digital product, whether that’s a stock photo, digital art, mobile app, stock video, or other products online.
Your Own Website: Want to take full control over pricing, experience, and customer experience? Then, you should be selling digital products on your own website. You can set up your e-commerce site using tools like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Squarespace. These tools have digital product support to make it a seamless experience.
Marketplaces:
Etsy: If your niche is in crafts, printables, or graphic design, why not try Etsy? This platform is famous for such niches and is known for handmade and vintage goods.
Amazon: If you’re selling digital products like ebooks, Kindle Direct Publishing may be suitable. If you want to create digital products like audio, Amazon Music is good. These platforms are both from Amazon, one of the largest online marketplaces.
Creative Market: A marketplace for design assets like fonts, templates, and themes catering to creative professionals.
Envato Market: This includes ThemeForest (for website themes), AudioJungle (for music and sound effects), and more, providing a diverse platform for digital goods.
Online Course Platforms:
If you’re selling digital content like short courses, you may want to try out Udemy, Teachable, and Skillshare.
Subscription Services:
Patreon: Plan to establish a list of subscribers who pledge monthly support? Try out Patreon so that you can offer exclusive content as a creator.
Substack: Ideal for writers and journalists who want to monetize their newsletters through subscriptions.
Social Media and Streaming Platforms:
YouTube: Who doesn’t know this? As a creator of video content, I prefer YouTube since I can monetize video through ads, memberships, and merchandise shelves. If you want to watch my YT videos, just search for my channel: @timeformoremetimeTFMMT!
Instagram and Facebook: These platforms support direct sales through shoppable posts and links to digital products.
Specialized Platforms:
Bandcamp: Perfect for musicians looking to sell their music and merchandise directly to fans.
Gumroad: A flexible platform for selling a wide range of digital products, from e-books to software.
The tip about choosing the right platform? Read our guide on where to sell digital products! Kidding aside, we really have that guide, so why not read it as well? Now, for that tip, you need to choose based on different factors. What is your product type, target audience, and business goal?
Lastly, many successful digital product sellers use a combination of these channels to maximize their reach and revenue.
Digital Products to Sell: What Profitable Digital Product Idea is Good for an Online Business?
Digital products to sell come in a wide range. Your product’s optimal format will depend on several factors. It will largely come down to what you specialize in, the demand for what you have to offer, and what format delivers value to customers most effectively.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the best digital products you can start selling this year.
1. Online Courses
It’s no surprise that online courses dominate the landscape of digital products. Research suggests that the eLearning market will be worth $325 billion by 2025. What’s more, those who make a living creating digital courses online in the U.S. can typically expect to earn between $5,000 and $25,000 annually.
And these creators are just side hustling, creating courses that they sell online!
But there’s another reason that online courses are a solid business model. Many successful online course creators evolve their courses into evergreen funnels. That means that you’ll always have a chance to bring in new students and make sales as time passes. You only need to update them if the subject matter changes fundamentally, rendering part of your course outdated.
When creating your first digital course, you should consider learner outcomes to make this a profitable online service.
Consider these questions: What should the learner know how to do when they complete your online course? What knowledge gaps can you help them fill? What level of mastery are you teaching?
2. eBooks
Maybe you’re the kind of person who loves curling up with a good ebook. There’s a high probability that your ideal customer or student feels the same way. You’ll only have to write it once, and, much like with online courses, an ebook is something you can sell for a long time.
This means ebooks have the potential to create a steady passive income stream for years. The ebook market in the U.S. is predicted to hit $14.16 billion in 2024, proving ebooks are a great digital product to sell now.
Keep in mind ebooks can sometimes be priced lower than other types of digital downloads because free content exists.
One ebook author who’s experienced incredible success is Carol Tice. Tice, a freelance writer and blogger, decided to leverage her skills and knowledge to create multiple digital files to generate passive income. Amazingly, she’s generated over $45,000 in revenue from ebook sales.
3. Templates and Tools
Chances are that, at one point or another, you’ve probably purchased a template to simplify something in your personal or professional life. That’s why selling templates or tools can be on of the most lucrative digital product ideas; it makes your ideal customer’s life easier.
When you design templates, you’re bridging knowledge and confidence gaps that your customers or clients experience. You already have the expertise to get that task done well—this time, you’re teaching clients how to replicate the result themselves.
There are templates for just about everything, from social media calendars and marketing strategy plans to Excel spreadsheets and WordPress themes. And I don’t think templates are just useful in strictly corporate settings. Think about things people want to be able to accomplish in their day-to-day lives, like DIY projects or knitting patterns.
4. Memberships
A lot of people associate the word “membership” with their gym or a country club, but it’s not just for brick-and-mortar businesses anymore. Membership programs are becoming increasingly popular among content creators. And it makes sense why.
Membership programs let creators form direct relationships with customers and foster an exclusive community that isn’t accessible to just anybody. These can exist on separate online platforms, private social media groups, or within online learning environments.
And the best about this? You’re making money while building a community.
This helps to make their community stickier and provides an extra source of recurring revenue to supplement the products they create. It also helps digital creators connect with their biggest fans. This direct connection lets them receive invaluable insights and feedback.
5. Stock Content (Video, Photos, Music & More)
If you think creating online courses and ebooks requires putting yourself out there too much, then selling stock content might be the perfect solution for you.
Just think of the scope of visual and audio mediums that exist in the digital age: podcasts, Instagram Reels, YouTube videos, documentaries, short films, stock photos for websites, blogs, and ebooks; the list goes on. They all rely on engaging, high-quality visual and audio assets.
What’s more, many websites want something they can license without worrying about infringing upon someone’s copyright. This means creators wish to use music that sets the mood but avoids a takedown request for copyright violations. Platforms like Pond5 and Audio Jungle give creators what they need and generate lucrative passive income streams.
6. Coaching or Consulting
Are you more interested in building a one-on-one connection with your audience? You may be surprised to know that coaching services are a form of digital product. Many businesses also rely on expert consultants for niche services and insights.
For instance, those who make it big selling ebooks and online courses can leverage those offerings to provide personalized guidance. Coaching is an excellent, high-ticket digital product to sell, helping you build trust and increase brand loyalty among customers.
On average, consultants in the U.S. make more, so there’s potential for a considerable financial return for sharing your knowledge. While digital content that appeals to a larger market is great for passive income, personalized consulting services are best used sparingly.
7. Printable Digital Products
Another great way to make money online is by creating printables. As its name sounds, people who purchase these digital products can print them!
But what can you actually make? Lots of things! Here are some ideas:
Workbooks and Planners: Lots of people these days need help with organizing their lives. And you can make a planner to help others organize their schedule or any aspect of their lives. You could make a planner for students, a budget workbook, a meal planner, or even a gratitude journal.
Checklists and Templates: Some people love crossing out activities or to-dos in their itineraries, making printable checklists popular. Thus, you can make checklists for cleaning a house, packing for a trip, or moving. As for templates, you can create business cards, social media posts, or resumes.
Wall Art and Prints: Are you artistic? You can design wall art quotes, cool prints, or even coloring pages that people can download.
Educational Materials: Teachers and parents love these printables. Thus, you can create worksheets, flashcards, lesson plans, and activity sheets for different age groups and subjects.
Party Decorations: Why not design printable invitations, banners, cupcake toppers, and other party decorations? People can customize them for birthdays, weddings, baby showers, and other events.
Games and Activities: If you’re into games, create fun printables like scavenger hunts, crossword puzzles, bingo cards, and board games. Your target market here includes people who are celebrating kids’ parties, family gatherings, and educational purposes—and these events can happen throughout the years.
Fitness and Health: Your printables can help people in the health and fitness industry reach their goals. These can include fitness trackers, workout plans, meal prep guides, and health journals.
Your designs will depend on how fancy you want them to be. And the best? A lot of tools these days make graphic design much more manageable. The most important thing is to create something useful that people will want to buy!
Conclusion
Selling digital products online is a great way to share what you know, build up your influence in your chosen field, and add another income stream. As opposed to more conventional business ventures, selling digital products is inexpensive, fun, scalable, and rewarding.
Plus, you only have to create digital products to sell once. Sure, they might need an update every so often, but compared with a traditional job where you get paid hourly for your work, you could be sleeping or relaxing on a beach while orders pour in.
That sounds pretty great, right? Thus, my advice is to start now and let me know about your journey!
FAQs
What is the best selling digital product?
Some of the most popular and profitable digital products to sell include online courses, templates, memberships, ebooks, and licenses for photos, videos, and audio.
Is it profitable to sell digital products?
It absolutely can be. However, the profit you receive from your digital product will largely depend on several variables, such as demand for your product or service, how efficiently it solves a problem, its price point, marketing budget, and how effectively it’s promoted to the ideal target market.
What is an example of a digital product?
Examples of digital products to sell include ebooks, online courses, templates (like social media calendars or website themes), licensed music or stock photos, and paid newsletters. Even coaching services, like a Zoom call where you advise on marketing strategies, qualify.
