Digital Sells Tips
Digital Sells Tips
We live in a time when people can run small businesses anywhere in the world. For some creators, selling digital products can provide extra income in addition to their main job. For others, it becomes a full-time business.
If this is something that you’d like to do, and you already know what you want to sell, then you’ve come to the right place—in this article, we’ll dive right into how to start selling.
For those of you who are just curious, or have yet to find a product to sell, feel free to jump between different sections of the article.
How to sell digital products?
There are four steps to creating and selling a digital product: market research, validation of product ideas, launching a store, and promoting on social media. Let’s start with the first two.
1. Research and validate your product ideas
Deciding on the product can be the hardest part, but it doesn’t have to be. All it takes is some research and validation.
The easiest way to go about it is to analyze your competition and check in with your audience.
Fans were vocal about what types of products they wanted to see from their favorite creators.
Sells Tip
Get direct feedback—you’d be surprised by the number of digital product ideas you could get! So, go ahead and ask your followers what type of product they want you to sell, and then deliver.
2. Create an online store.
Once you know what type of digital product you want to sell, it’s time to launch an online shop!
So, if you’re looking for an affordable eCommerce solution to sell products, I’ll show you how to build a fully functioning store in less than 5 minutes.
Customize-store
A eCommerce store will give you:
Mobile-first design
Full store customization
Instant payouts
Discount codes
Advanced VAT & tax settings
Multiple payment options
Excellent customer support
And, what’s more, you can even sell physical products and print-on-demand merch alongside your digital goods and subscriptions!
Ready to open a store so you can sell online? Let’s get started:
set up an account with a valid email address. Keep in mind that you can always upgrade and get access to additional features.
Customize the look with the Store Customizer tool, or use one of the premade themes to get a beautiful design.
Optional bonus: download the mobile app in the App Store or Google Play to keep track of your performance and receive notifications of new orders.
Sell digital products
3. Add your digital products
After you’ve created an account with a verified email address, you can start uploading your products to the store.
With the ability to upload files as large as 10 GB, you can sell just about any type of digital product imaginable!
Add-digital-product
Here’s how to add your products:
Go to your dashboard’s Products section, choose Digital products, and click Add new product.
Upload your digital products.
Add relevant product images.
Add some info in the Product description section so that potential customers know what they’re buying.
Hit Save product and your digital items will appear live in your shop!
4. Promote to your audience
When it comes to promoting to your audience, one of the first things you should do is to add your shop link to your social media profiles.
This is important because whenever a new follower finds your social media account, they’re likely to go to your bio section and see your link. So, having a link in bio at all times will encourage traffic to your online store from both new and existing followers.
In other words, put yourself in your followers’ shoes—what type of content would you expect from a creator? By thinking from your audience’s perspective, you can figure out how to promote to your followers.
Showing what a product can do for people is better than simply telling them to buy it.
What are digital products?
Digital products are electronic goods, content, or pieces of media that can be stored in a file, or sold and shared online. For example, eBooks, audio files, website templates, PDFs, etc. are all digital products.
Why sell digital products online?
Selling digital products is one of the easiest ways to earn passive income. You can literally make money while you sleep! You’re also never limited to how many products you can sell online.
Here are a few more reasons to sell digital products:
Cost-effective business—you don’t have to financially invest in stock or product manufacturing.
No logistical issues—no concerns about keeping inventory, packaging, or shipping saves time.
Endless possibilities—you can always create new digital products for any market or audience.
More engagement and web traffic—selling digital products will create buzz around your business and drive traffic to your store.
A sense of community and belonging—customers who order your digital products will feel more connected with you and your brand.
Better social media exposure—launching digital products will increase brand awareness and recognition.
A new way for fans to support you—most customers are more than willing to support their favorite creator by purchasing their products.
Generate passive income—selling digital products is a low-risk way to monetize your target audience.
Digital vs. physical products
Not only is selling digital goods a great way to earn passive income, but it’s also a less challenging business model than selling physical ones.
Comparison of selling digital vs physical products:
Online delivery—unlike physical products that run the risk of running out of stock, digital products can be sold infinitely.
Budget-friendly—digital assets don’t come with shipping fees the way that physical products do.
Higher profit—since there normally aren’t any recurring costs, you end up with more money in your pocket.
100 plus digital product ideas
To help you pick a product to sell online, I’ve put together a list of 100 plus digital product examples from creators just like you.
You can use this as a source of inspiration, or put your own unique spin on a product to sell. Regardless of what you’re selling, remember that the key is always to provide value to your audience.
Educational downloads
Educational downloads are digital products that teach your audience something valuable or give them information. Creators and influencers who sell educational content will usually cover a specific topic that they’re knowledgeable about.
So, if there’s something you’re really good at, why not create and sell an educational eBook, for example? In fact, according to Statista and Google Trends, eBooks are one of the top information products that people spend their money on.
Besides, eBooks are easily consumable, and a great way to bring in leads. For instance, you can distribute the eBook for free in exchange for website visitors’ emails. Plus, eBooks are great for building credibility!
1. Recipes or diet cookbooks
2. Relocation guides
3. Travel guides
4. Business or apprenticeship guides
More examples of educational downloads to sell:
5. Academic research
6. Language study materials
7. Meal prep plans
8. Nutrition plans
9. Skincare & beauty
10. Workout information
11. Repair manuals
12. Self-care guides
13. DIY instructions
14. Dictionaries & shortcuts
15. Educational videos
Art & music
If you’re an artist, your skillset will be in constant demand and most people will happily grab anything you have to offer. Moreover, design has become a heavily digitized and profitable industry—the sheer number of artists on Instagram just proves that.
16. Premade emotes & bit badges
If you love graphic design and gaming or streaming, why not sell something similar?
17. Sheet music
Do you have strong musical skills? Then you could sell sheet music, song files, or entire albums.
18. Procreate brushes
Are you good at creating Procreate brushes? Since the popularity of Procreate has skyrocketed during the past few years, there’s an increasing demand for unique brushes. This is a great way to earn some extra money.
19. Instagram or AR filters for social media apps
If you know how to create artistic AR filters, then this could be a fun way for you to earn passive income.
More examples of art & music products to sell:
20. iPhone screen app icons
21. Digital posters
22. Stock photos
23. Digital wallpapers
24. Business cards
25. Branding kits
26. Mockups
27. Clip art
28. Fonts
29. LUTs
30. Sound effects
31. Premade logos
32. Twitch screen overlays
33. YouTube banners
34. Illustrations
35. Text effects
36. Textures
Templates and tools
Templates and tools make everybody’s lives easier, especially the lives of entrepreneurs, influencers, and creators who have businesses to run. This is why templates and tools in every category and niche will always be in demand—all you have to do is pick one and start creating. The best part? They’re incredibly easy to make.
37. Lightroom presets
If you know how to create Lightroom presets, and you’ve received compliments on how cinematic your photos or videos look, then you could turn this into a profitable business.
38. Beats, samples packs & drum kits
Do you have experience in music production, and know how to make a great beat? Then start selling beats or drum kits online! The film industry as well as TV shows are constantly on the lookout for fresh tunes to use in their projects. Who knows, maybe one of your tunes will end up on the next Netflix show?
39. Digital planners, illustrated journals & calendars
Not a musician or photographer? Then, how about selling digital planners? Digital planners come in all shapes and forms—from calendars to illustrated journals and notebooks. There are huge markets for these products and they’re in hot demand for anyone who wants to earn passive income.
40. Instagram post templates
You know what else is easy to create and isn’t time-consuming? Instagram feed templates! There’s a huge demand for aesthetic Instagram feeds. A lot of influencers want to create a consistent feed, but don’t know how to achieve that. So, if you know how to create templates on Canva, then you could easily create and sell Instagram templates.
41. Notion templates
42. Excel spreadsheets
43. Google spreadsheets
44. PowerPoint templates
45. Cheatsheets
46. Worksheets
47. Cover letters
48. Creative brief samples
49. Portfolio and résumé templates
50. Copywriting templates
51. WordPress themes
52. InDesign palettes
Entertainment products
Entertainment products are engaging forms of content that capture your audience’s attention. These types of products can range from silly to serious—the key is to ensure that your audience is thoroughly entertained, inspired even.
53. Short films
Sellfy creators Nils and Kaspars made a short inline skating film in just 30 days. In the film, they take their viewers through a journey of spectacular locations in Thailand while highlighting their daily lives as athletes. Needless to say, their skating stunts definitely sparked interest among their audience.
More examples of entertainment products to sell:
54. Comedy and prank videos
55. Reaction videos
56. Product comparisons
57. Video games
58. Entertaining mobile apps
59. Exclusive vlogs
60. Behind-the-scenes footage
Online courses and tutorials
There are many ways to facilitate knowledge transfer online. One of them is choosing a course format (e.g. video, audio, etc.), and then creating exclusive content on a subject you know a lot about. It can be any type of course or tutorial that provides a solution to a problem or teaches your audience new skills.
61. Dance classes
For example, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) sells ballet, modern theater, and classical Greek dance lessons in all kinds of formats like eBooks, DVDs, and CDs on their store.
62. Graphic design tutorials
If you’re very good at graphic design, you could also teach others how to become as good as you and position yourself as an authority on the topic.
63. Fitness programs or tutorials
Even fitness programs can be sold as digital products.
More examples of online courses & tutorials to sell:
64. Setup tutorials
65. Music lessons
66. Astrology or spirituality courses
67. Cooking courses
68. Art tutorials
69. Business or entrepreneurship courses
70. DIY or handmade item tutorials
71. Language lessons
72. Video creation or filmmaking tutorials
73. Content creation tutorials
74. Sales copywriting workshops
75. Creative writing workshops
Online services
Online services can range from technical to creative, to anything in-between. For example, software is an ever-growing industry, so now would be the best time to consider this niche.
76. Web design services
If you’re into web design, you can turn that skill into a product. This could get you anywhere from $500 to $30,000 a month. There are nearly 2 billion websites online at the moment, and the number is growing by the second. With every page needing its own unique look, this is definitely a promising business.
77. Graphic design services
Alternatively, you can also sell graphic design services such as custom logo design, YouTube channel banners, or digital portraits. Graphic design services will always be in high demand.
78. Custom vocal track or ghost production
Did you know that there’s even a market for custom vocal track production?
79. Copywriting services
Say, you have a background in copywriting, and a portfolio of previous works. You could use that to promote yourself as an authority and offer copywriting services online. There’s a growing need for creators who can think outside the box and come up with a clever copy.
More examples of online services to sell:
80. Religious or spiritual services
81. Financial consultations
82. Coaching & mentoring
83. Proofreading & editing
84. Career consultations
85. Tutoring & virtual assisting
86. Essay-writing services
87. Translation services
88. Website setup
89. Mobile app creation
90. Self-help or online therapy
91. Cover letter writing services
Subscriptions and membership sites
Are you a creator with many followers? Then, creating a membership site or selling subscription-based products is a great way to monetize your audience. Selling memberships or subscriptions will allow you to collect recurring revenue and build customer loyalty.
92. Subscription-based podcasts
If you’re great at public speaking and keeping an audience engaged, you could start doing subscription-based podcasts. We’re currently experiencing a podcast boom, so don’t miss out on an entirely new audience that prefers listening to podcasts.
93. Digital magazines
94. Spirituality & astrology subscriptions
Another industry that has taken over the internet in recent years is the spiritual wellness industry. For instance, Sellfy creator Attune to the Moon offers seasonal subscription packages and recordings of live astrology lectures to members.
More examples of subscriptions and memberships to sell:
95. Digital newsletter subscriptions
96. Monthly fitness challenges
97. Weekly meal plans
98. Weekly motivational quotes
99. Meditation subscriptions
100. Yoga subscriptions
101. Software licensing & updates