Starting your own online business and earning passive income is the dream — and you can make it happen by creating digital products to sell online.
There’s a misconception that business owners won't make much money selling digital products, but the digital product space is a multimillion-dollar industry.
This ultimate guide will teach you:
- What Is a Digital Product?
- Digital Products Examples
- 10 Digital Product Ideas to Sell
- Benefits of Selling Your Own Digital Products
- How To Create a Digital Product
- Bringing Your Digital Product Ideas to Life With a Website
What Is a Digital Product?
A digital product is a nonphysical item that leverages a creator’s know-how and can be purchased by customers online. Influencers and content creators often use digital products as lead magnets for their product launches, but they can also be offered on their own. Examples of profitable digital products include informational products such as ebooks, videos, and newsletters.
Digital Products Examples
1. Online courses.
2. Stock photos and presets.
3. Printables.
4. Templates.
5. E-books and audiobooks.
6. Podcasts.
7. Membership content.
8. Sound effects and music.
9. Webinars.
10 Digital Product Ideas to Sell
Digital products are becoming increasingly popular as people look for ways to save money and time. If you have a creative streak or a knack for problem-solving, you could turn your skills into a profitable business by selling digital products. Here are 10 ideas to get you started:
1. Ebooks
Ebooks are a great way to share your knowledge and expertise with others. If you have a passion for writing, you could write an ebook on a topic that you know well. You can sell your ebook on your own website or through an online marketplace like Amazon.
2. Online Courses
If you're an expert in a particular field, you could create an online course to teach others what you know. Online courses can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like Udemy.
3. Software
If you're a talented programmer, you could create software that solves a problem or makes people's lives easier. Software can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like the App Store or Google Play.
4. Templates
If you're good at design, you could create templates that people can use to create their own documents, presentations, or websites. Templates can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like Creative Market.
5. Fonts
If you have a knack for typography, you could create fonts that people can use in their documents, presentations, or websites. Fonts can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like MyFonts.
6. Music
If you're a talented musician, you could create music that people can listen to or use in their videos or podcasts. Music can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like iTunes or Spotify.
7. Videos
If you're good at creating videos, you could create videos that people can watch for entertainment or education. Videos can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like YouTube or Vimeo.
8. Images
If you're a talented photographer, you could create images that people can use in their documents, presentations, or websites. Images can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like Shutterstock or iStockPhoto.
9. Icons
If you have a good eye for design, you could create icons that people can use in their websites, apps, or documents. Icons can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like Font Awesome or The Noun Project.
10. Stock photography
If you have a large collection of high-quality photos, you could sell them as stock photography. Stock photography can be sold on your own website or through an online marketplace like Shutterstock or iStockPhoto.
These are just a few ideas for digital products that you can sell. With a little creativity and effort, you can turn your skills into a profitable business.
Benefits of Selling Your Own Digital Products
A few good reasons why you should learn how to sell digital products is because they are:
1. Scalable: Digital products are often created to complement a full-time service provider’s offerings (e.g., consulting, coaching, writing). Digital products empower self-employed professionals, influencers, and content creators to reach a wider target audience.
2. Easy to make: There are different types of digital products you can offer without expertise. Leverage an existing skill you have that can make people’s lives easier.
For instance, WordPress themes, PowerPoint templates, Lightroom presets, and social media templates save others time and can be made with free software, such as Canva.
3. Low cost: Digital products cost little to produce, and you can sell them on ecommerce websites, which are inexpensive to put up. Digital products also have little overhead cost and fewer logistical problems than physical products.
4. Easily automated: All you need to put up a website for digital products is a membership site and payment method. Most of the effort goes into marketing and making the product. Other than that, once the product is launched, you can start earning.
5. A source of passive income: Providing services can make good money but is limited by the number of hours in a day. Selling digital products empowers you to earn money online while you sleep.
The beauty of knowing how to create a digital product is that you can mix and match different types of content formats to create multiple streams of passive income.
Bloggers can create both an ebook and an audiobook and reach two different markets. Digital marketing experts can come up with video courses with matching workbooks and worksheets.
How to Create a Digital Product for Your Online Store
Part of learning how to create a digital product is being familiar with the different kinds of digital products, business models, and platforms to distribute them. For example, ebooks can be distributed on your website and sold as Kindle books on Amazon.
If you want to know how to create a digital product, here is a step-by-step guide for coming up with digital product ideas:
1. Determine what problem you can solve or what opportunity you can provide. The two main reasons people purchase a product are to unlock a benefit or solve a pain point. In both ways, people seek to improve their lives.
2. Research to find potential customers and see whether there’s a market for a product. You can check social media groups and pages.
3. Validate your product by starting small and improving and iterating as you go along.
Learning how to create a digital product depends on the kind of digital product that you’ll make. A popular format for digital content is online courses.
Because the 2020 pandemic forced most of us to stay home, e-learning is experiencing unprecedented growth, and experts say it won't stop soon. Selling online courses is a big market that’s expected to be worth $374.3 billion in 2026.
Online courses don't necessarily have to be in video format. You can create mini-courses or drip courses using email marketing tools.
Bringing Your Digital Product Ideas to Life With a Website
If you don’t know how to sell digital products, creating your own website is the best place to start.
You can quickly sell your products on online marketplaces, but WordPress is the best choice for your website because of its flexibility and customizability.
Whether you set up an ecommerce website or a membership site to gate your content, WordPress has your back.
For digital products such as ebooks, an ecommerce store is your best bet, and StoreBuilder is perfect for both beginners and pros.
Developed by WooCommerce experts and powered by Managed WooCommerce hosting, StoreBuilder’s intelligent technology lets you create a website quickly and easily.
If you plan to offer online courses and subscription content, lock your content on WordPress with membership plugins.
Final Thoughts: How To Create a Digital Product That Sells Easily
Learning how to create a digital product is an excellent way to complement your full-time services and earn passive income while helping others.
Turn your digital product ideas into reality. StoreBuilder empowers you to build an ecommerce website to sell your digital downloads quickly. And you don't even need to know how to build an ecommerce website — StoreBuilder does the heavy lifting for you.
StoreBuilder includes more premium features than any other online store creator, including professional ecommerce website templates.
To get selling online quickly without coding, and using one of the strongest ecommerce platforms available — WooCommerce — choose StoreBuilder.
