If you sell digital products, you can easily generate additional income without spending much or encountering many difficulties. The amount of income you generate will depend on the amount of time you dedicate, the quality of your products, and the effectiveness of your promotion efforts.
Whether you aspire to achieve great success or simply desire a passive income stream to eventually replace your job, diversifying your revenue and discovering new opportunities to earn from home is a wise decision. The best part is that you have the opportunity to utilize your knowledge and talent to assist others.
This article is designed to provide you with an understanding of the top digital products that you can offer for sale on the internet.
What is a digital product
Digital products refer to virtual items that can be purchased and downloaded immediately. They lack physicality, meaning they cannot be physically touched, yet possess significant value, estimated to reach $331 billion in the industry.
When you think of “digital products,” the first things that come to mind are streaming movies and TV, video games, software, and apps. However, there are numerous ways to create digital products using your own knowledge, creativity, skills, and expertise, without requiring a film crew or a team of software developers.
Why sell digital products
Low investment, (potentially) high returns
By using only time, energy, and some focus, you can create numerous digital products. Online marketplaces and e-commerce tools are more cost-effective when compared to renting a physical store or maintaining a stock of physical items. Consequently, this leads to the possibility of achieving greater profit margins.
More profitable than physical goods
Digital products have higher profit margins compared to physical products, and this margin increases over time as there is no need for additional expenses to produce more units.
No inventory, shipping or rent hassle
Selling digital products through an online platform has the potential to be radically simple, making it an ideal side hustle. Furthermore, you can avoid the logistics and expenses involved in producing, storing, and shipping physical items.
Automated delivery for passive income
If you already have a day job that keeps you occupied, selling digital products online can ensure a steady stream of income even if you spend most of your week at your full-time job.
Serve a niche at scale
Being skilled in something that is less commonly known can be advantageous. It is simpler to focus on a particular group of people with specific requirements rather than attempting to cater to a larger audience. While there is a considerable demand for achieving well-defined abdominal muscles within a month, there is a much smaller proportion of individuals who desire to obtain the ideal physique for water polo. This approach of catering to a specialized group is known as serving a niche.
Selling niches locally can be challenging due to the lack of a significant market. However, even the tiniest niches possess enough potential to thrive worldwide, without any restrictions on the geographical boundaries of potential customers.
Leverage the shift towards online education
As businesses increasingly move online, the demand for digital products keeps growing, and the demand for online courses is projected to reach $319+ bn by 2025.
The demand for online courses is continuing to rise as adoption increases. Our report on the impact of COVID-19 on the online course industry reveals a significant surge in student enrollment, with a 217% increase recorded in the second half of March 2020 coinciding with the implementation of COVID social distancing measures. As we transition out of the pandemic, the popularity of online courses is expected to remain strong.
How to make money selling digital products
Figure out your ideal user
One of the initial and crucial steps in creating a digital product is to determine the target audience. Avoid the temptation to develop a product that caters to everyone. As the saying goes, “there are riches in niches,” and this statement remains accurate.
Creating a clear target audience for your product increases the chances of successful sales. When it comes to selling courses and memberships, it is beneficial to envision an “Ideal Member” as part of our selling strategy.
In order to identify your ideal student, user, customer, or member, you can inquire about a few queries.
- Who are the people who most need what you have?
- What does your digital product do for them?
- What are the struggles, pains, questions, or dreams you can help them with?
- What type of people are they? (demographics)
- How much are they willing to pay for a solution?
To discover your Ideal Member, it is recommended to conduct interviews with potentially suitable individuals for your digital product. Engage in conversations with 15-20 people and obtain the responses to the aforementioned questions.
Identify the type of product they need
Once you have identified the intended audience for your digital product, you will have a clear understanding of the appropriate product to develop. It is important to examine their specific requirements. Your product should effectively address these requirements and align with their lifestyle.
If your target audience is busy parents, it would not be advisable to choose a product that necessitates them to attend virtual training sessions for an entire week. Instead, it would be more beneficial to offer an asynchronous course that they can participate in whenever they have some free time available.
When considering the transformation you are offering, like many digital products, it is important to think step by step. If your objective is to educate someone on adopting a more active lifestyle, a 20-minute webinar is unlikely to be sufficient. However, creating a membership community would likely be the ideal solution, providing long-term value, assistance, and accountability to your members.
Figure out your own creative style
Consider the style and skills that complement your own when developing your product. What talents do you excel at? What unique abilities do you possess? For instance, if you possess exceptional speaking skills, a webinar may be the most suitable option. If coaching is your forte, perhaps working directly with individuals would be ideal. Similarly, if coding is your strength, constructing an app might be the way to go.
In order to assist people in solving problems, it is important to first recognize and acknowledge your own distinct expertise and capabilities. Furthermore, it is crucial to select a solution that aligns with your areas of proficiency.
Choose a profitable business model
To increase your chances of making money selling digital products, it is important to choose a profitable business model. Although there is no one-size-fits-all model that guarantees success, considering certain factors from the beginning is crucial.
Value the price appropriately.
For a first-time entrepreneur, pricing can be intimidating, particularly because there is a tendency to undercharge. However, this approach has two drawbacks. Firstly, the lower the price set for the product, the greater the quantity required to generate profitability.
Furthermore, our observations from communities and courses indicate that individuals are less likely to remain committed when the price is too low. It can be easily disregarded if one only paid $12 for a course. Therefore, it is essential for individuals to have a personal investment in order to strive for success. Paradoxically, by increasing the price, the likelihood of our members achieving their goals is heightened.
Keep your expenses minimal.
If you focus on the latest marketing tools, customizations, cameras, or high-end builders, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that keeping costs low initially will ultimately lead to higher profitability. As you expand, you can gradually invest in more technological advancements.
Recurring revenue refers to income that is received on a regular basis.
If you can create a product that brings you recurring revenue, you are on the path to a profitable business model, although it may not always be possible.
If a member joins and pays the membership fee, they will continue to make monthly payments until they leave. This contrasts greatly with a product that is purchased once and never again, making it a highly lucrative business model.
Pre-selling.
If you inform people that you’re creating a digital product, many will respond positively. However, their enthusiasm doesn’t guarantee that they will actually purchase it. To ensure the profitability of your digital course, a good strategy is to pre-sell it. If individuals are willing to pay in advance, it confirms that you have secured revenue.
Choose your tech
While we won’t delve into the numerous choices and details, it should be acknowledged that constructing and delivering a digital product always involves some form of technology. For additional insights, we have provided links to other articles below.
Digital product ideas to sell online
Instead of providing an exhaustive list, here are eight digital product categories that encompass the vast array of options available for online selling. Additionally, we offer some ideas to inspire you as you begin your journey.
eBooks
Even if you are not an exceptional writer, it is still possible for you to write a book that many people will purchase. Reflect on your strongest skills and consider how you can share them with others through writing.
Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche is a financial educator who aims to empower women globally. In addition to operating the popular online school known as the Live Richer Academy, Aliche has also authored several successful eBooks that cater to both students and non-students.
Online courses
If you possess expertise and a desire to share it with others, teaching online allows you to transform your expertise into a fresh stream of income. In this case, creating an online course serves as an ideal digital product for you to monetize.
By launching a digital course, you can cater to individuals who are enthusiastic about acquiring knowledge from the comfort of their homes, be it for pursuing a new hobby or enhancing their professional skills.
Creating online courses has broad appeal and is not limited to traditional classroom environments, such as high school or university, or to corporate trainers adapting to remote onboarding. Additionally, it does not require formal training as an educator.
It is possible to create an online course for teaching a wide range of subjects, such as tai chi, drone piloting, yoga, and guitar.
Software
Building software can be a highly profitable digital product if you have coding skills or can enlist the help of someone who does. This is exemplified by Tobias Lütke, who developed his own e-commerce software to facilitate the sale of snowboards. Presently known as Shopify, this software has propelled Lütke to immense wealth, with the company now valued at $13 billion.
The potential upside can be huge if you have the necessary understanding to create software or an app.
Apps
Additionally, an app is a beloved digital product that can be created without being a developer. Various excellent choices are available for crafting your customized app, which can be marketed and monetized.
Graphic design work
As a graphic designer, you possess the necessary tools to create digital items that can be sold, as other designers who are under time constraints are in search of the components that can enhance the quality of their work.
You have the opportunity to create and sell a variety of digital products, such as vector icons, textures, objects, and typefaces, on the side while still working with clients. If you have a passion for design, this could be a way to express your creativity beyond client projects.
Templates
From WordPress bloggers to newlyweds, there is a wide range of individuals seeking a head start in their respective endeavors.
Why waste time creating something from the beginning when a template can provide a pre-designed layout for a website, help with timely sending of wedding invitations, enable the creation of personalized business cards, aid in planning a marketing strategy, facilitate number crunching on excel, or assist in quickly refining a resume.
