Last Updated on February 29, 2024 by Eric Cantu
There are many ways to make money online. You can go the route of affiliate marketing, you could try your hand at dropshipping, some even try to make a quick profit with MLMs. But how much can you earn from selling digital products? Do you need to have your own products to sell or can you simply sell digital products that already exist?
How Much Can You Earn By Selling Digital Products?
You can earn anywhere from hundred of dollars to 5 figures per month. In today’s digital age, selling digital products has become very lucrative. From eBooks to online courses, there are numerous types of digital products that you can create and sell to make a profit.
Key Takeaways
- Selling digital products can be a very lucrative business in today’s digital age
- Digital products are virtual assets, items, or experiences that are sold and distributed online. No overhead costs for shipping or packaging.
- Creating and selling digital products requires careful planning, attention to detail, and the right strategy and is very scalable.
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Understanding Digital Products
With low overhead costs and high-profit margins, digital products have become a popular choice for online entrepreneurs who want to start their own business. There’s no inventory to worry about, no shipping or handling, it’s all digital.
As someone with experience selling digital products for a while now, trust me when I say it can be very lucrative. In this section, I’ll explain what digital products are, their types, and the major advantages they offer over physical products.
Definition and Types
Digital products are intangible goods that are sold or distributed online. They can be downloaded, streamed, or accessed online. There are several types of digital products, including:
- Software: These are computer programs that perform specific tasks. They can be productivity tools, games, or utilities.
- Courses: These are educational materials that are delivered online. They can be in the form of video tutorials, e-books, or webinars.
- Music: This includes digital albums, singles, and sound effects.
- Digital art: This includes images, illustrations, and photographs.
- E-books: These are digital versions of books that can be read on electronic devices.
- Games: These are digital games that can be downloaded and played on computers, consoles, or mobile devices.
- Apps: These are software programs that are designed to run on mobile devices.
- Graphics: These are digital designs that can be used in various applications.
- Templates: These are pre-designed documents that can be customized for specific purposes.
- Themes: These are pre-designed layouts that can be used for websites or blogs.
- Plugins: These are software components that can be added to existing programs to enhance their functionality.
- Fonts: These are digital typefaces that can be used in various applications.
Advantages Over Physical Products
Digital products offer several advantages over physical products making the business of selling digital products highly profitable. Here are some of them:
- Low overhead costs: Since digital products do not require physical production or shipping, the overhead costs are significantly lower.
- Easy distribution: Digital products can be distributed instantly and globally, which means that they can reach a larger audience.
- No inventory management: Since digital products are not physical, there is no need to manage inventory.
- Easy updates: Digital products can be updated easily and quickly, which means that customers can always have access to the latest version and they’re always current.
- Eco-friendly: Digital products do not require physical materials, which means that they have a lower environmental impact.
Where to Start with Creating Your Digital Products
By choosing a niche you have knowledge or expertise in, you can actually create your own digital products that can be sold online. In this section, I will discuss how to identify your expertise, develop marketable skills, and use tools and software to create your digital products.
Identifying Your Expertise
- Identify what you are passionate about and knowledgeable in.
- Focus on niche topics or talents you possess. Focus on a tighter niche as a specialist as opposed to broader knowledge.
- Use your identified expertise as a foundation for product development.
- When you teach or share content based on things you love it makes you that much more relatable.
Developing Marketable Skills
- Understand audience demands through market research.
- Identify audience preferences and their payment willingness. Check the competition.
- Develop skills relevant to product creation, such as software proficiency or writing/design abilities.
- Aim to create products that stand out in quality and value.
Tools and Software for Creation
- There are many tools available for digital product creation, including Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, and WordPress for creating graphics, templates, and building websites.
- Choose tools based on budget, skill level, and required features.
- Balance cost with the potential for advanced features that improve product quality.
How to Find and Sell Digital Products That Aren’t Your Own
And what about promoting digital products that aren’t your own? There are plenty of great digital products that you can promote even if you’re not the creator.
Identifying Lucrative Affiliate Opportunities
- Look for affiliate programs that offer digital products with high demand and good commission rates.
- Choose products that align with your audience’s interests and your platform’s niche.
- Always make sure the products have a good reputation for quality and customer satisfaction to maintain your credibility.
Leveraging Marketplaces and Platforms
- Platforms like ClickBank, JVZoo, and Commission Junction are popular for finding digital products to sell.
- Look at top-selling products on these platforms to gauge what’s currently popular and profitable.
- Be clear about the affiliate program rules, commission structures, and payment methods of each platform.
Building and Nurturing Customer Relationships
- Use blogs, YouTube videos, or social media to talk about the benefits and uses of the products.
- Provide additional resources like guides, tutorials, or reviews to help customers make informed decisions.
- Be honest about your affiliate relationships and ensure your promotions are ethical and transparent.
Show Me the Money! Setting Up for Sales
You got your products ready to go? Now let’s set yourself up for sales! Let’s walk you through the different steps to take to set up your online store and start making money from your digital products.
Choosing the Right Platform
- There are several options like Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, and WordPress. Go through each platform’s pros and cons and choose the one that best fits your needs.
- Consider specific features like subscription or membership options, depending on your product type (e.g., online courses). Recurring membership type features can raise your profits exponentially.
Building an Online Store
- Develop your website on the chosen platform. With WooCommerce you can integrate a payment gateway and design the store for maximum user experience.
- Utilize available templates and themes for customization. It’s easier than you think.
- Focus on creating a user-friendly and easily navigable online store. Sites that are hard to navigate will make your audience bounce.
Pricing Strategies
- Implement effective pricing strategies for your digital products.
- Explore options like value-based pricing, cost-plus pricing, and competition-based pricing. How much value are you bringing in comparison to the competition? How much time did you spend creating it?
- Factor in product value, profit margins, and market competition when setting prices.
Reaching the Masses! Marketing and Promotion
As much as creating a digital product is important, marketing and promoting your products is even more important when it comes to making consistent sales and earning money. Here are some effective marketing strategies to use to reach the masses
Email Marketing
- Build relationships with subscribers by offering valuable content.
- Regularly send newsletters, updates to your blog, product updates, and special offers.
- Keep subscribers engaged and interested in products through consistent communication.
- Platforms like AWeber allow you to segment your email list for tailored, hyper-relevant communications with your audience for better conversions.
Social Media Strategies
- Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) are where your audience is. Connect with them and bring value that they can share with their circles so you can reach a broader audience.
- Use paid ads on social media to extend reach and visibility.
Leveraging SEO and Content Marketing
- Use solid keyword research to find the searches your target audience is making and then create content as the answer to those searches.
- Practice good SEO to rank at the top of Google Search Results and drive traffic to your content.
- Identify relevant keywords for digital products using Google Trends and create content around them.
- Focus on high-quality, targeted content that provides value to your audience.
Scaling Up and Maximizing Your Revenue Potential
There are several strategies you can use to get the most out of your digital products. Don’t leave money on the table! Let’s learn how to scale and increase your profits as much as possible.
Creating Multiple Income Streams
- Avoid relying on a single product for all revenue. Become an affiliate for several products and services all relevant to your niche
- Explore multiple income streams such as selling digital products, offering coaching services, hosting webinars, and selling physical products.
- After you’re successful with one niche, rinse and repeat with another. Each niche websites is its own business, each offering many ways to monetize.
Upselling and Cross-Selling
- Implement strategies to encourage additional purchases from customers.
- For example, offer complementary products or services like a coaching package with a digital course purchase.
- Increase revenue per customer and build up customer value through these strategies.
Sustainable Business Model and Passive Income
- Focus on creating a sustainable business model for long-term success.
- Look beyond just increasing immediate profits, focus on delivering value for the long term.
- Offer membership or subscription options for recurring purchases.
- Create passive and recurring revenue without needing to constantly develop new products.
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Final Thoughts
Selling digital products online can be lucrative with the right approach. Create your own digital products or use affiliate networks to sell popular ones, focus on delivering value, and you can create a long term successful business online.
What do you think? Have you tried your hand at selling digital products? What have been the hurdles that have stopped you before? Have you found the right platform to get your business started? Let me know what you think in the comments section below!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the potential income from digital product sales per month?
The potential income from digital product sales can vary greatly depending on the type of product you are selling, your target market, and your marketing strategy. However, with the right approach, it is possible to earn a substantial income from selling digital products. Some successful digital product sellers make up to $10,000 or more per month.
Can selling digital products on Amazon be profitable?
Yes, Amazon has a large customer base and a well-established platform for selling digital products. However, it is important to research and understand the competition and marketplace before launching your product. Additionally, Amazon takes a percentage of the sale price as a commission, so it is important to factor that into your pricing strategy.
What are the top-selling digital products currently?
The top-selling digital products currently include online courses, ebooks, stock photos, printables, software, and music. However, the popularity of digital products can change quickly, so it is important to stay up-to-date on current trends and consumer needs.
Is there profitability in selling digital downloads on Etsy?
Yes, Etsy has a large and dedicated customer base for handmade and unique items, including digital products. Etsy takes a percentage of the sale price as a commission, so it is important to factor that into your pricing strategy.
What are the financial benefits of selling digital products in the USA market?
The financial benefits of selling digital products in the USA market include a large and diverse customer base, a strong economy, and a well-established infrastructure for online sales. Additionally, the USA market is known for its high demand for digital products, which can lead to increased sales and profits.
How viable is it to make a living from digital product sales?
It is possible to make a living from digital product sales, but it requires hard work, dedication, and a solid marketing strategy. Success in digital product sales often comes from identifying a niche market, creating unique and valuable products, and effectively promoting those products to the target audience.
Hi there I just had an long in depth read on your blog and I like it a lot. I myself started affiliate marketing just last week and enjoy it so much. I like your topic as well as your complete web page it looks really professional. well done.
Have a spectacular day, Cheers
Thanks for the comment!
Hi Eric,
How can a beginner learn to effectively market digital products with limited marketing experience, but some technical background? Does your system teach you the “soft skills” to do that? For instance, if I knew how to create a website, but lacked the background to know how to write good copy, or better yet, figure out when it’s not good and try to fix it?
Don’t overthink it. You don’t need to be a professional marketer to be successful with affiliate marketing. You just need to be relatable, understand your audience’s pain points, and look to solve their problems. If I’m promoting a camera that I feel is the best travel camera I’m going to share exactly why I feel that way from my own experience and be relatable to my audience who’s looking to enjoy that camera in the same way. Just speak from your experience and perspective. Thanks for the comment!
Great article very informative. I recently started Affiliate Marketing and taking a few different approaches. One of them is using AI and Canva and other tools to and trying to create digital products to sell and promote. I have created a few things but feel like i have not got the steps quite right. For digital products having a back ground in IT, what do you think would be a good digital product to potentially promote? Maybe even create?
Depending on your niche you could create just about anything. For example, let’s say you were in the chess niche. You could create a pdf or ebook with tips and strategies, maybe include a cheat sheet showing a checklist of all the things to remember while playing a game (control the center, castle early, etc.)… Can you tell I love to play chess? lol. The key is to deliver with value. With your background in IT, if that’s the niche you’ve chosen to go in, what are some of the pain points your target audience faces that you could remedy. You could also create a course as well. Thanks for the comment!