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How to Sell Digital Products Online (With 5 Trending Ideas)

Thinking of selling digital products? There’s no better time to start than right now.

As technology becomes an integral part of our lives, interest in digital products has also been on the rise. Selling digital products online is a great business opportunity. And the best thing about it? You can get started almost immediately.

Read on to find out how you can get started.

What are digital products?

Digital products are assets that don’t take a physical form. They can be distributed online and are delivered through downloadable formats like PDFs, JPEGs, PNGs, MP3s and more.

These products don’t take up inventory space. In fact, the same file can be sold over and over again to various customers. 

Why sell digital products?

1. Low overhead costs and high profit margins

You don’t need to hold physical inventory spaces with digital products. All you need is a working computer with enough memory space. 

Selling digital products can cut down your startup costs and keep them to a bare minimum. What’s more, you can distribute the same files many times with no limits as to how much profit you can make from each product!

2. Flexible and easily scalable 

Here’s the great thing about digital products – you can sell them to as many people as possible. You aren’t limited by the logistics that come with selling physical products. 

Selling 10 PDFs a day or 10 000 PDFs a day isn’t going to make a big difference for you in terms of operations. Orders can be delivered instantly and there’s no need to contact a courier or go through shipping processes.

3. Amazing potential and business opportunity

The pandemic has drastically shifted our relationship with technology. As schools go online and work processes are becoming digitalized, demand for digital products is on the rise.

The e-learning industry is set to grow to $374 billion by 2026. And that means media associated with e-learning like e-books, PDF worksheets and digital journals, will be increasingly popular. 

5 Types of digital products to sell online

1. Fonts and typefaces

Are you a designer looking for ways to sell your typographic designs? Selling fonts is a great avenue to start monetizing your skills.

With more companies going online, design softwares like Procreate, Figma, and Adobe suite are becoming increasingly popular. Selling downloadable fonts that run in these programs is a great business opportunity that you can exploit.

How to price:

  • Price your fonts based on how much time you’ve put into creating them
  • Consider offering a bundle deal when customers buy 3 or more fonts from you

2. Digital journals

The productivity niche is gaining quite a lot of traction online. From goal-setting apps to new journaling techniques, it’s evident that there’s a rising interest in developing personal growth.

Digital journals are great downloadable products that appeal to the productivity geek. Consider designing a pack of journaling templates that are compatible with popular note-taking apps like GoodNotes 5 and Notability. 

You can even design fun digital stickers to make your templates more interesting and stand out from the rest!

How to price:

  • Sell your digital journal in a pack of 10 templates or more
  • Create a bundle deal for customers who wish to get it with digital stickers

3. Digital illustrations

Love to doodle in your free time? Why not monetize your hobby and turn it into a profitable business!

These days, home decor is becoming increasingly popular. And it’s not just the rich and well-to-do who want to spruce up their homes. Digital illustrations are great products you can sell online to customers who are looking for accessible, printable wall art for their homes. 

How to price:

  • Price your product based on how much time and effort you’ve invested
  • You can consider selling them individually, or choose to sell them thematically (eg. a series that consists of 3 digital drawings)

4. Audio files

Besides design-related products, you can also sell digital MP3 products online. If you love making music and want to start monetizing your own original songs, selling your audio files online can be a great way to gain traction with your audience.

That said, audio files don’t always need to be original songs. You can create ambient music loops and sound effects which are great for videographers looking for background tracks for their projects. 

How to price:

  • Calculate the amount of time it took for you to make your audio file and give yourself an hourly rate
  • Compare against market rate and position yourself based on effort and level of experience

5. Icons for iOS

Image credit: Pinterest

Digital prints and fonts aside, another media asset that is high in demand now is icons. Icons are often used by companies in web and app design. But these days, there’s a market for icons among consumers too.

People love customizing their phone layouts and showing them off online. It’s a trend that’s been taking the internet by storm ever since the release of iOS 14. If you’re looking to sell digital products online, you should ride on this opportunity to create unique icons for iOS apps.

How to price:

  • Group your icons in a set and price each set based on the number of icons available
  • Choose to sell a comprehensive set or categorize each set thematically (eg. social icons, productivity icons, etc.)

4 Easy Steps to Sell Digital Products Online 

1. Zoom in on a niche

Having a niche is crucial to your success in ecommerce. Instead of selling all kinds of digital products, narrow it down to a specific niche. 

This helps to position yourself as a subject matter expert and gives your brand credibility. You don’t want to be a generalist – you want to specialize.

See also: A Step By Step Guide On Turning Your Passion Into A Money-Making Home Business

2. Start creating and polishing your work

The thing about digital files? You only go about creating each product once. And that’s why ensuring quality is crucial.

Your digital products have the potential to scale. Whether it’s a digital worksheet, an audio file, online course or a set of digital stickers, make sure you’ve spent time polishing and perfecting your work.

For example, you can use some easy-to-use online courses platforms like FreshLearn, Teachable, and Kajabi to create engaging content.

3. Set up your very own website 

Now that your work is ready, all you need to do is to list it on your website. Cococart’s simple features allow you to sell anything in a matter of minutes. 

On top of that, you get to track and manage your orders seamlessly with in-built management tools and features. Simply list your Cococart website on your social media channels to start getting traffic on your website. 

4. Share your digital files with your customers

After a customer makes a purchase with you on your Cococart website, you can send them their digital files via email. 

If your digital files are too large, consider using file-sharing platforms like WeTransfer. Just make sure you get their email address when they’re filling out your order form so you can easily share your digital files online!

Start selling digital products right now

With low overhead costs and high-profit margins, selling digital products is a great business opportunity. 

In fact, if you already have digital files on hand, you can even start selling immediately with Cococart. No apps, no coding, no design experience needed. Simply list your products, and start selling.

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