digital products to sell on ecommerce website

February 6, 2023
Shatakshi Chattaraj
1 Comment

Learn #7 Influential Ways Create and Sell Digital Products on Your Ecommerce Website:

Digital products sound abstract and also are abstract. For example relating to or denoting art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but rather seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, colors, and textures.

So what are these digital products??? Digital products are those products that cannot be tasted, held or touched. Presently almost everyone consumes digital products such as online eBooks, music, online courses and more.

Digital products have ease of distribution along with their increasing popularity. For this very reason entrepreneurs have built their entire products around intangible goods. These intangible products complement the services or the physical products they offer.

Artists, educators and freelancers find digital products very appealing because once the digital product is created it can be sold to multiple customers repeatedly. Opening up low maintenance new income streams that doesn’t require the creator to replenish the inventory.

Table of Contents

Definition of digital products:

Non physical piece of media or asset that can be put on sale over and over again without any necessity to replenish the inventory. Usually these products are mostly available in steamtable and downloadable files like PDFs, MP3s, plugins, templates and videos.

Few distinctive advantages of using digital products:

Flexibility: Broader flexibility while considering the price range. Also, the owner of the digital product can offer the product for free , that will help in growing the monthly paid subscriptions entire digital content, enlarging the email list or providing a license for your digital product. The proprietor of the digital product has a lot of options to find out how they want to monetize their digital product.

Automation: Digital products can be delivered instantly, 24X7X365 days a year, providing a top notch customer experience on the customer front. Also the owners of the digital product can be hand off with fulfilment relatively faster than any other form of the product.

Increased Profit: Developing a digital product increases the profit margins because there is no recurring cost. Therefore closing almost every sale with a high profit margin.

Minimal Overhead cost: With digital products, overhead cost is negligible as the creators do not have to hold on to inventory.

Lets now divulge into set of challenges that one might one might encounter with digital products:

Competition : Surviving the market is tough as there is a high amount of competition. Consumers can research on their own and find cheaper or free alternatives of your digital products. The owner of the digital product has to be more calculative in choosing the niche they want to target. In order to compete it is essential to provide premium prices and build a brand.

Piracy and Theft: Digital piracy and theft is a common problem as there are people who are interested in the product but not willing to pay for it. Digital creators have to employ proper tools to keep their products protected.

Restriction and policies: The platform digital owners use to sell their products should follow the policies. For example if you are interested in selling physical products you should sell it through Facebook and Instagram sales channels according to the commerce policy.

Types of different digital products and how to sell them online:

eBooks & Courses:

If you have a good grasp of knowledge on any particular topic, digital products are an amazing way to form conglomeration and sell it to people who are looking forward to learning something new.

We have reached a point in our evolution where knowledge is effortlessly available, so if you find the niche you want to focus on is abundantly available on the internet, you can go ahead and deliver content to your customer base that not only provides education but also provides transformation. In other words then you won’t be selling the products, you will be selling them the customer’s own potential they can unlock after buying the product.

Furthermore digital creators for eBooks and courses can assemble more attention for their product by leveraging their existing reputation as an expert. Or if you are starting out from the scratch you can always give away free content to generate leads and interest for your paid digital content.

How to sell eBooks & courses online?

Choose a platform: There are various platforms like Amazon, Gumroad, Teachable, and Thinkific where you can sell your digital product Create your product: Write an eBook or create a course and format it in an easily consumable and visually appealing way.
Establish your brand: Establish your brand identity, including your logo, website, and social media presence
Promote your product: Use your website, email list, and social media channels to promote your product and reach your target audience.
Set a price: Determine a fair price for your product that is competitive with similar products in the market.
Process payments: Choose a payment processing service to process payments from your customers securely.
Provide excellent customer service: Respond to customer inquiries and ensure that they have a positive experience with your product.
Continuously improve: Gather customer feedback and use it to improve your product and customer experience.

Sell licensed Digital Assets:

In the world of digital products, there exists a global ecosystem of licensable digital assets uploaded by the creatives for other creatives to utilize for their work. Creatives like stock photos, sound effects, music and video footage of music videos can have a license, and you can charge businesses and individuals for using your products.

With the existence of the online marketplace, businesses and individuals can charge for software, videos, music and photos. If the digital creators have their luck, they can charge up to 50% commission on every sale. Creators can build a one-stop for their digital assets; they can use Sendowl to initiate these kinds of businesses, as it provides unique auto-generated license keys.

Understanding the audience’s needs is one of the best ways to jump into this business; start thinking in ways your audience would be thinking. It will help you understand what kind of products customers want to use and what products are in demand and hence easier to sell.

Lastly, protect your digital products with watermarks and other security measures, especially when your digital assets are photos.

How to sell a licensed digital asset?

Determine the type of license: Choose the most appropriate license for your digital asset, such as a personal, commercial, or extended license.
Draft a license agreement: This legal document should clearly outline the terms of the license, including the scope of use, the duration of the license, and any restrictions on usage.
Set the price: Determine a fair price for your license based on the license type, the scope of use, and market demand.
Market and promote the license: You can sell your license through online marketplaces, your website, or through agents and resellers.
Manage and enforce the license: Ensure that the license is being used according to the agreed-upon terms in the agreement. This includes monitoring use, invoicing for payment, and taking legal action if necessary.
Provide support: Offer support to your customers, such as technical assistance and updates, to increase customer satisfaction and maintain a positive reputation.

It is recommended to seek legal advice before licensing and selling a digital asset to ensure that all legal requirements are met and to minimize the risk of disputes.

Exclusive Digital Products:

Did you like the idea of licensed digital assets? If you did, then membership access to exclusive digital products is also a fantastic way to monetize digital assets. Instead of selling a single digital asset, you can pile up a good quantity of digital assets and sell them as a subscription plan, generating significant revenue.

As a digital asset creator, you can approach this plan if you can grow a library of premium content that you someday nurture passionate community members. Sometimes, paid digital subscriptions to create an opportunity to monetize your existing content marketing efforts directly. Apart from that, as paid subscribers will only have access to your digital asset, creators can host live programs that can be streamed, not downloaded.

For the creators who want to build exclusive digital products, you ChargeRabbit for recurring subscription billing and use SkyPilot for the digital delivery system.

How to sell exclusive digital products?

Define your target audience: Understanding who your customers are and their needs and pain points will help you create a product that appeals to them.
Create a compelling product: Develop a digital product that offers value to your customers and solves their problems. Make sure it is unique and sets you apart from your competition.
Build a website: Create a website that showcases your product and makes it easy for customers to subscribe. The website should be user-friendly, visually appealing, and optimized for search engines.
Price your product: Determine a fair price for your product that is in line with the market and the value it provides. Offer discounts or other incentives to encourage people to subscribe.
Market your product: Use online and offline marketing strategies to promote your product. Consider email marketing, social media, content marketing, and advertising.
Provide excellent customer service: Make sure your customers are satisfied with your product and provide support when needed. Encourage customer feedback and use it to improve your product and service.
Monitor and analyze: Keep track of your sales and customer feedback to see what is working and what is not. Use this information to make adjustments and improve your product and sales process.

Sell Digital Templates & Tools:

Digital products can also come in the form of intangible tools that equip professionals to do tasks that either fall outside of their skillset or take up a lot of time. You can sell digital solutions to the common pain points and needs of a specific audience.

Some examples include:

-Product mockup files for entrepreneurs
-Resume templates for job-seekers
-Software for businesses
-Adobe After Effects plugins for video editors
-Icons, fonts, or UX Kits for web designers

If you already have a freelance business, it might be worth considering how you can turn your skills and services into digital products to create passive streams of revenue.

How to sell digital templates and tools?

Choose a platform: Consider platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce to host your online store. You can also use marketplaces like Etsy or Creative Market to sell your templates and tools.
Create your products: Prepare your digital templates and agencies by creating high-quality, clear, and concise product descriptions and images.
Set up your store: Customize your online store with your branding, products, payment options, and shipping methods.
Market your products: Promote your templates and tools through email marketing, social media and SEO.
Monitor sales and fulfil orders: Manage orders, track your sales, and ensure the timely delivery of your products to customers.
Offer exceptional customer service: Respond promptly to customer inquiries and support their needs to build a positive reputation and encourage repeat business.

Sell Music/Art As Digital Products:

If you’re a musician or an artist, chances are you’ve explored ways you can monetize your talents or the audience you’re building. While t-shirts or prints are always an option, there are also plenty of possibilities in digital downloads.

A musician can sell ringtones of their best songs alongside their merch. Or a cartoonist could turn their art into purchasable phone wallpapers. Since you don’t have to hold any inventory, you can experiment with different formats to see what your audience wants without much risk.

How to sell music/art as digital products ?

Build a solid online presence: Create a professional website or use existing online marketplaces to showcase your music and art.
Offer various payment options: Make it easy for customers to purchase your products by offering multiple payment options, such as PayPal, credit cards, and other secure payment gateways.
Highlight your unique selling points: Use your website or online profiles to showcase what makes your music and art unique, such as your style, techniques, or themes.
Use social media to your advantage: Use social media platforms to connect with potential customers and promote your product’s.
special promotions and discounts: Offer special promotions and discounts to incentivize customers to purchase your music and art.
Engage with your audience: Respond to customer inquiries and feedback promptly and professionally, and actively engage with your audience to build a loyal customer base.
Utilize email marketing: Use email marketing to keep your customers informed about new releases, special promotions, and other updates related to your music and art.
Provide excellent customer service: Ensure customers are satisfied with their purchases by providing excellent customer service, including prompt delivery and follow-up.

Sell Your Services Through Digital Products:

Services tend to pair well with digital products because services are essentially their opposite—with services, your “inventory” is limited to the number of working hours you can accommodate.

Plus, customers often receive digital products as part of their “purchase” with many services. A designer will deliver logos. A personal trainer might deliver a workout plan. Leaning into this, you can position certain services as packages containing valuable digital products.

For example, you could offer a consultation for a fee, along with a personalized report or Excel spreadsheet, and then upsell your customers on your other services or products. Or you could offer a free downloadable product to generate leads for your email list, a tactic that many online businesses employ today.

If there are common tasks you complete as part of your service business that are easy for you but valuable to your customer, you can consider productizing them to create revenue streams that require less of your time and effort to maintain.

How to sell your services through digital products ?

Identify your target audience and their needs: Having the correct perception of who your target audience is and what they are looking for in a digital product is crucial to creating a product they will buy.
Offer unique and valuable services: Make sure your digital product services are exceptional and provide real value to your customers. Create a high-quality product: A well-designed, user-friendly digital product can help you stand out from the competition and attract more customers.
Promote your product: Use a variety of marketing channels, as much as possible, for example, social media, content marketing, and advertising, to reach your target audience and promote your digital product.
Establish trust with your customers: Provide excellent customer service and build a strong reputation for delivering high-quality services.
Continuously improve your product: Gather customer feedback and improve your digital product to meet their evolving needs.
Price your product competitively: Price your product competitively and offer discounts or promotions to incentivize customers to buy.

Get Creative With Your Own Digital Products:

Without the need to hold inventory or the overhead associated with selling physical products, businesses based on digital products can be launched and tested with little risk.

There are countless ways you can create your own digital products and incorporate them into your business. With a little ingenuity and upfront investment of time, you can serve up irresistible value that can more than pay for itself over time.

How to get creative with your digital product?

Identify a gap in the market: Look for a problem or need that needs to be adequately addressed by existing digital products and focus on creating a solution for it.
Offer a unique value proposition: Consider what sets your product apart from others and highlight that unique selling point in your marketing efforts.
Experiment with new technology: Incorporate new and innovative technology into your digital product to make it stand out.
Collaborate with others: Work with other creatives, such as designers or developers, to bring fresh perspectives and new ideas to your product.
Gather inspiration from outside your industry: Look to other sectors or areas of life for inspiration and consider how you can apply those ideas to your digital product.
Seek failure: It is vital to avoid trying new things and not be afraid of taking a risk, even if they don’t work out as planned. Embracing failure can lead to new and unexpected creative solutions.
Stay up to date: Keep informed about industry trends and new technologies to ensure your digital product remains relevant and innovative.

Engage with your audience: Solicit customer feedback and actively engage with them to understand their needs and preferences. This can help you identify new opportunities for creativity in your product.

FAQs:

What kind of digital products can I sell?

Depending on what you’re passionate about, you can actually sell different types of digital products like songs, beats, jingles, ringtones, voice overs, presets, downloadable checklists, eBooks, courses and much more.

Can you make money selling digital products?

Definitely. But how much you earn depends on the type of digital product you’re selling. For example, if you sell a custom video to a buyer along with full rights, you can earn a lot out of one product. Similarly, you can sell soundtracks or eBooks on a one-time purchase model.

How do you price digital products?

Know who your customers are, the digital products already available to them, what pricing you have to compete with and then set a price to test for about 30 days. Continue to optimize your pricing and deals until you find the one that is a balance between your profits and what your customers are willing to pay.

What kind of digital products sell best?

While it entirely depends on who your target audience is, some of the digital products that work really well include graphic design work, templates, downloadable prints, music and audio, stock photography and print on demand products like custom t-shirts, notebooks, etc.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re a seasoned online merchant or an aspiring entrepreneur, digital products are a promising avenue for selling online. They can complement your existing physical goods or stand on their own to make for a successful online business — all you’ll need is a little creativity and invested time to flesh out your product and online strategy. And without worrying about replenishing inventory or dealing with overhead costs, you can put all your energy into making your digital goods the best they can be.