From pixels to profits: How to sell digital products online
Imagine you have a product that turns into a money-making machine once you start selling it. Customers come rolling in, realize how amazing your product is, and start throwing money at you—while you lean back in your chair and watch the revenue pour in.
Sound like a fantasy? Nope, you can make this into a rock-solid reality by selling digital products online.
In this blog post, we’ll unpack the secrets to getting your digital product online and into the hands (or ears, or brains) of your customers. From creating irresistible landing pages that convert like crazy to building buzz around your product through social media, we’ve got you covered. So strap on your (metaphorical) oxygen tank and join us as we dive into the digital depths together, where success awaits those brave enough to take the plunge.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What are digital products?
- Digital products vs. physical products
- The benefits of selling digital products over physical products
- The most profitable digital product ideas and examples
- How to create the best digital products to sell online, step by step
- Where to sell digital products
- The best platforms to create and market digital products
- Marketing and promotion strategies to supercharge your sales
- 8 Unbounce integrations to help you sell digital products
Paul Park
Paul is a writer on Unbounce’s content team who lives and breathes storytelling. (It’s like oxygen but with better plotlines!) Ask him what he’s up to at any given moment and you’ll get answers ranging from folding paper dragons (y’know, origami) to catching up on the latest cool tech, and finding other ways to channel his inner geek.
» More blog posts by Paul Park
What are digital products?
Okay, let’s start with brass tacks: Basically, a digital product is something that only exists in digital form, so you need a computer (laptop, desktop, smartphone, tablet, or even a smart TV) to access and use it.
The beauty of digital products lies in their boundlessness. You can create once and sell a million times—no inventory, no restocking, and certainly no frantic trips to the post office. Selling digital products is like owning a golden goose, except it’s less messy and won’t try to bite you.
Digital products vs. physical products: What’s the difference?
At first glance, the difference between physical products and digital products is pretty obvious. Physical products are the goods you can touch, feel, and stack on your shelf until the cat decides they’re her new bed. Digital products, on the other hand, are goods or services that are made up of the binary building blocks of ones and zeros, coming to us through our device screens and speakers.
When you look at it from the ecommerce angle, there’s another fundamental difference between these two types of products. Selling physical products involves a whole host of responsibilities including inventory management, shipping, handling, and the occasional wrestling match with bubble wrap. Contrast this with digital products, which can give customers wisdom, entertainment, and utility without ever weighing down a single shelf.
Plus, there’s the immediate gratification effect: Customers can purchase a digital product within just a few seconds (wearing only PJs), while the fastest way to buy a physical product requires you to put on some pants (or not, we won’t judge) and drive to the nearest store.
Benefits of selling digital products over physical products
The explosive growth of digital product ecommerce shows no signs of slowing. In fact, the digital ecommerce market is projected to reach $10.3 trillion USD (yes, trillion with a “T”) by 2028. That’s a pretty darned big pie, and here’s why selling digital products can help you get your slice:
Popularity and ease of distribution
One of the reasons why digital products are soaring in popularity is because of how easy it is to distribute them. The internet is a boundless marketplace where your creations can reach customers across the globe without the messiness of physical boundaries or shipping logistics.
Passive income potential
Whip up your digital masterpiece once and watch it sell while you eat, play, or binge-watch your favorite series. This is the dream for anyone looking to turn their passion into a perpetual paycheck—like creatives, thinkers, and doers who want to make a mark (and lots of dollars) without the hassle of clocking in.
Low overhead, sky-high profit margins
Forget about the nightmare of stocking inventory or the logistics of shipping. Digital products mean you can keep your feet up while your overhead stays low. More of your sales get to hang out in your pocket, thanks to the absence of those pesky recurring costs.
Automation and flexibility
The digital sales process can often be fully automated, from order processing to delivery, freeing up valuable time and resources. Flexibility is the name of the game—you can tweak, transform, and tailor your offerings without breaking a sweat.
E-learning’s growing popularity
The global e-learning market was estimated to be worth $210.1 billion USD in 2021 and is projected to reach $848.12 billion USD by 2030, so the demand for digital educational content isn’t just growing—it’s exploding. Jump on this bandwagon, and you could be teaching the world more than just a thing or two. It’s a prime opportunity for those looking to spread knowledge, influence, and, yes, make some coin while they’re at it.
Wide reach and market expansion
Digital breaks down borders, opening up a world where your next customer could be from anywhere. You can tap into markets you never dreamed of, reaching those who need what you’ve got, no matter where they are. This global reach opens up new markets and customer segments, especially for niche products or specialized knowledge.
The most profitable digital product ideas and examples
At this point you’re probably chomping at the bit, ready to start making a digital product and getting it in front of online customers. But what are the best digital product to sell? Here are some digital product examples to get you started:
Online courses and tutorials
Become the digital guru you were meant to be. From knitting to neurology, share your expertise through online courses and tutorials and watch your followers multiply. If your brain is a treasure trove, then it’s time to share the wealth.
Ebooks and guides
Pen a page-turning ebook thriller, a guide to urban beekeeping, or a cookbook with the delicious recipes your grandma brought over from the old country. In the digital library, every shelf is an opportunity.
Digital templates
Be the hero who saves hours of someone’s life with your meticulously designed spreadsheet templates, social media kits, or wedding invites.
Premium content libraries
If you’re a constant fountain of ideas and insights, consider curating a vault of your best work—videos, articles, podcasts—and guard the key behind a paywall. (Check out our content library if you’d like to see an example.)
Product photography, stock images, and videos
Capture the world in your lens and sell your vision. This is perfect for those who see the extraordinary in the everyday.
Music, visual art, and entertainment
Art comes in many forms, from illustrations to music to stand-up comedy routines. Post your digital creations online and give customers a chance to show their appreciation by tossing some digital cash your way.
Digital services
Whether you’re into consulting, coaching, or critiquing, you can sell your time and brainpower without leaving your living room.
Printable digital products
From bullet journal templates to party planning kits, create printables that add color and organization to everyday life.
Digital memberships
Build a club of like-minded individuals. Whether it’s for fitness enthusiasts or bubble tea lovers, everyone wants to belong.
Fonts and design assets
Do you love creating fonts, icons, and mockups that make designers’ eyes light up? Your creative assets could be the cornerstone of someone else’s project.
Software and mobile apps
Use software to solve a problem, create an entertaining game, or just make life easier, and you’ve got a money-making winner.
E-learning courses and webinars
Teach someone to fish, and you’ll feed them for a lifetime. Teach someone to fish online, and you’ll have a customer for life.
Social media paid subscriptions and newsletter subscriptions
Convert your followers into a loyal, paying audience with a stream of content they can’t resist.
How to create the best digital products to sell online, step by step
Now that you’ve chosen what type of product you want to sell, you can start the process of actually creating the product itself. Here are some steps you can follow.
1. Brainstorm and research
Who are you creating this product for? Understanding their needs, wants, and pain points is crucial to crafting something they’ll love and pay for. Focus on the benefits your product will provide, and how your product will make your customers’ lives better.
Research is a key part of this process. There are a bunch of ways to gather the data you need, including:
- Divine into the bustling marketplaces of ideas like Reddit subreddits, Facebook Groups, and industry-specific forums. Here, you can uncover unmet needs, gauge interest in potential products, and get a pulse on consumer sentiments.
- Following trends on social platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and LinkedIn to discover treasure troves of real-time market trends and consumer preferences. Use hashtags, follow influencers, and engage in conversations to get insights into what your potential customers desire.
- Understanding your audience by gathering demographic data from tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. They’ll help you find valuable information on the age, gender, location, and interests of your potential customers.
- Leveraging reviews and testimonials by searching for reviews on similar products. Websites like Amazon, Trustpilot, and niche-specific forums can offer customer pain points, wish lists, and the types of language people use to show their emotions.
2. Analyze the competition
While it would be nice if you were the only one in the entire world who was selling your type of digital product, it’s probably not likely. (Sigh.) But that’s okay—peeking at your competitors can provide insights that can be helpful to you, just like this:
- Check out competitor websites to understand their offerings, marketing strategies, and customer feedback. What are they doing well? Where do they fall short? This insight can help you differentiate your product.
- Monitor social media presence so you can analyze their engagement, content strategy, and customer interactions on social media platforms. It will give you clues on how to craft a more compelling social media presence for your brand.
3. Validate your product idea
Before you dive deeper into the sea of digital commerce, ensure there’s a demand for your treasure:
- Use Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner to discover the search volume and trends for keywords related to your product. High interest might indicate a hungry market.
- Conduct online surveys and polls through tools like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms to help you directly gather consumer insights and validate your product idea. Engage with your target audience through social media or email lists to get responses.
- Landing page A/B testing can help you validate your product’s worthiness through data, rather than gut feelings (which could just be the cottage cheese you ate for lunch). Simply set up a landing page (we know a really great builder for doing this) and conduct some A/B tests to see what works well and what doesn’t.
4. Make a good product
With validation under your belt, it’s time to bring your digital product to life. Focus on quality, value, and user experience—in other words, make a product that’s so good you’d want to buy it for yourself. Here’s how:
- Use the right tools and platforms that suit your product type. For courses, consider platforms like Teachable or Udemy. For ebooks, familiarize yourself with formatting tools like Scrivener. Whatever product you’re creating, there’s a tool (or suite of tools) that’ll help you get the job done.
- Pay attention to design and usability. For software products, consider hiring a professional designer or developer if needed. By investing time, effort, and money into creating the best product you can, you’ll reap the rewards later.
5. Test the waters
Before fully launching your digital product, consider a soft launch or pre-sale campaign using platforms like Gumroad or Kickstarter. This approach allows you to:
- Gather early feedback, which you can use to tweak your product or marketing strategy.
- Build a community of early adopters, and engaging with these customers can help create buzz and word-of-mouth referrals.
Where to sell digital products
Wouldn’t it be great if you could make a single social media post showcasing your new product, and then watch a tidal wave of profit come rolling in? (This is literally our Social Media Manager’s favorite fantasy.)
Sadly, achieving success in the real world requires a teensy bit more effort. You need to figure out which channels and platforms to promote your product, and how best to use each one. Luckily for you, we’ve got some tips to get you started.
Choose the right channel(s)
The three main channels for getting your digital product out into the world are self-created online stores, social media, and digital marketplaces. Consider each of their features, strengths, and weaknesses to help you choose which one (or ones) you’ll use to hawk your digital wares.
- Self-created online stores: Using an ecommerce platform like Shopify to create your online store puts you in the captain’s chair. You’ll have full control over branding and customer experience, but it can take time and effort to build and drive traffic. (Psst, landing pages are super effective selling tools.)
- Social media: Promoting your digital products via social media lets you tap into the bustling online market squares that are visited by people across the world. Social media can give you direct engagement with your audience, but it can also be highly competitive and requires constant content creation.
- Digital marketplaces: Platforms within your niche, like Amazon, Etsy, Udemy, or Skillshare, offer an enormous pool of potential customers, but you’ll also get a lot of competition and commission fees that can go as high as 50% per sale.
We’ll do a deeper dive into the best platforms below, or you can jump down there now.
Compare fees and finances
It’s true that you need to spend (some) money to make money, but you’ve gotta do it in a way that makes sense. Compare the pricing structures of different platforms: some charge monthly fees, while others take a percentage of your sales. Choose a model that aligns with your budget and projected sales volume.
Look for ease of use
Are you tech-savvy or a tech newbie? Choose a platform with an interface that aligns with your level of tech knowledge and makes uploading your product, managing sales, and interacting with customers a breeze. Don’t get bogged down in complex features you don’t need.
Create a brand match
If you’re creating an online store it should be an extension of your brand. Does the platform offer customization options that let you personalize your storefront and align it with your brand aesthetic?
The best platforms to create and market digital products
Now let’s explore some of the most popular digital marketplace platforms. Some specialize in ebooks and courses, while others offer a broader range of digital products. Make a list of essential features you need, like subscription management, email marketing integration, or built-in analytics, and choose a platform that ticks all the boxes.
Here are some of the more popular digital product platforms and what they do well:
Unbounce
- What it is: Unbounce is a powerful and user-friendly platform (if we do say so ourselves) for creating, publishing, testing, and optimizing high-converting landing pages.
- Why it’s popular: It’s equipped with a drag-and-drop builder, a vast array of templates, A/B testing capabilities, plenty of integrations to add functionality to your pages, AI copywriting, and popups and sticky bars. These features allow you to craft landing pages that are dedicated to showing off your product’s benefits and helping you maximize sales. The flexibility to test and tweak pages on the fly ensures that digital products can be marketed more effectively, leading to higher sales and engagement.
Shopify
- What it is: Shopify is the bustling marketplace of the digital world, a one-stop shop where you can create your own online store.
- Why it’s popular: Shopify shines with its user-friendly interface, extensive customization options through themes and apps, and robust ecommerce features. It’s perfect for sellers who want to establish a brand and have full control over their store’s look and feel.
Etsy
- What it is: Imagine a vast bazaar, teeming with creativity and one-of-a-kind finds. Etsy is the go-to platform for unique, handmade, or vintage items, but it also warmly welcomes digital products like printables, graphics, and templates.
- Why it’s popular: Its community-driven marketplace is perfect for creators looking for an audience that appreciates the artistry and uniqueness of digital creations.
Gumroad
- What it is: Gumroad is like a friendly neighborhood market for creators. It simplifies the process of selling digital products, from ebooks to software, with a straightforward setup.
- Why it’s popular: With Gumroad, you can sell directly to your audience through a link, bypassing the need for a storefront. It’s favored for its ease of use and creator-friendly features, including analytics, flexible pricing options, and built-in marketing tools.
Udemy
- What it is: Picture a vast library where knowledge is the currency. Udemy is a leading online learning platform where experts can sell courses on a wide range of subjects.
- Why it’s popular: It offers a massive audience of learners, easy-to-use course creation tools, and a revenue-sharing model. It’s ideal for educators and experts looking to monetize their skills and knowledge.
Skillshare
- What it is: Skillshare operates on the philosophy that everyone has something to learn and something to teach. It’s a community-centric platform focused on creative education.
- Why it’s popular: Instructors can earn money through royalty pools based on the number of minutes watched in their classes, making it an attractive option for creatives and educators in design, photography, writing, and more.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
- What it is: Imagine your written words on the digital shelves of the largest bookstore in the world. Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to self-publish their ebooks directly to Amazon’s Kindle Store.
- Why it’s popular: It offers access to a massive audience, competitive royalties, and the option to offer books for free or at low cost to increase readership. Plus, it’s integrated with Amazon, making your books easily discoverable to millions of readers.
Thinkific
- What it is: Thinkific is like a university in the cloud, where you’re the professor. It’s a platform that allows you to create, market, and sell your own online courses.
- Why it’s popular: With its focus on education and professional development, Thinkific provides robust tools for course creation, including video hosting, quizzes, and student management. It’s great for educators and trainers looking to expand their reach online.
Sellfy
- What it is: Sellfy is a straightforward ecommerce platform designed specifically for creators looking to sell digital products, physical goods, and subscriptions all from one storefront.
- Why it’s popular: It’s beloved for its simplicity and ease of use, allowing sellers to set up a store in minutes, coupled with powerful features such as built-in email marketing tools and embeddable buy buttons.
Podia
- What it is: Podia serves as a versatile online platform that enables creators to sell digital products, memberships, and online courses, all under the banner of their own brand.
- Why it’s popular: It’s an all-in-one solution for selling digital products, memberships, and online courses. Podia offers features for building a community around your brand, including email marketing, messaging, and webinars—no wonder it’s a popular choice among educators and creators.
Teachable
- What it is: Teachable is a comprehensive platform dedicated to helping instructors create and sell highly customizable online courses and coaching services.
- Why it’s popular: Its popularity stems from its robust course creation tools, allowing for a wide range of content types, and its ability to handle everything from payment processing to affiliate programs, making course management a breeze.
Creative Market
- What it is: Creative Market is a platform for graphic designers, artists, and creatives to sell their designs and templates, ranging from fonts and graphics to themes and templates.
- Why it’s popular: It attracts a large, design-focused audience and offers creators a hassle-free way to sell their work, thanks to its marketplace model that handles marketing and transactions for them.
Envato Market
- What it is: Envato Market encompasses a suite of marketplaces for creative digital assets, including video, audio, graphics, and web templates, offering a comprehensive source for all creative needs.
- Why it’s popular: It provides a one-stop shop for digital assets, supported by a community of millions of users and creators, making it easy for buyers to find almost any type of digital product they need.
ThemeForest
- What it is: ThemeForest is part of the Envato Market family, specializing in website themes and templates for a variety of platforms, including WordPress, Shopify, and HTML.
- Why it’s popular: It’s the go-to destination for web developers and businesses looking for high-quality, customizable website templates, offering a vast selection and a vibrant community of creators.
E-Junkie
- What it is: E-Junkie is an online selling platform that provides a simple way to sell digital downloads and tangible goods on your website or blog without requiring a lot of technical knowledge.
- Why it’s popular: It’s favored for its ease of integration with websites and its minimalistic approach to ecommerce, offering basic yet effective tools for small sellers and entrepreneurs.
SendOwl
- What it is: SendOwl is a platform designed to make selling digital products, subscriptions, and memberships easy, with a focus on direct sales through your own channels.
- Why it’s popular: Its appeal lies in its simplicity and the variety of features it offers, including quick setup, various payment options, and powerful tools like affiliate marketing and drip content functionality.
Marketing and promotion strategies to supercharge your digital product sales
Okay, so you’ve got your digital product ready and you know what channel you’re going to use to sell it. But just putting your product online doesn’t mean it’s instantly going to fly off the digital shelves. Here are some strategies you can use to boost your sales and scale your online business to dizzying heights.
Promote a free lead magnet
Tempt your audience with a lead magnet, which basically means offering a taste of your product for free. Whether it’s a chapter of your ebook, a small segment of your course, or a watermarked example of your design skills, let this beacon guide them to the value your product will provide.
Start an affiliate program
Connect with a crew of affiliate marketers to spread the word about your digital product. They’ll be your scouts, expanding your reach in exchange for a share of the rewards.
Collect preorders
It’s been said that anticipation heightens pleasure, but it can also heighten sales. Offering preorders can gauge interest and secure sales before your product even launches.
Offer a money-back guarantee
This is your seal of trust. It reassures customers that their purchase is risk-free, increasing their confidence to buy.
Use good usability and design
The shopping experience you offer can be just as important as the awesomeness of your product. Make sure your online store is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and optimized for a seamless checkout process.
Master SEO and keyword optimization
Effective SEO (search engine optimization) is the key to bringing more potential customers to your site. Use targeted keywords to help increase visibility on search engine results pages so more people can beat a path to your digital door.
Leverage social proof and customer reviews
As inherently social animals, we humans pay a lot of attention to the opinions of others. Reviews and testimonials are powerful endorsements that can sway potential buyers.
Excel in customer support
Be responsive and helpful with customers (or potential customers) who reach out to you. Addressing inquiries and support tickets promptly can turn doubters into loyal customers.
Automate and delegate
Automate repetitive tasks and seek outside help for complex endeavors, so you’re free to steer the ship and focus on what you do best.
Expand your product range
Posting products that are new or updated can attract attention, just like how fast food chains will sporadically introduce new additions to their menu. By creating new products or making updates to your current ones, you’ll be able to bring more moths to your digital flame.
Explore innovative promotions
Continually seek new ways to market your product. Whether through emerging social platforms, paid ads or innovative email marketing tactics, keep your strategies fresh and evolving.
Embrace analytics
Tools like Google Analytics and CRM systems will provide the data you need to understand where you are and where you need to go. They’ll also help you see when things aren’t working, which gives you the opportunity to try new strategies.
Network with peers
Connect with fellow digital product creators and contribute to communities. Being generous and supportive of others can often result in good vibes coming back your way.
Invest in email marketing and social media influencer marketing
These can be super effective tools in your marketing toolkit. A well-crafted email campaign or a shoutout from a social media influencer can blast your product into the spotlight. Just imagine your product going viral… (Okay, you can wipe that silly grin off your face now.)
8 integrations to help you sell digital products using Unbounce
Here at Unbounce, we’re dedicated to helping marketers easily create, test, and optimize landing pages to increase conversions. Unbounce’s landing page builder platform is a powerfully effective way to shine a spotlight on your product and make people want to hammer the “Buy now” button.
Integrations are like the secret spices in the recipe for online selling success—they enhance the flavor of your digital product offerings and ensure your marketing efforts work more efficiently and effectively. When it comes to selling digital products through Unbounce, integrations are not just useful—they’re transformative. Here are some examples:
Google Analytics
The Google Analytics integration for Unbounce allows you to seamlessly track visitor behavior, traffic sources, and conversion rates on your Unbounce landing pages. By embedding Google Analytics into your pages, you gain access to a wealth of data about how users interact with your content.
Salesforce
Automatically sync leads captured on your Unbounce landing pages with Salesforce, ensuring efficient lead management and follow-up for higher conversion rates and personalized customer journeys.
Zapier
Connect Unbounce with thousands of apps via Zapier, automating workflows like adding new leads to email campaigns or CRM systems, saving time and enhancing the efficiency of your sales process.
Klaviyo
Integrate with Klaviyo to automatically add leads from Unbounce to your email marketing lists, allowing for targeted follow-ups, personalized offers, and nurture campaigns to boost sales.
Hotjar
Use Hotjar to understand how visitors interact with your Unbounce landing pages through heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback polls, gaining insights to optimize page design and user experience.
ActiveCampaign
Connect ActiveCampaign to manage leads captured on Unbounce pages, enabling automated email marketing campaigns, segmentation, and lead scoring to nurture leads into customers.
Outgrow
Embed Outgrow’s interactive content like quizzes, polls, and calculators into Unbounce landing pages to engage visitors, gather leads, and personalize follow-ups based on user responses.
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Keap (formerly Infusionsoft)
Integrate Keap to streamline lead management and automate marketing tasks. This ensures that leads captured through Unbounce landing pages are nurtured with personalized emails and follow-ups, driving sales and customer loyalty.
Start selling your digital products now
Embarking on the journey to sell digital products online is an exciting adventure, filled with possibilities and opportunities at every turn. As we’ve navigated through the essential steps and strategies—from ideating and creating your digital product to choosing the perfect online platform and leveraging powerful marketing tactics—it’s clear that success in this digital realm requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and technology.
Remember, the digital marketplace is ever-evolving, with new tools and platforms emerging to enhance your selling experience. By staying adaptable, continuously optimizing your offerings, and engaging with your customers, you can increase conversions and ensure your digital products find their audience.
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