Our world is different. It’s changing. A huge shift is occurring right before our very eyes. It’s an online revolution. A movement from the physical world to the digital world. The mom-and-pop shops of yesterday are being replaced with virtual online storefronts. The foot traffic that used to exist in malls around the country is now being supplanted with virtual traffic ebbing and flowing across the vast internet.
It’s clear that we now live in a web-based world. A place where digital products are being sold left and right to make money online. These highly profitable, high-margin digital goodies are transforming the income of people near and far. The best part? There’s no shipping involved. No storage fees. No worries about whether the product will arrive at the customer’s address. Nope. Digital products are far less complicated than that.
If you’re not selling digital products today maybe you haven’t joined the information economy. Yes, information is readily available for free. You can piece information together quite easily. You can watch videos, devour search results, tap into social media, and check high and low across the web. But people will gladly pay a lot of money for digital products that organize high-quality information the right way.
What is a Digital Product?
No matter what business you’re in, you can create and sell digital products to make vast amounts of money. And while there are many things you can sell online, digital products offer one of the fastest paths toward success. Why? Because creating and selling digital products is simple. There’s no manufacturing involved. No inventory. No shipping. None of that.
With digital products, you do the work once and sell the product many times over. It’s like printing money when done the right way. However, most people are lost when it comes to digital products. That’s because not everyone has made the shift. Some are still stuck in the physical world trying to sell physical products. Instead, you must shift into the digital world and sell digital products.
So what is a digital product at the end of the day? And what digital products can you sell to make money? A digital product is simply information. At the end of the day, that’s all it is. But it’s information that’s organized and packaged in a way that is easy to consume. It’s also information that solves a relevant problem.
Digital products can take on many forms. They can be well-organized written information. They can also be video or audio information. And they can be a combination of all of the above. It doesn’t matter how it’s presented. What matters most is that you understand the underlying problem and the person who’s experiencing that problem. And as long as your digital product solves a problem people are experiencing, they will gladly pay you for it.
How to Sell Digital Products
You can sell digital products in many ways. Existing platforms can help you sell them. For example, sites like Etsy allow you to sell digital products alongside physical products. Shopify also allows you to sell digital products. You can use plugins to sell digital products if you have a WordPress blog. But of all of the ways you can sell your digital goodies, the absolute best way is to build a sales funnel.
Sales funnels are the best way to sell any product. Period. Especially digital products. Why? Because funnels leverage human psychology to increase the likeness of the sale and maximize the average amount of money the customer spends. When packaged the right way, a sales funnel can explode sales for many digital products.
If you’ve never heard of a sales funnel, here’s how they work. A sales funnel is like having your best salesperson hold someone’s hand and walk them through your store to sell them exactly what they need. Except there’s no salesperson and there’s no store. Everything happens virtually. However, sales funnels are highly effective because they move people through a predefined path.
When you enter a sales funnel the objective of the page is clear. There is one road forward. You either buy the thing or you don’t. You click the button or you don’t. It’s not like you’re inundated with millions of choices and thousands of products on one site. The focus is far more singular than that. That’s why sales funnels convert at 137% higher, on average, than websites.
Who are You Helping?
Before you build any digital product and decide to sell it, you must know who you’re helping. Who is the person experiencing the problem? This might sound secondary but I promise you it’s not. Spend time understanding who the person is that’s experiencing the problem. Paint a picture of that person in your mind.
- Who are they?
- How old are they?
- Where do they live?
- What do they do for a living?
- Where do they spend their time?
- What keeps them up at night?
- What do they desire most?
- What are their limiting beliefs?
You must dig deep. The better you know this person, the more likely you can solve the problem they’re experiencing. Think about every aspect of this person. Because when you create the digital product, you’ll have a framework of the person you’re speaking to. Yes, the problem you’re solving is important. But the person you’re solving it for is far more important.
The more you can understand who you’re helping, the more likely you’ll be to help them. It’s the foundation of everything. How you solve the problem is not important. But who you solve it for is literally everything. Most people who try to sell digital products never do this. And that’s why they don’t succeed. So don’t look for shortcuts. Think about this person from every angle.
1. Online Courses
One of the best possible digital products you can sell are online courses. You can make a lot of money selling online courses when you approach it the right way. Your online course should solve a problem that people are experiencing. And the person you solve the problem for should have the money to pay for your course. Think less about targeting college students and more about targeting entrepreneurs.
Students will always have less money than entrepreneurs or business professionals. Think about it this way. Could you make money selling a course on how to become a real estate agent? Or would you make more money selling a course on how to increase seller or buyer leads by tenfold for an existing agent already doing millions of dollars per year in real estate sales?
There are many ways you can sell online courses, but the best way is to package them into a membership funnel. To generate leads for the online course, create a lead generation funnel with a lead magnet that solves part of the problem the person is experiencing. The online course then provides a detailed implementation of the solution for that problem.
2. Sales Funnel Designs
Another digital product you can sell are sales funnel designs. If you’re a designer and you’re looking for a way you can earn passive income, you can design sales funnels from premade templates. All you need to do is use the drag-drag-and-drop editor to create the designs. You don’t need to code anything or be a web developer to pull this off.
Once you create the designs, you can sell them in the funnel marketplace. Meaning that you do the work just once and these can sell repeatedly. You don’t need to keep doing the work again and again. That’s a service-based business. Forget the hassle of dealing with clients and trying to please bosses. This is far simpler than that. And once your sales funnel designs garner great reviews, they’ll sell even more.
This doesn’t mean you don’t need to do any marketing. You’ll still need to do some digital marketing to get people to buy your digital products. It doesn’t matter what you sell, you still need to market. However, the amount of work you need to do is far less than you need to do in a service-based business or while working as an employee for some company.
3. Cheat Sheets
You can create cheat sheets to solve specific problems. Cheat sheets are a great digital product you can sell. Although they’re called cheat sheets, they can be exhaustive pieces of content. Cheat sheets can be written. But they can also be audio or video-based. And any combination of all of those things. Cheat sheets can range in price depending on the problem they’re solving.
For example, let’s say you create a cheat sheet for paid ads. You can go through the process of thinking about hundreds of different formulas for headlines, text descriptions, calls to action, images, and so on. You could provide templates for video ads, and even give a walkthrough of how the whole thing works. It’s still a cheat sheet. But now it’s far more valuable because it directly impacts revenue and sales.
4. Checklists
Checklists are digital products that help walk people through solving a specific problem through a list or step-by-step method. Checklists can be used in any industry for any problem. What are all the things needed to solve a problem? Checklists can be combined with audio and visual items as well. They can link out to videos or even be in the form of multiple videos.
At the basis of this is the problem you’re solving and who you’re solving it for. What are all the steps they need to take to solve that problem? Rifle them off in your mind and use that as a way to create a checklist you can sell as a digital product. The items in the list must create a real solution to the problem, otherwise you’re wasting your time with it.
5. Strategy Guides
You can create strategy guides in every industry and niche. These are sometimes called “How To Guides”. The term “how to” is another way of presenting a solution. The strategy guide is a solution for the problem that you’re solving. Think of a checklist but far more in-depth. And since a strategy guide is more in-depth, you can charge more money for this type of digital product.
You can create strategy guides for every industry. You can do them for high-ticket sales, webinars, lead acquisition, content optimization, social media marketing, and so on. Your strategy guide must be really good because there’s a lot of competition out there. And it must actually solve the problem that you’re promising to solve.
6. PowerPoint Templates
People create PowerPoint presentations all the time. And they’re always searching for good templates that they can use to make it easier to create their presentations. Once you create your templates, you can sell them on various platforms. You can also build a sales funnel to sell the templates. With sales funnels, you can add in upsells and downsells.
Sales funnels are powerful ways to sell any digital product because they increase the average amount of money that a customer spends. Plus, they’re really good at converting browsers into buyers. That’s because sales funnels allow you to build rapport with a prospect way faster than with websites. Once you generate a lead, you can start emailing that person and eventually sell them whatever you’re peddling.
7. Google Sheets Templates
Premade Google Sheets templates that have preconfigured formulas are a great digital product to sell. Google Sheet templates that help solve a specific problem can either be sold as standalone products or part of larger offers. For example, you could create a Google Sheets template that determines a person’s macronutrient needs based on their body profile information. And that Google Sheets template can also formulate meal plans based on that information.
Google Sheets templates with preconfigured formulas are useful in many applications to solve so many different problems. They can be used for accounting spreadsheets, sales information, customer retention data, lead generation, and so much more. Find a specific problem you can solve and build an easy-to-use Google Sheets template to help the customer solve that problem fast.
8. Apps
Apps are one of the best digital products you can sell to make a lot of money. But apps are difficult to make unless you use one of the no-code app platforms. Still, you won’t be able to fully customize that app. However, you can hire skilled developers from overseas to help you create your app at a lower cost. Keep in mind that you do get what you pay for. But if you’re working within a budget, it’s worth a look.
Apps offer huge upside potential because of the massive marketplace. Billions of potential customers await you. But with so much competition, you need to fiercely promote your app or it’ll fail. Make sure that it solves a persistent problem that your ideal customer is experiencing. Then, come up with creative ways you can promote that app.
9. WordPress Themes
Countless millions of WordPress websites operate day and night, serving up billions of pages on demand. Many of those sites use custom WordPress themes purchased to make the design more unique and user-friendly. Even if you’re not a designer, you can hire a team to create a WordPress theme that you can then sell on many sites.
You can use Template Monster, Envato and other sites to sell WordPress themes. These digital products can be sold again and again. Plus, if you gather enough positive reviews, you can make a lot of money selling WordPress themes online. Place the WordPress theme into a sales funnel with upsells and downsells to truly supercharge your results.
10. PDF Guides
Guides of all types make great digital products. Especially guides that solve a problem with in-depth explanations and walkthroughs. You can build in-depth written guides as frameworks for solving problems that people are struggling with. The PDF guide must be very good and actually deliver on the promise of solving the problem.
It’s easy to overthink this. Most people who need help are a few steps behind where you’re at. Focus on helping those solve a problem that you’ve successfully solved in the past. Give explanations, use illustrations, and provide examples to guide people through a step-by-step process for solving the problem.
11. Print-on-Demand Artwork
Print-on-demand (POD) is a niche that relies heavily on digital artwork to make money. In POD all you need to do is provide the artwork to create a simple little business. Since so many companies are using POD to run their merchandising and apparel shops, all you need to do is create artwork that can be used in POD merchandise.
This can be anything from stylized phrases to clever designs and much more. You’ll need to hire a designer for this who is familiar with using vector artwork. Then, you can create different POD digital packs that people can order. You can even provide custom POD designs for an added fee. If you’re a good designer, this is an even more appealing digital product to sell.
12. Video Tutorials
Video is fast becoming the most common medium on the internet. Why? Because internet speeds and optimization algorithms increased and became more efficient at scale. People are used to consuming content in video form. It’s the easiest and most passive way to flip through content today. That’s why video tutorials make a great digital product you can sell.
High-quality video tutorials that walk people through how to solve a specific problem are a highly viable way to make money. Look at the niche that you’re in. What are the problems people struggle with? And how can you solve those problems effectively with video? You can then use free videos to promote your paid tutorials. Give a few gold nuggets in the free videos that lead people to pay for the entire video tutorial.
13. Books
Books are a great digital product you can sell. Especially when you design a book around solving a specific problem and it delivers on that promise. You can write books and self-publish them on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). KDP is part of Amazon and your books are directly published onto the Amazon platform.
Writing a good book takes time. It must be impactful. And it must deliver real value in the form of a solution to what your prospect is struggling with. A book also creates authority, making you more trustworthy in the process. But the hard part isn’t writing the book. The difficulty is in marketing that book to your audience.
14. Audio Guides
Audio guides are useful for people who are always on the go and might like to consume content in audio format. If that content provides information to solve a problem or gives a tutorial you can sell that as a digital product. Audio guides work for many industries. Especially when you don’t need to provide visual details.
For example, audio guides work for the wellness niche when providing information about how to set goals, the types of foods to eat, and so on. Audio guides allow people to consume content no matter what they’re doing since they don’t have to visually look at a screen. Audio guides can be sold in the form of audiobooks on ACX or through other channels.
15. Licensed Photography
People and businesses are willing to pay for licensed photography all day long. And you can use sites like iStockPhoto and Shutterstock to sell your licensed photography. You can also use other sites like Envato, Wirestock, and many other platforms. If you love photography, this is an obvious way to make money online if you aren’t already doing it.
To make this work you should pick a niche and stick with it. Then, create a lot of photo content in that niche. While you can use platforms to sell your photography, you can also create digital packs and a licensing agreement to sell directly through a sales funnel or membership funnel. This way you don’t have to deal with a revenue share.
16. Badges & Icons
Badges and icons are used heavily across many industries such as streaming for gaming profiles, social media accounts, and so on. And people purchase badges and icons all the time. You can sell them on many popular platforms online. Plus, if you’re familiar with design, this doesn’t take too much effort for you to do.
You can also hire a designer to help you with this. Icons are especially popular and most designers will sell icon packs on many sites where you can purchase photography. For example, iStockPhoto and Shutterstock are two places where you can buy icon packs. You can also sell these on Envato and many other sites too.
17. Newsletter Subscriptions
A newsletter subscription is a great digital product to sell because it provides recurring revenue. People continue to pay you month after month for newsletters. The newsletter should be highly valuable if you’re serious about making money with it. Newsletters also require you to create fresh content regularly so it should be a topic that you’re familiar with.
The beauty of newsletters is that most customers will stay on for extended periods. Meaning that you don’t have to constantly look for new customers every day to ensure you make enough money. It also means that you can spend more money to acquire the customer because your customer’s lifetime value will be substantially higher than for one-off purchases.
18. ChatGPT Prompts
ChatGPT is a useful system for automating a lot of work that is redundant or time-consuming. However, most people don’t know how to use ChatGPT properly. Certain prompts will deliver better results than others. All you need to do is create a lot of prompts designed to solve a specific problem and sell that as a digital product.
You can also create a set of free ChatGPT prompts and use those as your lead magnet in a lead generation funnel. Then, once they’ve grabbed your free content, you can use email marketing to build rapport and ultimately sell them your paid packs. Remember that most people don’t buy on first blush so you should always use lead magnets first before trying to sell to someone.
19. Background Music
People are constantly purchasing background music for use in their videos. Since videos are so important today, background music is key. For example, many YouTubers use a site called Epidemic Sound to buy background music through a subscription. You can easily post your background music on Epidemic Sound and other platforms like Envato.
If you’re musical and enjoy creating sounds or melodies, then this digital product is ideal for you to sell. It can be time-consuming to create background music. But it is well worth it. You can also sell these through a sales funnel and offer upsells and down sells through that process to increase the average order value. You can also sell them through a membership funnel.
20. Sound Effects
Many sites allow you to purchase sound effects that you can use in video editing. Sound effects are used widely in videos. Both long-form videos and short-form videos use sound effects. It makes that video content far more compelling to watch. And you can sell sound effects on many sites like Envato and Epidemic Sound.
Sound effects are not as complicated to make as background music is. It’s far more straightforward. If you have a music background, this should be easy to create for you. You can also hire freelancers to create sound effects and then sell those sound effects on popular platforms to make money online. You can also create a sales funnel for your sound effects and sell them as digital packs or through a membership funnel.
21. Website Templates
Other digital products you can sell are website templates. If you’re good at web development and web design, you can create website templates and sell them on sites like Envato and Template Monster. This creates passive income because they’re sold in a marketplace. You do the work once and get paid repeatedly for your efforts.
However, sales on these platforms rely heavily on reviews. The more solid reviews you can accumulate, the more money you can make. To get the reviews, you’ll need to heavily market in the beginning. It takes time. And like anything else, the more reviews you get, the more likely you’ll sell. Once it builds momentum and gets going, you won’t need to put in as much effort.