Digital merchandise can’t be held, tasted, or touched, however everybody consumes them—from music to movies, ebooks to on-line programs, and extra.

Many entrepreneurs construct complete companies round these intangible items, because of their reputation and ease of distribution, or launch digital merchandise to promote complementary to the bodily gadgets or providers they provide.

What makes studying the right way to promote digital merchandise particularly interesting, nevertheless, is they are often created as soon as and bought repeatedly to totally different clients with out having to replenish stock, making them excellent for creatives, bloggers, educators, and freelancers in search of passive methods to become profitable on-line that require much less effort to keep up.

This is the right way to promote digital merchandise on-line—together with the highest digital merchandise examples, the right way to create your individual, and advertising and marketing tricks to promote on-line efficiently.

promote digital merchandise in 4 steps

1. Discover or create a digital product

Discover a digital product to promote, whether or not you resell current merchandise or create your individual. Digital merchandise embrace music, fonts, Photoshop presets, programs, or on-line providers.

2. Construct a web-based retailer

Rise up and working in a number of hours. Decide from a catalog of web site templates, populate together with your brand, copy, and pictures, and also you’re able to get promoting.

3. Use an app to make promoting simple

Some apps make supply of digital merchandise even simpler. Browse the Shopify App Retailer to seek out apps that plug into your retailer and do every thing from internet hosting course content material to delivering PDF purchases.

4. Market your digital merchandise

Discover your clients the place they’re. If you happen to’re promoting fonts or design templates, construct an viewers of designers and creators on the social platforms they use most. Think about influencer advertising and marketing, social adverts, or lead magnets.

What are digital merchandise?

A digital product is an intangible asset or piece of media that may be bought and distributed repeatedly on-line with out the necessity to replenish stock. These merchandise usually come within the type of downloadable or streamable digital information, equivalent to MP3s, PDFs, movies, plug-ins, and templates.

Why promote digital merchandise versus bodily items?

Promoting digital merchandise has many benefits that makes it uniquely engaging to entrepreneurs:

• Low overhead prices.You don’t have to carry stock or incur any delivery expenses.
• Excessive revenue margins. There’s no recurring price of products, so you keep nearly all of your gross sales in earnings. Calculate your revenue margins forward of time with our free software.
• Potential to automate. Orders may be delivered immediately, letting you be comparatively hands-off with success.
• Versatile merchandise. You possibly can provide free merchandise to construct your e-mail record, month-to-month paid subscriptions for entry to unique digital content material, or licenses to make use of your digital merchandise. You could have a whole lot of choices as to the way you incorporate digital merchandise into your enterprise.
• E-learning is the way forward for schooling. You could have a large alternative to increase your enterprise and influence with e-learning, an trade anticipated to be value $374 billion by 2026.

However on-line digital merchandise additionally include particular challenges you’ll have to be careful for:

• You’re competing with free content material. With digital items, shoppers can most likely discover free options to what you’re promoting. You’ll have to think twice in regards to the area of interest you goal, the sorts of merchandise you promote, and the right way to write your product descriptions. You’ll additionally wish to provide high-quality merchandise and know the right way to construct your model to be able to compete.
• You’re inclined to piracy/theft. It’s essential take precautions and scale back these dangers by using the correct instruments to guard your merchandise.
• There are some restrictions on the right way to promote digital merchandise. For instance, you need to promote bodily merchandise by way of the Fb and Instagram gross sales channel based on their commerce coverage.

Most of those challenges may be overcome, nevertheless, in case you make use of the correct instruments when designing your digital product enterprise.

6 finest digital merchandise to promote on-line

1. Academic merchandise
2. Licenses to make use of your digital property
3. Membership websites
4. Digital templates and instruments
5. Music or artwork
6. Providers

For a bit inspiration when creating these merchandise, discover the highest sorts of digital merchandise listed under.

1. Academic merchandise

On-line programs are finest suited to in-depth content material. They require some effort up entrance, from making a presentation to recording a video walk-through. When creating programs, begin with learner outcomes: what would you like the learner to know or be capable of do on the finish of your course?

You possibly can embrace quizzes, information checks, and interactive actions inside your programs to assist break-up studying content material and make your e-course extra participating. Think about studying and implementing a instructing mannequin like ADDIE.

If you happen to think about your self an knowledgeable on a selected subject, digital merchandise are an effective way to package deal that info and promote it to others trying to be taught.

If there’s an abundance of free weblog posts or tutorials on YouTube about what you’d like to show, you may compete by delivering content material that guarantees not schooling however transformation. In different phrases, don’t promote the product—promote the client’s personal potential after shopping for your product.

You possibly can leverage an current fame as an knowledgeable to garner consideration on your downloadable merchandise to promote on-line or, in case you’re ranging from scratch, you may create and provides away free content material to generate curiosity and leads on your paid digital merchandise.

2. Licenses to make use of your digital property

From inventory photographs to video footage, from music and sound results, there’s a worldwide ecosystem of licensable digital property uploaded by creatives for different creatives to make use of of their work.

By providing licenses to people and companies, you may cost for using your photographs, movies, music, software program, and related ​​prime digital merchandise in your individual retailer and thru on-line marketplaces, equivalent to inventory picture websites. In alternate for publicity, a few of these marketplaces can take as much as 50% in fee for each sale. Nonetheless, if you wish to construct your individual vacation spot for digital merchandise to promote, you should utilize SendOwl to energy this sort of enterprise with distinctive auto-generated license keys.

When arising with property to create, it helps to work backward from the wants of your supposed viewers. Begin by fascinated by what sort of property they’d wish to use to be able to create merchandise which might be truly in demand (and thus simpler to promote).

Additionally, make sure to defend your digital merchandise with watermarks and different safety measures, particularly in case you’re promoting photographs.

3. Membership websites

As a substitute of specializing in the right way to promote digital merchandise individually, you may bundle them collectively and lock them behind a paid subscription to generate recurring income.

This strategy to promoting digital merchandise is right in case you plan to keep up a rising library of premium content material and nurture a group of passionate members. In some circumstances, paid digital subscriptions may even create a chance to straight monetize your current content material advertising and marketing efforts.

Since this content material is behind a gate that solely paying subscribers can entry by way of their buyer account, it’s also possible to host unique content material that may be streamed quite than downloaded.

You possibly can construct this sort of enterprise concept by utilizing Subscriber Subscriptions for recurring subscription billing and Sky Pilot as your digital supply system.

4. Digital templates and instruments

Digital merchandise may also come within the type of intangible instruments that equip professionals to do duties that both fall outdoors of their talent set or take up a whole lot of time. You possibly can promote digital options to the frequent ache factors and desires of a particular viewers.

Some examples of ​​the right way to promote digital merchandise on-line this fashion embrace:

• Digital advertising and marketing technique templates for entrepreneurs
• Résumé templates for job-seekers
• Cellular apps for companies
• Graphic design templates for brochures, flyers, posters, and many others.
• Adobe Photoshop filters and plugins for media editors
• Icons, fonts, or UX Kits for internet designers

If you have already got a contract enterprise, it is likely to be value contemplating how one can flip your expertise and providers into digital merchandise to create passive streams of income.

5. Music or artwork

If you happen to’re a musician or an artist, chances are high you’ve explored methods you may monetize your skills or the viewers you’re constructing. Whereas print on demand t-shirts or customized prints are all the time an choice, there are additionally loads of digital product examples for promoting artwork and music. 

A musician can promote ringtones of their finest songs alongside their merch. Or a cartoonist might flip their artwork into printables, telephone wallpapers, or print-on-demand merchandise. A filmmaker can promote their films on-line. Because you don’t have to carry any stock with on-line digital merchandise, you may experiment with totally different codecs to see what your viewers desires with out a lot threat.

6. Providers

Providers are likely to pair properly with quite a lot of sorts of digital merchandise as a result of providers are basically their reverse—with providers, your “stock” is proscribed to the variety of working hours you may accommodate.

Plus, clients usually obtain digital merchandise as a part of their “buy” with many providers. A designer will ship logos. A private coach may ship a exercise plan. Leaning into this, you may place sure providers as packages containing precious digital merchandise.

For instance, you could possibly provide a session for a charge, together with a customized report or Excel spreadsheet, after which upsell your clients in your different providers or merchandise. Or you could possibly provide a free downloadable product to generate leads on your e-mail advertising and marketing record, a tactic that many on-line companies make use of in the present day.

If there are frequent duties you full as a part of your service enterprise which might be simple for you however precious to your buyer, you may think about productizing them to create income streams that require much less of your effort and time to keep up.

Free: The Huge Listing of Enterprise Concepts

That can assist you discover the inspiration to begin, we compiled an inventory of 100+ in-demand enterprise concepts, damaged down into classes like health, attire, and gaming.

Get the record now

Get the large record of enterprise concepts delivered proper to your inbox.

Nearly there: please enter your e-mail under to achieve on the spot entry.

We’ll additionally ship you updates on new instructional guides and success tales from the Shopify publication. We hate SPAM and promise to maintain your e-mail deal with protected.

Thanks for subscribing. You’ll begin receiving free suggestions and sources quickly. Within the meantime, begin constructing your retailer with a free 3-day trial of Shopify.

Get began

create digital merchandise

Whereas it’s simple to get caught ready round for a eureka second, discovering a great enterprise concept is extra of a course of. It’s nice to have an concept that excites you, however in order for you an concept that sells, you’ll wish to comply with a means of brainstorming, analysis, and validation. Right here’s what goes into creating one of the best digital content material to promote:

1. Brainstorming

Generate concepts to begin with, and write all of them down. Don’t be too crucial—you don’t have to provide you with one of the best digital merchandise in your first brainstorm. Unhealthy concepts can result in good concepts and vice versa. The important thing to brainstorming is to keep away from overthinking issues.

If you happen to’re in search of a spark for concepts on downloadable merchandise to promote on-line, listed below are some inquiries to ask your self:

• Are you able to educate clients the right way to use your merchandise? For instance, in case you promote knitting merchandise, you could possibly provide appointments to show superior knitting strategies.
• Are there issues you may assist your clients with associated to your general trade? If you happen to promote surfboards, you could possibly create a exercise program to assist your clients keep in surf form at dwelling.
• What are the values you’ve constructed your enterprise on, and what are matters associated to them? For instance, in case you promote sustainable attire, you could possibly create a course instructing your clients the right way to stay a extra sustainable life. 
• In what methods might you deliver your group of consumers collectively? If you happen to promote kitchen provides, you could possibly run a digital guided wine tasting occasion.
• What are you good at? If you happen to’re actually nice at product pictures, you could possibly educate different individuals the right way to get higher at product pictures too.

2. Analysis

Do a little analysis so as to add to your record of small enterprise concepts. The perfect digital merchandise to promote enchantment to ache factors your clients have associated to your product, trade, or values, in addition to matters they love or get enthusiastic about. Each current nice enterprise alternatives to supply worth within the type of an academic product.

Listed below are some good locations to get began doing analysis on your prime digital merchandise: 

• Fb teams. There are Fb teams devoted to each area of interest and viewers conceivable, making them an incredible place to be taught what your potential clients care about. 
• Trade boards. Boards devoted to hobbies and communities in your trade might help you be taught extra about what individuals need and want in your broader trade.
• Product evaluations. Learn each the evaluations on your merchandise and rivals’ merchandise to get concepts. These might come from the evaluations on product pages in addition to stand-alone evaluations on blogs and different web sites.
• Weblog posts and feedback. Learn the weblog content material your group is likely to be studying, in addition to the feedback, to get much more concepts. For instance, in case you promote auto elements, dig round on automotive blogs.
• Emails from clients. Lastly, don’t overlook to return and reread any emails or messages you have got gotten from clients through the years. The individuals who took the time to contact you with ideas and considerations are normally “excessive intent” clients and so they may need shared some actually helpful insights. 

3. Validation

Earlier than committing an excessive amount of time to your concept for digital merchandise to promote, you wish to validate it and ensure it’s strong. The very last thing you wish to do is make investments a whole lot of time or cash in a brand new enterprise with out understanding it has a great probability to achieve success.

There are a few methods to validate your concept as you determine the right way to promote digital merchandise: 

• Key phrase analysis. Use a key phrase software to see how many individuals are trying to find your matters. This will provide you with an concept of the chance measurement of every one.
• Google Developments. Search your matters on Google Developments. Search for matters which might be rising in curiosity. This implies the chance measurement will continue to grow.
• Ask for suggestions. Contact your clients straight, both by way of e-mail or social media. A ballot or survey is an effective way to gather buyer suggestions. 
• Begin small and iterate. Typically, the simplest strategy to validate an concept is to experiment with a smaller model of the thought with room for progress. The purpose is to get one thing out into the world as quickly as potential so you may put your concept to the check and enhance from it from there. 

It doesn’t matter what trade you’re in, you have got distinctive strengths and information that may be precious to your clients and promoting digital merchandise. 

4. Create a web-based retailer

When you validate a digital product concept, you’ll wish to get an ecommerce platform to promote on. If you wish to know the right way to promote digital merchandise on-line, this step is essential.

Shopify is the simplest and most respected strategy to create an ecommerce retailer for on-line digital merchandise. You don’t want any tech expertise or a giant finances, and you may select from over 100 templates with built-in options to get arrange rapidly. There are additionally over 4,000 free Shopify apps you should utilize for managing your retailer and promoting extra digital merchandise on-line.

Sources:

Free Webinar:

Discover and Supply a Profitable Product to Promote

In lower than 40 minutes, allow us to stroll you thru the right way to discover product concepts, the right way to validate them, and the right way to promote them after you have an concept you wish to pursue.

8 apps for promoting digital merchandise on Shopify

1. Digital Downloads
2. SendOwl
3. Programs
4. Single Music
5. Thinkific
6. FetchApp
7. Sky Pilot
8. BookThatApp

There are a selection of gross sales and advertising and marketing instruments you’ll wish to think about for promoting digital merchandise, relying in your wants:

1. Digital Downloads. This free app by Shopify affords a easy strategy to promote digital merchandise by yourself web site. Upon buy, clients can obtain their file instantly and obtain a hyperlink of their e-mail.
2. SendOwl. For extra advanced digital product companies, SendOwl comes with quite a lot of options and helpful automation, like expiring hyperlinks and auto-generated license keys, to energy your merchandise.
3. Programs. This Shopify app enables you to create classes, tutorials, webinars, and manuals and promote them on-line. You possibly can create lovely on-line schooling portals, embed pre-recorded movies, and even livestream lesson content material. Clients can observe their progress and earn certificates for his or her completion. 
4. Single Music. If you happen to’re a musician promoting music, Single was made with you in thoughts. Not solely does it bridge the hole between bodily and digital music gross sales, it additionally enables you to simply embrace clips in your product web page for purchasers to pattern.
5. Thinkific. This app enables you to monetize your experience and develop your viewers by including on-line programs to your Shopify retailer. You possibly can add and drag and drop content material to create a course curriculum. A free plan is out there, permitting you to create as much as three programs.
6. FetchApp. FetchApp is one other digital obtain supply app that provides fewer options than SendOwl however has a free plan accessible (5 MB of storage) and offers you the power to connect a number of information to a single product.
7. Sky Pilot or Daring Memberships. These apps are perfect for constructing a membership program. You possibly can promote information and unique video streams to clients. Clients can then entry all of their beforehand bought information by way of their very own buyer accounts.
8. BookThatApp, Tipo, or Sesami. These three apps are excellent for companies that supply one-to-one or small group interactions and want an appointment reserving resolution to schedule consultations or teaching periods with clients. All three apps have a free plan accessible.

Past these digital product supply techniques, there are different Shopify apps to energy and defend your digital items, equivalent to:

• Recurring Order & Subscription. That is an app for weekly or month-to-month subscriptions. Use it to automate recurring orders, invoices, and digital subscriptions for on-line memberships or packages.
• Pasilobus Armor. If you would like additional safety for visible merchandise like inventory photographs, this app affords a lot of the safety measures chances are you’ll want, from watermarks to supply code safety.
• Disable Proper-Click on. When your content material is your product, this app helps you defend it from theft. You possibly can lock photographs and textual content to allow them to’t be saved or copied with out your permission.

Relying in your wants, these apps and extra can be utilized collectively that can assist you incorporate digital merchandise into your Shopify retailer and execute any of the digital merchandise examples under.

Gross sales and advertising and marketing suggestions for promoting digital merchandise

Whether or not you’re a brand-new enterprise proprietor or including on-line digital merchandise to your current retailer, hold the following pointers in thoughts:

• Create an incredible product. The primary standards for creating digital merchandise is so as to add worth to your clients’ life. Because you’re competing with free content material on the net, put money into constructing a product individuals can’t discover anyplace else. 
• Promote a lead magnet. No matter how a lot your product prices, create a light-weight model of it free of charge. A free product might help you construct an e-mail record you may promote to sooner or later. It additionally opens the door for upselling and retargeting potential clients with totally different promotions. Free builds belief between your enterprise and potential clients. 
• Begin an associates program. Associates are an enormous supply of visitors and gross sales for creators promoting digital merchandise. Discover influencers who’re established and trusted in your trade and provide them a fee for every sale they make. You possibly can create totally different percentages for various associates, so if somebody has a large viewers, you can provide them a better fee price to advertise extra and appeal to clients.
• Acquire preorders. An effective way to get early gross sales is by giving a reduced “early hen” value. If you happen to’re releasing a brand new digital product, you may provide a 50% low cost for the primary 100 consumers, then 25% for the following 100 consumers, after which launch the product at full value after the 25% low cost runs out. You possibly can solely launch the 50% low cost to your current viewers to reward their loyalty, get suggestions, and drive prelaunch gross sales.
• Supply a money-back assure. If you happen to’re hesitant about providing a guaranty in your merchandise, it is smart. Some individuals might purchase and use your product then ask for his or her a reimbursement. However it’s all part of working a web-based enterprise. The rewards of upper conversion charges outweigh the small proportion of people that might abuse the coverage. A a reimbursement assure reveals potential consumers you’re placing your cash the place your mouth is, and placing the chance on you, not them. 

Free Webinar:

Advertising and marketing 101

Struggling to develop gross sales? Discover ways to go from first day to first sale on this free coaching course.

Creating one of the best digital merchandise for your enterprise

With out the necessity to maintain stock or the overhead related to promoting bodily merchandise, all sorts of digital merchandise may be worthwhile on-line enterprise concepts. 

There are numerous methods you may create one of the best digital content material to promote and resell and incorporate them into your enterprise. With a bit ingenuity and upfront funding of time, you may serve up irresistible worth that may greater than pay for itself over time.

---

Able to create your first enterprise? Begin your free trial of Shopify—no bank card required.

Digital merchandise FAQ

What are some examples of digital merchandise?

• On-line programs and webinars
• Kindle books
• Audiobooks
• Software program packages
• Internet components like Shopify or WordPress themes
• Printables
• Membership websites
• Workbooks
• PowerPoint templates

How do you create a digital product?

• Brainstorm digital product concepts.
• Analysis purchaser ache factors. 
• Validate concepts by way of key phrase and development analysis.
• Produce your digital merchandise.
• Create a Shopify retailer. 
• Construct an viewers and market your digital merchandise.

What digital merchandise are in demand?

• Academic merchandise like ebooks and on-line programs
• Unique membership communities
• Digital templates and instruments 
• Repurposed music or artwork
• Productized providers 
• Licenses to make use of digital property

What sort of digital merchandise promote finest?

The perfect-selling digital merchandise embrace graphic design, templates, downloadable prints, music and audio, inventory pictures, and print on demand merchandise like customized t-shirts, notebooks, and mugs.