One of the fastest-growing industries is the digital products sector. Statistics indicate that by 2032, it will hit U.S. $12.5 billion. This makes it one of the options influencers can leverage to increase their income beyond brand sponsorship. With lots of products to sell, you cannot lack something to create and sell. In this article, we will look at how influencers can create and sell digital products. 

What are Digital Products?

Digital products are products that don't exist in physical forms but only online. When a buyer purchases the products, they are usually sent to them electronically or through email, apps, or direct downloads. Like physical products, digital products can be bought and sold through marketplaces and e-commerce websites.

Benefits of Selling Digital Products

If you are an influencer wondering whether selling digital products is worth it, here are some benefits you need to know:

Wide Customer Base

When you sell digital products, you can reach customers in any part of the world. You don’t have to worry about the cost of postage, understanding customs laws, or arranging to return the products. It also becomes easier to market your products to people from all corners of the world.

Good Source of Passive Income

If you are looking for a way to earn passive income, digital products can enable you to do that, as there is minimal ongoing effort needed. For instance, if you are selling stock photography or an e-book, you only have to create the product once, and you will begin to earn an income each time someone buys it. That's unlike when you offer a tutoring or web design service, where you are only paid each time someone purchases the product or service.

Income from Ads

Some platforms allow you to earn extra income from the sale of digital products in addition to the sale of physical products. If your content is on platforms such as YouTube, you can add ads. You can read our guide on how to make money on TikTok. 

Scalability

Most digital products are scalable, meaning customers can increase their sales by scaling up their workload. Scalability works similarly to passive income, even though you must work hard. For instance, if you are selling software that your audience can download, you will need to update the software regularly. You will also need to provide your customers with good customer service.

No Limit on Stocks or Products

When selling digital products, you don't need to manufacture, store, or ship products. That means no rental space is required, and you do not need to track your inventory or make tough decisions about products with limited shelf life. It's easy to customize or personalize products. 

Work From Any Location

Since you will not sell physical products, you can also run your business from anywhere. Therefore, if you are searching for a work-from-home opportunity, selling digital products can be a good option. Additionally, if you are an online entrepreneur who travels a lot, a digital product will enable you to continue earning while on the go. As long as you sell a high-quality product, nobody will care if you upload it from your home office, beach, or airport lounge.

Drawbacks of Selling Digital Products

On the other hand, selling digital products also comes with its drawbacks. These include:

Stiff Competition

Anything with a low entry level often has very stiff competition. Due to the low setup cost of digital products, the digital marketplace can be overcrowded. While this can make things more complicated, you don't have to give up. Instead, you only need to make your product unique from what the competition offers. 

For instance, if you are a graphic designer, you can get certification in a particular software to show your expertise. You can also ask your previous clients to provide testimonials that demonstrate your experience.

Since digital products are usually easy to make and have low production costs, some creators even give them away for free or to promote other products or services. This means you are likely to get stiffer competition from the free products. To overcome the challenge of stiff competition, you must let your customers know why it's worth paying for digital products by including information such as testimonials from satisfied customers, customer reviews, and more.

Piracy

Digital products can be easily copied and redistributed. While it's also possible to create counterfeit products, it is easier to do so with digital products. Consider protecting your digital data by encrypting PDF files. You can also copyright or trademark your work.

How to Decide on the Products to Sell

There are so many digital products you can sell online. Before you start, explore what will work for you. With the many digital product ideas, you will find a product best suited to your skills, experience, and passions. Here are tips on determining the right digital product to sell:

Skills and Experience

Consider your education, professional experience, or personal interests. If you have ever managed a retail business, you can work in marketing, in-store sales, or customer service. If you are good at fundraising, consider writing an ebook on crowdfunding.

Consider Your Interest

Avoid focusing on your area of employment. Instead, think of anything you can do as a business. For instance, if you consistently work as a videographer at family occasions, you can consider creating videos and selling them on a stock photo site. On the other hand, if you are good at playing a musical instrument or making a wide range of short videos, you can organize them into short training videos for children.

Perform Market Research

Before selling a digital product, you need to do some research. Consider sites that sell similar items to understand what's available and your target audience. How are they promoting their products? At what price are they selling the product? Put yourself in the customers' shoes and explore the digital marketing landscape.

If you are considering using an e-marketplace to distribute your products, visit the platform and evaluate the products that align with your target customers' needs. If other vendors are selling the same products, consider what will make your product stand out from the rest.

Conduct a Trial Run

Like selling physical products, it's helpful to start small when selling digital products. The good news is that you won't spend a lot on what goes into launching a psychological product, such as initial design, creating a prototype, and even manufacturing. On the other hand, if you will be offering professional services on your site, you can start by creating a profile on the site that connects sellers with buyers.

Remember that you will be charged a percentage of your earnings. However, you will have a lower start-up cost, enabling you to understand how the market will receive your digital product and what marketing method you should use. These platforms can also be a good choice for getting customer reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations.

Top 7 Digital Products to Consider

If you are searching for a digital product to sell as an influencer, here are the top options to consider:

Ebooks

Ebooks are some of the most popular digital products that are sold online. You can create ebooks in a wide range of topics such as fiction, how-to guides, sci-fi, and more. The good news about ebooks is that you don't need to go through a traditional publishing house, as you can self-publish. This makes the whole process easier and means you do not have to pay part of your earnings as fees.

When considering the topics for your ebook, choose one you are passionate about. This could be a self-help book, a how-to guide, or a manual demonstrating your niche expertise.

Web-Based Apps and Games

Commonly referred to as SaaS (Software as a Service), web-based apps are applications that are hosted on the cloud for customers to purchase or subscribe to, rather than keeping them on their PCs. The model is effective because it enables customers to access the program from any device, even without an internet connection. 

On the other hand, program developers can update and maintain the program without needing to download it. Web-based apps are also quite scalable. If the number of customers increases, you can increase the storage and processing capacity at a low cost.

You can also design a game that you can use on a PC or mobile device. You can then access the service through downloads, in-app purchases, and site memberships.

Online Tutorials and Courses

Online courses are an excellent way to learn a new skill or expand one's knowledge base. You can develop online courses in various formats, including video series, live webinars, and online tutoring. To further enhance your online courses, you can add products like workbooks.

Services

Unlike what many think, not only can products be sold as digital products. You can also offer test preparation sessions, travel planning, career counselling, and home design services. However, before you start offering these services, ensure that you understand the necessary licensing requirements and regulations for your jurisdiction. 

Printable Planner

You can create printable planners, to-do lists, and calendars for people who like keeping their lives organized with physical copies. You can then list the planners on sites such as Etsy to enable you to earn passive income or create other digital downloads, such as logos and wedding cards.

Animated Stickers and GIFs

You can design and sell stickers and GIFs for people to sell in their social media stores and posts. You can then list your design on Redbubble. Etsy also enables creators to print, cut, pack, and ship their stickers. However, if you don't want to put in the time and effort, you can use a print-on-demand service, such as Printify, to create a mockup.

Selling Music and Beats

If you are a musician, you can create original music tracks, sounds, and beats for people to use in their podcasts, videos, and other projects. You can use platforms such as Suno to create music at the click of a button.

Final Thoughts

Selling digital products can be a great way for influencers to earn an extra income outside their brand collaboration deals. If you are searching for a good product to sell, consider one of the above options.