What are digital products? The best tools to sell them

What are digital merchandise?

In case you have the itch to enter enterprise for your self, however don’t have a particular product already in thoughts, you is perhaps questioning how one can be part of the ranks of profitable on-line enterprise homeowners. 

One possibility is to promote digital merchandise.

They provide the chance to construct a complete enterprise with out the necessity to consider stock, warehouse house, and delivery prices.

Digital merchandise provide a strong, passive earnings alternative as a result of you may, relying on the product, create one thing as soon as and promote it time and again with out producing extra stock, dealing with order success, or persevering with to spend on product updates and upkeep. It’s an excellent enterprise if you’d like an efficient technique to generate an internet earnings with as few factors of friction as potential.

Sound like an excellent alternative? 

In the event you construct on an ecommerce platform like WooCommerce, you’ll profit from built-in digital product sales performance. You’ll additionally get limitless customizability and full possession over your on-line presence. That’s why hundreds of thousands of shops world wide belief Woo. 

Right this moment, we’ll stroll you thru the various kinds of digital merchandise you may promote, how to decide on those that greatest align together with your creativity and enterprise objectives, and how one can create and promote your digital merchandise on-line.

A digital product is an intangible good accessed through an digital system — issues like ebooks, on-line programs, songs, video games, art work, and software program. 

After a buyer purchases a digital merchandise, a enterprise delivers the digital product in a downloadable format through electronic mail or one other methodology. For instance, a online game add-on may seem inside the sport. Or the password to a digital membership library may seem on the post-purchase “thanks” web page. 

New enterprise homeowners can determine to promote digital items alone, or finally combine in bodily merchandise to enhance their digital property. And current bodily companies can doubtless discover a manner so as to add a number of worthwhile digital merchandise to their lineup to extend their attain and income potential. 

Now we’ll look into the varied varieties of digital merchandise you may promote on-line and the very best methods to current and monetize them. You’ll be able to provide one-off digital downloads, give your prospects the choice to buy bundled digital products at a reduction, promote digital memberships and month-to-month or yearly subscription choices for recurring income, and extra.

On-line programs

Keep in mind when sitting in a bodily classroom was your solely possibility? Right this moment, lifelong pursuits and new abilities are discovered wherever you have got an web connection. 

You’ll be able to create programs and earn cash from sharing your ardour, and also you don’t must be a world-renowned scholar, faculty professor, or perhaps a licensed instructor — all you want is recognizable expertise and a want to share it. 

So, what distinctive ability do you have got? What’s one thing you’re deeply keen about that you just’d like to share with others? Flip your expertise right into a digital enterprise and host weekly or month-to-month reside courses or webinars.

Don’t really feel snug on digital camera or just don’t need to current reside? Think about providing a pre-made on-line course the place you may share your data via downloadable texts and pre-recorded movies.

Construct your web site with WordPress and WooCommerce and use the Sensei Pro extension to create and handle your individual on-line course.

You’ll have the ability to promote paid programs as a product straight via your website and even create memberships and subscriptions for recurring income. You’ll additionally profit from video course templates, quizzes to check and grade pupil progress, stipulations for college kids to entry superior content material, flashcard picture hotspot performance, and extra. 

Need to study extra about promoting on-line programs? See how one can arrange Sensei LMS in our information: How to Sell Online Courses.

Podcasts and ebooks

Like on-line programs, podcasts and ebooks can assist you monetize your data. More than 76 million people in america listened to podcasts in 2024 — a determine that’s elevated by over 27 million since 2020 and will attain almost 114 million by 2029.

And it’s the identical story for ebooks — with digital readership income extending previous $50 billion annually.  

Authors can use the built-in digital merchandise providing for WooCommerce to promote their books on-line. Podcasters may use WooCommerce with integrations like Audio Player for WooCommerce and WooCommerce Memberships. These let creators promote particular person, premium media information or provide memberships for unique podcast content material.

Memberships and subscriptions

Among the best issues about on-line programs, podcasts, ebooks, and lots of different digital merchandise, is the flexibility for enterprise homeowners to promote them on a recurring foundation. This offers extra regular, predictable earnings and might actually permit for a really hands-off method to enterprise administration. 

Your prospects can join membership or subscription for so long as they need to hold entry and your main job (beside advertising) is to create the content material within the first place or proceed to drip out new content material every week or month to maintain individuals subscribed so long as potential. 

Digital merchandise for real-world memberships

Digital merchandise can be tremendous helpful for managing golf equipment which have in-person occasions and conferences. The Kansas City Parrot Head Club, for instance, hosts charitable and social occasions every month for its roughly 200 members. Annual memberships, and renewals, together with tickets for particular occasions are managed via their website. 

WooCommerce as soon as once more shines on this space with two key extensions: WooCommerce memberships and Woo subscriptions. Collectively, they work to create a membership possibility with recurring billing capabilities. 

WooCommerce Memberships lets you present managed entry to gated areas in your website with libraries of unique content material, entry to unique communication channels, and reductions for different merchandise accessible in your website. 

Woo Subscriptions lets you cost recurring funds for auto-shipped merchandise at common intervals — nevertheless it additionally unlocks the recurring billing possibility for memberships so you may cost prospects a set price every month (or different applicable interval). It additionally permits for members to handle their subscription and pause or cancel on their very own. 

The very best Patreon various 

In the event you like the thought of offering a membership choice to followers or making a neighborhood of supporters who get rewarded for supporting your inventive work, you will have thought of Patreon or YouTube channel memberships. 

The issue with these platforms is that you just’re restricted in design and product choices (having to adapt to their setups for delivering and publishing content material) and are beholden to their phrases of service. 

As a substitute, take a look at WooCommerce because the best Patreon alternative. You’ll be able to present memberships with recurring billing and gated content material, however have full possession of the platform you construct and might customise it in any manner. 

Digital art work and printable downloads

Artists have a stunning alternative to create digital merchandise. And their on-line provides don’t need to battle with their bodily work. 

You’ll be able to promote graphic designs to inventory picture websites for different creators and entrepreneurs to make use of of their work. You’ll be able to promote artwork designed to be laptop or cellphone backgrounds. You’ll be able to promote digital information of art work for purchasers to print on canvas, copy for college worksheets, or use in nearly any manner conceivable. 

Flip watercolor artwork into cellphone wallpaper. Supply printable downloads of your digital artwork as greeting playing cards. Create posters that your prospects can print themselves and body nevertheless they’d like. The choices are actually solely restricted by customers’ imaginations.

For instance, let’s say that you just promote an illustration of a faculty soccer stadium. When you can actually provide it in prints that you just bodily ship to prospects, you would additionally provide it as a printable, digital obtain. 

Soccer followers may print it from their dwelling laptop, and even add it to a service like Shutterfly to professionally print it on all the things from mugs and wine glasses to notebooks, laptop computer sleeves, and magnets.

You need to use WooCommerce to show and promote all of these items and even provide one thing extra distinctive like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), full with a Certificates of Authenticity, by including the Verisart extension. 

Licensed digital property

Creators usually like to develop or modify one other artist’s thought. It offers inspiration — a leaping off level — to create one thing new. And graphic designers working for inventive businesses, advertisers, or different organizations discover it advantageous to make use of premade property the place potential to work extra effectively as a substitute of making all the things from scratch. 

Think about offering digital property for different creators to license and use in their very own works. Until you solely provide unique licenses, your one-time creation may be licensed time and again for years — resulting in constant income lengthy after you really did any work. 

Listed below are some examples of licensable digital merchandise:

When you can license these property from your individual WooCommerce website with an extension like License Manager for WooCommerce, you also needs to take into account providing them via a market that has a built-in visitors supply of individuals seeking to buy licenses. These sorts of marketplaces embrace: 

• Canva
• iStock 
• Adobe Inventory
• Unsplash
• Getty 
• Envato Parts
• Shutterstock

These platforms provide publicity, however cost a fee for every sale in alternate. Many inventory picture websites, like Unsplash and Pexels, provide a mixture of choices for customers, together with royalty-free pictures or premium pictures. Customers can obtain and use royalty-free pictures with no price (some attribution necessities and utilization restrictions apply), whereas premium pictures have variable pricing relying on how the picture will likely be used.

Commissioned works as licensed digital merchandise

You’re not restricted to licensing pre-created works. In case you have inventive expertise with a monitor file of efficiency, you may promote commissioned tasks in nearly any kind conceivable. File a voiceover, write and file customized music, create a graphic design based mostly on a written request. These sorts of inventive companies are bought on a regular basis on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. 

Music, video, and audio

In the event you’re an expert singer or musician, even in case you identical to writing and recording music in your spare time, you may promote full songs for obtain or provide snippets for purchasers to make use of as ringtones. With Audio Player for WooCommerce, prospects can take heed to your songs or ringtone snippets earlier than they purchase.

Paid newsletters

when you have expertise, data, and expertise — in nearly any area of interest conceivable — you have got experience to share with an viewers. Chances are you’ll share this on a weblog to generate natural visitors, and that’s nice. However you also needs to take into account offering unique entry to premium content material. You are able to do this via a membership providing, however one other widespread possibility is to create a paid publication. 

When you’ve demonstrated your experience and constructed a following, you may write a publication at constant intervals (like weekly) and cost for entry. And this doesn’t need to be instructional — anybody with a following (for any cause) can drip content material to followers in alternate for a price. 

Be taught extra about how to create a paid newsletter via an internet site and platform that you just totally personal and management. 

Software program licensing

Don’t neglect that software program is a digital product! Construct out your app thought, create a plugin for WordPress, or develop a SaaS program. These sorts of issues are normally a reasonably large endeavor, however they’re nonetheless digital merchandise with a lot of potential to generate income. 

WooCommerce is the best platform for doing enterprise on-line. A serious a part of that? The library of extensions accessible for on-line retailer homeowners to rapidly add performance to their website. Certified builders can contribute their extension to {the marketplace}. Learn more here.

Digital present playing cards

Digital present playing cards are an effective way so as to add a handy product choice to your retailer. So even in case you do promote bodily merchandise, add an internet present card possibility for one more income alternative with out having to cope with extra stock, SKUs, and success complications. 

In case your retailer runs on WooCommerce, you have got entry to a great extension that may make this complete course of a snap.  

Digital companies

Do you provide consulting or different companies? You’ll be able to ship these just about and let prospects schedule their session or appointment with WooCommerce Bookings. 

Now that we’ve reviewed some varieties of digital merchandise, let’s check out some actual shops which are promoting digitally on-line, all with WooCommerce.

French Today

French in the present day provides all kinds of educational materials to assist individuals discover ways to communicate French the best way it’s actually utilized in every day life. They provide audiobooks based mostly on a wide range of expertise ranges and area of interest topics (like verb drills), a month-to-month audio journal subscription, customized Skype French classes, and even studying apps.

CLS by BARBRI

This on-line retailer provides on-line training for people looking for a profession within the authorized discipline. College students can select from a wide range of programs and seek for the correct match based mostly on the varsity they’re attending, their location, their subject of focus, and extra. Additionally they have a bookstore the place guests should purchase the digital textbooks wanted for his or her programs. 

Every course is obtainable solely on-line, and college students can work via the topics on their very own time. Along with extra conventional cost strategies, CLS by BARBRI permits prospects to pay month-to-month (or in a set variety of installments) to make issues simpler. 

Cosmos Magazine 

Cosmos is a print science journal that’s delivered quarterly to devoted subscribers. Their purpose is to make science accessible to everybody, no matter their expertise and data degree. They usually do that via high-quality pictures, top-knotch writing, and clear explanations. 

Along with their print journal, in addition they have an internet digital version that’s up to date every day, together with digital variations of all of their again points. Lastly, they’ve a membership accessible that features entry to the digital model of the journal, together with unique options. This is a wonderful instance of how print and digital can exist aspect by aspect.

FilterGrade

FilterGrade is an internet market that provides an enormous library of digital property for creators — Lightroom presets, picture overlays, Photoshop actions, and extra. Every product is obtainable in a number of totally different license varieties, with totally different pricing for every.  

TipoType

TipoType provides a catalog filled with high-quality fonts that prospects can use for his or her digital and print creations. Every font is obtainable in a wide range of types and has a number of license varieties relying on the shopper’s use case. 

Additionally they provide customized companies, reminiscent of customized font licensing, distinctive font variations, and prolonged language protection.

HousingWire

HousingWire is a digital library of data particularly for the actual property business. There are particular person and group licenses accessible, and prospects can select between a month-to-month or yearly subscription. There are additionally enterprise plans for bigger companies.

A HousingWire membership offers entry to actual property information, market information, housing analysis, unique in-person occasions, and a publication only for subscribers.

The Sweet Setup

The Candy Setup has greater than 60,000 digital subscribers to their web site, which provides paid programs, evaluations, and articles round productiveness. Accessible programs cowl all the things from time administration and productiveness to profiting from particular software program.

The Focus Membership Membership provides entry to the entire instruments and programs accessible on their website, together with a digital neighborhood and month-to-month workplace hours.

There are a number of locations you may promote digital merchandise on-line. Let’s discover a number of choices, beginning with the one that gives essentially the most freedom, management, and adaptability.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a strong ecommerce instrument constructed particularly for WordPress. It provides completely all the things it’s essential promote digital merchandise, together with product listings, checkout and cart performance, cost gateways, and digital obtain help — all totally free! 

In the event you do need extra performance, you may select from an enormous library of extensions that present instruments for software program licenses, subscriptions, memberships, and extra.

Listed below are just some of the explanations that WooCommerce stands out from the opposite choices on this record:

• It harnesses the ability of WordPress. WordPress is the preferred web site platform accessible, and WooCommerce is a plugin constructed by Automattic, the group behind WordPress.com. Whenever you use WooCommerce, you profit from all the good options of WordPress, just like the drag-and-drop block editor, highly effective content material creation instruments, and unbelievable flexibility. 
• You’ve full management and possession. With WooCommerce, you have got full management over the feel and appear of your website and merchandise. You’re not beholden to any design or dimension restrictions, and nobody can take your merchandise down. This isn’t the case with different platforms.
• There are not any exclusivity agreements. Some third-party platforms mean you can promote your digital merchandise on their website — and solely their website. This isn’t true with WooCommerce. Promote merchandise by yourself retailer and on different platforms, in case you’d like.
• You retain extra of your hard-earned cash. WooCommerce doesn’t cost any itemizing charges or take a proportion of your gross sales.
• It’s endlessly versatile. You’ll be able to promote something you need, design your on-line retailer nevertheless you need, and use extensions to create just about any sort of performance. 
• You’ll be able to promote a wide range of product varieties aspect by aspect. Promote digital downloads subsequent to on-line programs. Supply digital consultations alongside software program licenses and even bodily merchandise. The sky’s the restrict.
• There’s highly effective help and a neighborhood of like-minded entrepreneurs. WordPress and WooCommerce are surrounded by a passionate neighborhood made up of different retailer homeowners identical to you. Join with them via on-line boards, Slack channels, Fb teams, and in-person meetups.

WooCommerce is, by far, the easiest way to promote your digital merchandise on-line. Need to study extra? See the way it compares to different choices like Etsy and Patreon.

Inventory websites

In the event you create digital property like inventory pictures, illustrations, or movies, there are some good choices for promoting on third-party marketplaces. These embrace:

There are some advantages to these kind of marketplaces. For instance, you acquire entry to a bigger, built-in viewers that’s looking for what it’s a must to provide. 

However take the time to completely perceive what’s concerned with every platform. Some have exclusivity agreements, whereas others don’t. Some have increased charges than others. Some mean you can set your individual costs, whereas others set them for you. And take into account that rivals’ merchandise will likely be proven proper alongside your individual.

If you wish to profit from the built-in viewers of third-party marketplaces whereas nonetheless constructing your individual retailer, you actually can with WooCommerce. So long as the marketplaces don’t have exclusivity agreements, you may record your digital property there, together with your individual retailer. 

Etsy

Etsy is a good platform for small on-line enterprise homeowners, particularly creatives, who may gain advantage from a built-in viewers of patrons. Sellers can record each bodily and digital merchandise of their store. Nevertheless, as with something, there are each positives and negatives. 

Listed below are a number of the advantages of Etsy:

• A inbuilt viewers. Your work is exhibited to a built-in viewers that already has numerous belief within the platform.
• Constructed-in promotional alternatives. Your merchandise are really useful to others who bought related objects.
• Promoting instruments. You’ll be able to harness highly effective promoting instruments to achieve a brand new viewers.

Listed below are a number of the draw back of Etsy:

• Etsy expenses to your listings and/or store. When you can host as many merchandise as you need, Etsy expenses a $0.20 price for every itemizing. In the event you improve your account from Primary to Etsy Plus, you may record as much as 15 merchandise with out the itemizing price. Nevertheless, Etsy retains 6.5% of every sale, which might actually eat into your income.
• Product varieties are quite simple. You gained’t have a lot flexibility in terms of the varieties of merchandise you promote. For instance, it’s not potential to promote on-line programs.
• You don’t personal your storefront. On the finish of the day, your merchandise and enterprise are on the mercy of a bigger market.

And keep in mind, you can even promote on Etsy alongside your WooCommerce retailer. The Etsy Integration for WooCommerce extension syncs itemizing info between each shops, so all the things is all the time updated.

Patreon

Patreon is a website for creatives, influencers, and others to supply subscription-style perks to followers and followers, or Patrons. The location permits you to arrange membership tiers with different entry. You’ll be able to even create a free tier with content material that’s accessible to anybody signed up to your updates.

Patreon was as soon as the go-to place — particularly for creatives simply beginning to construct a reputation for themselves — that married inventive people with individuals who need to help inventive endeavors. 

However in the previous couple of years, creators have misplaced what made Patreon so nice to start with: management over what they will and might’t submit. The lack of management and Patreon’s seemingly exorbitant charges have made this once-great creator platform simply one other channel that doesn’t have creator pursuits at coronary heart.

WooCommerce is the best Patreon alternative, and extra creators are turning to it on daily basis. 

Execs of Patreon:

• There are pre-built profile templates. In the event you don’t have a singular imaginative and prescient for presenting your self as a creator, it is a bonus of Patreon as you may merely fill out the data and launch a web page about as rapidly as filling out a brand new web page profile for a platform like Fb or LinkedIn. 
• Familiarity with potential followers. Your followers have most likely heard of Patreon and will really feel extra snug becoming a member of via this sort of pre-built platform. That stated, most influencers have constructed sufficient belief with their followers that this will likely be a non-issue.
• Cheap to get began. You’ll be able to rise up and operating rapidly and with very minimal prices. 

Cons of Patreon:

• There are pre-built profile templates. Patreon owns and hosts all of their very own code, so that you’re not ready so as to add customized performance and design parts you might have considered trying as a creator. Your pages will, roughly, like everybody else’s.
• Excessive charges. You’re going to be giving a excessive proportion of your earnings to Patreon as a “thanks” for his or her service. These charges will comply with you without end. 
• You’re beholden to another person. Be sure to learn and abide by Patreon’s phrases and circumstances very fastidiously. A unsuitable transfer — and even the notion of or false report of a unsuitable transfer — and also you’re earnings stream might be down for some time (or without end).

So that you’ve determined to construct your digital basis utilizing WordPress and WooCommerce, proper? Good selection!

WooCommerce provides seemingly infinite extensions that may enable you construct a worthwhile enterprise, like:

• Sensei Pro for creating and managing an internet studying program.
• Memberships for subscriber-based websites and companies.
• Subscriptions for recurring cost capabilities to entry premium content material (which you’ll mix with memberships to replace your Patreon account!).
• Digital downloads for promoting any commonplace digital file as a product (native WooCommerce performance).
• Digital gift cards so as to add a digital product to any current bodily or digital group. 
• WooCommerce Bookings to promote digital buyer periods and appointments.
• Mailchimp for easy electronic mail and SMS campaigns and superior automation and segmentation instruments as you develop.

And each enterprise proprietor additionally must be excited about advertising. Fortunately, WooCommerce has that greater than totally coated with a plethora of marketing extensions. A few of the prime choices embrace: 

Irrespective of the place you might be in your on-line digital merchandise enterprise, producing ongoing gross sales is all the time vital. Listed below are a number of ideas to remember:

Supply nice digital merchandise

This one nearly goes with out saying, however the important thing to any profitable enterprise is providing prospects bodily and digital services that enrich and add worth.

Your on-line digital merchandise ought to someway make your prospects’ lives higher. 

You’ll all the time compete with different creators and with content material that’s freely accessible on the internet, so create one thing that folks have by no means seen and gained’t discover elsewhere.

Tease a purchase order by giving one thing totally free

It doesn’t matter how a lot your on-line digital product sells for — making a free model is normally a powerful technique to show worth and in the end make a sale. Watermark art work and permit downloads so individuals can strive them out within the utility they want. Present a restricted model of your paid publication so individuals can grasp the potential worth of the paid model. 

No matter it’s — one of many largest limitations to gross sales of digital property is demonstrating worth. Make it simple for potential prospects to get a digital style and your checking account will thanks. 

Construct an online marketing program round your on-line digital merchandise

Affiliates, influencers, model ambassadors — totally different variations with the identical finish end result: these people get your identify and digital objects in entrance of individuals you may not in any other case attain. 

And far more importantly than merely increasing your attain, these influencers can communicate to a highly-targeted viewers with a private advice the viewers trusts. In different phrases, the worth potential right here is sky excessive.

What’s the very best platform to promote digital merchandise?

WooCommerce is the very best platform for promoting digital merchandise. Open-source and constructed on WordPress, enterprise homeowners have full possession of their creation with freedom to develop, customise, and construct with out limits. 

Plus, a powerful neighborhood of contributors means a library of pre-built customizations and performance enhancements that may be added on with just some clicks. You can too customized code something wanted.

WooCommerce is essentially the most widely-used ecommerce platform on this planet for a cause, and it’s your best option to promote digital merchandise. 

What digital merchandise promote the very best on-line?

A few of the top-selling on-line digital merchandise are:

1. On-line studying programs
2. eBooks
3. Music, graphics, and artwork
4. Inventory pictures, video, and graphics
5. Memberships
6. Digital apps, productiveness instruments, and different software program 
7. Companies {and professional} consultations

How can I promote digital merchandise on-line?

All you want is WordPress and WooCommerce! The mixture offers all of the performance essential to design an attractive web site, record your digital merchandise, entice and market to prospects, and watch your gross sales develop. Try our WooCommerce Customer Stories to see how different companies (even celebrities!) use WooCommerce to promote their digital merchandise on-line.

What are the advantages of promoting digital merchandise on-line?

Digital merchandise provide the chance to construct a complete enterprise with out the standard concerns like stock, warehouse house, and delivery prices. Plus, even digital merchandise that require updates, like software program packages and on-line programs, can nonetheless function a strong residual earnings supply.

Vanessa has spent her profession writing useful issues for individuals throughout the tech house. Outdoors of labor, she enjoys coaching for triathlon, rotating via hobbies, and exploring new locations each city and pure. She has two fluffy cats, maintains a number of succulents, and has far too many books on her TBR shelf.