Most Profitable Digital Products And Where To Sell Them

Looking to dive into selling digital products but not sure where to start? This guide covers everything you need to know about the most profitable digital products and the best platforms to sell them. From online courses to eBooks, and from your own website to social commerce, we'll help you navigate the digital marketplace to find the best fit for your products. Here's a quick overview:

Most Profitable Digital Products:

• Online Courses
• eBooks
• Templates and Tools
• Membership Sites
• Digital Art and Music

Best Places to Sell:

• Your Own Website
• Online Marketplaces (e.g., Etsy, Amazon)
• Social Commerce Platforms

Key Considerations:

• Profitability depends on market demand, cost of entry, and platform fees.
• Each product type and selling platform has its pros and cons.
• Marketing and customer engagement are critical for success.

Whether you're a seasoned creator or just starting out, understanding these basics can help you make informed decisions and start your digital product business on the right foot.

Profitability

• How much money can you make from selling different kinds of digital products?
• Which products let sellers earn the most?
• Is it easy to make a profit, or is there too much competition?

Market Demand

• How much do people want different types of digital products right now and in the future?
• Which products are more and more people looking to buy?
• Are there opportunities for new sellers in these markets?

Cost of Entry

• How much does it cost to start making and selling these products?
• What do you need to know or have, like skills or tools, to create these products?
• Can you start selling even if you don't have a lot of money?

Platform Fees

• What do platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon charge you to sell your products?
• How do these fees compare across different places to sell digital downloads?
• Which places offer the best deal for what you pay?

Audience Reach

• Which platforms help you reach the most customers?
• Where can you find specific groups of people that are interested in your products?
• Which platforms are the best for getting your products noticed by more people?

Customization Options

• Can you change the look and feel of your store on these platforms to match your brand?
• How much control do you have over the design and features of your store?
• Which platforms let you change things up the most to make your store stand out?

Looking at these points helps us figure out which digital products are the best ones to sell and which platforms are the best places to sell them. It's all about finding the right balance between making money, reaching customers, and being able to present your products in the best way.## Comparison of Digital Products

1. Online Courses

Profitability

Selling online courses can make you a lot of money. Once you create a course, you can sell it to many people without having to make a new one each time. Courses can be sold for anywhere between $100 to $2,000 or even more for very special ones. Even if you only have a few people signed up to your email, you could still make thousands of dollars.

Market Demand

Lots of people want to buy online courses these days. The e-learning market is expected to grow to $325 billion by 2025. People want to learn new skills or switch careers, which is why they're interested in courses about things like data science, marketing, business, and design.

Cost of Entry

Starting to sell online courses doesn't cost much. You just need to know a lot about a topic and have a computer to make videos or lessons. Platforms like Teachable or Podia make it easy to set up your course without needing to be a tech expert. It might take you 20-40 hours to create your first course.

Platform Fees

Platforms for courses usually charge a monthly fee and a small part of each sale. For example, Teachable charges $29 a month for basic stuff and then takes 5% of each sale. This means you get to keep 95% of what you make. This is cheaper than selling physical products.

Audience Reach

If you use a platform for your course, you can reach its users. For instance, Teachable has over 5 million students. You can also get people to your course through social media, search engines, working with affiliates, and ads. Having an email list of people who like what you do is a great way to sell your course.

Customization Options

You can make your course and its page look the way you want on these platforms. You decide what your course includes, how it looks, and what the students' experience is like. Teachable even lets you make your own landing pages, checkout processes, special offers, and websites for members.

2. eBooks

Profitability

Making money from eBooks is pretty good because they don't cost much to make and can keep earning money with little extra work. You can set your own prices, usually between $0.99 and $9.99, which lets you figure out the best way to make the most money based on what people want.

Market Demand

People all over the world are buying more eBooks, with the market expected to reach $14.16 billion by 2023. eBooks about business, self-improvement, and learning do really well, but stories in genres like romance, sci-fi, and mystery are also popular.

Cost of Entry

Starting to sell eBooks is easy and doesn't cost much. You just need a computer and some basic software to write and design your book cover. Websites like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Draft2Digital let you put your eBook out there easily. You might spend less than $500 to get started.

Platform Fees

Websites where you sell your eBook take a cut of your sales, usually between 30-60%. For example, Amazon takes about 30% plus a small fee for each eBook sold. But, if you sell from your own website, you don't have to pay these fees, though you'll need to do your own marketing.

Audience Reach

Selling through big eBook stores can get your book in front of lots of people. Amazon alone has millions of subscribers. You can also use things like free book offers and your email list to attract readers.

Customization Options

You get to make all the decisions about your eBook, like what it's about, how long it is, and how much to charge. You can also choose your book cover and how you describe it to make it fit your style. But, the stores selling your eBook get to decide how it's displayed and promoted.

3. Templates and Tools

Profitability

Selling templates and digital tools can bring in a good amount of money because you can sell as many copies as you want without running out. Some people who make templates bring in more than $5,000 every month. If your templates or tools are really useful and specific, you can charge more for them. Good marketing can help you make even more money.

Market Demand

Lots of people want templates and tools that save them time. Things like website themes, graphic design templates, tools to help with work, and templates for managing projects are in high demand. As more businesses go online, there's a big need for email templates, and templates for proposals and invoices.

Cost of Entry

It's pretty easy and cheap to start selling templates or tools. You need to know how to design for templates or how to code for tools. There's no need to keep stock or deal with making things. Using website builders and places like Shopify, you can start for less than $100. You can also sell templates made by others and earn money through a subscription-based business model or affiliate marketing.

Platform Fees

On Etsy, you'll pay about 13% in fees, including for payments. Shopify charges 2.9% plus 30 cents for each sale. For sites that only sell digital stuff like Gumroad or SendOwl, fees are between 3.5% to 8% plus a bit for payment processing, around 2-3%. These fees are pretty low compared to selling physical items.

Audience Reach

Places like Etsy and Creative Market are great for selling creative stuff to lots of people. Shopify also has a place for selling templates. You can reach more people by using social media, getting people to sign up for your emails, working with affiliates, and making your site easy to find online.

Customization Options

You get to decide how your templates or tools look, how much they cost, and how they work. But, if you're selling on a marketplace, you have to follow their rules for how to list and sell your products. You can use your skills in HTML/CSS to make your products look just right.

4. Membership Sites

Profitability

Membership sites can make you steady money every month or year because people pay to join. After you set up the site, it doesn't cost much to keep it going. You can charge members $10-$100 monthly, and some special interest sites might charge more. After paying for the site and handling fees, you could make over $5,000 a month from a well-run site.

Market Demand

More and more people are okay with paying for online content and joining groups that match their interests. Whether it's for watching shows or learning something new, there's a big market for membership sites. The trick is to become a go-to source and keep offering great stuff that people can't get anywhere else.

Cost of Entry

Starting a membership site costs a bit at first. You need to pay for a website name and hosting, which can be $5-$20 a month. If you know how to use WordPress, you could get your site going for under $100. But, you'll need to spend a lot of time making content and telling people about your site.

Platform Fees

Tools like MemberPress or WishList Member that help run membership sites charge a monthly fee and take about 2-3% of transactions. These tools make it easier to manage members, take payments, and send emails. If you're good with tech, you can set up your site without these tools to avoid monthly costs.

Audience Reach

Membership sites usually focus on a specific topic and attract people interested in that area. You can use emails, social media, and search engines to get people to join. Working with others and writing guest posts can also help bring in more members. It takes time and effort to grow your site's audience.

Customization Options

You can make your membership site look and work how you want. This includes the site's design, how you arrange your content, and what members can do on the site. While you might need some web design skills, being able to change everything to fit your style is a big plus.

5. Digital Art and Music

Profitability

If you're good at making music or art and can get people interested in your work, you can make good money selling it online. For example, you might earn $20-50 for every album someone downloads from you, or $5-15 for each song. If enough people buy your work, you could make thousands every month without having to create new pieces all the time.

Market Demand

More and more people want to buy digital art and music. Services like Spotify and Apple Music have millions of subscribers. The digital art world is also getting bigger, expected to be worth $26 billion soon. This means artists can sell directly to their fans, not just through big companies.

Cost of Entry

Starting to sell your art or music isn't too expensive. You need a computer and some creativity. To sell music, you can use sites like Bandcamp or SoundCloud. For art, places like Creative Market or Etsy are good options. You can even start with very little money, sometimes less than $100.

Platform Fees

The fees for selling on these platforms are usually fair. Gumroad, for example, takes a small part of your sale plus a little extra fee. Bandcamp and Etsy have their own fees, but you still get to keep most of the money you make from selling your work.

Audience Reach

Finding people to buy your work takes effort. You should use social media, work with other artists, send emails to fans, and try to show up in search results. It's more about keeping your current fans interested and buying rather than finding new people all the time.

Customization Options

You can make your online shop look like you want on most platforms. For musicians, Bandcamp lets you change your page's design. For artists, Etsy and Gumroad let you add your own style to how you sell your work. This helps make sure your shop looks just right for your brand.

Pros and Cons

When thinking about selling digital products, it's smart to look at the good and bad sides of each type. Here's a quick breakdown to help you figure out what might work best for you.

Digital Product	Pros	Cons
Online Courses	- Can make a lot of money - You can sell it many times - Doesn't cost much to start	- Need to know a lot about the topic - Takes a lot of time to make - Must work hard to sell it
eBooks	- Easy to start - Can reach a lot of people - You can change how you sell it	- Lots of competition - Might not make as much money - Need to tell people about it yourself
Templates & Tools	- Many people want them - Can make money regularly - Fun to create	- Lots of others selling similar things - Need to keep making them better - Someone might copy your idea
Membership Sites	- Get money every month - Can build a community - You're in charge of your site	- Need to keep adding new stuff - Have to look after your community - Takes time to get noticed
Digital Art & Music	- You can be creative - Can sell to people everywhere - Many ways to make money	- Might only interest a few people - Have to do a lot of promoting - Might not make a lot of money

Key Takeaways

• Every digital product has good and bad points, like how much money you can make, how much competition there is, and what you need to do to get started.
• Products like online courses and templates might bring in a lot of money but need a big effort at first.
• Making money while you sleep sounds great, but it usually takes a while to get there.
• Finding customers and standing out is tough no matter what you're selling.
• In the end, think about what you're good at, what you like to do, and what your goals are when choosing what digital product to sell.

Comparative Analysis of Selling Platforms

When you're thinking about where to sell your digital products, there are mainly three paths you can take: setting up your own website, using big online marketplaces, or using social media. Let's break down what you need to know about each option.

Selling from Your Own Website

Owning a website means you're in charge of everything. You don't have to share your earnings with anyone else. The tough part is getting people to visit your site and handling all the tech stuff.

Pros

• You get to keep all the money you make, just paying for things like PayPal or credit card fees.
• You can make your website look and work exactly how you want.
• You have all the information about your customers and visitors.

Cons

• You need to know how to set up and design a website.
• It's up to you to bring people to your site.
• You have to take care of website security and updates.

Online Marketplaces

Sites like Etsy, Amazon, and Creative Market already have lots of shoppers. But, they take a chunk of your sales, and you don't get much say in how your products are shown.

Pros

• Lots of shoppers are already there.
• They take care of the website security and tech stuff for you.
• Payment systems are already set up.

Cons

• They take a big part of your sales (30-50%).
• You can't really make your product pages look unique.
• You don't get to keep information on who's buying.

Social Commerce

Selling on social media platforms can be an easy way to reach people who already like what you do. However, selling stuff directly through these platforms is still pretty new.

Pros

• You can sell to people who already follow and like your work.
• Some social media platforms let you sell without leaving the site.
• Usually, the fees for selling here are low.

Cons

• The tools for selling aren't as good as other options.
• You're at the mercy of the platform's rules and algorithms.
• You might end up focusing more on posting than selling.

Key Takeaways

• Think about things like how much it'll cost you, how many people you can reach, how much control you want over the look of your store, and how much work you're willing to put in when choosing where to sell.
• Your own site gives you the most control but means more work on your end.
• Marketplaces and social media give you an audience but at a cost to your profits.
• You might want to use a mix of your own site and other places to get the best of both worlds.

Creating and Marketing Your Digital Product

Creating and marketing your digital product is key to making it a success. Here's how to do it step by step:

1. Brainstorm Product Ideas

Start by thinking of what you're good at or interested in. Look for problems people have that you can solve with your product. Check out what's popular and in demand to make sure your idea has potential.

2. Define Your Target Audience

Figure out who will buy your product. What do they need? What problems do they have? Make your product something that really helps them. Think about who these people are and keep them in mind while you're making your product.

3. Choose the Right Platform

You can sell on your own website, through a marketplace, or on social media. Think about how many people you can reach, how much it will cost, and how much you can customize your shop on each platform. You might want to use more than one.

4. Create Your Digital Product

Now, make your product. Keep it simple, but make sure it's high quality and easy for people to use.

• Online course - Plan your course and make engaging videos.
• eBook - Write helpful information that solves a problem.
• Templates - Design them well and make sure they're user-friendly.
• Membership site - Keep adding new stuff that only members can access.
• Digital art - Show off your best creative work.

5. Optimize Your Listing

No matter where you're selling, make your product listing stand out.

• Write a clear title and description
• Use keywords that people might search for
• Put up great pictures
• Highlight the best parts of your product

6. Market Your Product

Tell people about your product:

• Use content marketing to draw in your audience
• Send emails to people who might be interested
• Try paid ads for more visibility
• Get affiliates to help spread the word
• Stay active on social media
• Use SEO so people can find you through search engines

Check what's working and do more of that. It takes time and effort to keep sales coming.

Key Takeaways

• Know who you're selling to and make something they'll want
• Pick the best place to sell, thinking about how many people you'll reach and the costs
• Make your product listing as good as it can be
• Use different ways to tell people about your product
• Keep checking your results and improve your strategy

Following these steps can help you do well when selling digital products.

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Success Stories

Here are some inspiring stories of people who made money by selling digital things online:

Online Course Creator Earns Over $100k a Year

John worked as a web developer but wanted to start his own business. He decided to make an online course about JavaScript because he knew a lot about it.

John spent 4 months making videos for his course and setting up his website on Teachable. He offered some lessons for free to people on his email list and gave discounts to the first 10 who signed up. This helped him get his first sales.

Two years later, John makes more than $8,000 every month from his course. He left his developer job to work on making more courses full-time. John plans to make courses for other programming languages like Python and Java.

Key Takeaways:

• Use what you already know to make an online course
• Promote your course with email lists and discounts
• Listen to feedback to improve your course

Stay-at-Home Mom Sells Printables for Over $5k a Month

Sarah found it hard to work as a freelance graphic designer while taking care of her kids. She decided to sell printable art and stationery instead.

Sarah spent $15 to buy a domain name and used a free blog platform to set up her site. Every week, she designed new printables like calendars and planners.

In a year, Sarah was making more than $5,000 a month from her Etsy shop and her own website. This income allowed her to stay at home with her kids while still making good money.

Key Takeaways:

• Find a creative area you enjoy
• Use sites like Etsy to reach more people
• Keep making new products

Musician Releases 5 Albums and Earns $30k

Amanda had written over 100 songs but didn't know how to share them. She decided to release her music online.

It took Amanda a month to set up her website and Bandcamp store. She released her first album and told her social media friends, which helped her sell some copies.

Over 3 years, Amanda released 4 more albums. She now earns about $2,500 a month from Bandcamp. Amanda is working on another album and hopes to double her sales.

Key Takeaways:

• Share your art online
• Tell your friends and followers about your work
• Keep making and sharing new things

These stories show that with hard work, creativity, and regular effort, selling digital products can be a great way to earn money. Whether you're looking for extra cash or a full-time job, digital products offer a flexible option.

Conclusion

Selling digital products is a great way to make money online. It's especially appealing because starting costs are low and you can sell as much as you want without running out of stock.

When thinking about what digital product to sell, it's important to look at a few things. You want to make sure there's a demand for what you're selling, that not too many others are selling the same thing, and that it's something you're good at or interested in. Popular choices include online courses, eBooks, templates, membership sites, and creative stuff like music and art.

Where you decide to sell your product matters too. If you sell from your own website, you have more control but need to work harder to bring in customers. Selling through a marketplace or on social media is easier in terms of getting eyes on your product, but they take a cut of your sales and limit how much you can customize your shop. Mixing both methods might give you the best results.

No matter what you choose to sell or where, putting effort into making a quality product, making sure your online shop looks good, and using different ways to tell people about your product is key. Always check to see how things are going and make changes if you need to. It might take some time, but with patience and hard work, selling digital products can become a reliable way to earn money.

Getting into selling digital products is pretty easy, which means just about anyone can give it a try and potentially do well. With the right approach, it can turn into a main job and bring in a steady income for a long time.

Related Questions

Where is the best place to sell digital products?

Some top spots for selling your digital stuff include:

• LearnWorlds: Awesome for online courses. It's straightforward to set up.
• Shopify: A big name in online stores. Offers lots of ways to make your shop your own.
• Payhip: Good for digital downloads. Not too expensive and easy to add to your site.
• Sellfy: All about digital goods. Nice design and tools for spreading the word.
• Creative Market: Perfect for creative things like designs, fonts, and templates.
• Thinkific: A lot like LearnWorlds, with special tools for courses.
• SendOwl: Helps you sell and send digital items easily.

Is selling digital products profitable?

Yes, it can make you good money because:

• Starting doesn't cost much - No need to worry about keeping stock or shipping.
• You can sell the same thing over and over with little extra work.
• You keep more of what you earn per sale since there's less overhead.
• You can sell to anyone, anywhere, as long as they're online.

Digital items can also be less of a hassle to manage once they're up and running.

What is the most popular digital product?

Popular digital items include:

• eBooks - For learning or entertainment.
• Software/SaaS - Apps for web and mobile, tools for websites.
• Graphics - Pictures, design templates, fonts.
• Audio - Music, podcast recordings, sound clips.
• Video - How-to videos, online classes, clips for projects.
• Photography - Stock photos and editing presets.

eBooks are especially popular, but software and design stuff are also in high demand.

How do you sell digital products and earn?

Here's a simple plan:

• Think of a product idea that people might want.
• Figure out who would want to buy it.
• Set up a place to sell it, like your own site or a platform like Etsy.
• Make your digital product the best it can be.
• Tell people about it in different ways.
• Check how things are going and make changes if needed.

Keep making new things, promote them to your audience, and offer great service to keep customers coming back. This way, you can build up a steady flow of income over time.