What Are Digital Products? 10 Best Digital Products that You Can Sell Online

Ryan Patrick

• 10 min read
What Are Digital Products? 10 Best Digital Products that you Can Sell Online

Today, the internet is where business is happening, giving you access to a large audience. Even typical businesses must try to transition to digital platforms and reach more users.

If you're tech-savvy, you can use internet access to earn income selling digital products. But selling digital products is easier said than done, especially when you need help deciding what to sell. The greatest benefit of selling digital products is creating them once, yet selling them indefinitely. They're cheap to produce and take up little space compared to physical products.

Currently, most people shop online, making it the go-to place for anything you may need worldwide. Thus, it's time to start something online and get a piece of the pie. If you have a skill set, you can share it with the world, monetise it and earn revenue for a very long time. Let's look at a list of the 10 best digital products you can sell online.

But first, we'll define digital products.

What is a Digital Product?

Digital products are intangible and only exist in digital format. They include music, ebooks, digital art, online courses, software, virtual services, and video games. After payment, the products are delivered to a customer via email or a download link.

The Best Digital Products to Sell Online

If you're ready to venture into eCommerce and sell digital goods, you have hopped onto the right bus to get information. Without much ado, here's a list of 10 best digital products to sell online:

1. Online Courses

Online courses are now the hottest digital products to sell online because their demand always seems strong. Why, the question may linger. Today, the internet is accessible in most parts of the world, and people spend more time at home browsing. Hence, there's a high demand for online courses as people seek to hone their skills or learn something new.

Online courses earn you passive income indefinitely, especially when you create an evergreen course that people need. You can reap benefits from such courses as time passes without struggle.

Traditional educational institutions are also exploring new ways to make their content digital and accessible to online learners. You can sell online courses in three ways:

  • A one-off course
  • A collection of various courses with a prize at the end - a certificate upon completion
  • Pay membership or subscription to a catalogue of courses

In the past, creating online courses through learning management systems (LMS) was expensive and challenging. However, plugins built on WordPress make it easy and affordable to offer quality training courses. You can share it through an online course if you are knowledgeable or an expert. Plus, you can share the course without limits to people worldwide. Here are the pros and cons of selling online courses.

Pros:

  1. Highly profitable
  2. A beginner doesn't need a huge audience
  3. Use existing skills to educate others
  4. Online courses are scalable to sell to an unlimited audience, and you don't need physical space or resources
  5. Creating online courses is flexible, and you can cover different topics and update them anytime
  6. Online courses have a global reach, meaning you are not limited to geographical limitations

Cons:

  1. Launching a successful course is an art.
  2. Creating an online course is time-consuming.
  3. The course must be valuable to compete with free content, which is easily accessible.

2. eBooks

eBooks are popular digital products among creators and customers. Since they consist only of written text and relevant images, they're easy to produce and distribute on large marketplaces or self-created online stores.

Customers can easily consume eBooks since they're accessible on different devices: e-readers, computers, tablets, and mobile phones.

The beauty of eBooks is that you can share anything you're passionate about to educate, advise, entertain, or curate existing content for different audiences.

As you write your eBook, remember that free blog posts are abundant, as well as YouTube tutorials that offer the same information for free. Thus, you must differentiate your content with a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).

A USP can be your reputation as an expert in a certain field or a successful person in a specific niche. Alternatively, you can offer a unique point of view to beat existing free content online. Ensure that your eBooks are perceived as essential for anyone seeking knowledge in that discipline. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of selling eBooks.

PROS:

  1. eBooks are easy to create with minimal production costs compared to printed books.
  2. eBooks can reach a global audience, which expands market potential for growth
  3. After publishing, eBooks can generate passive income as long as they remain relevant and available for purchase online.
  4. Build a personal brand by sharing knowledge on topics you're passionate about

Cons:

  1. The eBook market is highly saturated, making it challenging to stand out and make decent sales.
  2. eBooks are highly prone to piracy, leading to loss of revenue
  3. Some readers prefer reading physical books due to compatibility issues that come with the formatting of eBooks.

3. Tutorials

Tutorials are closely related to online courses but differ in how they're presented to customers. People usually try to get things done independently without hiring an expert or paying for the service. Thus, making a tutorial on "how to" do something will earn you an audience of hands-on individuals.

However, remember that many free tutorials are available online. You can stand out from the free tutorials by delving deeper into a topic on a specific subject than the freebies. Alternatively, you can package different tutorials together like a series to attract customers who appreciate finding all they need in one place.

Pros:

  1. In a tutorial, you have room to dig deeper into a topic, providing in-depth insights and knowledge beyond what freebies offer.
  2. Tutorials offer flexible opportunities for a creator to create content in a particular niche to address specific audience needs
  3. Tutorials will generate a steady income stream when you offer a subscription service so your audience can receive exclusive content monthly.

Cons:

  1. There's stiff competition from free content, which can lower the demand for paid tutorials.
  2. Customers easily question why they buy a paid tutorial over a free option online, leaving doubts about value perception.
  3. Selling individual tutorials limits the scope, reducing revenue potential compared to full courses or memberships.

4. Digital Services

Offering online services like coaching, freelancing, or consulting only needs a few clients who get value for their money. Proper execution of digital services (coaching, consulting) can easily replace your salary if you're doing it long-term.

Services are an excellent complement to digital products like graphic design, creating business logos, or downloadable templates. Anyone with the knowledge and time can become a personal trainer and offer subscribers live personal training sessions or a workout plan. Whatever tasks you complete in your service business, you can digitise them to create additional income avenues.

Pros:

  1. You get to learn your target audience.
  2. Highly profitable
  3. When starting, you need a low-investment

Cons:

  1. No passive income because you must be actively involved
  2. Not as scalable as other digital products
  3. Consumes more ongoing time and energy

5. Software and Apps

The software industry is vast, yet it continues to grow every day, creating many business opportunities for everyone. With people using mobile phones and computers every day, selling digital products like software and apps has never been easier.

Code writers and software developers can make apps that people need to speed up business or make them more effective in fulfilling daily tasks. You can make software and apps for startups, large enterprises or individuals. These digital products can bring a decent income.

  1. Mobile apps
  2. WordPress plugins
  3. Windows apps
  4. WordPress themes
  5. Linux apps
  6. Fitness apps
  7. Mac apps
  8. Project management apps
  9. Web-based apps like SaaS
  10. Video games

Building software or developing apps requires skill, time, and money because, unlike other digital products, developing one app can take months. Additionally, once launched, these products need a lot of maintenance, which translates to more funding and a skilled team to grow the business.

PROS:

  1. A good source of recurring income - monthly
  2. Original software or apps can make you millions
  3. Software brands have high growth potential beyond being small businesses

Cons:

  1. Coding knowledge and a team of developers are a must
  2. More time and money is needed upfront for the investment
  3. There is a high chance of failing

6. Templates

People are looking for a way to have unique templates for various purposes, making them a vibrant business. The internet has a wide range of templates you can create to sell for people looking to make life easier. Some template examples include:

  1. Resumes
  2. Spreadsheet
  3. Cover letters
  4. Web Design
  5. Business planning
  6. PowerPoint

A well-designed template only needs someone to fill in the blanks and produce the desired document result. Templates are highly scalable, but you must sell more for a decent passive income.

Pros:

  1. Templates can be sold repeatedly to generate passive income without additional effort
  2. Templates are highly scalable as they can be duplicated and sold to a large customer base
  3. Templates help customers save time by providing pre-designed solutions for tasks or projects

Cons:

  1. The template market is saturated, and individuals can create the same using free apps online. Hence, it's challenging to make your template unique and appealing compared to what's easily accessible.
  2. Some customers may demand more customisation than the templates offer, leading to dissatisfaction.
  3. Template popularity can lead to copyright infringement, requiring you to have proper legal protection.

7. Recipes

People love delicious meals, not to mention trying new delicacies, and that's not about to change. Although thousands of recipes are online, it takes work to determine who is sharing them or how practical they are.

If cooking and trying new recipes is your forte, you sell them online to interested customers on a private member's site or as an eBook.

But how do you get people to trust and buy your recipe eBook over free offerings?  People will only get to trust your recipe when you add a personal flair.

Pros:

  1. Selling recipes involves low overhead costs.
  2. Cooking happens everywhere, meaning you have a global reach, maximising market potential.
  3. You have the creative freedom to create and sell recipes on different platforms, showcasing your culinary expertise.

Cons:

  1. There's an abundance of free competition offering the same content online.
  2. People may need more time to pay for recipes, making monetisation difficult. However, you can counter this by building a membership program.
  3. Recipes are popular, which means they're susceptible to copyright infringement because they're easily shared. However, the sharing might need to be properly attributed to you or compensated, posing an intellectual challenge.

8. Digital Art

The art industry is continually growing, and if you want to join the revolution, digital art will take you there. The craft allows you to earn a living by doing something you love and selling online. Some digital art products include:

  1. 3D printable designs
  2. NFTs
  3. Original music
  4. Licence-free music
  5. Digital sheet music
  6. Printable wall art
  7. Commissioned digital art
  8. Posters and fliers
  9. Printable colouring books for adults and children
  10. Printable paint-by-numbers overlay

You need an audience that appreciates art to sell your art to. Hence, you need a threshold of digital art to get started, as it will allow your audience to choose what they love.

Pros:

  1. Good source of passive income
  2. Highly profitable
  3. Boosts your brand awareness

Cons:

  1. Building a solid art gallery is time-consuming
  2. You must be exceptionally good to make good revenue
  3. The space is competitive

9. Photography

If you enjoy taking photos as a hobby, you can start making money from them when you digitise your images. There are various ways to sell digital photography online, such as stock photos on different publishing websites.

Since content creation is rampant, the creators need images to add visual elements to landing pages, blog posts, and articles. Hence, more images are in demand every day, and you can move to bridge the gap with your digital images.

Pros:

  1. Photography has a global reach through the internet on various platforms.
  2. Selling images online will help you build a portfolio you can use to impress or attract more clients.
  3. Selling photos online exposes you to bigger opportunities, such as being featured in magazines, galleries, or websites, enhancing your reputation and visibility.

Cons:

  1. Selling photography online is complicated, and you may face legal complexities related to copyright, licensing, or usage rights. Hence, you need expertise and diligence when selling photography online.
  2. Photos sold online are prone to theft or unauthorised use, which can threaten the photographer's intellectual property rights.
  3. As much as photography is in high demand, some images may fluctuate in value depending on trends, economic conditions, or seasons.

10. Digital Audio

Content creators are constantly using video and audio in music clips. Hence, creating more of them will earn you money. Ensure you create original music and videos to avoid copyright infringement problems. Stock music is a niche, and you can use your talent to create this digital product in large volumes, sell it online, and earn income.

Pros:

  1. Creating digital audio uses skills you already have
  2. Low creation time
  3. Build your creative brand awareness

Cons:

  1. The space is highly competitive
  2. You must make significant sales to make a profit
  3. It's only viable when you sell on a platform or social media if your following is massive

Steps to Create and Sell Digital Products

There are plenty of digital products you can create and sell online. All you need is creativity and the right platform to meet potential clients, and you'll earn revenue for a long time. Follow these steps to create and sell digital products:

  1. Identify the digital product you want to create for sale online
  2. Validate your choice of digital product by not committing too much time and money by:
  • Doing a keyword search to find out if the niche or product is trending
  • Search Google Trends to find out what topics are advancing in interest
  • Note what's trending on your Facebook groups
  • Check your product reviews and competitors
  • Start small and grow

3. Create an online store like a website, use existing e-commerce platforms like Shopify, or market them on social media if you have a vast following.

4. Market your digital products

Form Your Company with Incorpuk Today

At Incorpuk, we will help you through the company formation process and file your confirmation statements to help your business stay compliant. Whether you're a UK resident or a non-UK resident, our team is ready to provide guidance and help you establish your company in the UK. Contact us here today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What digital products are in demand and most profitable?

Software and apps are the most profitable digital products, and they are in high demand. You must invest time, money, and skills to build these products, and they also need maintenance after launching to ensure their effectiveness.

Will I make money selling digital products?

Depending on what you're selling, digital products can make you money as a passive stream or a full-time job. You can earn exclusively from selling online courses, tutorials, memberships, or eBooks.

Can I create digital products for free and sell them?

By leveraging free apps like Canva, you can freely create digital products for sale online. Although the platform has subscription plans, the basic plan is a rich resource that can earn you money, as it contains unique, high-quality products.

In Summary

When you decide to sell digital products online, consider your skills or your passion. Imagine earning money, doing something you love and starting a new venture.

Leveraging your skills is a great place to start, but remember not to research people's pain points and offer solutions. Operating from this perspective will earn you miles fast in the digital industry, since you're making informed decisions.

Selling digital products is like selling physical products without the need for inventory. Plus, there are countless ways to create digital products and sell them indefinitely. You must choose your idea, put your creative self to work, and begin selling to earn revenue. Kindly contact one of our experts here if you have any questions about digital products that you can sell online.