Best Digital Products to Sell Online in 2023

As you might already know, selling digital products is a low-cost and easy way to get extra money. However, your product’s quality and marketing prowess will determine its success. If everything goes as planned, this passive income might make you richer than your current employer.

You could wish to succeed on a huge scale or want a passive income source that could ultimately grow to replace your job. Whatever your motive, finding new ways to work from home while diversifying your income is a smart move.

But what kind of digital product should you create, and how should you market it? We’ll read along as we explain all the basics of digital product marketing and help you choose what digital product to create and sell.

What Are Digital Products, and Why Are They Popular?

A product was traditionally tangible to differentiate itself from service until the Internet revolutionized business.  As more company owners launch their ventures online, a new class of products has emerged thanks to the Internet.

The products that are available online and provide you with information or entertainment in exchange for money are called digital products. Any item you sell online that doesn’t have a tangible shape or substance is a digital product.

The major “digital products” are streaming movies, TV shows, video games, software, and applications. These are likely the first items that come to mind. We also refer to products like templates, audio and video files, ebooks, online courses, and PDFs.

Furthermore, you may convert digital products into tangible products. As an illustration, many individuals purchase ebooks in PDF format, which they subsequently print. Although it was first in a digital form, the product can eventually take on a physical shape.

Why Should I Sell Digital Products?

There are several benefits to producing digital products instead of physical ones, which we will discuss shortly. Some may wonder why someone would go through the trouble of making a digital product, promoting it, and selling it. You might not have the necessary skills or understanding to produce digital items and struggle to make your first products since you have so much to learn to become a professional in this field. 

But consider the following points: why it’s a good idea to sell digital items and why they win over physical ones. These reasons might motivate you to create your first digital product.

1. Super Easy to Market and Manage

You may avoid paying for digital goods’ production, storage, or delivery. It has the potential to be incredibly easy to sell, making it the perfect side business. You can still gain passive money by selling digital products if you are busy working all day.

2. Provides a Worldwide Advertising and Marketing Opportunity

If you pick the right type of digital product to sell, many people could be interested in your offer. This implies you can promote your additional endeavors or job through digital products.

Additionally, the sale of your digital output is unrestricted. You may argue that selling it globally isn’t all that possible since it’s your first product. However, even the tiniest items are large enough to service a worldwide market without geographical restrictions.

3. Digital Products Generate More Income Than Physical Products

You can make many digital products with little work, effort, and time. Moreover, unlike building an entire inventory or renting a site, online marketplaces and e-commerce technologies are comparatively cheap. This suggests the possibility of greater profit margins.

When compared to physical items, digital products have better profit margins. And because you don’t have to spend money making new units, that margin increases over time.

Best and Most Profitable Digital Products to Sell Online

After briefly discussing basic definitions and challenges, let’s move on to the main subject. After all, you’ll want to sell the digital goods that are the most profitable.

We’ve included several options, many of which you may produce and market straight on an internet marketplace. So, without further ado, let’s examine this list of digital items and consider how they may help expand your career.

1. Ebooks

Selling ebooks can provide a significant profit. They are among the most popular information products people enjoy purchasing with their hard-earned money.

Day after day, more people are reading electronic books. According to Statista, in the US, eBook sales in 2021 totaled 1.1 billion dollars. And because sales are continuing on the rise, this is the ideal time for you to create your own and take a piece of the action.

But don’t worry; you don’t have to be Stephen King to write well-selling material. Instead, just write about what you are familiar with; there are a variety of unexpectedly lucrative ebook niches, particularly in the non-fiction and instructional categories.

You might make your works available as audiobooks to reach an even bigger audience of casual listeners. You may also sell shorter materials like how-to manuals, diet plans, fitness programs, blueprints, and other documents if you don’t have time to produce a whole ebook.

2. Online Courses

You can build a new source of income by turning what you know into online teaching. For teachers and tutors, an online course is generally the best choice.

People are keen to study from home, whether they want to master a new hobby or develop their careers. Online courses are much easier to teach and take less effort to manage. Additionally, formal training as a teacher is unnecessary.

You can teach in an online course by text, video, and audio resources like an in-person course. Students may complete your course at their own pace without rushing or worrying about missing deadlines. This increases the appeal of online courses over physical ones.

If you’ve decided to start an online course business, you can check out our article on the best online course WordPress themes.

3. Subscriptions and Memberships

A membership is the ideal digital product for you to offer if you want to generate continuing income by developing and supporting a community. A membership website will generate passive monthly income if you can set up subscriptions or a membership system for your courses.

Students may participate in exclusive discussion groups, workshops, and Q&A sessions by purchasing a community membership. They also contribute a consistent, predictable revenue stream for you, their instructor, when they subscribe.

4. Music

If you’re a gifted musician, you might want to consider making money online by selling music and anything associated with music.

Selling licenses is the most simple example of this. Countless producers, YouTubers, and filmmakers need unique music and sound effects for their projects. So you may charge these organizations and people for a license that allows them to use your music without violating their copyrights.

If you have a fan base, you could sell entire albums or individual song downloads via your website store on streaming platforms like Spotify. Another option is to sell sheet music and music-related information items like an online drum or guitar courses.

5. Digital Art

Digital art has a vast market, so make the most of your abilities and convert your pastime into a source of cash. For instance, new firms usually want competent designers to create unique brand logos. While online logo builders offer small businesses a cost-effective choice, they fall short of what a talented graphic designer can produce. With this, you can set higher prices for your services.

Other popular art-related digital items include brand kits, backdrops, emotes, badges, banners, and 3D artwork. You might offer add-ons for well-known graphic design tools in addition to making your original designs. The current need for brushes, gradients, and palettes for programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate makes this a sector worth investigating.

6. NFTs

Non-fungible tokens are referred to as NFTs. These items are a recent addition to the cryptocurrency community and a component of the Ethereum blockchain.

Investing in NFTs is risky. The price of this kind of digital art can fall to 0 in one night and rise to thousands in the other. Creating NFT will be too easy for you if you already make digital art. But if you don’t like to create NFTs, you can purchase existing NFTs and sell them on various online markets for quick cash.

Moreover, many markets, including OpenSea, make it simple to create your NFTs. But if you create the NFT, you will receive royalty income every time your NFT takes part in a transaction. This is the most effective strategy for generating passive income from NFTs.

7. Photographs

The need for high-quality pictures never goes away. If you enjoy taking pictures, you may profit from your passion by selling your images online.

Selling stock pictures on websites like Shutterstock is one method, but it may be challenging to stand out and generate sales in such a competitive industry. Selling client-commissioned images, event photography services (weddings, birthdays, etc.), and portraits could be more successful.

Whatever path you choose, having a strong photographic portfolio that highlights your greatest work is essential. By doing this, you’ll stand out from the crowd.

8. Statistics and Data

Gathering one’s research and data might take a lot of time. In addition, some people may not want to spend the necessary time compiling the information in one place.

This is where you step in. Selling data, such as knowledge about your sector or research findings, may be incredibly successful. Those who purchase the data can use it to help guide their enterprises.

9. Podcasts

Most people create and share podcasts to advertise their products or brand. However, you may create podcasts requiring subscriptions to gain access or require the listeners to pay to offer additional information or in-depth advice.

Moreover, you can start a podcast with a monthly subscription system. The only difference between this method and a typical membership site is that you need to only produce audible files.

Using a freemium service is another option. Those interested can tune in for free, but they can gain access to many bonus content and features if they pay a fee.

10. Software and Applications

Developing and selling new software can provide you with additional earnings and help you advertise your future projects in the software. By doing quick research, you will notice that some of the most famous tools and software have generated millions since their release.

In recent years, the trend has shifted away from license-based software sales to subscription-based business models. In other words, your clients pay a small monthly price to utilize your program. The subscription system has more potential for profit than licensing in many respects. You only receive payment once for selling licenses. The client will never be required to pay you again. You may choose the best payment arrangement for your business and finances.

It’s conceivable that applications surpassed software programs in popularity. Despite utilizing a different platform, they essentially accomplish the same task. For instance, individuals used their computers to play games they installed through CD-ROM.

Nowadays, people use apps to play games on their portable devices. While some applications are free but have in-app purchases for extra features, advantages, or information, others cost money to be downloaded and utilized.

You don’t have to develop an app from scratch. If you have an idea of what you want, you can hire a freelance developer to do all the work for you. Successful business owners often follow this strategy.

11. Games

Games are the most popular entertainment in the world. Although you may argue that developing a game would take much more time than developing an app, much more people will possibly play your game than use your application. Thus, the game will generate much more income than an app.

Moreover, you don’t need to create a full-fledged AAA title. Many 2D or indie games have been sold over a million times. The premise is what is important and not the graphics or gameplay.

Like application development, consider hiring a game developer if you lack programming and game development expertise.

Consider the marketing effort required for a simple smartphone game versus a challenging story-driven console game when selecting what kind of game you want to advertise. Smaller games could provide a quicker path to financial success.

12. Printables

There is a market for printables. Whether you sell coloring pages, children’s workbooks, posters, or birthday cards, there is a market for them.

Prints of artwork, stickers, and printables are some of the most well-liked and profitable digital products. Printables can offer a low-cost, high-profit solution to increase your revenue, whether trying to make some extra money passively or satisfy your creative itch.

13. Templates

Everyone from resume designers to WordPress bloggers might benefit from a head start on their current projects.

The time and effort required to construct a website from scratch can be saved by starting with a template. They may also use it to crunch some figures in Excel quickly, plan their marketing strategy, make personalized business cards, send out their wedding invites on time, and polish their résumé.

Clients may use templates for everything from interior design to music creation.

With these resources, you may get creative if you ensure they go beyond the free examples available online. It would help if you made your template so complex that you wouldn’t dare distribute it for free.

Where to Start Selling Digital Products?

It will help if you choose the platform on which you will offer your product beforehand based on your financial capabilities. Making a list of all the available platforms with their advantages and disadvantages would help you decide which is the best.

Further factors to consider include the ease of use and the level of control over your company’s design. Last but not least, you must be aware of the differences between a marketplace and your online storefront

Ecommerce

Ecommerce solutions charge you for the option to have your digital storefront that is tailored to your brand and doesn’t take a cut of your sales or feature a rival’s product on your listings.

Utilizing a template is a great way to reduce the time and energy needed to create a website from scratch. Some of the most well-known internet markets include:

• BigCommerce
• Podia
• SendOwl
• Gumroad
• Thinkific

Online Marketplaces

These marketplaces have no subscription system but will take a percentage of your total income. Therefore, you won’t be paying the platform anything if you don’t make any sales, but your fees will increase in proportion to your revenue.

These platforms will introduce your product to many clients, leaving your brand unnoticed since the platform’s logo will be over your product, and it will also offer digital products made by others as relatable searches. Since you must start somewhere, online marketplaces will offer you the spark you need. 

How to Market Digital Products?

Since there are too many strategies to advertise and market your products, there is no exact strategy for this one, and which ones are most effective will mostly rely on the platform you’re using and what you’re selling. However, you should follow a few guidelines in all situations.

Don’t rely solely on the selected platform to promote your products. You can’t expect a lot of traffic just by being present on Etsy or Amazon, for instance, if you choose to sell there. Social media is the best place to advertise and promote your digital products. Try to build a following on the most famous ones. Imitation can be the best way to spark new ideas, so try to follow successful projects and imitate their strategies.

Cooperation and partnership are also other ways of learning and marketing your product. Contact people who have already succeeded in selling digital goods and ask them for advice or even a collaboration. Ask them to advertise your product and offer them a percentage of your income if they want it. Then, you can cut the collaboration on your future products after the snowball rolls.

Create, Market, and Sell the Most Profitable Digital Products!

Selling digital products online is much simpler, thanks to eCommerce platforms like Sellfy. It’s a pretty easy and efficient method of earning money online.

On this list, maybe you discovered some fantastic concepts for digital products. Then, once you have found the best choice, you should study some articles on how to create your chosen product successfully.

After all, whether the project is a big success or an embarrassing disaster depends on the quality of the digital product and your marketing abilities.

FAQ

Is it profitable to offer digital products?

Yes, selling digital products can be quite successful. Additionally, there aren’t as many administrative expenses and fees for selling physical products. Selling digital goods online can be highly successful, as you make the appropriate product selections and effectively advertise your offerings.

Is it possible to sell digital goods on social media?

You can sell digital products on Social Media and promote them on different pages. However, using websites like Amazon and Etsy to sell digital products is becoming typical. Additionally, using Facebook advertisements and social media might be a terrific approach to selling your goods.

What digital product has the most chance of selling in the market?

The top-selling digital products are graphic design templates, downloadable prints, music, audio, and stock photos.