What is a Digital Product?
How many types of digital products do you know?
A digital product is a digital good that is created, sold, and purchased online and sometimes even consumed online.
It is an intangible asset or piece of media that can be sold and distributed repeatedly without the need to replenish inventory.
Unlike the physical products you buy online, which need to be Packed in a box and shipped, digital products often come in the form of downloadable or streamable digital files, such as MP3s, PDFs, videos, plug-ins, and design assets and you get them instantly after purchase
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Advantages of selling digital products
Selling digital products presents many advantages that make such a venture uniquely attractive to entrepreneurs. Here are a few I can think of;
Low overhead costs.
Digital products eliminate the need to hold inventory or own warehouses. Hence no shipping charges for you to incur
High-profit margins.
once a digital product is created, it can be sold and resold as many times as possible with no recurring cost of goods. For this reason, you retain the majority of your sales profit
Automation potential.
since Orders can be delivered instantly, once properly set up u get the chance to flex and do other things with the extra time on your hands.
Product Flexibility.
You can offer free products to build your email list or fanbase if you are a musician. or get monthly paid subscriptions for access to your exclusive digital content. Digital products present many ways to incorporate them into your business.
An opportunity to expand your business.
You can sell different types of digital products together and this presents a chance to expand your business. E-learning is an example digital product whose industry is fast growing. Expanding your reach to such an industry is gonna be worth your while!
Challenges You should be aware of
Digital products are not all that is glorious! and there is hardly ever any opportunity without challenges. So if you plan on selling digital products, watch out for the following:
You are competing with free content.
With any digital product, consumers can probably find free alternatives to what you’re selling because there are lots of options to choose from. So think carefully about the niche you target, the types of digital products you sell, and your product descriptions. You’ll also want to offer high-quality products and know-how to build your brand to compete.
And there was Piracy!
while you are struggling to build a business and make a living, there is always someone out there trying their best to take food out of your mouth. You need to take precautions and reduce these risks by learning about and using the right tools to protect your products.
Payment brouhahas.
For example, getting a merchant Paypal account to sell on your personal website is almost impossible in countries with the Paypal ban. The limitations of having very few payment options for your customers are always a major concern
There is hardly any problem without a solution ad Most of these challenges can be overcome,
Nsay digital marketplace to sell any digital product
So what type of digital product can I sell?
Here are some digital products you already know and use! why drift too far from the canvas? Let’s start with the most common and walk our way down, shall we?
Music and Audio
Music and Audio are powerful mediums for communicating a message.
People pay for audio files that entertain them, soothe them, inform them, inspire them and help them achieve business goals.
Audio products can include:
- Audiobooks
- Music
- Musical samples
- Recorded lectures
- Karaoke versions of popular songs
- Reusable sound effects
- Full lyrical or instrumental music tracks
eBooks
eBooks are one of the most popular digital products for both creators and customers. They are relatively simple to produce since they require little more than written text and a few relevant images.
eBooks are simple to distribute on large marketplaces or self-created online stores. They’re easily consumed by customers, who can read them on e-readers, tablets, computers, and even their mobile phones.
The beauty of creating eBooks is that you can share almost anything you know or are passionate about. You can educate, advise, or curate existing content with an eBook to then sell on your website.
Online Courses
Online courses are huge right now. e-Learning is an industry in its own right. There is a lot of innovation, huge growth, and momentum in this space.
As it grows, we are starting to see traditional educational institutions explore new ways to make their content available to online learners. There are three basic ways to sell courses online:
- One-off course
- Collection of courses (often with a certificate, degree, or reward given out upon completion)
- Membership/subscription to a catalog of courses
Courses are sold the same way as most other digital products.
Online courses are the sole product of some online businesses. Other businesses use them as a complementary product. For example, a training course is used to help customers succeed with their main product/s.
It used to be really hard to make online courses. Learning Management Systems (LMS) were expensive and hard to use.
But plugins built on top of WordPress make it easy and inexpensive to provide quality training.
Online courses are an amazing opportunity for anyone with knowledge or expertise to share. And YOU are an expert in something. So share it!
There are no limits to the audience you can reach! You are no longer limited by geography, technology, or time.
Video
Video is an extremely popular and effective format for delivering information online. Content can be educational, informative, or entertaining.
It’s more engaging than text. It can be easily consumed by clicking a play button and watching. Some people like watching a video at 1.5x or 2x speed to learn faster.
Users love video, and in many cases are happy to pay for it.
There are many types of videos you can sell:
- Online courses/training
- Stock footage
- Drone footage
- Special effects templates for motion graphics
- AfterEffects Templates
- Product reviews
- Video game reviews or gameplay
If you’re a great public speaker, have a visual-based passion, or just love sharing your thoughts on video, with a little editing time you can sell videos online.
Photography
High-quality, premium photos are one of the most sought-after digital products today. The biggest consumers of online photographs are bloggers and website owners.
There are many types of photos you can sell:
- Portraits
- Stock photos
- Drone photos
- Event photos
- Backgrounds
One challenge is that photography has become a crowded market. It’s hard to sell photos at a high price. It’s difficult to earn what they are worth (often they are given away for free).
However, there are strategies to build a successful business selling photos.
The first thing you need to do is make it very easy to purchase photos. Consider whether you should sell photographs individually or provide unlimited downloads to subscribers.
A good website is a vital part of a photographer’s portfolio. Showcasing your work beautifully is needed to raise your profile.
If you have competitive pricing, and excellent images, it’s possible to do very well selling your independent or client-commissioned photos on your own website.
Graphics and Digital Art
Graphic designers and artists can create a wide variety of unique and valuable products. Selling digital files allows access to a huge customer base.
This is a great way to make money online because it’s repurposing skills you already are using for work.
Examples include:
- Logos
- Brand kits
- Design-templates
- Adobe files and templates (.PSD and . AI files)
- PowerPoint themes
- Original artwork
- Clip art
- Stock icons (vectors)
- Card designs
- Patterns
- Brushes
- Backgrounds
Web-based Applications (SaaS)
Web-based applications are similar to software, but are not downloaded from the web and installed on your device or computer.
Instead, this software is run in a web browser. This type of software is also known as SaaS (Software as a Service). These businesses may not be “digital products” in the truest sense, but can be sold the same way. And customers use and perceive them as similar.
Many software creators find themselves faced with the choice between building a web-based SaaS app or a distributed, installable program. The ecosystem for SaaS is huge. Here are some examples, many of the names you’ll be very familiar with
File storage services:
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
Music apps:
- Spotify
- Apple Music
Email marketing platforms:
- MailChimp
- Constant Contact
Online learning:
- Udemy
- Skillshare
Software
The software industry is huge and consistently growing due to the fact that People use computers and mobile devices every day. Code writers and product developers can make apps that people want and need to speed up business tasks and daily life. Software can be the most profitable digital product.
From large enterprises to small businesses, down to individual users, here are just a few of the types of software products you can make and sell:
- WordPress plugins
- WordPress themes
- Video games
- Windows Apps
- Mac Apps
- Linux Apps
- iPhone Apps
- Android Apps
- Web-based apps (Saas) more on that below
You can turn code into cash.
It is safe to say you are only limited by your imagination as far as digital products go. Remember people spend money to get value and any digital product you chose to sell should fulfill a need.
