Are you looking to make an extra $1000 a month without working more hours? You can do so by selling digital products!
Selling digital products is a booming side hustle in this digital age. Digital products can be so many different things, such as digital wedding invitations, e-books, Canva templates, stock photos, and more. And if you have a knack for creating these products, you have the potential not just to earn a decent passive income, but also to build a lucrative business, paving your way towards financial freedom.
Don’t believe me?
Nikki Puls shared on Business Insider that she’s made a six-digit income selling an e-book, e-book template, and email course, allowing her to quit her 9-5 job. The most exciting part is that working on this side hustle takes less than five hours a week.
Consider following the path of self-published authors, such as JM Dalgliesh, who wrote the crime novel Divided House. Initially rejected by traditional publishers, JM Dalgliesh tried the self-publishing route and eventually became one of the best-selling authors on Amazon Kindle. He then landed a book deal in the UK.
Or, learn from Katya Varbanova, who got tired of her 9-5 job at the bank and ventured into making and selling Canva templates. She sold thousands of her 100 Viral Content Templates in the first three weeks, bringing in millions in revenue.
Take, for instance, Rachel Jimenez. She, too, experienced burnout in her day job and decided to take action. By learning how to create and market printables on Etsy, she can now bring in a substantial income from her side hustle. Her sales have skyrocketed to over $77,000.
These are but a few examples of people who have found success selling digital products. I’m not saying you’ll be just as successful on your first try, but with guts, grit, and commitment, you could also quit your tedious, unfulfilling job and make money from your passion – selling digital products online.
What is a digital product?
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A digital product exists digitally. It is consumed through an electronic device, such as your computer, tablet, or smartphone, and can be sold to and downloaded by others. Some of the best examples of digital products you probably use are printables, templates, stock photos, and digital art.
While most digital products are intended for use in the digital space, some can be downloaded and turned into physical products. For example, one may purchase a custom-made digital wedding invitation or art print on Etsy. Once you download the file, you can print it out and use it physically.
Why sell digital products?
But why sell digital products? Is there really good demand for them? And what about the costs of running this business?
I tell you this: selling digital products is cheaper, more convenient, and straightforward than selling physical products.
You do not have to worry about shipping costs because digital products can be accessed online. You also do not need to keep a physical inventory of the products. Customers worldwide may purchase and access your digital products with their fingertips.
In many cases, creating digital products is also cheaper. You only need good software to create, format, and publish your products, and you can sell them immediately. With low start-up costs, anyone can make and sell digital products.
And, of course, my favorite aspect of selling digital products is passive income. Once your products are up for sale on your website or online store, you do not have to do anything else. You don’t have to operate the store like a physical business, thus allowing you to make money while you sleep. One product can be sold repeatedly, and you only need to put in the initial effort of creating it.
Best Digital Products to Sell to Make Money
Digital products are not created equally, so you want to know the best digital products to sell before you venture into this business. Consider looking into your skills and interests, doing market research, spying on potential competitors, and building your business from there. While it seems easy to get into the business of selling digital products, you want to be fully prepared and level your expectations as you go into it.
So, here’s a list of the best digital products to sell to make money:
1. E-books
E-books or electronic books are great digital products to sell in 2024. Anyone can write an e-book about their passion and interests, so there’s no limit to what you can write in your book. But if you want it to be a more fun and easy process, start with a topic that you are most interested in and know by heart. Whether you are passionate about traveling or have insightful parenting advice to share with others, consider writing an e-book to generate income.
It is essential to narrow down your niche and target a specific audience. While you can write a cookbook on just about anything, you want to be more concise and specific, so write about vegan, gluten-free, all BBQ recipes, etc.
Self-publishing an e-book is also more accessible and more convenient, all thanks to platforms like Amazon Kindle. Gone are the days when an author needs to pitch to hundreds of agents and publishing houses. You can self-publish your e-books with just a few taps and clicks on the computer.
Like most digital products, e-books provide an excellent source of passive income. Rachel Richards is one of the finest examples who has found stunning success selling e-books. In 2017, Rachel, a skilled financial advisor and analyst, found an innovative way to make personal finance more engaging by authoring an e-book titled Money Honey.
Within a few months of self-publishing her book, Rachel’s exceptional prowess in personal finance began generating a substantial income, reaching $1,500 in monthly sales. Her efforts brought her financial success and provided valuable guidance and support to individuals seeking to improve their financial well-being.
2. Printables
Printables are one of the best digital products that almost anyone can make and sell. They can be downloaded and printed for any purpose. There is a wide range of printables, from coloring books for kids and menu and budget planners for parents to wall art prints, stickers, journals, school worksheets, and so much more. Your customers can purchase, download, and print these digital files repeatedly.
What’s appealing about making printables is that you can do them using an image editing software of your choice. I personally like Canva because it is easy to use and navigate. You may also use Adobe Illustrator or InDesign, as well as Microsoft Office or PowerPoint. You don’t have to be an expert graphic designer to create and design printables, but having a good grasp of the app or software can speed up the process.
As Rebecca Beach proves, potential income from selling printables online is nothing to scoff at. This mom makes over $30,000 a month by selling them. She believes you should sell printables to multiply your income if you have a blog. She once wrote a blog about saving money on a cruise, then made a printable cruise planner. Genius!
Then there’s Lisa Fink, who makes over $400,000 a year selling educational printables to fellow teachers. She built her website ThinkTankTeacher.com and opened her printables business via Teachers Pay Teachers. She sells no-prep and engaging printables to supplement teachers’ lesson plans. In her third month, she began consistently making five figures a month from this business, allowing her to quit her job and focus on this lucrative venture.
Learn how to get started with selling printables by taking this FREE workshop. Jody and Cody’s students have earned over $500,000 selling printables on Etsy. Check out the workshop to learn more!
Related:
- How to Create Printables to Sell Even When You Don’t Have Experience
- How to Make Money Selling Canva Templates
- 40 Etsy Shop Ideas: Best Products To Sell This Year
3. Online courses
Online courses are also goldmines for earning a passive income. And just like writing an e-book, you can create and sell online courses about anything as long as you provide value to your audience. Therefore, it’s wise to create an online course on a topic you’re already an expert in or are passionate about.
Make a quick search on Udemy and Skillshare, two of the leading platforms for online courses. You’ll find everything from digital marketing to music, lifestyle productivity, and more. You can teach your students valuable skills and techniques to help them excel at whatever they’re studying.
It’s important to remember that many things go into making online courses, so expect the production process to be somewhat tedious. There are online courses that have tons of written materials, cheat sheets, worksheets, video tutorials, or combinations of these. You also have to explain the course in detail, ensuring that it provides valuable insights and is helpful to your audience.
Selling online courses can be lucrative, too. Kat Norton, also known as Miss Excel, started her online course business teaching Excel on TikTok. She did it for fun, but her videos began getting picked up not just by her audience but by clients as well. She was hired to create Excel training courses, which made her more serious about her business. Today, Kat is working full time creating and selling online courses on Excel, making over $1 million in sales, and allowing her to quit her day job.
4. Membership Sites
If you have a knack for nurturing an online community and providing valuable insights and wisdom, consider making and selling membership sites. This side hustle can be initially tedious as you create content for your audience. Still, it can generate a passive income as members renew their memberships to access your content.
Membership sites provide access and support not typically available in online communities, making them more valuable and worth paying for. As the owner and content creator, you need a unique enough offer that entices members to pay and renew their subscriptions. You may offer your content on a monthly subscription or tiered membership basis. To encourage more sign-ups, consider offering free content or a free trial period.
If you’re an expert or knowledgeable in your niche, setting up a membership site, offering online courses, or writing an e-book can boost your income. Remember to ensure the quality and relevance of your content so members keep coming back for more.
5. Stock photos
Can you capture images with a “wow” factor? If so, you could very well make money from stock photos. Stock photos are one of the easiest digital products you can sell and generate passive income from. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to sell stock photos but investing in a decent camera and learning a few photography skills would be nice.
Stock photos are in great demand, especially among business owners, content creators, and social media managers. To set yourself apart from others, consider niching down your stock photography. You may shoot lifestyle photos, product photos, nature photos, and more.
Once you have a solid collection of stock photos, you can sell them on your website (on a subscription basis) or upload them on stock photo websites where you make money from royalties or per download.
6. Digital art
If you enjoy graphic design work, venture into creating and selling digital art to make an extra $1000 a month. Digital art is any art form produced with digital technology, ranging from products like logos, emotes, icons, patterns, backgrounds, digital painting, vectors, 3D art, and so much more. And you don’t have to be an expert graphic designer to create digital art. There is plenty of user-friendly software that you can use to produce them, such as Procreate, Corel, and Adobe Photoshop.
Businesses and entrepreneurs always look for custom-made digital art, whether a business logo or branding elements. They may also ask you to create custom banners and animations, which require more talent and skill and pay more.
Tip: If you’re into making digital art, it also pays to study how to leverage AI in producing stunning digital art. One good example is MidJourney, a platform that allows you to create custom images through prompts.
7. Canva templates
Canva is the best platform for graphic design, and anybody can use it to create different types of digital products. One of the hottest products you can make on Canva is templates. Canva templates are used by many people, from students doing their homework, teachers creating supplemental visuals, bloggers, and influencers to business owners who need to post on their social media consistently.
Simply put, Canva templates are in huge demand, and they’re one of the best digital products you can make right now.
But what are Canva templates? Well, they’re templates made within Canva. They are editable by another Canva user (aka your customer), allowing them to change the colors, font, images, and other branding elements. Instead of designing from scratch, they use these pre-made templates to speed up the process.
The good news is that Canva is easy-to-use, intuitive, and anyone can start using it for free. It also constantly rolls out new features, adding more to its functionality. And, as with all the digital products mentioned here, Canva templates can be a source of passive income. Once you’ve produced a stunning template, you can sell it over and over again.
8. Print-on-demand designs
Another type of digital product worth considering, especially if you’ve got a creative flair, is print-on-demand designs. POD is a business model wherein a designer uploads his or her artwork on a platform and a customer pays to have such design imprinted on physical products, such as T-shirts, hoodies, caps, and mugs. As a designer, you focus only on creating captivating visuals while the third-party company prints, packs, and ships the products for you.
POD is a great business model in that anyone can do it. You don’t even have to be an expert designer but have an eye for what makes a design standout. It’s also great to pick a niche, research that niche, and come up with relatable POD designs for your target audience.
Many people have found success with selling POD designs. Gina Van De Voorde had zero experience when she started, but she was able to earn over $500,000 from this business. She researched niches after work hours, created her designs on Canva, and over time, learned what worked and what didn’t. She now only spends a few hours a week running this business, allowing her more time to do other things she loves.
Best Places to Sell Digital Products
Now that you’ve learned the best digital products to sell in 2024, it’s time to learn where to market them. While there are plenty of places where you can sell digital products, the ones below are the most accessible, reputable, and proven by other creators.
1. Etsy
Many digital product creators use Etsy to market their items. Etsy is already established with 95 million active buyers. This massive e-commerce platform is also very easy to navigate and set up, even by inexperienced creators, making it a great starting point for selling digital products. Some of the best digital products you can sell on Etsy are printables, art prints, clipart and graphics, digital invitations, guides and e-books, and Canva templates.
2. Gumroad
Like Etsy, Gumroad is another brilliant platform for selling digital products. Here you can sell e-books, music, digital art, software, stock photos, templates, and so much more. It is easy to use and set up, you can set your own price, and can even integrate this platform into your website.
3. Shopify
Shopify is also an excellent e-commerce platform to sell both digital and physical products. It has a website builder so you can build your shop without coding or technicalities. Plus, you can choose the look of your store from tons of Shopify’s templates. Some of the best digital products to sell on Shopify include e-books, digital art, stock photos, Canva templates, and printables.
4. Amazon Kindle
Kindle is Amazon’s very own digital publishing house. As Amazon is already an established name, publishing on Kindle makes it easy to market your digital products. Amazon Kindle is the best platform to sell your e-books as it is intuitive and easy to use.
5. Podia
Podia is the perfect place to sell several types of digital products, including your online courses, digital downloads, and membership sites. You have more freedom designing your storefront on Podia and it works well with most email providers.
6. Teachable
If you are looking for the best place to sell digital online materials, Teachable is the answer. It instantly creates an online school for you when you sign up for an account, allowing you to easily upload your learning courses and downloadable files.
You can start using Teachable without paying anything. Sign up for their free plan before you even start earning. No credit card required.
7. SendOwl
Another platform worth considering is SendOwl, where you can sell almost all sorts of digital products, from e-books, online courses, stock photos, and more. SendOwl can be integrated into your website and payment processor (such as PayPal or Stripe) and provides instant product delivery once an order is completed.
8. Thinkific
If you are looking for the best place to sell your online course, Thinkific is one of them. Thinkific handles most of the legwork for managing and selling your online courses. You can sell your courses in a “drip” manner wherein students access your course as you release it and host a wide range of multimedia files to support your course (PDFs, videos, etc). Students also have the option to sign up on a membership or subscription basis.
Key Takeaways
There you have it, the best digital products to sell online in 2024. Digital products are amazing sources of passive income. You just need to put in the effort once, and you can sell them over and over again without putting in the same amount of effort again.
Whether you’re looking for a full-fledged business venture you can run from home (or remotely anywhere) or make some extra money to supplement your full-time income, selling these digital products is worth considering. Also, make sure to research the best places to sell digital products and find ones that align with your business goals.
Which digital product are you itching to create and sell this year? Let us know in the comments.