What are digital merchandise? The very best instruments to promote them

What are digital merchandise?

You probably have the itch to enter enterprise for your self, however don’t have a particular product already in thoughts, you is likely to be questioning how one can be part of the ranks of profitable on-line enterprise house owners. 

One choice is to promote digital merchandise.

They provide the chance to construct a complete enterprise with out the necessity to consider stock, warehouse house, and transport prices.

Digital merchandise supply a strong, passive earnings alternative as a result of you possibly can, relying on the product, create one thing as soon as and promote it over and over with out producing extra stock, dealing with order success, or persevering with to spend on product updates and upkeep. It’s a super enterprise if you’d like an efficient solution to generate an internet earnings with as few factors of friction as attainable.

Sound like an important alternative? 

In the event you construct on an ecommerce platform like WooCommerce, you’ll profit from built-in digital product gross sales performance. You’ll additionally get limitless customizability and full possession over your on-line presence. That’s why hundreds of thousands of shops around the globe belief Woo. 

As we speak, we’ll stroll you thru the various kinds of digital merchandise you possibly can promote, how to decide on those that finest align along with your creativity and enterprise objectives, and how one can create and promote your digital merchandise on-line.

A digital product is an intangible good accessed through an digital system — issues like ebooks, on-line programs, songs, video games, art work, and software program. 

After a buyer purchases a digital merchandise, a enterprise delivers the digital product in a downloadable format through electronic mail or one other technique. For instance, a online game add-on may seem inside the sport. Or the password to a digital membership library may seem on the post-purchase “thanks” web page. 

New enterprise house owners can determine to promote digital items alone, or ultimately combine in bodily merchandise to enrich their digital property. And current bodily companies can possible discover a approach so as to add just a few worthwhile digital merchandise to their lineup to extend their attain and income potential. 

Now we’ll look into the assorted forms of digital merchandise you possibly can promote on-line and the most effective methods to current and monetize them. You possibly can supply one-off digital downloads, give your clients the choice to buy bundled digital merchandise at a reduction, promote digital memberships and month-to-month or yearly subscription choices for recurring income, and extra.

On-line programs

Keep in mind when sitting in a bodily classroom was your solely choice? As we speak, lifelong pursuits and new abilities are discovered wherever you will have an web connection. 

You possibly can create programs and earn money from sharing your ardour, and also you don’t have to be a world-renowned scholar, school professor, or perhaps a licensed trainer — all you want is recognizable expertise and a want to share it. 

So, what distinctive talent do you will have? What’s one thing you’re deeply enthusiastic about that you simply’d like to share with others? Flip your expertise right into a digital enterprise and host weekly or month-to-month reside lessons or webinars.

Don’t really feel snug on digital camera or just don’t wish to current reside? Take into account providing a pre-made on-line course the place you possibly can share your data by means of downloadable texts and pre-recorded movies.

Construct your web site with WordPress and WooCommerce and use the Sensei Professional extension to create and handle your personal on-line course.

You’ll be capable to promote paid programs as a product straight by means of your website and even create memberships and subscriptions for recurring income. You’ll additionally profit from video course templates, quizzes to check and grade scholar progress, conditions for college students to entry superior content material, flashcard picture hotspot performance, and extra. 

Wish to be taught extra about promoting on-line programs? See how one can arrange Sensei LMS in our information: How one can Promote On-line Programs.

Podcasts and ebooks

Like on-line programs, podcasts and ebooks can assist you monetize your data. Greater than 76 million individuals in the USA listened to podcasts in 2024 — a determine that’s elevated by over 27 million since 2020 and will attain almost 114 million by 2029.

And it’s the identical story for ebooks — with digital readership income extending previous $50 billion yearly.  

Authors can use the built-in digital merchandise providing for WooCommerce to promote their books on-line. Podcasters also can use WooCommerce with integrations like Audio Participant for WooCommerce and WooCommerce Memberships. These let creators promote particular person, premium media information or supply memberships for unique podcast content material.

Memberships and subscriptions

Among the finest issues about on-line programs, podcasts, ebooks, and lots of different digital merchandise, is the power for enterprise house owners to promote them on a recurring foundation. This supplies extra regular, predictable earnings and may actually permit for a really hands-off method to enterprise administration. 

Your clients can join membership or subscription for so long as they wish to preserve entry and your major job (beside advertising and marketing) is to create the content material within the first place or proceed to drip out new content material every week or month to maintain individuals subscribed so long as attainable. 

Digital merchandise for real-world memberships

Digital merchandise will also be tremendous helpful for managing golf equipment which have in-person occasions and conferences. The Kansas Metropolis Parrot Head Membership, for instance, hosts charitable and social occasions every month for its roughly 200 members. Annual memberships, and renewals, together with tickets for particular occasions are managed by means of their website. 

WooCommerce as soon as once more shines on this space with two key extensions: WooCommerce memberships and Woo subscriptions. Collectively, they work to create a membership choice with recurring billing capabilities. 

WooCommerce Memberships permits you to present managed entry to gated areas in your website with libraries of unique content material, entry to unique communication channels, and reductions for different merchandise obtainable in your website. 

Woo Subscriptions permits you to cost recurring funds for auto-shipped merchandise at common intervals — however it additionally unlocks the recurring billing choice for memberships so you possibly can cost clients a set price every month (or different applicable interval). It additionally permits for members to handle their subscription and pause or cancel on their very own. 

The very best Patreon different 

In the event you like the thought of offering a membership choice to followers or making a group of supporters who get rewarded for supporting your artistic work, you might have thought-about Patreon or YouTube channel memberships. 

The issue with these platforms is that you simply’re restricted in design and product choices (having to evolve to their setups for delivering and publishing content material) and are beholden to their phrases of service. 

As an alternative, take a look at WooCommerce because the finest Patreon different. You possibly can present memberships with recurring billing and gated content material, however have full possession of the platform you construct and may customise it in any approach. 

Digital art work and printable downloads

Artists have a beautiful alternative to create digital merchandise. And their on-line affords don’t need to battle with their bodily work. 

You possibly can promote graphic designs to inventory photograph websites for different creators and entrepreneurs to make use of of their work. You possibly can promote artwork designed to be laptop or telephone backgrounds. You possibly can promote digital information of art work for patrons to print on canvas, copy for varsity worksheets, or use in virtually any approach conceivable. 

Flip watercolor artwork into telephone wallpaper. Supply printable downloads of your digital artwork as greeting playing cards. Create posters that your clients can print themselves and body nevertheless they’d like. The choices are actually solely restricted by customers’ imaginations.

For instance, let’s say that you simply promote an illustration of a school soccer stadium. Whilst you can actually supply it in prints that you simply bodily ship to clients, you can additionally supply it as a printable, digital obtain. 

Soccer followers may print it from their dwelling laptop, and even add it to a service like Shutterfly to professionally print it on every part from mugs and wine glasses to notebooks, laptop computer sleeves, and magnets.

You need to use WooCommerce to show and promote all of this stuff and even supply one thing extra distinctive like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), full with a Certificates of Authenticity, by including the Verisart extension. 

Licensed digital property

Creators typically like to increase or modify one other artist’s concept. It supplies inspiration — a leaping off level — to create one thing new. And graphic designers working for artistic businesses, advertisers, or different organizations discover it advantageous to make use of premade property the place attainable to work extra effectively as an alternative of making every part from scratch. 

Take into account offering digital property for different creators to license and use in their very own works. Until you solely supply unique licenses, your one-time creation will be licensed over and over for years — resulting in constant income lengthy after you really did any work. 

Listed here are some examples of licensable digital merchandise:

Whilst you can license these property from your personal WooCommerce website with an extension like License Supervisor for WooCommerce, you also needs to think about providing them by means of a market that has a built-in site visitors supply of individuals seeking to buy licenses. These sorts of marketplaces embody: 

• Canva
• iStock 
• Adobe Inventory
• Unsplash
• Getty 
• Envato Components
• Shutterstock

These platforms supply publicity, however cost a fee for every sale in change. Many inventory picture websites, like Unsplash and Pexels, supply a mixture of choices for customers, together with royalty-free photographs or premium photos. Customers can obtain and use royalty-free photos with no price (some attribution necessities and utilization restrictions apply), whereas premium photos have variable pricing relying on how the picture will likely be used.

Commissioned works as licensed digital merchandise

You’re not restricted to licensing pre-created works. You probably have inventive expertise with a monitor report of efficiency, you possibly can promote commissioned initiatives in virtually any type conceivable. Report a voiceover, write and report customized music, create a graphic design based mostly on a written request. These sorts of artistic providers are offered on a regular basis on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. 

Music, video, and audio

In the event you’re an expert singer or musician, even should you similar to writing and recording music in your spare time, you possibly can promote full songs for obtain or supply snippets for patrons to make use of as ringtones. With Audio Participant for WooCommerce, clients can hearken to your songs or ringtone snippets earlier than they purchase.

Paid newsletters

if in case you have expertise, data, and expertise — in virtually any area of interest conceivable — you will have experience to share with an viewers. You could share this on a weblog to generate natural site visitors, and that’s nice. However you also needs to think about offering unique entry to premium content material. You are able to do this by means of a membership providing, however one other standard choice is to create a paid publication. 

When you’ve demonstrated your experience and constructed a following, you possibly can write a publication at constant intervals (like weekly) and cost for entry. And this doesn’t need to be instructional — anybody with a following (for any motive) can drip content material to followers in change for a price. 

Study extra about how one can create a paid publication by means of a web site and platform that you simply absolutely personal and management. 

Software program licensing

Don’t neglect that software program is a digital product! Construct out your app concept, create a plugin for WordPress, or develop a SaaS program. These sorts of issues are normally a reasonably large endeavor, however they’re nonetheless digital merchandise with a number of potential to generate income. 

WooCommerce is the best platform for doing enterprise on-line. A serious a part of that? The library of extensions obtainable for on-line retailer house owners to rapidly add performance to their website. Certified builders can contribute their extension to {the marketplace}. Study extra right here.

Digital reward playing cards

Digital reward playing cards are an effective way so as to add a handy product choice to your retailer. So even should you do promote bodily merchandise, add an internet reward card choice for one more income alternative with out having to cope with extra stock, SKUs, and success complications. 

In case your retailer runs on WooCommerce, you will have entry to a nice extension that may make this entire course of a snap.  

Digital providers

Do you supply consulting or different providers? You possibly can ship these nearly and let clients schedule their session or appointment with WooCommerce Bookings. 

Now that we’ve reviewed some forms of digital merchandise, let’s check out some actual shops which might be promoting digitally on-line, all with WooCommerce.

French As we speak

French at this time affords all types of tutorial materials to assist individuals learn to converse French the way in which it’s actually utilized in every day life. They provide audiobooks based mostly on quite a lot of expertise ranges and area of interest topics (like verb drills), a month-to-month audio journal subscription, customized Skype French classes, and even studying apps.

CLS by BARBRI

This on-line retailer affords on-line training for people looking for a profession within the authorized subject. College students can select from quite a lot of programs and seek for the proper match based mostly on the college they’re attending, their location, their subject of focus, and extra. Additionally they have a bookstore the place guests should buy the digital textbooks wanted for his or her programs. 

Every course is obtainable solely on-line, and college students can work by means of the themes on their very own time. Along with extra conventional cost strategies, CLS by BARBRI permits clients to pay month-to-month (or in a set variety of installments) to make issues simpler. 

Cosmos Journal 

Cosmos is a print science journal that’s delivered quarterly to devoted subscribers. Their objective is to make science accessible to everybody, no matter their expertise and data stage. They usually do that by means of high-quality photographs, top-knotch writing, and clear explanations. 

Along with their print journal, in addition they have an internet digital version that’s up to date each day, together with digital variations of all of their again points. Lastly, they’ve a membership obtainable that features entry to the digital model of the journal, together with unique options. This is a wonderful instance of how print and digital can exist aspect by aspect.

FilterGrade

FilterGrade is an internet market that gives an enormous library of digital property for creators — Lightroom presets, photograph overlays, Photoshop actions, and extra. Every product is out there in just a few completely different license sorts, with completely different pricing for every.  

TipoType

TipoType affords a catalog filled with high-quality fonts that clients can use for his or her digital and print creations. Every font is out there in quite a lot of kinds and has a number of license sorts relying on the client’s use case. 

Additionally they supply customized providers, reminiscent of customized font licensing, distinctive font variations, and prolonged language protection.

HousingWire

HousingWire is a digital library of data particularly for the true property trade. There are particular person and group licenses obtainable, and clients can select between a month-to-month or yearly subscription. There are additionally enterprise plans for bigger companies.

A HousingWire membership supplies entry to actual property information, market information, housing analysis, unique in-person occasions, and a publication only for subscribers.

The Candy Setup

The Candy Setup has greater than 60,000 digital subscribers to their web site, which affords paid programs, evaluations, and articles round productiveness. Obtainable programs cowl every part from time administration and productiveness to profiting from particular software program.

The Focus Membership Membership affords entry to the entire instruments and programs obtainable on their website, together with a digital group and month-to-month workplace hours.

There are a number of locations you possibly can promote digital merchandise on-line. Let’s discover just a few choices, beginning with the one that gives probably the most freedom, management, and suppleness.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a strong ecommerce software constructed particularly for WordPress. It affords completely every part you should promote digital merchandise, together with product listings, checkout and cart performance, cost gateways, and digital obtain help — all free of charge! 

In the event you do need extra performance, you possibly can select from an enormous library of extensions that present instruments for software program licenses, subscriptions, memberships, and extra.

Listed here are only a few of the explanations that WooCommerce stands out from the opposite choices on this checklist:

• It harnesses the facility of WordPress. WordPress is the preferred web site platform obtainable, and WooCommerce is a plugin constructed by Automattic, the crew behind WordPress.com. If you use WooCommerce, you profit from all the good options of WordPress, just like the drag-and-drop block editor, highly effective content material creation instruments, and unimaginable flexibility. 
• You will have full management and possession. With WooCommerce, you will have full management over the feel and appear of your website and merchandise. You’re not beholden to any design or measurement restrictions, and nobody can take your merchandise down. This isn’t the case with different platforms.
• There aren’t any exclusivity agreements. Some third-party platforms assist you to promote your digital merchandise on their website — and solely their website. This isn’t true with WooCommerce. Promote merchandise by yourself retailer and on different platforms, should you’d like.
• You retain extra of your hard-earned cash. WooCommerce doesn’t cost any itemizing charges or take a proportion of your gross sales.
• It’s endlessly versatile. You possibly can promote something you need, design your on-line retailer nevertheless you need, and use extensions to create nearly any sort of performance. 
• You possibly can promote quite a lot of product sorts aspect by aspect. Promote digital downloads subsequent to on-line programs. Supply digital consultations alongside software program licenses and even bodily merchandise. The sky’s the restrict.
• There’s highly effective help and a group of like-minded entrepreneurs. WordPress and WooCommerce are surrounded by a passionate group made up of different retailer house owners similar to you. Join with them by means of on-line boards, Slack channels, Fb teams, and in-person meetups.

WooCommerce is, by far, one of the best ways to promote your digital merchandise on-line. Wish to be taught extra? See the way it compares to different choices like Etsy and Patreon.

Inventory websites

In the event you create digital property like inventory photographs, illustrations, or movies, there are some good choices for promoting on third-party marketplaces. These embody:

There are some advantages to most of these marketplaces. For instance, you achieve entry to a bigger, built-in viewers that’s looking for what you need to supply. 

However take the time to totally perceive what’s concerned with every platform. Some have exclusivity agreements, whereas others don’t. Some have greater charges than others. Some assist you to set your personal costs, whereas others set them for you. And needless to say opponents’ merchandise will likely be proven proper alongside your personal.

If you wish to profit from the built-in viewers of third-party marketplaces whereas nonetheless constructing your personal retailer, you actually can with WooCommerce. So long as the marketplaces don’t have exclusivity agreements, you possibly can checklist your digital property there, together with your personal retailer. 

Etsy

Etsy is a good platform for small on-line enterprise house owners, particularly creatives, who may gain advantage from a built-in viewers of patrons. Sellers can checklist each bodily and digital merchandise of their store. Nonetheless, as with something, there are each positives and negatives. 

Listed here are among the advantages of Etsy:

• A inbuilt viewers. Your work is exhibited to a built-in viewers that already has plenty of belief within the platform.
• Constructed-in promotional alternatives. Your merchandise are beneficial to others who bought related objects.
• Promoting instruments. You possibly can harness highly effective promoting instruments to succeed in a brand new viewers.

Listed here are among the draw back of Etsy:

• Etsy costs to your listings and/or store. Whilst you can host as many merchandise as you need, Etsy costs a $0.20 price for every itemizing. In the event you improve your account from Fundamental to Etsy Plus, you possibly can checklist as much as 15 merchandise with out the itemizing price. Nonetheless, Etsy retains 6.5% of every sale, which may actually eat into your earnings.
• Product sorts are quite simple. You gained’t have a lot flexibility with regards to the forms of merchandise you promote. For instance, it’s not attainable to promote on-line programs.
• You don’t personal your storefront. On the finish of the day, your merchandise and enterprise are on the mercy of a bigger market.

And keep in mind, it’s also possible to promote on Etsy alongside your WooCommerce retailer. The Etsy Integration for WooCommerce extension syncs itemizing data between each shops, so every part is all the time updated.

Patreon

Patreon is a website for creatives, influencers, and others to supply subscription-style perks to followers and followers, or Patrons. The positioning allows you to arrange membership tiers with diverse entry. You possibly can even create a free tier with content material that’s accessible to anybody signed up to your updates.

Patreon was as soon as the go-to place — particularly for creatives simply beginning to construct a reputation for themselves — that married artistic people with individuals who wish to help artistic endeavors. 

However in the previous few years, creators have misplaced what made Patreon so nice to start with: management over what they’ll and may’t submit. The lack of management and Patreon’s seemingly exorbitant charges have made this once-great creator platform simply one other channel that doesn’t have creator pursuits at coronary heart.

WooCommerce is the finest Patreon different, and extra creators are turning to it daily. 

Execs of Patreon:

• There are pre-built profile templates. In the event you don’t have a singular imaginative and prescient for presenting your self as a creator, this can be a bonus of Patreon as you possibly can merely fill out the data and launch a web page about as rapidly as filling out a brand new web page profile for a platform like Fb or LinkedIn. 
• Familiarity with potential followers. Your followers have most likely heard of Patreon and will really feel extra snug becoming a member of by means of this sort of pre-built platform. That stated, most influencers have constructed sufficient belief with their followers that this will likely be a non-issue.
• Cheap to get began. You possibly can stand up and operating rapidly and with very minimal prices. 

Cons of Patreon:

• There are pre-built profile templates. Patreon owns and hosts all of their very own code, so that you’re not in a position so as to add customized performance and design parts you might have considered trying as a creator. Your pages will, kind of, like everybody else’s.
• Excessive charges. You’re going to be giving a excessive proportion of your earnings to Patreon as a “thanks” for his or her service. These charges will comply with you endlessly. 
• You’re beholden to another person. Ensure you learn and abide by Patreon’s phrases and situations very rigorously. A fallacious transfer — and even the notion of or false report of a fallacious transfer — and also you’re earnings stream may very well be down for some time (or endlessly).

So that you’ve determined to construct your digital basis utilizing WordPress and WooCommerce, proper? Sensible choice!

WooCommerce affords seemingly infinite extensions that may make it easier to construct a worthwhile enterprise, like:

• Sensei Professional for creating and managing an internet studying program.
• Memberships for subscriber-based websites and companies.
• Subscriptions for recurring cost capabilities to entry premium content material (which you’ll mix with memberships to substitute your Patreon account!).
• Digital downloads for promoting any normal digital file as a product (native WooCommerce performance).
• Digital reward playing cards so as to add a digital product to any current bodily or digital group. 
• WooCommerce Bookings to promote digital buyer classes and appointments.
• Mailchimp for easy electronic mail and SMS campaigns and superior automation and segmentation instruments as you develop.

And each enterprise proprietor additionally must be fascinated about advertising and marketing. Fortunately, WooCommerce has that greater than absolutely lined with a plethora of advertising and marketing extensions. Among the high choices embody: 

Irrespective of the place you might be in your on-line digital merchandise enterprise, producing ongoing gross sales is all the time essential. Listed here are just a few suggestions to remember:

Supply nice digital merchandise

This one virtually goes with out saying, however the important thing to any profitable enterprise is providing clients bodily and digital services and products that enrich and add worth.

Your on-line digital merchandise ought to one way or the other make your clients’ lives higher. 

You’ll all the time compete with different creators and with content material that’s freely obtainable on the net, so create one thing that individuals have by no means seen and gained’t discover elsewhere.

Tease a purchase order by giving one thing free of charge

It doesn’t matter how a lot your on-line digital product sells for — making a free model is normally a powerful solution to show worth and finally make a sale. Watermark art work and permit downloads so individuals can attempt them out within the software they want. Present a restricted model of your paid publication so individuals can grasp the potential worth of the paid model. 

No matter it’s — one of many greatest obstacles to gross sales of digital property is demonstrating worth. Make it simple for potential clients to get a digital style and your checking account will thanks. 

Construct an affiliate internet marketing program round your on-line digital merchandise

Associates, influencers, model ambassadors — completely different variations with the identical finish consequence: these people get your identify and digital objects in entrance of individuals you may not in any other case attain. 

And rather more importantly than merely increasing your attain, these influencers can converse to a highly-targeted viewers with a private suggestion the viewers trusts. In different phrases, the worth potential right here is sky excessive.

What’s the most effective platform to promote digital merchandise?

WooCommerce is the most effective platform for promoting digital merchandise. Open-source and constructed on WordPress, enterprise house owners have full possession of their creation with freedom to increase, customise, and construct with out limits. 

Plus, a powerful group of contributors means a library of pre-built customizations and performance enhancements that may be added on with only a few clicks. You can even customized code something wanted.

WooCommerce is probably the most widely-used ecommerce platform on the planet for a motive, and it’s the only option to promote digital merchandise. 

What digital merchandise promote the most effective on-line?

Among the top-selling on-line digital merchandise are:

1. On-line studying programs
2. eBooks
3. Music, graphics, and artwork
4. Inventory photographs, video, and graphics
5. Memberships
6. Digital apps, productiveness instruments, and different software program 
7. Companies {and professional} consultations

How can I promote digital merchandise on-line?

All you want is WordPress and WooCommerce! The mixture supplies all of the performance essential to design a good looking web site, checklist your digital merchandise, appeal to and market to clients, and watch your gross sales develop. Take a look at our WooCommerce Buyer Tales to see how different companies (even celebrities!) use WooCommerce to promote their digital merchandise on-line.

What are the advantages of promoting digital merchandise on-line?

Digital merchandise supply the chance to construct a complete enterprise with out the standard concerns like stock, warehouse house, and transport prices. Plus, even digital merchandise that require updates, like software program packages and on-line programs, can nonetheless function a strong residual earnings supply.

Vanessa has spent her profession writing useful issues for individuals throughout the tech house. Outdoors of labor, she enjoys coaching for triathlon, rotating by means of hobbies, and exploring new locations each city and pure. She has two fluffy cats, maintains just a few succulents, and has far too many books on her TBR shelf.