Imagine, if you could sell products hassle-free and make money from home.
Selling digital products online is a great way to monetize those skills and diversify your income streams without
Whether your superpower is cooking delicious meals, building fitness routines, starting businesses, or creating designs – you can teach others and benefit from it.
All you need to do is share your wealth of experience and knowledge with the world!
You save on storage space, shipping fees, and hefty production costs!
Contents
What is a digital product?
Simply put, a digital product is any item that does not have a physical form. It is sold between a seller and buyer in the form of e-files via online stores and websites. For example, eBooks are digital books that are sold on the internet in PDF format. Ither examples of digital products include courses, templates, audiobooks, and podcasts.
By this time, you must be wondering, What digital products can you sell?
We have curated a list of the most common and profitable digital products that you can sell in India. But before that, where can you sell these products?
Where to sell digital products for free?
Once you decide what digital product you want to sell, you need to choose a platform to sell online. But for many new sellers, the best way to get started with selling digital products online is through a free platform.
2 Free platforms to sell digital products online:
Social media
Instagram and Facebook are ideal social media platforms to start selling digital products, irrespective of the type of digital product you are selling. You can sell on social media for free!
For example – simply add your eBook landing page link to your Instagram bio, share the link with WhatsApp contacts or add a Pinterest board – and redirect them to your eBook.
You can also add payment links for your digital products and customers can make a purchase once they buy the product!
Over 81% of people prefer buying products that their friends recommend – so social media is a great place to start selling online products to get the ball rolling.
It is free, it is easy to use, and a great place to find your ideal audience.
The Instamojo online store
Instamojo platform is the best eCommerce platform for selling digital products online.
When you are just starting out with a digital product, you can sell using the Instamojo free online store.
All you need to do is sign up, upload digital files and collect payments online!
5 Profitable digital products you can sell online
1. eBooks
Do you wish you could share your knowledge in the form of a book but you do not have the resources to publish hard copies? Opt to sell eBooks — one of the most popular digital products sold in India!
An electronic book (eBook) is a digital publication that consists of text, images, or a combination of both. In simple terms, it is a book composed in or converted to digital format for display on a computer screen or any mobile device.
Experts also believe that eBooks may take over physical books in terms of sales, eventually. All you need to do is decide upon a topic, length, and content.
Instamojo also has its own online store with over 50 free ebooks that can help you manage and scale your eCommerce business. Check it out here.
Selling eBooks on the Instamojo premium store
If you want to start selling eBooks online, you are already in the right place. Instamojo offers a free and premium online store.
All you need to do is –
- Sign up with your business email ID
- Enable payments and head to dashboard
- Click on digital products and upload your eBook
How GC Mouli sells eBooks
Mouli prefers selling eBooks since it reaches a much wider audience and remains accessible to several of his followers. Also, his readers need only to download the pdf file and read the book with ease.
2. Online courses
If there’s one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it is that learning and teaching can happen anywhere and anytime.
A study suggests that the online learning industry’s value will exceed $240 billion by 2022. It is just like an in-classroom course except that you teach online via text, video, and audio assets.
Lessons can be split into smaller modules based on the length of your course and its value. It allows your customers to take your course in their own time without having to worry about deadlines. The best way to get started on selling courses online is to find the right platform.
For example, Deepak Kanakaraju is a digital marketing expert who trains executives and marketing aspirants with online courses which he uploads on the Instamojo online store. Below is an example of his online store. Once customers click on the course and buy it, they receive study material, videos, and other resources to complete the course.
Related read: The complete guide to selling courses online
3. Photography and videography
Miss shooting videos and photos due to the lockdown? Now, easily sell your older photograph prints and videos online.
Did you know that 85% of businesses use videos as a marketing tool to enhance their visibility? There’s a growing demand for affordable solutions from the business forefront which needs to be met. Read more about how video commerce is the future!
There are two ways you can sell your photographs and videos as digital products –
Websites such as Fotolia, Pixlr and iStockphoto
Several photographers sell prints or upload videos on independent websites that have an online platform. You can sell them as
- Digital files
- Small prints
- Large canvases
- Novelty products
Related read: eCommerce product photography: 7 cost-effective hacks + examples
4. Podcasts
A podcast is a series of audio-based episodes. The content is exclusively audio and it can be used to promote brands, products, or even services.
As of June 2022, there are over 2 million podcasts released on various streaming devices. The most popular podcasting genre seems to be – comedy, followed by education and then news. They are also relatively easy and cheap to produce.
Our tip – Although most of the podcasts available are for free, you could create a subscription-based podcast for which people can pay you directly. Read more about how to start a subscription business here.
mojoMakers – a podcast by Instamojo for all small businesses
Have you ever wanted to hear the story of your local businesses – the shopkeeper setting up his own store, the homemaker starting her own fashion business?
We bring these stories to you now, on our exclusive business podcast platform – mojoMakers! Give it a listen on Spotify and Apple iTunes.
Click to listen to a small teaser!
If you liked listening to mojoMakers, subscribe to our podcast here.
5. Audiobooks
Have you ever ‘heard’ a book?
Audiobooks are voice recordings of the text of a book that you listen to rather than read. It may be in cassette tape, CD, or MP3 format.
The average number of audiobooks listened to per year increased to 8% in 2020 and the most popular audiobook genre is Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense.
There’s no better time to start selling audiobooks on platforms like Downpour and Audible, especially when active listeners went up by 51% in 2019.
5 Benefits of selling digital products
Digital products offer almost limitless opportunities to everyone to market their skills and talents. If you are still on the fence about selling digital products then these benefits will surely change your mind!
1. Cost saving
Selling digital products doesn’t require nearly as much capital as physical products. You don’t need a physical place to store your products and Inventory never becomes an issue. The cost of manufacturing, transportation, or logistics is almost negligible.
The Instamojo online store offers one of the most affordable eCommerce plans. It also comes with a forever free plan.
2. No cap on selling
One of the greatest advantages of digital products is that once you create the product, you can sell it to as many people as you want with minimum effort.
It is available for everyone to watch, learn and purchase. Additionally, you can also build on your existing products to create new ones or segregate materials for beginners, intermediate and advanced consumers.
Customers can, in most cases, receive the product immediately upon purchase.
3. Tracking metrics
It is easier to track your sales records with digital products than with physical ones. Online tools to track metrics such as sales, revenue, conversion rates, bounce rates, etc are available easily to help understand your customer base better.
With Instamojo’s in-built analytics features, you can have access to all these tools, analytics, and more under one roof!
4. Access to a larger market
Selling digital products online allows you to reach a global audience without having to spend money on a lot of marketing and promotion.
Anyone with access to the internet will be able to find your products and make them accessible. Digital product stores allow you to do business anywhere in the world!
5. Diversify revenue streams
Selling digital products takes less effort and builds multiple revenue streams.
There’s greater stability for your online business and more importantly, you can leverage your skills and talents in new ways as an online entrepreneur.
As the customers can experience your digital product easily, the chances of purchases become high.
6. Higher shelf life
Unlike physical products, digital products can be easily updated to be more relevant in time. They are not subject to wear, tear, or deterioration.
Digital products can be used multiple times, and they remain in the same condition as they were the day of purchase.
3 strategies to sell digital products online
1. Pricing the product
Finding the right price for a digital product can be tricky – because you know a lot of people get this stuff for free. The key is to be confident and also test out different prices for a set amount of time to judge how customers react to them.
Find out how to set the right price for your digital product here.
2. Networking with business communities
Ask your friends and followers for feedback on the loop. When you just set up a business to sell digital products, they make half your audience. Expand your online network and keep them informed before a new product is launched before the rest of the world knows.
Join communities with other entrepreneurs to understand the different tricks of the trade and find out the ideal platform where you can sell your digital product.
Want to be part of a business community? Join our online Facebook community here
3. Influencer marketing
As we mentioned before, reviews matter! Find out influencers who can review your products and add website and landing page links on their channels.
When these influencers talk about their experiences with your brand, it helps potential customers to sign up for what you have to offer them.
Related read: How to create an influencer marketing campaign
A common myth that most businesses have is that these influencers are often inaccessible and sometimes overly priced as well. But, this isn’t always the case. If an honest influencer believes in your product, it’s easy to approach them and boost sales for your product.
Start selling your digital products online
If you want to stay away from the hassle of dealing with physical products, then digital ones are your best pals! All you have to do is identify your skills and present them to the world confidently and in the most creative, fun way. We are here to help you set up effortlessly.
Start selling digital products with Instamojo today!
1 comment
Hi
This is a nice post. However, given the competition it is difficult to break into the market. Still, it is important to acquire the skills.