You’ve started a blog, are growing it and you’re now eager to monetize it. It’s now time to learn how to create and sell digital products.
Even new bloggers can start selling digital products. It’s one of the smartest ways to make money with your growing blog.
But where do you start? What do you need to know about how to sell digital products?
What are some digital product ideas to create and sell?
What’s the best way to create digital products?
And, how do you sell digital products online and on your blog?
I’ll answer these questions, so you can get started making money, selling your own digital products!
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links, meaning if you click on a product or service, and decide to purchase it, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. All recommended products and services are based on my positive experience with them. For more information, please read my Disclaimer.
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How To Create And Sell Digital Products As A Beginner Blogger
Remember when you started a blog? You had dreams of making money with it. But you also knew that it was going to take a while.
You may think right now that you’re still not ready to start selling digital products.
Let’s get a few questions out of the way:
- Do you need to have many blog posts to be successful in selling digital products? No.
- Is having lots of blog traffic required to start making money selling digital products? No.
- Do you need a huge email list to sell digital products? No.
You can be a beginner blogger and start creating digital products to sell on your site.
I started with my popular Optimize It eBook, which continues to be one of my top sellers. It was something I created in my first year of starting this site.
It didn’t have too many blog posts yet, nor was it getting much traffic. My email list was at about 500 people.
But, it was selling because it addressed a common problem many new bloggers had: how to figure out SEO.
Once you’ve figured out a big problem your readers have come up with a way to help them solve it.
Create A Foundation To Sell Digital Products On Your Website
The Optimize It: A Guide To SEO For Blogs eBook has become successful over the past few years because I focused on a few key essentials:
- Creating content that attracts readers
- Developing content that addresses reader pain points with real solutions
- Optimized my blog content to boost my blog traffic
- Building my personal brand: building trust
- Focusing on growing my blog traffic
- Developing freebies and lead magnets showcase my expertise
- Growing my email list
- Setting up sales funnels, so that I was ready to sell
These are all things new bloggers should have as blog goals when they are growing their blog in their first year.
Do you have to wait before you start selling digital products?
Absolutely not! Start as soon as you want to, knowing that you will make mistakes and may not see great results until later on.
You’ll learn as you go!
Need to boost your blog traffic? Check out my Blog Traffic Booster course:
Easy Digital Products To Sell On Your Blog
I often see this statement: “I’m not sure what kind of digital products I can sell on my blog.”
They’re unsure what will work with their blog niche.
The truth is that there are thousands of digital products you can sell on your blog.
All you need to do is start with the problems your readers have and then go from there. If you have free lead magnets in place, you’re halfway there.
I truly believe that beginner bloggers can begin creating easy digital products to sell on their blogs.
Unlike physical products, digital products are easy to sell on your blog for these reasons:
- There’s no hassle in creating them
- There’s no inventory to store
- They’re an instant download – an instant happy customer
When you’re learning how to create and sell digital products as a beginner, choose those that are easy to create and sell to your readers.
Even something simple and an easy offer (under $25) can be extremely lucrative if done right.
How To Create Digital Products: 10 Digital Product Ideas
Alright! So now that you’re getting very eager to start creating some sort of digital product to sell, what are some ideas?
Here are 10 types of digital products to create and sell as a beginner blogger:
1. eBooks
One of the best digital product ideas is ebooks: they are popular items that are easy to read online in PDF format that you self-publish or sell on Amazon. You can sell anything from guides and how-tos to compilations of tips, poetry, affirmations and stories. The sky’s the limit.
Here’s an example of two eBooks that I’ve self-published:
2. Online Courses
Develop a course that solves a burning problem your readers have. You can make it available all at once, or create a drip system, where you release a module once a week. Online courses are usually housed on platforms such as Podia, Teachable or Thrivecart.
| RELATED: How To Create Online Courses That Sell Even If You’re A Beginner Blogger
3. Email Courses
Like online courses, email courses help solve your customer’s problems. They’re easier to implement because they are shared through a series of automated emails. All you need is an email platform such as Mailerlite or Convertkit.
4. Worksheets & Workbooks
Take your customer through a guided journey of solving their problem. Worksheets and mini workbooks are fantastic digital products to create a sell. Design them in Canva and sell the PDF. Keep them fairly short (max. 25 pages) for easy printing.
5. Templates
One of the hottest types of digital products to sell is templates. Canva templates are super hot, as many use this platform to create their digital designs.
To make things easier for busy bloggers, online entrepreneurs or even moms, create templates they can customize without spending much time on design.
Not sure what kind of templates to design? Look at all the different types that are available in Canva itself. There’s nothing stopping you from designing your own version of a template from scratch.
PRO TIP: You’ll need to upgrade to the pro version of Canva to be able to share template links.
6. Printables & Planners
In Canva you can create anything from colouring pages or worksheets for kids, sewing or DIY craft patterns, to meal and wedding planners.
Printables and planners are some of the most popular digital products to sell online. Don’t forget checklists, travel itineraries and planners.
Again, whatever the occasion there’s probably something that you can help solve with a planner or printable.
7. Video Tutorials
Record walkthrough video tutorials and upload them to YouTube or Vimeo. Sell access to them. This works very well with drip content.
During the pandemic, famous chef Gordon Ramsey partnered with Masterclass to offer home cooking lessons.
If he can offer paid cooking lesson videos, you can do so much more with a specialized niche video series!
8. Photos, Videos And Audio Files
Stock photos, videos and audio files (music, sounds), are hugely popular for digital creators, vloggers and podcasters.
You can sell these on your site as part of a membership program, individually or in bundles.
Check out these sites for stock photo memberships and online shops for inspiration:
9. Digital Design Elements And Presets
Easy digital products to sell include anything from PNG to SVG files, patterns, lightroom presets, textures and paintbrushes for Procreate and more. There are designers and non-designers alike who need access to these kinds of files.
10. Wallpapers – Desktop To Video Chats
Whether it’s Google Meets or Zoom meetings, wallpapers for video calls are a hot thing when somebody wants privacy.
But it goes beyond this. Editable wallpapers for desktops are HOT. Even beautifully designed visuals for your desktop background are something you can sell. Check out what’s on Etsy and make it something you sell on your own site.
Need more ideas for digital products you can produce? Here’s a list of over 100 that might inspire you!
Easy Ways To Create Digital Products
Always start with a problem that you’re going to solve.
Then you have to look at who’s your potential customer:
- Who are they? Their demographics (age, location, household income)
- What is their key pain point that you’re going to help solve quickly and easily?
- What is the best format to solve this problem? eBook? Course? etc.
- What are they willing to spend on it?
You may have to do a bit of research to find out more about your customer. Talk with them! Do a mini survey with your email list to find out about their key issues.
How To Create eBooks Or Workbooks
I’ll walk you through the basics of creating an eBook or workbook – some of the two most popular types of digital products to create and sell on your blog.
These tips will help you save time and produce a quality document that will wow your customers.
1. Use Pre-Made Templates
Save time and speed up the design process for your eBook or workbook. Use pre-made Canva templates.
I do! Even though I do design and sell them myself.
Canva – both the free and Pro versions – have many templates to choose from. However, you can also purchase them from others.
Check out my Classic Workbook Lead Magnet template, that you can use for your product.
I also recommend templates from IvoryMix and Styled Stock Society.
2. Add The Copyright & Disclaimer
Protect your ebooks and workbooks legally and financially. There are people out there who can potentially sue you because what you shared didn’t get them their expected result.
Or they decide to swipe your content and sell it as their own.
So, when it comes to eBooks, workbooks and actually anything that you produce – have something that speaks to a disclaimer and a copyright policy.
To protect my digital products I always add a page or two in the first section of each product with a legal disclaimer and a copyright statement.
You can get your own Copyright and Disclaimer template for ebooks from A Self Guru.
You will not believe how many times I have had to catch other bloggers stealing my content.
| RELATED: Why You Should Never Steal Other’s Digital Content
3. Save The File As A PDF
The next step is to save the file as a PDF.
In most cases, it will be used and read online unless it’s a workbook that requires printing.
In Canva there are two options: download for PDF print or PDF standard.
You want to download it as “PDF Standard” as the file size will be smaller and quicker for your customer to download.
If you’re selling printable PDFs, save them as “PDF Standard” for a higher-quality print job.
4. Review And Format
Before you start selling the product always do a review of what the product will look like on a screen.
Check for the following:
- White space: does it look like a clean, uncluttered design?
- Font size: is it easily readable on a desktop and a mobile phone?
- Is there anything missing?
- Check the spelling and grammar: sometimes errors pop out easily on screens
Once everything looks great save a final version of the PDF.
PRO TIP: You can use Grammarly in Canva to ensure your spelling and grammar are error-free.
How To Sell Canva Templates
One of the most lucrative revenue streams is templates – particularly Canva templates.
Given that there are many different types of Canva templates to sell, you can definitely make a whole lot of money with them.
But how do you create and sell Canva templates?
Creating Canva templates is easy – it’s as if you were creating a batch of designs for your own use. But now you’re sharing them with others.
Here are the steps I take:
- Batch create about 10 to a maximum of 25 original designs in one file.
- My designs use free elements so that all customers (free or Canva Pro) can use them.
- Add a cover page and a copyright & instructions page
- Create a template link by clicking Share, the three dots (More) to expand options, then template link
Once expanded scroll a wee bit up and you’ll see the Template link. Click this.
Once I have the template link, I need to be able to share it with others.
Since people usually save a copy of where they can get the link, it’s easiest to add it to a PDF file.
In this PDF, I include:
- My website address and logo
- Instructions for use: how they can customize it
- Instructions on how they can’t use it: e.g. sharing it with others, selling it as their own, etc.
- Contact email if there’s something not working correctly
- The link to the template (the most important thing!)
When my customers purchase my template they get the PDF file delivered to them or access to download it.
PRO TIP: Not sure what kind of templates to create and sell? Check out what kind of templates Canva already has available for people to use. You can create your own, original templates!
How To Sell Digital Products Online
There are two key ways to sell digital products online:
- On your site or platform where you have your own shop
- Digital marketplaces
It makes sense to diversify where you sell your products in order to boost discoverability.
If somebody is shopping on Etsy for social media templates, you may want yours to be there too!
The only downside of selling on Etsy, Creative Market or elsewhere is competitive pricing.
What you can sell on your site or through an upsell or easy offer at a decent price can end up being super cheap on one of these sites.
For example, 400 social media Canva templates that you should be selling for $30 at a minimum will end up being sold for $7.
PRO TIP: If you’re planning to sell on Etsy or Creative Market create products that are niche, with low competition but in high demand.
How To Sell Digital Products On Your Blog
Once you design a digital product, how do you sell it on your blog?
There are many digital product-selling platforms where you can sell your products. Some of them allow you to embed links on your site to direct customers to checkout/payment pages.
Here are some of the top digital product-selling platforms, including several that offer this option:
Podia
Create your own standalone digital shop or use an embedded checkout (Shaker plan) to sell your digital products, templates, online courses, coaching and more.
I’m currently using Podia for my Confident Blogger Academy and Resource Collection.
Read my Podia review for more details and why I highly recommend it for beginner bloggers seeking to monetize with products and online courses. Start with the affordable Mover plan ($39/month).
Explore how Podia can work for you.
Sendowl
Perfect for anybody selling digital products, coaching, memberships or an email course.
Easy to implement and embed the sales link into your content, this is an inexpensive platform for beginners.
Try Sendowl today.
Thrivecart
A powerhouse digital selling platform with upsells, bump ups, funnels, courses, subscriptions and so much more. It’s a one-time purchase that’s a bit pricey, but one of the strongest options for serious online entrepreneurs.
It’s a platform I’ll eventually be moving to! Get it for a one-time cost of $495 + $195 upgrade for the course platform option.
Ready to invest (great for your tax break)? Check out Thrivecart.
Teachable
Big on online course development! Sell online courses, digital products and coaching with Teachable. This platform allows you to house your digital products and set up sales pages and payment portals. Try Teachable.
Selling Digital Products In A Standalone Shop
If you’re not planning to sell your products directly from your blog, you can set up an e-commerce site that’s a standalone shop.
Selling Using Shopify
Shopify is one of the best-known e-commerce platforms that’s easy to use and set up.
You can sell digital downloads on Shopify, and it’s a great spot for selling digital art and visuals.
With a Shopify store, you can sell:
- Online courses
- eBooks
- Digital services (freelancing,coaching, etc.)
- Printables
- Licensed digital products (photos, video, music, etc.)
- Subscription-based content libraries
- Digital templates and tools
Check out these detailed instructions on how to sell digital products using Shopify, including valuable apps that will help you do so.
Alternatives To Selling Online
Aside from Shopify, there are a couple of other places where you can create a “shop” to sell your digital products.
Sellfy
Sellfy is a new platform that offers similar features to Shopify. You can sell both physical products as well as digital products.
Create a storefront and set up your payment system with Sellfy. There are no transaction fees, however the plans depend on how much you sell per year.
Stan.Store
Stan.Store is a popular “online store” for influencers using Instagram and TikTok, it can also be used by bloggers.
You can have a simple “shop” page that you can add as a link to your blog’s navigation bar. It works very well with social media apps.
What’s nice about it is a one-tap click for purchase.
Gumroad
Lastly, Gumroad is another spot where you can sell your digital products.
The difference here is that you have no control over the storefront. It’s more like an Etsy for digital products.
Payment Processing Options
There are several ways most of these platforms process payments.
The two primary ones include:
- Stripe (credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay and others)
- PayPal
You’ll need to set up your accounts for these two options so that you’re paid out when you get a sale.
Be careful to a choose digital selling platform that doesn’t require charges on each sale.
This is why I like the Podia platform. You pay one monthly fee for the plans and you’re not paying anything extra for each sale.
PRO TIP: Keep track of your income each month. You will need to submit your income for your taxes, even if you’re just beginning to monetize your blog.
Start Selling Digital Products On Your Blog ASAP!
Yes, it’s good to have a fantastic foundation of content and blog traffic to start making money with your blog.
But this doesn’t mean you need to wait until your blog is getting 10K+ monthly pageviews and you’ve got a long list of email subscribers.
Start off small. A template or a printable.
Use a simple option such as Sendowl to get a taste of how it all works.
Experiment with an easy offer that’s part of a welcome email sales funnel series.
If it doesn’t get much traction at work, tweak things! See if you can promote your offer differently.
Add digital product selling as part of your income stream for monetizing your new blog and enjoy the benefits as they come!
QUESTION: What is still unclear about how to create and sell digital products? Let me know and I’ll see if I can get you the answer.
Like this post? Share it with others on Pinterest – thank you!
What an informative blog post. I thought I knew what product I wanted to create first. Now I have to re-read and decide. I am definitely going to follow Catherine’s comment idea and bookmark this post to come back to time and time again.
Glad to inspire some planning!
Great ways to get the word out there. Great post! I’m just starting off my blog and trying to figure out how I can share my work with people.
I bookmarked because I’m not at the point of thinking about digital products or monetizing my blog yet, but I have those goals for the future. Thank you for the information!
My pleasure! I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you come up with in the future!
My biggest struggle with creating digital products is figuring out what would differentiate mine from the rest of the market. Reading logs are popular for book blogs, but in a lot of ways they all feel the same.
YOU! You are what will differentiate them: your designs, a quote or tip. Something that you can share that others may not. There will be many similar products, but only one original by you. 🙂
I really needed this! I’ve created a planner and have been sitting on it because I wasn’t sure how to market it. This has given me the help I need to move forward with it.
That’s awesome! Hope you start reaping the rewards of your hard work soon.