Looking to make an extra $1000 a month without working more hours? You can do it by selling digital products!
Selling digital products has become a popular side hustle in today’s online world. These products can be anything from wedding invitations and e-books to Canva templates and stock photos. If you’re good at creating these, you can not only earn passive income but also grow a profitable business, helping you move toward financial freedom.
A digital product is something that exists online. You use it on devices like your computer, tablet, or smartphone, and it can be sold and downloaded by others. Common examples of digital products you might use include printables, templates, stock photos, and digital art.
Most digital products are meant to be used online, but some can be downloaded and made into physical items. For example, you might buy a custom digital wedding invitation or art print on Etsy. After downloading the file, you can print it out and use it in real life.
Why sell digital products?
But why should you sell digital products? Is there really a strong demand for them? And what are the costs of running this type of business?
Selling digital products is cheaper, easier, and more convenient than selling physical ones.
You don’t need to worry about shipping costs with digital products since they’re available online. You also don’t have to store any physical items. Customers from anywhere in the world can easily buy and access your digital products.
Creating digital products is often cheaper. You just need good software to make, format, and publish your products, and you can start selling them right away. With low start-up costs, almost anyone can create and sell digital products.
My favorite part about selling digital products is the passive income. Once your products are listed on your website or online store, you don’t need to do anything more. Unlike running a physical store, you can make money while you sleep. You only need to put in the effort to create the product once, and it can be sold over and over again.
Best Digital Products to Sell to Make Money
Digital products come in many forms, so it’s essential to pick the best ones to sell before starting your business. Begin by assessing your skills and interests, researching the market, looking at what your competitors are doing, and then creating your business plan. Although selling digital products might seem straightforward, being well-prepared and realistic about your goals is key.
Here’s a list of the top digital products you can sell to earn money:
1. Digital art
If you like graphic design, you could start making and selling digital art to earn an extra $1,000 a month. Digital art includes things like logos, emotes, icons, patterns, backgrounds, digital paintings, and 3D art. You don’t need to be a pro to create digital art. There are many easy-to-use programs, like Procreate, Corel, and Adobe Photoshop, that can help you get started.
Businesses and entrepreneurs often need custom digital art, like logos or branding materials. They might also request custom banners or animations, which need more skill and usually pay more.
Tip: If you enjoy making digital art, learning how to use AI can really help you create amazing pieces. For example, MidJourney is a platform where you can make custom images by giving it prompts.
2. Canva templates
Canva is the best platform for graphic design that anyone can use to create various digital items. One of its most popular features is templates. People use Canva templates for all sorts of things: students with their homework, teachers making extra visuals, bloggers, influencers, and business owners who need regular social media posts.
Canva templates are really popular and a great choice for a digital product right now.
But what are Canva templates? They’re pre-made designs on Canva that your customers can edit. They can change colors, fonts, images, and other details. This makes it quicker and easier for them to get the look they want without starting from scratch.
The good news is that Canva is simple to use and intuitive, so anyone can get started for free. It regularly updates with new features, making it even more useful. Plus, like the other digital products mentioned, Canva templates can help you earn money passively. After creating a great template, you can sell it repeatedly.
3. E-books
E-books are a fantastic way to make money in 2024. You can write about anything you’re passionate about, so there’s no limit to your topics. To make the process more enjoyable and straightforward, choose a subject you’re really interested in and know well. Whether you love traveling or have helpful parenting tips to share, writing an e-book can be a great way to earn income.
It’s important to focus on a specific topic and audience. Instead of writing a general cookbook, choose a clear, specific theme like vegan recipes, gluten-free dishes, or BBQ. This will help you reach the right readers.
Self-publishing an e-book is easier and more convenient now, thanks to platforms like Amazon Kindle. You no longer need to pitch your book to many agents and publishers. Instead, you can publish your e-book with just a few simple clicks on your computer.
E-books are a great way to earn money with little effort. Rachel Richards is a great example of this success. In 2017, Rachel, a talented financial advisor, wrote an e-book called Money Honey to make personal finance more interesting.
A few months after Rachel self-published her book, her strong skills in personal finance started earning her a significant income, reaching $1,500 in monthly sales. Her hard work not only brought her financial success but also offered useful advice and support to people wanting to improve their financial health.
4. Print-on-demand designs
If you’re creative, you might want to try print-on-demand designs. With this approach, you upload your artwork to a platform. When someone buys a product like a T-shirt, hoodie, cap, or mug with your design, the platform takes care of printing, packing, and shipping it. This way, you only need to focus on making great designs.
POD (Print on Demand) is a great business model because it’s accessible to everyone. You don’t need to be a design expert; you just need a good sense of what makes a design appealing. It’s also helpful to choose a specific niche, research it, and create designs that will resonate with your target audience.
Many people have done well-selling POD (Print on Demand) designs. Gina Van De Voorde started with no experience but managed to make over $500,000 from it. She spent time researching popular niches after her regular job, designed her items on Canva, and gradually figured out what worked best. Now, she only needs to spend a few hours a week on her business, giving her more time to enjoy other activities she loves.
5. Online courses
Online courses can also be a great way to make money without much ongoing effort. Just like with writing an e-book, you can create and sell courses on any topic as long as they offer value to your audience. It’s best to choose a topic you know well or are excited about.
Creating online courses can be a bit tricky because there’s a lot involved. You might need to include various materials like written content, cheat sheets, worksheets, and video tutorials. It’s also important to clearly explain what the course covers to make sure it’s useful and valuable for your audience.
6. Stock photos
Can you take eye-catching photos? If so, you might be able to earn money by selling them as stock photos. Selling stock photos is a simple way to make passive income. You don’t have to be a pro photographer, but having a good camera and picking up some basic photography skills can help.
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.
After building a good collection of stock photos, you can either sell them on your own website through a subscription plan or upload them to stock photo sites, where you’ll earn money from royalties or per download.
7. Membership Sites
If you enjoy building and engaging with an online community and sharing helpful advice, you might want to try creating and selling membership sites. At first, it can be a bit of a hassle to create content for your members. However, once it’s up and running, it can earn you passive income as people keep paying to access your content.
Membership sites offer special access and support that you usually can’t find in regular online communities, making them more valuable and worth the cost. As the owner and content creator, you need to have something unique that makes people want to pay and keep their membership. You can charge a monthly fee or offer different membership levels. To attract more members, think about providing free content or a trial period.
If you’re skilled or have a lot of knowledge in your area, you can increase your income by starting a membership site, offering online courses, or writing an e-book. Just make sure your content is high-quality and relevant so people stay interested and keep coming back.
Best Places to Sell Digital Products
Now that you know the best digital products to sell in 2024, it’s time to figure out where to market them. There are many places to sell digital products, but the ones listed below are the easiest to use, trustworthy, and have been successful for other creators.
1. Amazon Kindle
Kindle is Amazon’s digital publishing platform. Since Amazon is a well-known company, it’s easier to promote your e-books on Kindle. The Kindle platform is user-friendly, making it simple to sell your e-books.
2. Shopify
Shopify is a great platform for selling both digital and physical products. It comes with a website builder, so you don’t need to know any coding or technical stuff to create your store. You can pick from many templates to decide how your store will look. Some popular digital products to sell on Shopify are e-books, digital art, stock photos, Canva templates, and printables.
3. Podia
Podia is a great platform for selling various digital products, like online courses, digital downloads, and memberships. It gives you a lot of freedom to design your store and works smoothly with most email services.
4. Etsy
Many people who create digital products choose to sell them on Etsy. Etsy has 95 million active buyers, which means a lot of potential customers. The platform is user-friendly and easy to set up, even if you’re new to selling online. It’s a great place to start. You can sell a variety of digital products on Etsy, including printables, art prints, clipart and graphics, digital invitations, guides and e-books, and Canva templates.
5. Teachable
If you want to sell digital products online, Teachable is a great choice. Once you create an account, it quickly sets up an online school for you. This makes it easy to upload your courses and downloadable files.
6. SendOwl
Another option to consider is SendOwl. It lets you sell various digital products like e-books, online courses, and stock photos. You can add SendOwl to your website and connect it with payment systems like PayPal or Stripe. It delivers your products instantly after a customer places an order.
7. Thinkific
If you want to sell your online course, Thinkific is a great option. It takes care of most of the work needed to manage and sell your courses. You can release your course gradually, so students get access to new content as you make it available. Thinkific also lets you upload different types of media like PDFs and videos. Additionally, students can sign up for your course on a membership or subscription plan.
Key Takeaways
These are the top digital products to sell online in 2024. Digital products are great for earning passive income. You put in the effort once, and then you can sell them repeatedly without having to do much more work.
If you want to start a home-based business or just earn some extra money, selling digital products could be a great option. Be sure to research where to sell these products to find the best fit for your goals.