Digital products are a great way to make some extra money and provide knowledge to your online audience. Today I want to talk about how to create and sell digital products online.
The opportunities are endless when it comes to creating digital products! Some planning and work is all it takes to create digital products to sell.
Below are some things to consider when creating digital products now.
Note: If you are here for my digital product giveaway, please scroll all the way to the bottom!
My Past Experiences
Before I go any further, I want to tell you about my background. I’m sure you are wondering why you should listen to me, when I talk mainly about gardening here.
I’ve spent the past 17 years in the field of education, as a teacher, aide, tutor, and behavior therapist. I’ve had to think on my feet, as well as create many activities to reach my students and help them succeed.
While I love teaching and tutoring in person, I also love how I’ve been able to reach thousands of people all over the world through Blooming Anomaly!
I love how I’ve been able to use my skills as a teacher to teach others about gardening and blogging.
I’ve also been a visual artist for as long as I can remember, and love how I can use my creative skills here by creating images and products to share with my followers.
Start a Blog
I will say you don’t have to start a blog to provide digital products on, but it’s a great idea! I started this blog before creating my digital products, so figured my blog would be a great platform to showcase my products on.
I recently switched to Siteground, which is a great self-hosted platform if you are serious about making money with your blog someday. They offer great extras with their plans and have excellent customer service!
Some bloggers have many digital products while others focus on creating blog posts with some products that sell on their site. It’s really up to you and what your goals are for your blog.
Once you gain momentum on your blog and are getting visitors to your site, you can start thinking about products to sell to your audience.
What Digital Products to Sell
Not sure what digital products to sell? I wasn’t either. For the longest time, the only digital product I had available to my followers was a freebie for my email subscribers.
It can take some time, as well as trial and error to figure out what digital products to sell to your audience.
Ideas for Digital Products
Research the internet to get ideas for your products. Find out what other bloggers in your niche are selling to their followers.
Subscribe to some of your favorite bloggers to see what freebies they provide to their audience too. Seeing what other bloggers offer as freebies in your niche can give you an idea of what people want.
Another great place to look is within your audience. If you have an email list, ask your subscribers what they need. Ask questions on your social media platforms to see what your followers on there are looking for.
Run polls on social media, your blog, and email your subscribers to see what they want from you.
Another great place to look is Google Analytics to see what your most popular posts are. You can create digital products from those too!
If you have several freebies you provide to your blogging audience, you can create some products that they find valuable based on those freebies.
How to Create Digital Products
This is the fun part! You can create digital products using several programs. There is Photoshop, Microsoft word, Google Docs, and Canva, to name a few.
I create most of my Pinterest images, freebies, and digital products with Canva. Sometimes I’ll save a copy on Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
I recently upgraded to Canva Pro and love how many more images, fonts, and other features are available to create products and more!
The free version of Canva also has tons of great resources to create products with.
Selling Digital Products
Selling digital products can be a little tricky, especially if you are a beginner. I now reach thousands of people all over the world on the blog, which is awesome, but how do I turn these visitors into clients?
Let your followers know about your products. You can set up a shop page like I did that lists all the products you offer. You can also add links to your blog posts that are related to your product.
Gumroad
You can also offer your products on another site. I decided to use Gumroad, since I’ve heard so many wonderful things about the site from other bloggers.
Gumroad makes it easy to sell digital products with beautifully laid out pages that are easy to read and buy items from. I also have links to Gumroad on my blog and links on my social media platforms.
Pinterest is another great way to let your audience know about your digital products. Create pins that mention your products and schedule them on Pinterest to get thousands of visitors to see your products.
You can check out my blog post to learn more about how to use Pinterest.
Email Subscribers
Your email subscribers will be your most loyal audience. I explain this in more detail in this post. Make sure you let your subscribers know about any products you are selling!
This can be as easy as sending them a special email about your product, or just including a mention of your product with a link so that they can easily find and buy it from you!
Social Media
If you have a blog set up, you are probably also on several, if not all social media platforms. Don’t forget to let your followers on these sites know about your new products!
How Many Followers Do I Need?
This is a common question many people have when they start a blog or other online venture. It’s great to have a ton of visitors, but there is no magic number for how many followers you need before you start thinking about selling to them.
As long as you know what your audience wants, get started on creating a product you know they will love!
Time for a Giveaway!
Besides creating and selling digital products recently, I’ve also surpassed 300 email subscribers! As a thank you, I’ve decided to hold a giveaway!
My digital products giveaway starts at midnight, Wednesday, July 29 and will last a week, ending on my birthday, August 5th!
I will be giving away one of each of my digital products! I will be giving away each of one of the following:
Let me know in the comments your thoughts about digital products, as well as letting me know which one you want to win!
More ways to win are below! Have fun and good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Cate S says
Digital products are incredibly valuable! I would LOVE to win the 12 month garden planner as I recently decided to move back in with my dad after my mother’s passing. The garden are over grown and in desperate need of care and the planner would be IDEAL for planning, getting started, maintenance and upkeep! Thanks, Ann!
Ann says
I’m sorry to hear about the passing of your mother. I’m sure working in the garden will help you during this difficult time. That is great that you are able to move in with your dad to help out too. Thanks for reading and joining the giveaway!
AnnMarie Lewellyn says
What a great time for this article to come out! I have been selling a few digital products recently myself! I would love to win your garden planner as I am a homesteader and love planning! Great site! I enjoy your posts!
Ann says
That is great! Sounds like my garden planner would be perfect for you then! Thank you for stopping by!
Sarah says
I’m half way done creating an ebook and I wasn’t sure how to sell it! Pinning this to reference later when I’m ready to sell. Thanks for the tips 🙂
Ann says
How exciting! I’ve had an ebook in the works for awhile. Let me know when it comes out!
Ming Qian says
Hey Ann, I am a new blogger and I have yet to start monetizing any of things that I do on my blog. I have seen bloggers who offer various digital downloads (some free, and some at a small token). I think that it is marvelous how people who enjoy writing can make some money out of their passion. I would love to start one day when my blog is more established., too!
For now, my Pinterest strategy is dismal, and I would love to win your Pinterest pins. It would be a great help for me as a new blogger to improve my performance on Pinterest.
Thanks for sharing!
Ann says
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging! Even though you just started, I think it’s great that you are thinking about how to make money with your blog. Pinterest has gotten tougher to get results from but is still a great resource for traffic. Good luck!
Ming Qian says
Thanks for your kind words! I hope Pinterest will indeed work for me. I’m starting to feel like giving up. 🙁
Anyway, have a great week ahead! 😀
Ann says
Thank you and you have a great week yourself! Don’t give up! Just do a little every day and you will get there!
John Vergin says
Thank you for giving hope to people during this challenging time for society.
Am interested in your 12 month garden planner.
Peace and Blessings to you.
Ann says
You are very welcome. These are definitely challenging times. Thank you for your comment and good luck!
Quan Tran says
gumroad….I definitely have to visit and utilize this site. thanks for the wonderful tips
Ann says
You are welcome! There are so many ways to make money online with digital products. Pick one, or a few and make them work for you!
Melissa says
Your information could not come at a more valuable time. A lot of us do not realize how valuable a business in digital products truly is. I recently have found my newfound love and am so glad I found your article because it has motivated me to really push myself. I think I have really found my niche. Thanks for this info!
Ann says
You are very welcome. I’m glad you found the article helpful!