Looking for the best digital products to sell online? You’re in the right place.
Digital products typically have much higher profit margins than physical products.
And because you don’t have any production costs to worry about, you can scale up infinitely without ever having to worry about replenishing your inventory. All of which makes for an easy and very lucrative business model.
If you want to start your own online business selling digital products, read on and you’ll learn everything you need to know.
In this post, you’ll find the most profitable digital products to sell, how to get started selling each one. And, stick around to the end to learn the best ways to market digital products.
What are digital products?
Digital products are intangible goods that can be stored electronically and sold online repeatedly.
They typically take the form of downloadable content and media files.
We’re talking about things like ebooks, PDFs, music and video files, templates, etc.
12 types of digital products to sell
There are many different types of digital products that can be sold online. To help you to narrow down your options, we’ve listed some of the most lucrative digital product categories below, alongside examples of successful sellers in that niche.
1. Ebooks (and audiobooks)
There’s a lot of money to be made selling ebooks. They’re one of the top information products that consumers like to spend their hard-earned cash on.
The market has grown substantially in the last few years, with the number of ebook units sold rising from 170 million to 191 million from 2019 to 2020 alone. And with sales still soaring, now’s the perfect time to write your own and claim your share of the pie.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to be Stephen King to write something that sells well. Just write about what you know—there are all kinds of ebook niches that are surprisingly lucrative, especially in the non-fiction / educational category.
For example, Dubai-based YouTuber Amel Aitouche wrote an ebook that outlines everything you need to know about moving to Dubai. It proved to be a big hit with her subscribers and she’s now selling hundreds of copies, making her one of the biggest success stories.
You could even turn your books into audiobooks to reach an even larger market of casual listeners. And if you don’t have time to write a whole ebook, you can sell shorter texts like how-to guides, meal prep plans, workout guides, blueprints, and other documents.
Note: If you need more help, check out our posts on how to sell ebooks, platforms to sell ebooks, and how to sell audiobooks.
2. Online courses
Another great way to monetize your knowledge is to create and sell an online course. Is there a topic that you’re a real expert in? Do you have any particular skills you think others could benefit from? If so, you can package those skills and expertise into a digital product and sell it.
John D. Saunders did just that and made over $10,000 on launch day alone through his web design accelerator and SOPs courses. Now, he runs a six-figure business and has made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling courses online.
Of course, not everyone will have as much success as John, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a good income if you have knowledge that’s in demand.
Here are some ideas for different kinds of online course niches that sell really well:
- Fitness courses
- Cooking courses
- Music courses
- Business and entrepreneurship courses
- Language learning courses
- Art courses
- Dating and relationships courses
Once you know what you want to teach, you’ll need to decide what kind of format you want to deliver your course in (i.e. video, text, audio, etc). After that, you can outline a curriculum and start creating your educational content.
When your content is ready, you’ll need to choose an online course platform to host your course. Then, use these tactcs to market your course.
3. Digital art
Fancy yourself an artist or graphic designer? There’s a big market out there for digital art, so monetize those skills and turn your hobby into a source of income.
For example, new startups are always in need of talented designers to create custom logos for their businesses.
While there are online logo makers that provide an affordable option for small businesses, they can’t match what a skilled graphic designer can create. This allows you to charge a premium for your work.
Other art-related digital products that sell well include stock icons (vector images), brand kits, backgrounds, emotes, badges, banners, and 3D artwork.
Designer SilverLyons capitalized on the growth of Twitch streaming and released a collection of premade emotes, icons, and badges. If you’re an avid gamer, you can do something similar and tap into the same market.
Aside from creating your own original designs, you could also sell add-ons for popular graphic design tools. Brushes, gradients, and palettes for software like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Procreate are in high demand right now, so it’s definitely a market worth exploring.
NFTs are a hot topic right now too, especially in the digital art space. If you’re already selling digital art, you could consider branching out into NFTs. However, this can be a risky venture, so make sure you do your research and understand the risks.
Note: Want to start selling your digital products but not sure how? Sellfy makes it easy. Click here to start your free trial.
4. Subscriptions and memberships
Starting a members-only site and selling subscription products is another great idea, especially if you’re already an influencer with a large audience.
For example, YouTubers Rhett & Link from the Good Mythical Morning channel opened up a new recurring venue stream when they started the Mythical Society — a private online community that gives subscribers access to behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive content. Because they already had millions of subscribers, sales were pretty much guaranteed.
But while having an existing audience certainly helps, it isn’t essential. You can still launch a successful subscription service without it, like creator Attune to the Moon, who has found success selling seasonal subscription packages in the spiritual wellness industry.
Your subscription packages could include weekly or monthly content, like magazines or meal plans, access to a gated social community, and various other goodies.
Check out our post on ecommerce platforms to sell subscriptions if you need help.
5. Video content
Consumers these days can’t get enough video content. And they’re willing to pay for it. You only have to look at the success of VOD streaming services like Netflix to see just how big the market for video content is.
If you fancy yourself a director, you can create your own entertaining or educational video content and sell it online.
Creators Nils and Kaspar did just that. They went to Thailand and filed a short inline skating film called Mind Your Step, which documented their journey across the country and brought attention to the global plastic waste issue, then listed it for sale in their online store. It was a big success and the pair managed to raise a ton of money for charity.
And if you think making a movie sounds too costly, bear in mind that Nils and Kaspar managed it on less than 5,000 euros, proving that it doesn’t have to be. You can make something worth paying for on a shoestring budget using nothing more than an iPhone camera. You just need a vision.
Types of video content that can sell well include educational video content, exclusive vlogs, travel documentaries, comedy videos, short films, and gaming videos.
Note: If you need help getting started, check out our guide to selling video content.
6. Patterns and printables
There are millions of crafty consumers out there on sites like Etsy looking for patterns and printables to help them with their DIY projects.
You can sell things like sewing patterns, knitting patterns, and macrame patterns, or printables like coloring pages and workbooks.
Latvian textile designer and entrepreneur Linda offers a great example of this. The self-taught hobbyist turned award-winning textile designer founded the ElevenHandmade brand and built herself a profitable business selling crochet patterns online. And they’re a huge hit! Her Etsy store has over 20k sales to date.
Check out our article on digital products to sell on Etsy if you’d like to get some extra inspiration.
7. Templates
Templates are another interesting category of digital products that sell well online. Resume templates are very popular and super easy to create, even if you have limited design skills.
But templates aren’t just for resumes and CVs. You can sell templates for all kinds of things, including emails, social media posts, PowerPoint presentations, Twitch overlays, business cards… you name it!
For example, brand