Sell Digital Products

Digital products—templates, ebooks, courses, presets, fonts, printables, guides—can be sold infinitely without restocking, shipping, or manufacturing costs. Once created, they live on marketplaces or your own store, generating income while you sleep, travel, or work on your next product.

For digital nomads, selling digital products is the ultimate location-independent business model. Your inventory is weightless. Customer delivery is instant and automated. You can create products from a cafe in Portugal, sell them while hiking in New Zealand, and support customers from wherever you land next. The profit margins are exceptional because there's no cost of goods after creation.

Types of Digital Products

Category	Examples	Typical Prices
Templates	Notion, spreadsheets, Canva, resumes	$10-75
Design Assets	Fonts, icons, mockups, graphics	$15-100+
Photography	Presets, stock photos, overlays	$10-50
Educational	Ebooks, guides, courses, workshops	$20-500+
Audio	Music, sound effects, samples	$10-200
Software	Plugins, scripts, apps	$20-500+

The best products solve specific problems for specific people. A generic productivity template competes with thousands; a "Notion system for wedding photographers" serves a defined audience.

Creating Your First Product

Step 1: Identify Your Expertise What do you know how to do that others want to learn or replicate?

• Skills from your job
• Hobbies you've developed
• Problems you've solved
• Systems you've built

Step 2: Validate Demand

• Search for similar products (competition proves demand)
• Look at reviews (what's missing from existing products?)
• Ask communities if they'd buy your solution
• Create a basic version and see if anyone bites

Step 3: Create the Product

• Start simple—MVP over perfection
• Document your process as you build
• Get feedback from target customers
• Polish before launch

Step 4: Launch and Iterate

• Start on a marketplace for built-in traffic
• Collect feedback from early buyers
• Improve based on what you learn
• Create complementary products

Where to Sell

Marketplaces (Built-in Traffic):

• Gumroad - General digital products, creator-friendly
• Etsy - Templates, printables, crafty digital goods
• Creative Market - Design assets, fonts, graphics
• Udemy - Video courses (marketplace discovery)

Own Platform (Higher Margins):

• Shopify - Full e-commerce control
• Teachable/Thinkific - Courses specifically
• WooCommerce - WordPress-based store

Start on marketplaces to validate demand and build reviews. Move to your own platform once you can drive your own traffic.

Pricing Strategy

Don't race to the bottom. Premium pricing often converts better:

Approach	Psychology	Best For
Low price ($5-15)	Impulse buy, low barrier	Simple templates, first products
Mid price ($25-75)	Considered purchase, perceived quality	Comprehensive templates, asset packs
Premium ($100+)	High perceived value, serious buyers	Courses, software, premium systems

Many successful sellers charge more than competitors by positioning as the premium option with better design, support, and results.

Marketing Your Products

Products don't sell themselves. Expect marketing to be ongoing work:

SEO:

• Marketplace SEO (titles, tags, descriptions)
• Pinterest for visual products
• Blog content driving to products

Social Media:

• Share value, not just promotions
• Show products in use
• Build in public (share creation process)

Email:

• Build a list from day one
• Launch announcements
• Exclusive discounts for subscribers

Partnerships:

• Bundle with complementary products
• Affiliate programs
• Creator collaborations

Realistic Income Expectations

Stage	Monthly Revenue
First product (months 1-6)	$0-500
Established (1-2 years, multiple products)	$500-3,000
Full-time focus (2+ years)	$3,000-10,000+
Top creators	$10,000-50,000+

Most sellers plateau with a handful of products generating $1,000-3,000 monthly. Breaking through requires consistent marketing, audience building, or hitting the right product at the right time.

The Reality Check

Digital products are often sold as "passive income," but the reality:

What's passive:

• Delivery and payment processing
• Existing product sales (once ranked)

What's not passive:

• Creating products
• Marketing continuously
• Customer support
• Updating products
• Building audience

The business is less active than services, but still requires consistent effort—especially marketing.

What This Pairs Well With

Digital products complement creating online courses for higher-ticket offerings. Website themes and templates are a specialized version with strong potential. Bundling digital products from multiple creators can leverage existing products.

Sell through Gumroad or build a community around your products on Patreon. Use Notion to organize your product roadmap and Google Drive for file management.

Getting started: Identify skills or knowledge you have that others want. Research what's selling on digital product marketplaces. Create one high-quality product rather than many mediocre ones. Launch on an established marketplace for built-in traffic, then consider your own store for better margins. Collect customer feedback and iterate. Let successful products inspire your next creations.