Selling digital products online has become an extremely lucrative business in recent years. As internet access and digital media consumption continue to rise globally, the market for digital goods and services is rapidly expanding. There are several key reasons why digital products can be so profitable for online entrepreneurs and small businesses:
Low overhead costs – There are minimal material, storage and shipping costs associated with digital goods. This makes production cheap and maximizes profit margins.
– **Global reach** – Digital products can be sold to anyone, anywhere with an internet connection. This gives creators access to a huge global consumer base.
– **Passive income** – Once created, digital products can earn income for years with little maintenance. As they scale, profit margins compound dramatically.
– **Automation** – The digital sales process can be highly automated, minimizing the time and effort required per sale. Payment, delivery and support can all be streamlined.
– **User convenience** – Customers appreciate the instant delivery and portability of digital goods. This makes them willing to pay a premium.
This article will explore the 10 most profitable types of digital products that entrepreneurs should consider selling online right now. Whether you want to build a side business or scale up to a 7-figure digital business empire, these digital products offer major monetization potential. Keep reading to learn more!
Information Products
Information products like ebooks, online courses, and instructional videos tend to have high-profit margins because they are digital files that can be created once and sold repeatedly.
Unlike physical products, there is no per-unit cost associated with delivering a digital product to customers. Once an ebook or video course is made, it can be sold thousands of times with almost no additional expenses. This results in excellent profit margins.
Information products also lend themselves well to passive income models like memberships and subscriptions. For example, an online course creator could offer new monthly video lessons to paying subscribers. This provides ongoing residual income without much additional work after the initial course is complete.
Some of the most popular and profitable information products today include:
– Ebooks on business, marketing, personal development, and other popular topics
– Online video courses teaching everything from coding to cooking to photography
– Membership sites that provide premium training content in exchange for a monthly fee
– Instructional videos on specific skills like DIY home projects, crafts, fitness, etc.
The key advantages of information products are their high perceived value, low distribution costs, and ability to generate recurring passive income. That’s why they remain one of the most lucrative digital products to sell online.
Software
Selling software can be a highly profitable endeavor for digital entrepreneurs. Software encompasses products like SaaS (software as a service), scripts, plugins, templates and themes. The great thing about software is that it can be instantly delivered and downloaded by customers, with no shipping or manufacturing costs.
There are a few different pricing models for software:
– One-time purchases – This allows customers to pay a single fee to download and use the software forever. For example, a WordPress theme may be sold for a one-time price of $59.
– Subscriptions – You can charge an ongoing monthly or yearly fee for continued use and access. This recurring revenue model is great for SaaS businesses. Adobe Creative Cloud is a perfect example, charging users a monthly fee.
– Tiered pricing – Offer different versions or feature sets of your software at different price points. For example, a basic Shopify store theme may be $49 while the advanced version is $99.
– Per-license pricing – Charge per user, per site or installation. This makes sense for plugins and scripts that customers may want to use on multiple websites.
– Lifetime deals – Offer a discounted one-time fee for an otherwise subscription-based SaaS product. This allows you to capture lifetime value while giving the customer a great deal.
The key is understanding your target customer and creating pricing tiers that align with the value you provide. From $5 scripts to $50 themes and SaaS services charging hundreds per month, software can be incredibly profitable due to instant delivery and passive revenue models.
Graphics
Selling digital graphics like stock photos, icon packs, and digital art can be a great online business. Stock photos are in constant demand by websites, bloggers, social media marketers, and more. With stock photo sites like Shutterstock, designers can upload their photos and earn royalties when they’re downloaded.
Icon packs are also in demand, especially for mobile apps and websites. Designers can create minimal icon sets and sell them on marketplaces like Creative Market. The more icons in the pack, the higher it can be priced.
Digital artists can also sell their original artwork online, either as single pieces or collections. This includes digital paintings, 3D models, photo manipulations and more. Artists may sell through their own website with a shopping cart, or use a marketplace like DeviantArt.
Bundling related graphics together can increase the perceived value. For example, creating a “social media pack” with matching Facebook, Instagram and Twitter cover photos and icons. The key is specializing in a niche and targeting buyers’ needs. With a quality digital graphics product, recurring passive income is possible as buyers continue to download it over time.
Music & Audio
Selling music and audio online has become a lucrative business for independent musicians, producers, and audio engineers. With the rise of content creators on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts, there is a huge demand for high-quality, royalty-free audio that can be licensed directly.
Some of the most profitable digital audio products include:
– **Original Music Tracks** – Produce instrumental or lyrical music tracks in popular genres to license to content creators. Focus on catchy melodies, high production quality, and commercial appeal.
– **Song/Loop Packs** – Bundle similar loops or song stems together for content creators. For example, an EDM song starter pack or 10 chill hip hop loops.
– **Sound Effect Packs** – Curate themed sound effect packs like UI sounds or nature noises that creators need for videos, podcasts, apps and more.
The key is offering commercial licensing options so creators can easily use your audio legally in their content. Services like Artlist, Epidemic Sound, AudioJungle and SoundStripe have been successful with this model. There is demand for music and audio across many niches so focus on your strengths as a producer. With the right licensing model, audio can become a steady passive income stream.
3D Models & Assets
Selling 3D assets like models, scene files, textures, and materials can be very lucrative for digital creators. These kinds of assets are in high demand, especially among game developers, animators, CGI artists, and other digital content creators.
3D models that are properly rigged and textured can sell for upwards of $100 per model on marketplaces like TurboSquid or CGTrader. Even relatively simple 3D models like furniture, props, plants, vehicles, architecture, and electronic devices can generate sales if they are designed well.
It’s important for 3D model creators to focus on quality over quantity. Each model should be carefully crafted, properly UV unwrapped, and include multiple materials, textures, and lighting setups. High-poly models sell better than low-poly models in most cases.
Scene files are also in demand, as they allow buyers to easily import fully designed 3D scenes into their projects. Scenes of exteriors like city streets, parks, neighborhoods, or interiors like rooms, apartments, stores, restaurants, etc. tend to sell well.
By crafting a library of high-quality 3D assets in popular categories, 3D artists can build a passive income stream as their products continue generating sales month after month. Specializing in specific niches like sci-fi, architecture, nature, or vehicles allows modelers to better cater to target audiences as well.
Overall, 3D models and assets are one of the most profitable digital products to sell online thanks to the huge market demand combined with the ability to reuse and resell the assets indefinitely. Building a collection of models, scenes, and materials that cater to buyer needs can lead to a sizable passive income for 3D creators.
Digital Downloads
Digital downloads have become a popular product to sell online. These are digital files that customers purchase and download instantly. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners have found success creating and selling digital downloads.
One type of digital download that can be highly profitable is printable planners, journals, and notebooks. These allow the customer to customize and print unique planners each year. Digital artists also create printable wall art, prints, and posters that customers can purchase and download for at-home printing. These make great products because they have no production costs and unlimited inventory.
Guide books and eBooks in PDF format are another lucrative digital download product. These information products provide value to the customer while requiring no inventory or shipping from the seller. Potential topics for guide books include recipes, photography tips, fitness guides, business strategies, and more. The buyer gains instant access to the knowledge product.
Overall, digital downloads require only the initial time investment to create the product. After that, they can earn passive income for the seller each time the product is purchased. This makes them one of the most scalable and profitable online businesses to start. The low barriers to entry and instant delivery also make these products attractive for both sellers and buyers. With a great digital product that solves a problem or provides value, this business model can become highly profitable.
Microstock Media
Selling microstock media like photos, illustrations, and video clips can be a lucrative digital product business. Microstock sites allow you to upload your work to their marketplace, handle the licensing and sales, and earn a commission on each sale.
Some of the major microstock sites include Shutterstock, iStock, Adobe Stock, Pond5, Dreamstime, Canva, and Depositphotos. These sites offer subscriptions or credit packs that buyers can purchase to download media. As the creator, you earn a percentage of each download – usually 20-60% depending on exclusivity.
The key to success is having a large portfolio with diverse, high-quality and on-trend media. Focus on producing the kinds of photos, illustrations, videos, or audio that is in high demand. Do keyword research to optimize your titles, descriptions, and tags. Building up a substantial catalog can turn microstock into a nice passive income stream over time.
Website & App Templates
Selling website and app templates can be a great online business model for designers and developers. Pre-designed templates help other entrepreneurs and businesses quickly launch their own sites and apps without needing to code everything from scratch.
Website templates typically include the full HTML/CSS code and images needed for common site sections like headers, footers, contact pages, blogs, etc. App templates provide the core UI elements and screens for iOS and Android apps. There are also templates for marketing emails, presentations, resumes, and more.
The key advantage of templates is they save buyers a huge amount of time and effort compared to building their own designs. Templates still require some customization work, but provide an excellent starting point. For developers, using templates can dramatically speed up the launch of new sites and apps.
The global market for website and app templates is growing rapidly. Popular online marketplaces like ThemeForest, Creative Market and AppTemplateBuilder have made it easier than ever for designers to sell their templates to a global audience. Pricing is generally $10-$60 for websites and $40-$100+ for app templates.
Creating great templates takes skill, but marketplace exposure and passive income opportunity make this a profitable digital product niche for developers and designers to consider. With the right marketing, templates can sell year-after-year with little added effort once initially created.
Conclusion
The most profitable digital products to sell online provide a number of lucrative opportunities with potential for passive income streams. This list has highlighted software, graphics, audio, 3D assets, digital downloads, microstock media, and website templates as top options. Each of these product types have the advantage of high margins and ability to scale efficiently.
While some of the products covered do require specialized skills or resources to produce, many can be created with minimal overhead for those with the right expertise. The combination of high demand and low marginal costs per sale can result in excellent profitability. Even simple products like graphics, website templates and microstock media can generate substantial passive revenue when sold at volume.
For those looking to build online income streams, creating your own digital products can provide that flexibility. Even beginning with a simple product or template database that meets demand can eventually grow into a lucrative asset. Although the initial product creation stage does require an upfront time investment, the long-term payoff from passive sales can make it well worth the effort. Readers are encouraged to assess their own skills and opportunities to develop digital products and services that can earn income over time. With the right product niche, marketing and automation, selling digital products online has tremendous profit potential.
