Digital Products in Ecommerce (A Complete Guide)
Digital products niche in ecommerce has been a big hit in the past decades, and people are said to make millions in revenue out of it. As a matter of fact, digital content has always been around…
Om Kolthoum’s songs’ records were digital content .
“How to Learn Photoshop in 5 Days” CDs were digital content .
Movies, songs, cartoons, and courses are all forms of digital products and people are making big money out of it.
As time changes and markets grow, digital products broke into the ecommerce world in many forms.
Let’s explore together all aspects and sides of these mine-of-gold products that cost nothing but your time and expertise and can make you a 5-figure passive income monthly.
What is the Meaning of Digital Products ?
A digital product is content that can be downloaded on a device, be it a PC , tablet , mobile , etc. It refers to the creation and production of non-physical products available for customers to download or distribute on electronic media from a website or a digital marketplace .
Examples include, but are not limited to, eBooks, video/audio tutorials, software products , mobile applications , templates, stock photography, courses, and more.
Why to Consider Launching a Digital Product?
Well, if you take yourself as an expert in any subject matter, say you know how to travel on a budget, the secret to a happy marriage, or recipes for losing weight quickly, then publishing that in any digital form can drastically change your life.
Why to go digital?
- This kind of business is viewed as very profitable, because you create it once and then sell it a thousand times.
- The creation cost is low as long as you have a reasonable amount of knowledge and plenty of time.
- Digital products are inherently scalable by nature.
- When you finish creating your product, you’ll have all the time in the world marketing for it through every possible channel.
- You get to set your own price and keep 100% of the profit to yourself.
- You can also release some complement or updated products later.
Who Can Create Profitable Digital Products?
Basically ANYONE can create and publish a digital product of some kind.
It’s all about creating the right product for the right market to an interested audience.
What are the Problems of Creating Digital Products?
One problem though one might face is to get too general trying to cover each and every point about something.
For example, let’s say you are compiling an online course about how to deal with children with special needs; that’s too broad.
I know you want to give out all you know and learnt to your audience, but this could distract rather than guide them..
Instead, talk about how to deal with an autistic 5-year-old kid. Do you get what I mean?
Here, you’re targeting a very specific niche where you could easily monetize a loyal audience.
Another problem is that we, as human beings, tend to believe that we are always right and super smart. What “I” want is what “everybody” surely wants.
But this is not always true.
Listen to your audience, watch their needs and problems, and try to answer their questions to find your niche.
People pay money to solve a problem they are suffering from or to make their lives a little bit easier, don’t they?
Working-from-home mothers needed to play video songs for their babies while typing in a word file at the same time.. Voila, Floating Player Chrome Extension happened!
People were asking each other for business ideas and googling daily for inspiring ideas to push them into diving heads first. Then, “Five Ideas a Day” happened!
See? Nothing is too niche, too weird, or too dump. Just listen carefully and go crazy!
How to Create Profitable Digital Products ?
Now let’s get down to business .
Ready?
Excited?
Regardless of the niche you chose or the creative idea you’re implementing, creating a digital product goes through a number of steps.
1. Choose a Profitable Category
Experts believe that the most profitable categories to choose a niche from are:
- Health
- Wealth
- Relationships
After deciding on the category, consider some aspects about the product to be chosen.
Ask yourself some questions.
- Is it digital-friendly?
- How big is the competition?
- How many would be interested in that product?
Tip: check Quora and Answer the Public to get inspired by people’s questions and answers.
Extra tip: generate ideas and search phrases from tools like Google Trends and Ubersuggest to get a clue about what users are looking for.
2. Brainstorm a Winning Product
Research…
Then research…
And research some more in order to reach the killer idea in the niche you chose.
As we agreed previously, people are interested in products that solve a problem, answer a pressing question, or meet a persistent need.
Warning: You don’t want to end up with a product that no sizable audience is interested in.
Validate your product’s idea first; how much is it suitable for the market?
How does your idea fill a gap in the niche market you chose?
Researching takes many forms though.
Learn from real-life successful digital products that are already invented; maybe you’ll be able to meet the owner and get personally inspired, who knows!
Be careful not to copy someone else’s idea; you got to add your touch, spirit, and brain.
Study how others determined what people want and managed to deliver successful solutions to existing challenges.
You can also join Google forums, Facebook groups, and social pages to get a taste of what people are talking about.
Bear in mind that people just looove to talk about themselves, the problems they’re facing, and maybe suggestions for a solution.
Let them do the talking, you do the LISTENING.
Listening to the community could inspire you greatly and help you find the niche that’s meant for success.
Take this website as an example: Ultimate Freelance Guide
The owner must have listened to junior freelancers and full timers seeking to join the freelancing world asking about where to start and how to get hired.
Notice how much is it sold for!
Take Knawat Dropshipping as another example. Knawat owner has listened to the challenges and needs of dropshippers in the Middle East and thought of an idea to offer dropshippers logistics, products, and operation services effortlessly and risk-free. Today, Knawat is one of the titan dropshippping companies in the MENA region.
Inspiring ha ;)
3. Build an Anticipated Audience
Once settled on the niche and the product, and even before (or while) creating it, start building your audience and keep them anticipated for the launching.
Why don’t you start by building a website with a stunning landing page with catchy slogan, product features, and an “about us” section.
See if people are interested enough to sign up with their email addresses to receive latest updates or newsletter from your site.
If yes, that’d be great.
If no, don’t panic. Go back and rethink your idea, ask different questions, or just add some modifications.
Let’s go back to the “yes” scenario.
People signing up to your website means you’re building your precious mailing list for potential customers, and that’s just great!
Work on getting indexed in the search engines and to be shown in organic search results.
Offer free content, relevant to your niche obviously, to encourage visitors to sign up.
Work on your blog and enrich it with unique, informative posts to engage your fans and attract more.
High-quality blog content attracts brands and influencers who might share your content or speak about it, and that’s exactly the kind of buzz you are looking for.
Guest posting is proven to drive more traffic when done write on relevant blogs to your niche. You’d want to add a bio about yourself so that you’re always on top of people’s minds and some links to your page as well.
We also happen to have a whole article dedicated to how to achieve a better ROI from your website if you’d like to check it.
That way you are validating your digital product; i.e., it is clear by now that there is a particular audience waiting for your product and willing to purchase it once launched.
4. Create Your Product
Alas!
Now let’s get the job done: building/creating the actual product.
Your product can be published in 3 different forms: Video, Audio, or Written.
Video content is very popular and trending on all digital platforms. The cost is almost zero if you already have a computer, a good microphone, and a camera (if needed for your project).
Video content can take many forms: recording-screen tutorial courses, animated tutorials, PowerPoint presentations, and more. It all depends on what you have to share with the world and how you’re gonna do that.
Audio content is extremely profitable and very easy to create.
Record an audio course, relaxing music tracks, meditation sessions, audio books, or a podcast.
Audio content is popular because people need something to listen to while going to work or waiting in line, or for those who do not have much time to read but still want to learn new skills.
Written content is very common and you can create it yourself or via transcription or outsourcing.
It includes eBooks, Kindle books, blogs, worksheets, newsletters, etc.
See? You have endless options and channels to create your product and get done with it.
And the bright point is that you only create the product once and then sell it over and over and over…
People look up for experts to teach them what they know, are eager to learn new skills, and are willing to pay for helpful, life changing content.
Here’s an example of an online course that addresses a major problem and can change lives: Become a WordPress Developer, sold on Udemy (we’re getting to that in a moment).
And you shouldn’t be surprised when you see this question on Quora ;)
By now, pieces of puzzle must have fallen each in its place and the big picture is completing in your head.
Only a few more points so that we rest assure that we’ve tackled the whole thing, from head to toes.
Where to Sell Your Product?
Selling you digital product and making good profit out of it is the goal behind all this.
So first of all you’re gonna need a well-composed sales copy. Since it is YOUR product and you are the best one who knows it inside out and are familiar with the target market, you should try to write the sales copy yourself instead of hiring a copywriter (maybe just a proofreader for a professional final copy).
Then work on your blog posts to attract new visitors who would very likely convert into buying customers.
Keep posting as a guest on other websites similar to yours in the same niche, with links leading back to your own.
Publish excerpts of your product on the different digital channels to give people a glimpse of what they are buying and engage more prospects.
Sign up on the major platforms that sell digital products similar to yours, for example, Udemy for great online courses in all fields or ShutterStock for breathtaking paid stock photography.
To Sum Up,,,
There gotta be something that you know very well and can pass on to others.
Research the market well and narrow the niche you’re targeting.
Build up a base of audience who might be willing in purchasing your product if it’s worth it.
Do it yourself or hire someone to help you and create digital content that solves a problem or answers a question to a specific sizable community.
Roll your sleeves up and market for your production in every possible way (you might want to read our piece of how to attract qualified customers)
It’s your baby, your life-time investment, your hard-gained experience in years; so go wild with your imagination and make it work…
If we have inspired you in any way, you can contact our customer success team and chat about the website of your dreams :)
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