If “sell digital products” is on your goals list for this year, you’re in the right place

So you’re wondering how to sell digital products online? Yay for you! It’s a great opportunity, especially if you already have an established business that you can leverage through a new revenue stream. In the numbers, the global digital goods market is projected to surpass $123 billion in 2025, with rapid growth expected to continue through the decade (source). The e-learning market alone is protected to reach $840 billion by 2030. Wild.

In this blog post, you’ll learn the step-by-step process of selling digital products—from idea to launch to scaling—without needing a massive audience. At least not in the early days. Audience growth will be important later on, but everyone starts at zero.

The complete guide to make a digital product to sell

What are all the steps involved after you create a digital product to sell? This post walks you through step-by-step of every stage of how to sell digital products, from choosing an LMS platform to getting your copy and other marketing collateral ready to launch your first digital product. If you’d prefer, you can also watch and follow along to get your digital products ready to launch.

Prefer to watch? Here’s the original video format. In the video, you even get a sneak peek at the A to Z Digital Product Development Plan, which is a bonus inside one of my own digital products (how meta)!

Why sell digital products in 2025?

If you’re still wondering whether now’s the right time to add digital products to your business model, yes. Do it. Here’s why…

Low overhead, high margin

Digital products are one of the few business models that don’t require you to trade time for money or stock a closet full of inventory. You can create once, sell repeatedly, and keep a lot of the profit. No shipping fees, packaging materials, or timezone juggling with clients. Just you, your expertise, and a product people can buy whenever they need it.

Your main expenses will be the tech tools to get setup, which you can often start as free accounts and increase as you grow. Or the consulting and education you need to get ready to sell digital products online.

I look at digital products as a way to help more people more efficiently. Why not start now?

Global reach (without burnout)

A well-positioned digital product lets you serve clients around the world, on their schedule—not yours. Whether you’re a designer, strategist, or service provider who’s currently booked out (or burnt out?), this model gives you a way to scale your impact often without scaling your hours.

It does take some trial and error to set your business up to scale without requiring more hours long-term (a short season of pushing is different from a constant hustle). But it is possible to do more with less with this business model.

Buyers are ready

Online learning and digital downloads aren’t niche anymore—they’re normal. Consumers are more comfortable than ever buying PDFs, swipe files, templates, and courses. They’re looking for quick wins, flexible learning, and tools they can implement fast. When your product meets a specific need? They’re happy to pay for the shortcut.

At the same time, your products need to be good. Your brand needs to stand out. So many of us have been burned by sketchy digital products and bad courses. As digital product sellers, we need to be better, and show that we’re better. A lot of audience trust is required to sell digital products successfully.

Tech makes it easier than ever

Creating and delivering digital products has never been easier. Tools like Canva, Notion, and ChatGPT mean you can design, outline, research, and build with speed. Email automation, course platforms, and digital delivery tools handle the back end for you.

That means you can spend more time refining your offers, supporting your audience, and showing up where it matters—without getting stuck in logistics.

Clarification: I wouldn’t recommend using AI to create your digital product. But it is a helpful tool to have if you treat it like a team member. AI is great for research, outlining, editing—anything tactical versus strategic.

Digital product ideas to sell in 2025

“How to sell digital products…” ← something many freelancers have Googled when they find themselves either booked and busy with client work… Or burnout and looking to diversify their revenue. Selling digital products based on your IP—your processes, tools, or unique insights—is a great option for some.

Obviously, it’s not the best path to grow and scale a freelance or service-based business for everyone. But if you’re reading this post, chances are you know this is a viable option for you. So you start brainstorming ideas.

And you end up here, which means you’re in the right place.

I wrote an entire blog post on digital product ideas for freelancers that you can read here. This post in the digital product series is going to focus on how to setup a digital product to sell.

Step-by-step setup guide of how to sell digital products

I look at business as if it’s a tap that you can turn on and off as needed. Others reference businesses as the machine you build and maintain over time. Regardless of how you want to imagine it, the idea is that you build first, then your job becomes to fuel that machine. Tweaking and refining your offers ideally over having to replace it all the time.

That’s what this step is all about: Building the pieces that aren’t the product itself. We’re talking about automated delivery emails, feedback forms, sales copy, and more. There’s a lot that goes into launching a digital product! Let this be your guide to simplify, so your business can thrive.

Step 1: Choose a Profitable Digital Product Idea

Before you can sell a digital product, you need a good idea—and good doesn’t always mean groundbreaking. The best digital product ideas are usually clear, helpful, and specific to what your audience is already asking for.

I often think of the quote: “What’s obvious to you is amazing to others.” ← you just need to be 10% beyond those you’re helping in order to provide value. So your digital product needs to be good and you need to sell with integrity, but it doesn’t need to be the most complex.

Here are a few digital product categories to consider:

• eBooks & guides that share your unique perspective, thought leadership, or teach a process.
  
• Templates like client onboarding forms, email swipe files, and Notion dashboards.
  
• Courses that deliver a transformation or win by walking people through a process.
  
• Presets & filters are especially useful for creatives and visual brands.
  
• Printables like planners, checklists, workbooks, or educational resources.
  
• Memberships with ongoing value and community support for recurring revenue.
  
• Toolkits & bundles that combine multiple resources to solve a bigger problem.
  

If you already have content or resources you’ve created for clients or your own business, that’s a great place to start. You likely already have something that can be turned into a product with a few tweaks. Most of my digital products are pulled directly from my Google Drive. I legitimate use them too.

Validate Before You Build

Before creating a digital product, you should make sure there’s demand. A profitable idea isn’t just something you want to sell—it’s something people want to buy.

Use tools like:

• Pinterest Trends to see what people are searching for, which is especially useful if your audience skews creative or visual.
  
• Google Trends to see if search interest is growing or fading.
  
• AI tools to brainstorm ideas, research competitor angles, and explore adjacent topics quickly.
  

The goal here isn’t perfection. It’s clarity. Start with an idea you’re excited about and that your people are asking for—then build from there.

Step 2: Define Your Niche + Ideal Buyer

Before you create anything, you need to know who you’re creating it for. This is where most digital product sellers go wrong—they make something generic, then wonder why it doesn’t sell.

Instead, zoom in.

Who is your product for? What do they want? What’s frustrating them right now? What do they wish existed?

Start by defining your niche, then go deeper into your ideal buyer. Think of them as a real person, not just a demographic.

Ask yourself:

• What’s keeping them up at night?
• What are they trying (and failing) to DIY?
• What result do they really want—and how fast do they want it?
• Where are they already spending money?
• What makes them hesitate to buy?

You don’t need a 12-page customer avatar worksheet. You just need to understand their struggles and desires clearly enough to position your product as a solution.

Tip: Go through your past client DMs, sales calls, or social polls to find real phrases and frustrations. That’s where the gold is.

Step 3: Create Your Product

Once you have a clear idea and audience, it’s time to build the product.

You have two options:

• DIY it – Great if you’re just starting, or want full creative control
  
• Outsource it – Ideal if you want to go premium from the start or you’re short on time
  

You don’t need to overcomplicate this. Some of the best-selling digital products are built in Google Docs or Canva. But you do need to prioritize quality and usability.

Tools to help you build faster:

• Canva – For beautiful workbooks, guides, templates, or slides
  
• Notion – Great for planners, systems, and interactive digital products
  
• ActiveCampaign – For marketing, email sequences, and product delivery
  
• ThriveCart Learn+ – For hosting online courses
  
• ThriveCart Pro – For selling + checkout
  

In 2025, user experience matters more than ever. Your product should be easy to access, mobile-friendly, and intuitive to use. Think less “fancy design” and more “clear, usable, and gets results.”

Also consider accessibility: readable fonts, inclusive language, and formats that work for all kinds of learners (video, audio, text).

Step 4: Price It Strategically

Pricing isn’t just a number—it’s part of your positioning. And it’s one of the biggest mindset hurdles for new digital product creators.

Here’s a helpful breakdown of common pricing tiers:

• $7–$27 – Low-risk “tripwire” or entry-level offers (great for recouping list-building ad costs and qualifying new leads).
  
• $47–$197 – Mid-range guides, templates, or starter courses.
  
• $297–$997+ – Premium digital products or deeper transformations (masterclasses, systems, signature offers).
  

Pricing psychology tips:

• Charm pricing – Prices that end in 7 or 9 tend to convert better than round numbers
  
• Anchor pricing – Show the value of what’s included by comparing it to what they’d pay for a similar result 1:1
  
• Bundling – Combine complementary products to increase perceived value (and average order value)

But don’t just price based on what others are doing or what feels safe (imposter syndrome, anyone???). Price based on the transformation you’re offering—you know you do good work, and this is your chance to own that.

Step 5: Build the marketing collateral

Create the visual assets. I like to start here because there’s often a lot of different visuals that need to be created in order to get your digital product ready to sell. This includes shop mockups, video thumbnails, and other promotional graphics. I use Canva to create all these pieces of my digital product, but there are other tools out there.

Write the copy. You need a lot of copy to launch a digital product. Not just the product page or the sales page on your website, but there’s also the marketing promotions.

• Launch copy to your email list and social media.
• Abandoned cart and other email segmentation sequences.
• Delivery sequences and follow-up emails to customers.

If you don’t do this part first, you’ll be missing building block pieces you need to set up your selling platform.

All of the above are resources you can find inside the Digital Product Sales Pack, but you’re definitely capable of writing these from scratch! Using a template pack just makes the process a lot easier. If you’re anything like me, you love saving time.

Step 6: Set up your tech tools to deliver and host your digital product

In this stage of how to make a digital product to sell, you’re going to need to dedicate some time to setting up your tech tools. Here’s an overview of what that could look like…

Choose a Learning Management Software (LMS). I love using ThriveCart Learn+ to host my digital products. Whether you purchase a digital template or a course, it’s all inside ThriveCart. That way, you have a single dashboard to access all the resources you purchase, which I think improves the overall customer experience. Customer experience is super important to me.

Create your customer dashboard. With any LMS, you’re typically able to customize your customer dashboard—what things look like when they log into your resources. I suggest starting here so you can see the big picture of how future offers can fit.

Add all your digital product content. In order to sell digital products, you need to set them up somewhere. Choosing LMS software is step 1, but how do you want to present your paid content? I personally follow the same structure for every single digital product I sell. Online courses have a specific format for setup, while digital products have another. Even simple templates, for example, come with how-to videos and other logistical information to improve the customer experience. I don’t just email them a link with a mish-mash of PDFs.

Set up your delivery automation. How will customers get access? This is where you make those decisions. I always recommend leveraging your email platform to create automations that deliver your product on autopilot. Then you won’t have to manually fulfill each sale.

Beyond fulfillment, you can create automations that further support your customers, recommend similar products, and ask for feedback.

Step 7: Build the marketing funnel to sell your digital products

If you want to know how to sell digital products online… You’re building a tap, remember? That’s what this step is all about. Building a pipeline and a way for people to purchase your digital product without your involvement at every stage.

Choose your checkout. I also use ThriveCart’s checkout for the checkout step of my marketing funnel, and have used it for years. It’s the best option out there from what I’ve seen for a few reasons:

• It’s highly customizable.
• It integrates well with other tech tools, including my email marketing platform.
• It can charge sales tax based on location of your customer, and calculate that specific amount at the checkout.
• It’s a 1-time purchase fee.
• It’s simple to set up and use.

Pick an email marketing platform. I’ve used ActiveCampaign for years and love the automation capabilities, along with the analytics functionality. All of my marketing emails, product delivery sequences, feedback requests, and more are housed in ActiveCampaign. I can even set up automations for interest tagging of contacts, so I can send relevant segmented emails to those who are interested in specific digital products.

Launch a website (if you don’t have one yet). There’s plenty of easy drag and drop builders now, like Squarespace or Showit. I’ve used Squarespace, Showit, and Wix… Showit is my favourite.

Website builders like the above are often better than the built-in landing pages on your email platform or LMS.

Plan your digital product launch. Depending on your business goals, business model, and long-term plans, your digital product launch may look different.

Some questions to consider:

• Would you rather live launch or build an evergreen funnel?
• How does this digital product fit into your existing business?
• What type of digital product are you selling?
• When is the best time to launch this type of digital product?
• Do you want to have affiliates for your product or no?

Your answers to these questions will dictate how you plan your digital product launch.

How to create a digital product

Creating a digital product is no small feat! If you already created yours, open the good wine because it’s time to celebrate. If you’re stuck in analysis paralysis with how to create a digital product, I got you.

The quick summary is that there are a lot of steps involved in creating a digital product to sell. But it’s totally doable if the business model makes sense to you specifically. It’s also a lot easier if you get some form of guidance through the process versus having to do it all alone.

I wrote an entire blog post about how to create a digital product that you can read here.

How to sell digital products

What about selling the digital products you make? That’s the next step in the process, obviously. There’s a few phases of work that go into selling digital products. First, there’s understanding that selling digital products is very different from selling 1:1 freelance services.

After you have that understanding, there’s the work that goes into setting up a digital product so it’s ready to sell. Creating the marketing collateral, writing all the copy, setting up the product itself. You also have to decide on the best delivery method, what tech tools to use, and more. Nobody really talks about this part. They say “it’s so easy to sell digital products!” and sure, maybe it can be easy. But you need to build the machine first, and that takes time.

How to sell digital products compared to 1:1 freelance services

This is a question I got when I asked my Instagram audience for their digital product questions. There’s a huge difference between selling 1:1 freelance services and how to sell digital products.

The biggest difference is the traffic needed to be successful. Digital products typically cost less than 1:1 or done-for-you services, which means that you need to sell more of them in order to achieve the same revenue goals. If you were to compare the same conversion rate for a done-for-you service that starts at an $1k investment with a digital product that only costs $100, you’d need to increase your traffic significantly in order to bring in the same revenue.

In order to generate the traffic needed, your marketing efforts will look different. Many freelancers don’t really market their services at all and are able to rely on channels like word of mouth, referrals, past clients, connections, and cold pitching to build a substantial business. I don’t recommend leaning on these connections alone and typically suggest setting up an inbound sales pipeline for your freelance services, but that’s advice for another day. In this case, transitioning to sell digital products may require you to revisit what you’re willing to do in terms of marketing. For example, digital products may need more marketing touchpoints in order to convert.

You may need more social proof to sell digital products. Results are of course important to sell anything to anyone, but I find that digital products need your customers to speak for you about the transformation provided because often, you’re eliminating that genuine 1:1 connection you can make over a Discovery Call on Zoom. People want to know they can trust you, and that you didn’t just whip together a digital product to make a quick buck.

You will need to revisit your customer segment. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The type of person who buys digital products differs from those who invest in your done-for-you and 1:1 services differs in more than their budget. Too often, I see people saying “my product is for anyone who can’t afford X.” But if money is the only differentiator you can find, you need to do some more digging in order to effectively sell to this customer segment. I can assure you that more than their budget makes them unique.

Trends shift fast, so it’s not 1 and done. No business is 1 and done and you always need to evolve, but I’ve noticed that trends around what types of products are selling well tend to shift faster than the 1:1 or DFY services. For example, everyone is always going to want website copy written for them. There’s always going to be a need for those copywriters. But will there always be a need for the products I sell? I’ve already retired 2 of my older Instagram-related products that both myself and the current best practices outgrew.

There are many other differences between selling digital products and other freelance services, but that’s a good start! I’ll probably do an entire blog post around specific sales tactics for digital products vs selling freelance services.

Watch the update: How to sell digital products vs freelance services

I updated this post to share a video with you that breaks down some major differences between how to sell digital products compared to freelance services. Watch below to learn how to transition from freelance services to add a digital product revenue stream to your business.

How to set up a digital product to sell

Before you even get into the selling stage, you need to get your digital product ready to sell. Creating the product is one thing, but setting it up and preparing to launch is an entirely different challenge—one that you can overcome, but still a challenge.

Inside my Digital Product Sales Pack, there’s a bonus A to Z Digital Product Development Plan. This bonus resource is essentially a guide that walks you through step-by-step of how to make a digital product to sell. It covers ideation, creation, promotion, and more.

The part of that development plan that’s relevant to you now is setting up all the tech and marketing components: Consider this your pre-launch prep of how to sell digital products. A few things should be ready when you first publish your offer. I mentioned before that if you’re doing a pre-sale (a promotional period prior to your product being built), then you may just skip to this step. You also may not do all of this step right away. If you’re like me and want to have everything sorted out prior to launching, follow these steps in order.

Summary: What do you need to sell a digital product?

We just covered a lot of ground here. You might be wondering: What do I really need to sell digital products? The short answer is: Good copy to sell your products, and other marketing collateral. Plus some basic tech tools so people can purchase and access your product. But let’s wrap up with a comprehensive list so you know exactly what you need to make and sell your digital products.

Copy and marketing collateral needed:

• Product or sales page copy
• Checkout page copy
• Delivery or fulfillment email copy
• Launch copy
• Funnel copy
• Feedback request forms and surveys
• Abandoned cart email copy

The Digital Product Sales Pack includes all of the above if you want to save time setting up your digital product to launch, but you can create all this on your own too!

Tech tools needed to sell a digital product:

• Checkout platform
• Payment processor
• Learning management software
• Email marketing platform
• Website
• Design platform

Here’s a list of all the tech tools in my business and often recommend to others.

Save time with the Digital Product Sales Pack

The Digital Product Sales Pack includes a Notion guide and checklist of every single step involved in how to make a digital product to sell. From ideation to creating the offer, setting it up in your platform of choice, launching the first time, and collecting feedback to refine and sell it again. It’s a great option if you want a little more support through the process of launching your first digital product, and you can use the same templates for any future offers you build. Learn more here.

How to Get Your First 10 Customers (and Then 100)

You don’t need a huge audience or viral moment to start selling. You just need to start with the people who already trust you.

Start with your warm audience

You’d be surprised how many people in your current world are already interested.

• Post about your product in Instagram Stories.
• Send a short email to your list.
• Personally DM 5–10 people who’ve asked about your work before and say,
  “Hey! I just launched a new product that might be a good fit for you. Want me to send the details?”

You’re not being pushy—you’re making it easier for people who already like you to say yes. Selling is helping match people with solutions. This perspective will make it all feel easier for you.

Try beta pricing

You could offer early access at a lower rate in exchange for honest feedback or a testimonial. Be clear that the price is going up—and let them know they’re getting in early.
This helps you:

• Get validation
• Build social proof
  Improve your product based on real user input
  

Try something like:
“Only 20 beta spots available at this rate—doors close Friday or when we hit capacity.”

That kind of gentle urgency gives people a reason to act now instead of “later.”

Then build from there

Once you’ve got your first 10, lean on those testimonials and feedback to refine your messaging. Repost wins. Share reviews. Show the product in action. Every happy customer becomes a marketing asset. And from there, getting your next 100 starts to feel less intimidating.

👉 My Digital Product Sales Pack includes launch email templates and promo strategies to help you make your first sales!

Customer Retention & Repeat Buyers

You worked hard to earn that sale—don’t let it be the last one.

Digital product businesses grow fastest when you increase lifetime value, not just one-time sales. That means staying in touch, creating follow-up offers, and making your customers feel seen. Help them through their entire growth journey. Don’t make it just 1 and done!

Start with your post-purchase experience

A few simple automations can go a long way:

• “How’s it going?” check-in email a few days after delivery.
• “You might also like…” suggestions for related products.
• Request for feedback to improve your product (and make them feel heard).

Reward loyalty

When someone buys from you more than once, they’re telling you they trust you. Show them that trust is mutual.

• Offer bundle pricing or loyalty discounts.
• Give your past customers early access to new launches.
• Create bonus content only available to returning buyers.

I do all of the above when selling my own digital products, and can confirm it works!

Cross-sell and upsell with intention

Did they buy a template? Offer a training on how to use it. Did they love your guide? Invite them to your premium course. ← that’s a cross-sell or upsell.

It’s not about pushing—it’s about curating their next best step. When your digital product ecosystem makes it easy to keep learning, growing, and winning? You’ll have customers who stick around for years.

Build Social Proof + Authority

Don’t just tell people your product works—show them. Social proof sells better than any copy you could write (coming from a copywriter by trade).

Social proof builds trust, speeds up decision-making, and makes people feel like “If it worked for them, it might work for me too.” The good news? You don’t need hundreds of testimonials to start using it well.

Start small: add what you have

• Share screenshots of kind DMs or emails.
• Pull short testimonial quotes from feedback forms.
• Ask for quick video reviews (these don’t have to be fancy!).

You can even use a simple prompt:
“If you found this helpful, would you be open to sharing a sentence or two about your experience?”

Encourage user-generated content

Create a moment your customers want to share.

Say:
“Tag me on IG when you use this—I’d love to see it in action!”
Then repost with context. Let their excitement do the marketing for you.

Try a case study

When someone gets a big win, ask to feature them.

Example:
“After using my sales page template, one client booked three new projects and made $1K in a weekend.”

Highlight:

• Where they started
• What they used
• What happened next

This builds credibility and inspires others to take action too.

💡 For more ways to leverage social proof and turn customer feedback into more sales, check out my Substack post: Sell more and build better digital products with customer insights

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even smart, experienced creators can trip up on these. Here’s what to watch for—and what to do instead.

• Underpricing your product
  Don’t charge based on what you would pay—price based on the value your product delivers.
  Quick fix: Anchor your price next to a higher-tier offer or bundle to boost perceived value.
  
• Not validating your idea first
  Just because you’re excited about it doesn’t mean others will be.
  Quick fix: Use AI, AnswerThePublic, Pinterest Trends, or a simple Instagram poll to test interest.
  
• Skipping audience research
  If you don’t know their pain points, your product won’t speak to them.
  Quick fix: Ask your audience what they’re struggling with—then build from there.
  
• Selling on the wrong platform
  Not every product needs a full course platform. Match the delivery to the product type.
  Quick fix: Use simple tools (like Canva, Notion, ConvertKit) before investing in premium platforms.
  
• Not collecting emails from Day 1
  Without an email list, you’re building on rented land (and losing future sales).
  Quick fix: Create a simple lead magnet and start gathering subscribers now—even if your product isn’t ready yet.
  

These are easy to fix—but easier to avoid. Start with intention, validate what you build, and grow with your audience in mind.

To summarize: How to sell digital products starts with the offer

Ultimately, if you’re wondering how to sell digital products and made it this far, you’re on the right track. It all comes back to your offer, and the attention to detail you have when working through this process.

If your offer isn’t great, it’s not going to sell. If it doesn’t solve a specific problem for a unique customer segment, it’s not going to sell. And if it’s not rooted in your strengths and value, it’s not going to sell. Remember these things, and the process will be so much easier.

I hope you found this setup guide helpful and feel ready to start selling your digital product now! Please let me know in the comments if you’d like me to share more about the specific sales tactics for digital products versus freelance services. I’m happy to add that to the queue.

👉 Want the exact resources I use to plan, create, price, and sell digital products? Grab the Digital Product Sales Pack and shortcut your setup.