Tech tools, marketing, and strategies to sell digital products
Yay for you! My guess is that you either already have a digital product, or you’re in the process of building one. And now, you’re wondering where to sell digital products, so you can turn this goal into a legitimate business. I’m genuinely so excited for you. Adding additional revenue streams to my business changed my life for the better. Even in the early days with a small shop and only 1 product to offer.
So if you’re looking to learn, you’re in the right place.
In this blog post, I cover:
- The tech tools you need if you’re wondering where to sell digital products.
- How selling digital products changed my business and life.
- Marketing strategies to grow your audience so you can sell digital products.
- Beginner-friendly sales techniques to sell digital products.
- Additional resources to help you on your business journey.
Selling digital products changed my business and life
Even with just the first digital product I sold in my shop, and the first few sales… Everything changed when I decided to add this additional stream of revenue to my business.
And this isn’t a story about passive income because selling digital products is not passive. But it is one about flexibility and personal control over how I spend my days… And that’s pretty cool.
My online business journey
If you’re not familiar with my business story, here’s a quick recap:
- I started freelance writing part-time straight out of university, while serving and bartending in restaurants and bars. I went back to school at this time to study marketing and public relations.
- After a few years, I went full-time in my business as a solopreneur. I scaled this up to 6-figures before hiring my first team member. I also started selling digital products, including an online course and copywriting templates in The Biz Bar.
- After my first maternity leave, I hired a team and ran my 6-figure business in part-time hours with the help of that team. This iteration of the business focused on messaging strategy, marketing, and copywriting within the micro-agency I’d built. This was when I launched my mastermind for freelancers as well, which is one of my favourite services currently.
- After my second maternity leave, I scaled back the agency side of the business to lean more into my existing digital product shop. I still offer done-for-you and done-with-you messaging, marketing, and copywriting support, but am more selective with those clients to align with my current work-life balance.
Selling digital products gave me flexibility
Selling digital products changed my business because it gave me more flexibility as I navigate early motherhood, including taking 2 maternity leaves in 2 years. Like I said, I won’t lie to you and say that it’s “passive” income. But it is another source of revenue I can tap into as needed.
All business models should be a tap for you: You turn them on and off as you want. Before having my 2nd baby, I dedicated myself to the micro-agency tap. My current focus is turning up the flow of the digital product tap. I don’t take that flexibility… having that option… for granted. I’m so thankful to past Jill for experimenting with both despite most business coaches pushing the idea of choosing a niche.
Yes, you need to focus your efforts. But you can weave other things into the mix as it makes sense.
Channels I use to sell digital products
Now that you know my story, let’s talk about the digital product side of the business. If you’re wondering where to sell digital products, I am the girl for you. I’ve tried a lot of different channels and platforms. 😂
Not only have I gained this experience from selling my own digital products, but also through helping clients build and grow digital product shops or online courses too. A lot of the work my agency supported included projects like email marketing and launch prep. So that’s the baseline we’re starting with here!
I also want to clarify that this blog post is focused on where to sell digital products… As in the specific platforms or tech or channels you need. If you want to dig into the HOW, check out this post instead.
Tech tools you need to sell digital products
*This blog contains affiliate links that support my business at no additional cost to you.
Where to sell digital products? Step 1 is choosing your tech stack. Here’s mine.
ThriveCart is my digital product checkout. This is like having an online cashier. It collects payment, provides receipts, and grants customers access to their purchased resources. I’ve used and loved it for years!
ThriveCart Learn+ is my digital product and course hosting platform. Everything lives in here in the main customer dashboard! The training videos, template links, and more. I made the switch from Thinkific to Learn+ and haven’t looked back. Especially since it’s just a 1-time investment… No more monthly fees for hosting!
You can read my ThriveCart review here…
Notion is where I store some of the supportive templates and tools inside my programs. For example, those inside my Inner Circle Mastermind get access to a dashboard of tools pulled straight from my business, like budgeting templates, capacity planning, revenue tracking, and more. It’s easier to keep these in Notion vs adding them as downloads within ThriveCart Learn+ because they’re living tools and documents that I copy from my business. Not stagnant.
ActiveCampaign is my email automation tech of choice. This is where I send weekly emails to my list, sales sequences to subscriber segments, nurture and warm leads, and convert those leads to purchase products from my shop or enroll in my programs. It also automates the delivery and followup of digital products.
And my website is hosted on Showit… Including The Biz Bar sales pages. Showit is by far my favourite website builder! I’ve used many of the popular options over the years.
Find all my tech tool recommendations here.
Where to sell digital products: Sales channels you need
Social media isn’t enough these days. Instagram isn’t a business strategy. And Substack isn’t going to solve all the problems that Instagram created for you.
You need a comprehensive marketing and sales plan to sell digital products, including understanding your sales pipeline. The best way to sell digital products is to actually set up a sales funnel.
Email marketing to sell digital products
Email marketing is a must—that’s where you’ll make most of your sales and automate the delivery process as a digital product or course creator. Landing directly in someone’s inbox is personal, and you can make the customer journey highly personalized through segmentation and automations. Don’t let those buzzwords deter you if you’re new to email marketing. Start small, and grow from there.
The benefits of email marketing to sell digital products:
- Design a personalized customer journey that converts and gets digital product sales.
- You can offer an engaging customer experience after they purchase.
- Email consistently to warm subscribers, get to know them, and provide solutions to their challenges.
- Opt-in sequences nurture new leads so they’re familiar with your brand and how you help.
If you’re just starting out with email marketing, read this blog post for a complete overview of how to create an email list for course creators, digital product sellers, and service-providers.
Social media to sell digital products
I know I said that social media isn’t a business strategy. It is, however, one channel you can use to fill the top of your sales funnel with potential leads. After you build your sales funnel or pipeline, you can look to social media channels to find where your ideal customers hang out.
Maybe your customers are on Instagram, or LinkedIn. Or even Threads. After you pick your platform, you can start creating content to attract those who are problem aware. If you’re catching someone who is scrolling on social media, they’re likely earlier on in the sales journey, therefore stage of awareness.
Understanding the stage of awareness of your leads is key for you to sell digital products online. Your email subscribers, on the other hand, should be father along the journey. It’s safer to assume that subscribers are solution aware and learning from you, deciding if you’re the best person to help them, and maybe weighing their options.
This is why social media often isn’t the best answer if you’re wondering where to sell digital products. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but email marketing is likely going to be your sales driver.
Speaking and public relations to sell digital products
Another potential option to fill the top of your pipeline when wondering where to sell digital products: Speaking opportunities and public relations. Think: podcast guesting, blog guesting, interviews, conferences, summits, workshops, and other collaborations.
Basically, this strategy involves getting in front of new audiences, but working off the trust of the host. By guesting on a podcast, you immediately gain trust and credibility to that audience because the podcast host chose you to be there. It amplifies your authority quicker than trying to go it alone!
This is another good marketing strategy to fill the top of your funnel with qualified subscribers… Aka get more people on your email list.
Video to sell digital products
If you’re not using video in your sales pipeline yet, you should! Now, I don’t mean that you need to go start a video podcast or a YouTube channel. Incorporating video is very different than starting an entirely new marketing platform…
Ways to incorporate video into your digital product sales funnel:
- Create brand videos for your website, like your core offer pages.
- Create a welcome video for new opt-ins on your email list.
- Send videos to replace longer newsletter emails and see how your subscribers respond.
- Share a video series on your social media channel of choice introducing your mission.
- Record a sales video for your main offer within your funnel.
- Use a tool like VidAsk to start conversations video short-form video.
The goal of incorporating video is to better connect with leads. Show them what you’re like, what you stand for, and what your brand is all about. You can do this in relatively simple ways.
Grow your audience to sell digital products
Most importantly, if you want to sell digital products, you need to grow your audience. Once you find a winning product and validate that offer (people purchase it for real money), it’s a numbers game. Your goal becomes getting traffic to your sales funnel, then serving those customers.
We already talked about where to sell digital products through organic marketing channels, but there are other options. Paid advertising often works to grow your list, so you can sell digital products.
Transitioning from freelance to digital products
Some freelancers reach a point where you want to diversify your income. If that’s you, you’re not alone! Having an established freelance business uniquely sets you up to sell digital products because you have so many transferrable skills. You probably also have good options for your first digital product to sell in your Google Drive already. It’s just a matter of choosing something that will help others.
For more about how to transition from freelance services to selling digital products, check out this post…
Selling digital products on Etsy vs your website
Some online business owners like using platforms like Etsy, but I will always prefer to use my own website. With any platform, like Substack or Etsy or social media, you’re using borrowed virtual land.
Your website is yours though. And as you work to get traffic to your website, you get to own that little piece of the internet. You have full control, and don’t have to pay a cut to the platform you’re on.
Additional support to grow a digital product business
If you’re new to building and selling digital products, or have been trying for a while without the success you want, I’ve got you. Here’s support options for varying stages of your business building journey…
Write consistent, engaging emails to your list: A necessary step if you want to sell digital products is growing your audience. Specifically, an email list. Grab the Newsletter Prompt Pack for 52 copywriting prompts so you can write emails to subscribers every week in 30 minutes or less.
Book an Intensive with me to strategize your sales funnel or optimize your copy: Intensive days are the fast-track for newer creators, freelancers and business owners who need done-with-you support ASAP. I wear either my business strategy, sales funnel strategist, or conversion copywriter hat as you need. Learn more here.
Take advantage of actionable tools inside The Biz Bar: Marketing, copywriting, and business-building resources and training to help you fast-track growth. Browse The Biz Bar.
