As a writer. your main “product” is the written word. Whether you specialize in books, magazine articles, poetry or something else, harnessing the power of your words and creativity are undoubtedly the primary focus of your days. However, there are other opportunities to profit as a writer. Selling digital products comes with exciting benefits.
According to Constant Contact, digital product sales have been growing steadily since 2009, and this trend is expected to continue. As writers, we’re faced with more competition in almost all facets of the industry. In addition, AI is impacting our jobs to varying degrees. Finding another way to profit from your skills and expertise makes sense. With expected growth in digital market sales, this could be a lucrative option to consider.
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What Are Digital Products?
Digital products can be downloaded for use immediately after purchase. Often, these are digital files, such as documents, photos, music and more. Examples of products that you can create as a writer are:
- eBooks
- How-to guides
- Greeting cards
- Calendars
- Checklists
- Templates
- Courses related to your specialt
Often, people sell multiple digital products through the same platform.
Why Sell Digital Products
Many writers today need to round out and diversify their income. However, they often lack the bandwidth to take on a long-term project. Digital products have minimal cost of production. The most expensive product to produce is often a digital course. Mostly, your time and energy will be the primary resources used.
Once your digital products are created, they require little to no maintenance. The file transmission to customers can be automated. Because of these factors, digital products are a source of passive income once they’re created. Make more products, grow your passive income. (Of course, you have to make products that people want to buy.)
When a customer makes a purchase, you can capture the email and build your mailing list. With a larger mailing list, your reach and sales grow. Regular emails and newsletters can help you sell more books, increase blog revenue and achieve other goals.
There are several platforms available to sell your digital products on. Each has unique features as well as different fees, selling points and drawbacks. Two of the more popular platforms to sell products that writers might produce are Payhip and Gumroad. I’ve used both of these platforms to sell various products.
Using Payhip to Sell Digital Products
The Platform
Once your product is created, make an account on Payhip. This process only takes a few minutes. The product upload process is equally easy and involves uploading files, creating a product description and setting your price. Overall, I’ve found that the Payhip platform has a better design with a user-friendly layout.
You’ll then choose how you want to get paid. The options are PayPal and Stripe. Notably, you can immediately cashout on Payhip. There’s no need to wait until a specific payday arrives.
If you choose to create a storefront, you’ll be taken to another user-friendly page. This page lets you upload your logo and choose your color scheme.
PayHip has a feature that notifies you immediately of purchases. It also has analytics and graphics to give you a more complete look at how your store is doing.
Fees
There is no fee to list products for sale on Payhip or create a store. However, you’re responsible for a transaction fee on each sale. The Payhip transaction fee is much lower than the Gumroad fee. This fee is 5%. Payhip does have paid membership plans that come with exciting benefits. If you pay for a membership, the transaction fee is reduced.
Marketing
PayHip doesn’t have its own marketplace where shoppers can discover your digital products. Instead, sellers market their product themselves. This is commonly done on social media and the seller’s blog or website. It may be cost-effective to use paid advertising as well, but you should carefully analyze the return on investment.
Payhip offers some promotional options. For example, you can set up a promotional sale or use cross-selling. Payhip generates a referral link as well as an affiliate link, which allow you to compensate others for helping you sell products.
Selling Digital Products on Gumroad
The Platform
Gumroad’s platform is a bit dated in terms of design. Unfortunately, the sales page for each of your products has this same clunky look. The new account creation process is a breeze. However, the Gumroad product listing process walks you through a few screens and takes more time.
Gumroad will notify you of each sale. It pays out on PayPal and Stripe. The funds are not immediately available, though. Paydays are on Friday, and they lag a week behind.
Like PayHip, Gumroad provides real-time data on views, but it lacks the graphical presentation that PayHip has.
Gumroad allows you to customize your store for a fee. This is free on PayHip.
Fees
Like Payhip, Gumroad doesn’t charge an upfront fee, and it offers the ability to design a store for your products at no cost. The transaction fee, however, is close to 10%. If you only sell a handful of products, this fee difference is usually negligible. As sales increase, though, Gumroad’s higher transaction fee will have a greater impact on your bottom line.
Marketing
Gumroad has a robust marketplace, so your products can be discovered by those who are simply browsing around. However, the marketplace lists the products with the highest sales in a niche first. As a new seller, this won’t be advantageous for you. In addition, Gumroad doesn’t require you to find your own affiliates. Affiliates can browse through Gumroad products and contact you if they’re interested. Additional promotional options aren’t available.
Other Places to Sell Digital Products
- Amazon
- Etsy
- Send Owl
- Senz
- eJunky
- Selfy
- Your Own Website