How to Sell Digital Products Online - Complete Guide

Selling digital products is one of the most profitable ways to make money online. No inventory, no shipping costs, and unlimited scalability — once you create a digital product, you can sell it to thousands of people with almost zero marginal cost.

In this complete guide, you'll learn how to sell digital products online — from choosing what to sell, to setting up your store, to getting your first sale.

Why Sell Digital Products?

Before we dive into the how, let's talk about why digital products are such an attractive business model:

Advantage	Physical Products	Digital Products
Startup cost	$500-10,000+	$0-50
Profit margin	20-50%	80-95%
Inventory	Required	None
Shipping	$3-15 per order	Instant delivery
Scalability	Limited by supply	Unlimited
Passive income	Requires fulfillment	Fully automated

Step 1: Choose What to Sell

The best digital products sit at the intersection of your skills and market demand. Here are the most profitable categories:

High-Demand Digital Products

• Templates — Canva templates, Notion templates, social media templates, resume templates. These are the easiest to create and sell. Average price: $10-50
• Online courses — Video-based education on any skill. Highest revenue potential. Average price: $50-500
• Ebooks and guides — In-depth written content on a specific topic. Quick to create. Average price: $10-30
• Presets and filters — Lightroom presets, video LUTs, Photoshop actions. Great for photographers. Average price: $15-50
• Digital art and printables — Wall art, planners, stickers, coloring pages. Low effort, consistent sales. Average price: $3-20
• Software and tools — Spreadsheet tools, calculators, browser extensions. Higher value. Average price: $20-100
• Audio content — Music, sound effects, guided meditations, podcast intros. Average price: $5-50
• Stock content — Photos, videos, illustrations, icons. Sell individually or in packs. Average price: $5-100

Pro Tip: Start with the product closest to what you already know. If you're a designer, start with templates. If you're a coach, start with an ebook or course. Don't learn a new skill just to create a product — monetize the skills you already have.

Step 2: Validate Your Idea

Before spending weeks creating a product, validate that people will pay for it:

1. Search existing marketplaces — Check Etsy, Gumroad, Creative Market, and Udemy. If similar products exist and have reviews/sales, there's demand
2. Ask your audience — If you have followers on social media, run a poll or ask in Stories: "Would you buy [product idea]?"
3. Check Google Trends — Is search interest growing, stable, or declining for your product type?
4. Pre-sell it — Announce your product before it's finished and take pre-orders. If people buy, finish creating it. If not, pivot
5. Create a free version first — Release a small free sample and gauge interest. If people love it, they'll pay for the full version

Step 3: Create Your Product

You don't need expensive tools. Here's what to use for each product type:

Product Type	Recommended Tools	Time to Create
Templates	Canva (free), Figma, Photoshop	2-8 hours
Ebook/Guide	Google Docs, Canva, Notion	1-3 days
Online course	Loom, OBS (free), phone camera	1-4 weeks
Presets/LUTs	Lightroom, DaVinci Resolve	2-4 hours
Printables	Canva (free), Illustrator	1-4 hours
Notion templates	Notion (free)	2-6 hours
Spreadsheet tools	Google Sheets (free), Excel	2-8 hours

Product Quality Checklist

Before selling your product, make sure it passes these checks:

• Does it solve a real problem or save time?
• Is it easy to use without extensive instructions?
• Is the design professional and polished?
• Have you tested it on multiple devices/platforms?
• Would you pay for this product yourself?

Step 4: Set Up Your Online Store

You have three main options for selling digital products:

Option A: Sell From Your Bio Link (Recommended for Creators)

If your audience is primarily on social media, selling from a bio link page is the fastest and most effective approach. With UniLink, you can:

• Create a beautiful product page in minutes
• Upload digital files for instant download after purchase
• Accept payments via PayPal and other payment methods
• Add product descriptions, images, and pricing
• Share the link on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and more
• Track sales and analytics from your dashboard

This is perfect for creators because your audience is already on social media — you just need to give them a way to buy.

Option B: Use a Marketplace (Etsy, Gumroad, Creative Market)

Marketplaces give you built-in traffic but charge higher fees and you don't own the customer relationship:

• Etsy — 6.5% transaction fee + $0.20 listing fee. Great for printables and templates
• Gumroad — 10% fee. Popular for courses and ebooks
• Creative Market — 50% revenue share. Best for design assets

Option C: Build Your Own Website

For established businesses, a full ecommerce site (Shopify, WooCommerce) gives you maximum control but requires more setup time and ongoing costs ($29+/month).

Our recommendation: Start with UniLink (free) to test your product and get initial sales. Once you're consistently selling, consider adding a marketplace listing for extra exposure. You can always scale to a full website later.

Step 5: Price Your Digital Products

Pricing digital products is more art than science. Here's a framework:

Pricing Strategies

• Cost-plus pricing — Calculate your time investment, multiply by your hourly rate, divide by expected sales. Example: 10 hours × $50/hour = $500 cost. If you expect 100 sales, price at $10-15
• Value-based pricing — Price based on what the product is worth to the buyer, not what it cost to make. A resume template that helps someone land a $80K job is worth more than $5
• Competitor-based pricing — Check what similar products sell for and position accordingly (slightly lower to compete, or higher if you offer more value)
• Tiered pricing — Offer multiple versions (Basic: $10, Pro: $25, Bundle: $40) to capture different customer segments

Common Pricing Mistakes

• Pricing too low — Undervaluing your work hurts your brand and attracts low-quality customers. A $3 product signals low quality
• Not offering bundles — Bundle 3-5 products at a discount to increase average order value
• Ignoring psychology — $9.99 feels cheaper than $10. $27 feels more premium than $25. Use odd numbers
• No free option — A free sample or lead magnet builds trust and brings people into your ecosystem

Step 6: Market and Sell

Creating a great product is only half the work. Here's how to actually get sales:

Social Media Marketing (Free)

• Show, don't tell — Create Reels/TikToks showing your product in action
• Share transformation stories — Before/after, problem/solution content
• Educate your audience — Teach them something valuable, then offer your product as the shortcut
• Use your bio link — Make sure your product is prominently featured on your UniLink page
• Post consistently — 3-5 posts per week mentioning or demonstrating your product

Email Marketing

• Build an email list with a free lead magnet (free sample of your product)
• Send a welcome sequence that educates and pitches your paid products
• Email your list when you launch new products or run sales

Launch Strategy

1. Week before: Tease the product on social media. Build anticipation
2. Launch day: Announce everywhere — Stories, posts, email, DMs to close friends
3. Launch week: Share customer testimonials, answer questions, demonstrate the product
4. Ongoing: Create evergreen content that drives continuous sales

Step 7: Scale Your Digital Product Business

Once you have your first product selling, scale up:

• Create complementary products — If your Instagram template pack sells well, create a matching Stories template pack
• Build a product suite — Offer a complete solution (individual products + bundle)
• Increase prices gradually — As you get reviews and testimonials, raise your prices
• Automate everything — Use tools that handle delivery, payments, and follow-ups automatically
• Expand to new platforms — Sell on Etsy, your own website, and through affiliates

Keep Reading

• digital products to sell
• sell on Instagram
• monetize social media
• affiliate marketing via bio link
• grow your email list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell digital products with no audience?

Yes, but it's harder. You can sell on marketplaces like Etsy (which has built-in traffic), use Pinterest for free organic traffic, or start building a social media following alongside your product business. Many successful sellers started with zero followers and grew by posting valuable content in their niche.

What's the best digital product for beginners?

Templates are the best starting point for most people. They're quick to create (2-4 hours in Canva), easy to understand, and have proven demand. Social media template packs, Notion templates, and resume templates are the most popular categories.

Do I need to pay taxes on digital product sales?

Yes, income from digital product sales is taxable in most countries. The specifics vary by location. Consult a tax professional or use accounting software to track your income and expenses. Many payment platforms provide year-end tax summaries.

How do I protect my digital products from piracy?

Complete protection is impossible, but you can minimize piracy by: using platforms that limit download attempts, adding watermarks to preview images, including a license agreement, and focusing on providing excellent customer experience (people are less likely to pirate from creators they respect).

How much money can I make selling digital products?

It varies wildly. Side hustlers typically earn $200-2,000/month. Full-time digital product sellers earn $3,000-20,000/month. Top sellers can earn $50,000+ per month. Your earnings depend on your product quality, audience size, marketing consistency, and pricing strategy.