How to Start Selling Digital Products (Step by Step Guide)

Selling digital products and earning passive income may seem like an impossible goal.

People try to create a product and expect to make sales, only to discover none. This whole idea of selling digital products and making money while they sleep starts to seem like a scam, and they lose motivation. What if I told you that I faced all these problems and had these thoughts just two years ago? What if I told you that you can also start selling digital products yourself and achieve financial freedom sooner than you think?

Today, I would like to give you a 10-step tested blueprint on how to start selling digital products.

Let's dive in.

Step 1: Choose your niche.

What you need to do first is to look out for profitable niches and choose one. Then do market research on that niche. Make sure to look out for existing competitors - it's a good sign to see them. It means there will be a market for your product. If there is existing market, there is most likely money to be made.

Find a profitable niche. Look for niches that have a high demand and low competition. Use keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggesct to get a better idea of what people are searching for.
Choose a niche you're interested in. It's important to choose a niche that you're passionate about. This will help you stay motivated and engaged as you work on your digital products.
Do market research. Once you've identified a potential niche, do research to define your target audience, study your competition, analyze market trends.
Check if there are existing competitors. If there is, it's actually a good sign as it indicates that there is a market for your products.

Suggested tools: Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, Pinterest Trends, Ahrefs, Ubersuggest.

Step 2: Build your brand.

Decide whether you want to go with a personal or business brand. Personal brand is built around your value, interestes and knowledge. Business brand on the other hand is centered around shared values, led by you.

Then choose your brand name or keep your full name and define your brand message. Create a quick branding visuals - develop a consistent visual style that reflects your brand message.

Decide whether you want to go with a personal or business brand. Each brand has its own advantages and disadvantages, so choose wisely.
Choose a brand name. Your brand name should be memorable, easy to pronounce and spell, and relevant to your niche.
Define your brand message. Clarify what your brand stands for, what value it provides, and what sets it apart from the competition.
Choose your branding visuals. Create a logo, choose your brand colors, and develop a consistent visual style that reflects your brand message.
Know your audience. Identify your target audience and understand their problems, needs, and desires. This will help you create digital products that resonate with them.

Suggested tools: Canva, Figma.

Step 3: Grow your audience.

Growing your audience is crucial to the success of your digital product business.

Analyze what works best for others in your niche. Use it as inspiration for your own content. You don't need to reinvent the wheel, but you do need to create content that resonates with your target audience.
Always think about the value you provide. You need to create content that solves problems, answers questions, or entertains your audience. Be honest, transparent, and authentic in your communication.
Start communicating and engaging on social media. Choose the platforms where your target audience is most active, and post consistently. Respond to comments, share other people's content, and join relevant groups.
Build connections and make friends. Engage with other people in your niche, and collaborate when possible. You can do guest posts, interviews, or even create a joint product. The more you network, the more opportunities you'll have to grow your business.
From time to time, share your free product with your audience. You want to remind them of the value you provide and give them a taste of what they can expect from your paid products.
...and most importantly - stay consistent.

Suggested tools: Typefully, Buffer, Hypefury, TweetHunter.

Step 4: Create free product.

Don't ever dive into your paid product first. Trust me, you'll just waste a bunch of time. First, know that people are interested in what you're planning to create. Best way to do that is by creating a free products. It’s also a great way to build your email list, establish your expertise.

Identify your audience's pain points. Figure out the biggest problems your audience is facing, and create a free product that addresses one of these problems.
Create a lead magnet. A lead magnet is a free product that you offer in exchange for someone's email address. This could be an e-book, a checklist, a video tutorial, or any other type of valuable content that solves a problem for your audience.
Promote your lead magnet. Use different social media channels, like Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook groups to promote your lead magnet.
Use your free product to validate paid product ideas. Platforms like Gumroad have a "pay as you want" function that can be extremely valuable when trying to determine whether or not your products are resonating with your audience.

Suggested tools: LemonSquezy, Gumroad, ThriveCart.

Step 5: Start email marketing.

Email marketing is a powerful way to build a relationship with your audience and sell your products. Choose a tool and start communicating consistently.

Your newsletter should be more than just a promotional tool.

It should provide valuable insights, tips, and strategies that your audience can use to improve their lives or businesses.

Find the best marketing tool that suits your needs. There are many email marketing tools available, each with its own features and pricing. Some popular options include Mailerlite, ConvertKit.
Provide more in-depth value on your weekly newsletter. Your newsletter should be more than just a promotional tool. It should provide valuable insights, tips, and strategies that your audience can use to improve their lives or businesses.
Build trust, reputation, and authority with your following. Consistency and quality are key to building a loyal email list. Make sure you send emails on a regular basis, and always provide value.
Don't forget to clean inactive subscribers. Remove people emails who don’t engage with your emails. You want to focus on the subscribers who are most interested in what you have to offer. Plus this will also help on your email deliverability.

Suggested tools: MailerLite, Convertkit.

Step 6: Create your paid product.

Creating your first paid product can seem daunting, but if you've followed the previous steps, you'll be well on your way. If your free product was a success you're off to a great start.

Now it's time to turn that free product into paid one. Use the feedback you received from your audience to create a paid product that offers even more value.

Build on the success of your free product. If your free product was well-received and generated a good amount of engagement, then you're off to a great start. Use the feedback you received from your audience to create a paid product that offers even more value.
Provide significant value. When creating your paid product, you should aim to provide significant value that justifies the cost. Consider the price point and what your audience is willing to pay, and then create a product that offers more value than what they are paying for.
Choose the right format. Keep it simple when choosing the format for your paid product. E-book, guide, template, course - these are just a few of examples. Pick a format that suits your niche and audience, and makes it easy for you to deliver value while creating a top-notch product. Avoid overwhelming yourself by choosing a format that's too complex or time-consuming.
List your product online. Once you've created your paid product, you'll need to list it online so that your audience can find and purchase it. There are several platforms that you can use to list your product, such as Gumroad, LemonSquezy, or Kajabi. Each platform has its own fees and features, so make sure to do your research and choose the one that's right for you.

Suggested tools: LemonSquezy, Gumroad, Kajabi, Podia.

Step 7: Build your landing page.

Your landing page is the gateway to your paid product, so it's important to get it right.

Choose the platform, and use persuasive copy, high-quality images, videos, and social proof to build trust and encourage conversions.

Decide on the design. You can either choose to create a custom design for your landing page or use a pre-made template. Custom designs can be more expensive and time-consuming, but they offer greater flexibility and control. Templates are a quicker and more affordable option, but they may be less unique.
Choose your platform. There are several platforms available for building landing pages, including WordPress, Webflow, and Framer. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so choose one that suits your needs and experience level.
Focus on your value proposition. ,
Optimize for conversions. Your landing page should be optimized for conversions, which means it should be easy to navigate, have a clear call-to-action, and be mobile-friendly. Use A/B testing to optimize your landing page over time and increase conversions.

Suggested tools: Figma, Framer, Wordpress, Webflow.

Step 8: Drive traffic to your product page.

Once your landing page is ready, the next step is to drive traffic to it. Remember, no traffic = no sales.

Plug your paid product on social media. Use your social media accounts to promote your paid product by creating engaging posts and including a link to your landing page.
Start blogging on your niche relating topics. Create blog posts that are relevant to your niche and include a call-to-action to visit your landing page.
Send email from your newsletter. Use your email newsletter to promote your paid product to your subscribers.
Promote on social media with sales targeted content. Use targeted social media ads to reach potential customers and drive them to your landing page.
Leverage the channels you’ve already pre-built. If you have an existing audience, such as a following on social media, a YouTube channel, or a podcast, use those channels to promote your paid product.

Step 9: Automate.

To make the process of selling digital products easier, consider automating as much as possible.

Build your email sequence to automate email sending. Use an email marketing tool to create automated email sequences that will be sent to your subscribers at specific intervals. This can help you build a relationship with your subscribers and nurture them towards purchasing your paid product.
Automate any tasks that are repetitive. For example, you can use a tool like Zapier to automate repetitive tasks such as adding new subscribers to your email list, sending out social media posts, or updating spreadsheets.

Suggested tools: Zapier, Make, Integratly.

Step 10: Test and optimize.

Finally, it's important to continually test and optimize your digital product and marketing strategy to improve your results.

Do A/B testing to check what performs better. Test different versions of your landing page, email subject lines, and social media posts to see what works best.
Regularly check your analytics and how everything is performing. Use analytics tools to track your website traffic, conversion rates, email open rates, and other important metrics.
Don’t be afraid to explore, fail, and optimize for better results. Remember that building a successful online business takes time and experimentation. Don't be afraid to try new things, learn from your mistakes, and optimize your strategy for better results.

Suggested tools: Google Optimize, Optimizely.

Final words.

Selling digital products is not an impossible goal. It may seem daunting at first, but with the right steps and determination, it is achievable. Remember, nothing good in life comes easy. If it’s hard it means you’re on the right path.

So, don't let the initial challenges discourage you. Start taking action today and pave your path towards financial freedom.

That's all for now. I hope you found this blueprint helpful.