How to Create & Sell Profitable Digital Products (16 ideas)

Want to create and sell digital products…but not sure what product is the most profitable, the easiest to sell, or where to start? 

I’ve built an eight-figure business with the help of highly profitable digital products and helped thousands of people sell online – and today, you’ll learn how to build your own digital product business. 

Including: 

• How to create and sell in-demand digital products 
• The 16 most profitable digital products
• And so much more

Want to learn more? Read on!

What are digital products? 

A digital product is an intangible product that you sell online in a digital format. There are plenty of different types of digital products, including online courses, software, ebooks, and even online productized services. 

And the industry is growing…fast. 2 billion online people bought at least one digital product in 2020. The eLearning market is projected to be worth $325 billion by 2025.

In other words, there’s A LOT of demand in this space…and a place to monetize your unique gifts and skills. 

In today’s creator economy, many people earn five, six, or seven figures. 

For instance, many of my students have successfully launched and sold their own courses based on things they’re incredibly passionate about. 

Why should you sell digital products? 

The biggest reasons why you should consider digital products are… 

• Low upfront investment: You don’t need inventory, shipping, or production costs. Those are costs you have to factor in when selling physical products – digital products are that much more profitable. 
• No extra skills required: The best digital products are just a portion of your expertise repackaged into downloadable, digital files. In most cases, you can get started with the knowledge you have.
• Highly profitable: Digital assets are scalable and they can be produced without any extra work or money. 
• “Passive” income: No income is truly passive (because they all require some amount of work). But selling digital products is as passive as it gets. 

And that leads us to creating your products…

How to create and sell digital products

These are the steps to take to create and sell digital products online. First, what product should you create?

1. Choose an in-demand and profitable product 

Productized services and online courses are the best digital products to sell. Why? Because they make me the most profit in the shortest amount of time. 

Think about it: An online course can sell for $500-$1,000, while a planner or an ebook might sell for $20. You’ll need to sell far more planners and ebooks than courses to make the same type of income!

Also, think about the right business model.

Let’s say you’re selling an online course. You have multiple ways of selling it:

• One-time purchase: Online courses are normally sold for one price with optional payment plans. You can increase the price as your audience grows. 
• Bundles: You can create mini-courses and sell them as bundles. You could also sell your online course with extra checklists, tools, and templates as a package deal.
• Subscription: People can sign up for a monthly or yearly subscription to access the course and any future content you add to it. 

The best way to start is with an online course that you sell as a one-time purchase and price it around $500. 

This is what I call a “First Steps” course – you teach the first steps people need to take to get results. I used to sell a course called “Your First Paying Clients,” which promised just that. 

But what topic should you teach? Let’s look at that next. 

2. Find a niche

The perfect niche is one that combines your skills and what people want. 

For example, when I first started this business, I ideated a couple of businesses based on my existing skills – from helping people with their careers to advising them on Excel and finally, the winning idea, improving their digital advertising. 

All of those were skills I had learned in my job. 

Other ideas (that people have built into successful businesses) include anything from guitar playing, breathwork, building tiny houses, to software development. (You can get more ideas here.) 

Basically, it all depends on what you want to teach and what people want to buy.

Which leads us to…

3. Listen to your audience 

Once you’ve decided on a niche, you’ll need to understand if it’s a product your audience actually wants. 

To research your market, you can look at your competitors and how they are packaging their products. After all, if someone is already selling what you want to sell, that’s a good indication that there’s a market for it.

You can also speak to your target audience. Get on the phone with a few people who could be potential clients and ask them about their struggles and what type of solution they’re looking for.  

Find these people in online forums like Reddit or on social media. Offer a free coaching call in exchange for their time. 

A great way to get started is to offer coaching or consulting. You get paid to basically do market research because you can turn your coaching package into your digital product curriculum. That’s how I got started – I offered three-month coaching packages and packaged those into my flagship online course, Employee to Entrepreneur. 

4. Create an outline 

Your outline doesn’t need to be complicated. 

As a quick overview, think through: 

• Who is the product for?
• How will it be delivered?  
• How is the product structured?
• What are the main topics of each section?

Once you have the skeleton mapped out, it’s a lot easier to sit down and write or film the content.

For example, a course outline can include: 

• Name
• Description
• Schedule 
• Modules 
• Lessons Bonuses 

You can use this fillable template to create your outline!

And if you want the exact steps, read my guide on how to create an outline here. 

5. Create your product 

Writing or filming your digital product is 10X easier with an outline. But you’ll still need to reserve enough time to create your product. 

You don’t need to create the most perfect digital product to start with. Instead, use a slidedeck and walk people through your lessons on video if you create a course. Design a simple ebook or template with a tool like Canva.  

And remember that your digital product doesn’t become more valuable by including as much information as possible. Instead, make it easy to follow and implement – that’s the real value people are looking for. 

To create your product, use tools like Google Drive, Microsoft PowerPoint, and an external microphone (if you need to record anything). 

I talk more about how to create an online course here!

And here’s my tutorial on how to create online courses:

6. Price your product 

Pricing your product can be really straightforward. In fact, here is a simple pricing formula for most digital products: 

• A mini online course (4-10 training videos): $47 to $147
• A longer (flagship) online course: $1,000 and $3,000
• Ebook, templates, and planners: $7 to $27 
• Software templates: $5 and $50
• Mobile app: $0.99 to $9.99 per month
• Digital art: $5 and $250

7. Launch your product 

Launches help you get your product in front of the right people, even if you don’t have a massive audience. 

That’s how I did six-figure launches even though I only had a few hundred people in my audience. 

Back then, I used to do live challenges, which are short events that help your audience achieve a specific goal and give a taster of how great your course will be.

I hosted five-day challenges that focused on helping people get their first paying clients. The challenge then segmented into my course, Employee to Entrepreneur. 

There’s more that goes into a full launch, which is why I created a complete guide on the topic. Read it here! 

8. Market your product 

Launching your course helps you boost sales. But for more consistent, sustainable sales, you’ll need a system to promote your products. 

The number one best way to market your digital product is to build an email list. To get people on your email list, you use a lead magnet – a free PDF that gives them a quick win. 

That’s something I talk about here: 

Social media can also help you reach your audience fast if you don’t have an existing audience and are new to your business. But instead of going on all platforms, figure out where your audience hangs out, whether that’s Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or Meta. 

9. Create a sales funnel

Once you’re getting a steady stream of leads from marketing your products, the next step is to get them into a sales funnel. 

So you have a sales system, like a lead magnet that directs people to an email sequence, where you educate people on your course. 

However, you also need a place to sell your products. 

I personally prefer WordPress, but hosted platforms like Webflow and Squarespace work well, too. 

You can also use no-code tools like Shopify, Thinkific, and Teachable. 

These are drag-and-drop tools to create, sell, and deliver digital products to your audience. 

While I don’t personally use it in my business, I prefer Teachable because of the features and overall customer service the platform offers.  

Other options include: 

• Online course platforms: You can build your course on Udemy and Skillshare. 
• Stock image/video/graphic platforms: Sites like Getty Images, iStock, and Shutterstock are platforms for selling stock photos and videos online. Your earnings will depend on how much your content is downloaded.
• Digital art and NFT platforms: Dribbble is one of the largest platforms for selling digital art. For NFTs, OpenSea is the most popular platform.
• Exclusive content platforms: Passes and Patreon are leading the way for monetizing exclusive digital content from creators. 

Now you know how to create a course. So, let’s look at some of the best digital product ideas. 

The most profitable digital products to sell

Some digital products are more profitable than others. The good news is that there are plenty of profitable digital products. 

But if I had to choose just one product, I’d choose…

1. Online courses

Online courses are the most profitable digital products. 

An online course is a digital learning program. So you pour the knowledge you already have into a clear step-by-step process for your students to follow. 

Your course could be a video, audio, PDF, or an email course. And there are courses on all types of topics, from data analytics to knitting. 

But why are online courses so profitable? 

First of all, you create a course once. Then, you can sell it for years, which makes your product highly scalable. 

However, your course offers real transformation and that’s why an online course can be priced anywhere between $100-$10K+. Around $500-$2,000 is the sweet spot. 

I created my own course, Employee to Entrepreneur, with 10+ years of experience building businesses. I couldn’t find a course on the market that offered steps for people to start their own business while in a 9-5 and after having done so successfully, I created this course. 

However, I strongly recommend that you first start with productized services and then create a course. Services are a faster way to build a business!

How to get started: Find a course idea, outline your content, and create the first module. Then, create an MVP version of your course and deliver it in real-time to get feedback from your audience. Here’s my guide on how to create your course.

Difficulty: Beginner 

Pros:

• Highly profitable 
• You don’t need a huge audience to get started
• You can use your existing skills

Cons:

• There’s an art to launching a course successfully
• More time-consuming to create than smaller products like stock photos
• You need to add a lot of value to compete with free content

Course ideas: 

1. Become a freelancer

2. Build abs 

3. Invest in real estate

4. Take beautiful photos

5. Learn how to use Excel

6. Write novels

7. Use artificial intelligence 

8. Learn how to land speaking gigs

9. Get a promotion at work 

10. Reduce your stress

2. Productized services

If you offer productized services (freelancing, consulting, or coaching), you typically only need a few clients to replace your salary – especially if you’re coaching or consulting. 

But regardless of whether you want to become a coach long term or if you want a thriving online business, I recommend you start here. 

Why? Well, it’s the best way to learn more about your audience. Then, you can use your coaching or consulting methodology and create a course based on it. For example, Emily Liou (Cultivitae) is a career coach who helps people find fulfilling jobs.

How to get started: Decide on a niche, create an online service package, and price it at $1,500. Get your first clients by tapping into your network. Here’s my guide on how to start a coaching business.

Difficulty: Beginner 

Pros: 

• The best way to learn more about your ideal audience
• Highly profitable
• Low investment to get started

Cons:

• Not passive income
• Not as scalable as traditional digital products
• Requires more ongoing time and energy 

Service business ideas:

1. Interior design consultations

2. Personal training online

3. Career coaching

4. Virtual reiki healing sessions

5. Relationship coaching

6. Financial coaching

7. Mindset coaching

8. Proofreading & editing

9. Virtual assistance

10. Health coaching

3. Templates

You can also sell customizable templates, checklists, and workbooks. A few digital product ideas include digital wedding invitations, productivity planners, and resume outlines. 

Templates are highly scalable. However, they tend to sell for $5-$10, so you need to sell a lot more of them than if you create an online course or sell online services. 

For example, Tomas Frank creates Notion templates:

How to get started: You can create your template with Word or a tool like Canva and export the document as a PDF file that you list on your website. Read this guide on how to sell templates.

Difficulty: Beginner

Pros: 

• Very easy to get started
• Lowest time investment of all digital products
• Most passive income stream

Cons:

• Requires a high volume of sales to be profitable
• You need a good sales funnel to have recurring revenue
• Competes with free content

Template ideas: 

1. Web-based graphic design templates

2. Canva templates

3. Notion templates

4. Social media graphics templates

5. Printable meal-planning templates

6. Customizable resume and cover letter templates

7. Wedding invitation templates

8. Virtual assistant templates and checklists

9. Excel spreadsheets

10. Customizable newsletter templates

4. Software and apps

Software and apps are some of the most profitable digital products. But to build them, you need time, skills, and money. You could probably create a template in a couple of hours, but software can take months to build. 

This type of product also requires more maintenance once you’ve launched the MVP version of your app. Typically, software and apps require more funding, and you usually need a team to scale and grow your business. 

What’s more, as your product will sell for around $10-$100 per month, you need enough traffic to make this business model work. And you need to retain those users. 

For example, Spencer Haws has a successful software business, even though he isn’t a programmer. 

How to get started: Think of a gap in the market for a useful app, game, or SaaS product. If you can code the app yourself, you can get going. If not, source a tech development team to help. Sell it on App Store or Google Play Store. Here’s how to start an app business.

Difficulty: Advanced

Pros: 

• Good for monthly recurring revenue
• Innovative software can make millions
• Software brands can grow beyond being small businesses

Cons:

• Requires coding knowledge or a team of developers
• Higher upfront time and money investment
• High failure rate

Software business ideas: 

1. Virtual event platform

2. Meditation and mindfulness app

3. Virtual reality (VR) game

4. Travel planning app

5. Personal finance management app

6. Online dating platform

7. Mobile game

8. Language learning app

9. Fitness tracking app

10. Task management app

5. Printables

Printables or educational downloads are usually PDF documents or video series that teach the audience a specific skill or roadmap to a desired result. Like templates, these require a lot of traffic to make a profit, as most sell for $10-$20. 

It’s not impossible to make over six figures creating e-guides for popular tools or methods. But you need a large audience and high-quality content to make that a reality.Example: Lisa Fink sells educational printables for teachers.

How to get started: Think of the questions you get asked the most. Spend time writing high-quality guides and use Canva to customize the look and download them as PDFs or EPUBs (depending on where you decide to sell your product). Here’s how to sell PDFs online.

Difficulty: Beginner

Pros:

• Easy to create
• Low time investment
• Uses skills you already have

Cons:

• Generally difficult to make profits without a high volume of sales
• Competes with free content
• Requires strong marketing to continually bring in revenue

Printable ideas: 

1. Wedding planning guide

2. Marketing strategy guide

3. Fitness and workout guides

4. Recipe guide

5. Pet training guides

6. Budgeting guide

7. Gardening and plant care guides

8. Social media guide

9. Homeschool guide and resources

10. Knitting or crochet stitch guides

6. Digital art

Digital art allows you to make a living by creating artwork you love. And the industry is growing; online art sales amounted to around $10.8 billion in 2022. 

But to sell your art, you first need an audience who wants your products. That’s why the threshold to getting started is higher than with some other digital products. For example, Lisa Glanz sells digital artwork.

How to get started: Create original digital artwork that can be purchased as prints or downloads and post your work for sale on your website, online store, Etsy, and/or art-based platforms. Here’s how to start your digital art business.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Pros: 

• Good passive income stream
• Can be highly profitable
• Boosts your brand awareness

Cons:

• It takes time to build a solid brand from your artwork
• Few artists make huge amounts
• Highly competitive space

Digital art ideas: 

1. 3D printable designs

2. Original music

3. Digital sheet music

4. Commissioned digital art

5. NFTs

6. License-free music

7. Printable coloring books for adults and children

8. Printable wall art

9. Posters and flyers

10. Printable paint-by-numbers overlay

7. Digital audio

Unlike selling your creative music and audio are meant for creators to use in their own work. You need to sell a high volume of assets to make a profit because most stock assets sell for very little. You also owe a percentage to the platform where you host your products. 

Here’s how Mike Burton sells raps on freelance site Fiverr.

How to get started: Create audio files that are popular with your intended audience and upload them on your own website or a marketplace. Read this guide on how to sell digital files online.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Pros: 

• Uses skills you already have
• Low time commitment
• Can build your creative brand awareness

Cons:

• Highly competitive
• Difficult to be profitable without selling high volumes
• Only viable if you use a platform unless you have a huge social media following

Digital audio ideas: 

1. Stock music

2. Stock audio 

3. Podcast and YouTube tunes

4. Audio effects 

5. Lyrics

8. Photography and videography

If you’re a photographer or videographer, you can sell your photos and videos on marketplaces, your own website, or through agencies. A few examples of this type of product include product photos and commercial video footage. 

For example, Grace Torres built a photography business: 

How to get started: Create a variety of photos and videos that align with what people are searching for. For example, parenting magazines look for images of families and business sites use photos of professionals. Host your content on your website and a popular platform like Unsplash or Pond5 for more traction. Here’s a guide on how to start selling photography online. 

Difficulty: Intermediate 

Pros:

• Extra income stream
• Creative and fun way to earn money 

Cons:

• Takes time to create your assets

Photography and videography ideas: 

1. Short films or web-series

2. Product photos 

3. AI enhancements

4. Video/photo filters 

5. Overlays 

9. Ebooks

The ebooks market in the US is projected to reach $14.16 billion in 2023. However, this business model does require a big audience and a lot of ebooks before you make any money at all. 

To be successful, you need to create a following on Amazon, Wattpad, or other platforms for self-publishers. Find a popular niche and produce ebooks for that niche.  

For example, Carol Tice self-publishes eBooks.

How to get started: Write a good book within a popular self-publishing genre like romance, thriller, and non-fiction. Format your book on Canva and sell it on popular platforms like Amazon or your website. Here’s how to start an eBook business.

Difficulty: Intermediate 

Pros:

• Low-cost investment 
• Passive income
• Builds your personal brand

Cons:

• Time-consuming 
• Requires high sales to make profitable
• Difficult to make profitable without selling on platforms like Amazon

eBook ideas: 

1. Self-care and wellness journals

2. Fiction book

3. Relationship workbook

4. Instruction manuals

5. Business fundamentals

6. Productivity book

7. Spiritual guidance book

8. Gardening book

9. Pet care book

10. Repair manuals

10. Web assets

Web assets are digital products that your audience can use to improve their online creations. Examples include filters, fonts, backgrounds, video graphic effects, and more. You can make a good income with web assets, but you need to grow a loyal following to make them work.

For instance, Ana Casciello creates Snapchat filters.

How to get started: Create useful customizable assets using popular software and host them on digital graphic platforms. Build a social media following to help sell your particular style of assets. As a bonus, bundle the asset with a PDF guide on how to customize it. Here’s how to make money from web assets.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Pros: 

• Uses skills you already have
• Low time commitment
• Passive income 

Cons:

• Higher cost investment as you need software to create the assets
• Requires a high volume of sales to be profitable
• Highly competitive

Web asset ideas: 

1. Stock vector illustrations

2. Icon sets for websites or apps

3. Fonts

4. Procreate brushes

5. Instagram filters

6. Twitch screen overlays

7. WordPress themes

8. InDesign palettes

9. Badges and emoticons

10. AR filters

11. Membership sites and subscriptions

Subscriptions and memberships are amazing sources of monthly income. You can charge anything from $1-$1,000 per month for your subscription service, depending on the niche, though the sweet spot is around $5-$20 per month. 

But to keep the money coming in, you need to create a membership site that provides fresh content. Otherwise, you won’t retain users. 

Here’s how Bailey sells a tumbler design membership program.

How to get started: Decide on the structure of your membership. Create a variety of tools, programs, and/or content around your niche. Invite your followers to become subscribers for exclusive content and community access. Read this guide to start a subscription business.

Difficulty: Advanced

Pros: 

• Good source of monthly recurring revenue
• Can be highly profitable
• Builds strong brand loyalty

Cons:

• Not passive income because you need to continually nurture the community
• Time-consuming
• Can take a long time to build up a following

Subscription ideas: 

1. Daily motivational quotes

2. Membership communities

3. Exclusive behind-the-scenes content

4. Vlogs

5. Digital magazine subscription 

6. Fitness classes

7. Software licensing & updates

8. Comic strips

9. Subscription-based podcasts

10. Weekly meal plans

12. Licensed digital content

Licensed digital content includes all types of products that you license to people. For example, stock photos, infographics, and sound effects. You can either sell those licenses on your own website or a platform (such as a stock photo platform). 

Cathy Yeulet makes a full-time income from stock photos. 

How to get started: Create your assets and license them. If you’re selling your assets on your own website, you’ll need to do this yourself. Here’s how to become a stock photographer. 

Difficulty: Intermediate 

Pros: 

• Opportunity to sell assets you already own
• Multiple platforms 

Cons:

• Low pricing 
• Can require more work than other ideas

Licensed digital content ideas: 

1. Stock video

2. Infographics 

3. Stock audio sound effects

4. Stock photography

5. Stock visuals 

13. Patterns

Another idea is to sell your patterns. These can include sewing, design, knitting, paperwork, and other patterns and models. For example, you might sell patterns for dolls or craft models. 

For example, Lisa Miller-Mecham sells her own patterns and has built it into a six-figure business. 

How to get started: The firs step is (naturally) to create your pattern. Then, you can sell it on a platform like Etsy or Makerist or your own website. Here’s a guide on how to get started. 

Difficulty: Easy 

Pros: 

• Fun way to earn extra money 
• Creative business idea

Cons:

• Low-cost product 

Pattern ideas: 

1. Doll dress patterns 

2. Crochet patterns

3. Surface pattern design 

4. Knitting patterns 

5. Embroidery patterns 

14. Data and research

You can also sell your own data or research. This type of business works best in the B2B space where data is incredibly valuable. However, you do need to have a way to produce that research – something that often requires an entire team of people. 

Statista is a business that sells data. 

How to get started: The steps you take depend on what type of data you sell – a business’s data or proprietary data that you research? Here’s a guide on how to sell data. 

Difficulty: Intermediate 

Pros: 

• A way to make extra money for businesses

Cons:

• Need to have data sets to sell 

Data and research ideas: 

1. Survey results

2. Audience insights

3. Data reports 

4. Whitepapers 

5. Analysis 

15. Premium content

If you’re a content creator, you can offer content upgrades so that people pay to access content. Typically, these types of digital products are newsletters or expert-driven content (think: your insider analysis on the topic you’re an expert on). 

For example, Lenny Rachitsky built a multiple six-figure business on top of his podcast. 

How to get started: You’ll typically start with building your audience who are interested in your content. That’s how you’ll eventually be able to upgrade to your paid content. Here’s how to become a content creator.

Difficulty: Intermediate 

Pros: 

• Easy way to monetize 
• A way to build a community 

Cons:

• Requires a big audience to bring in enough income

Premium content ideas: 

1. Meditation subscription

2. Newsletter on a topic 

3. Weekly analysis 

4. Trend newsletters

5. Digital course library

16. Digital plans

Digital plans can be anything from meal plans and exercise plans to business blueprints or baby sleep training plans. Essentially, you sell a clear checklist or blueprint that shows how your clients go from A to B. 

TJ Clark started his own meal prep business, Healthy Chew: 

How to get started: The first step is to figure out what type of plan you want to create (which will depend on your experience). Then, put together a plan as a PDF (or a weekly/monthly newsletter) and start selling it. Learn how to start a meal prep business. 

Difficulty: Easy 

Pros: 

• Relatively easy to start
• Impactful way to help others

Cons:

• Often a low cost asset 
• Requires a lot of traffic 

Digital plan ideas: 

1. Meal plan

2. Running guide

3. Strength training plan

4. Habit building plan

5. Study guide

Frequently asked questions about digital products

Can you really make money selling digital products?

Absolutely, you can make money selling digital products. Your production costs are low and once you’ve created your course, you can repeatedly sell it while keeping costs down. But selling digital products requires you to create high-quality products that meet the needs of your target audience and market those products. 

What is the easiest and best-selling digital product?

The best digital product to sell is an online course. It offers high profitability and scalability, compared to other types of digital products (such as ebooks and digital planners). 

Next steps 

That’s it! Those are the most profitable digital products to sell.

The thing is:

A digital product business can be highly fulfilling, profitable, and flexible.  

I’ve worked with thousands of course creators. And there are three mistakes most new course creators make that keep them from selling their product. 

Want to know what they are? 

Get my free blueprint with three deadly course mistakes new creators make so that you can avoid those same mistakes – and create a profitable digital product.

The Top Guide to Selling High-Ticket Courses

How Much Money Can You Make Selling Online Courses? 

How to Sell Information Products