In this article, we are sharing with you one of the easiest forms of passive income in the present online business. Selling digital products is very convenient and fast compared to selling physical products.
This article discusses the method Oliur used to make about $71 000 revenue last year by just selling digital products online. If you use this method and follow all of the advice in this article, you will be making more than $5 800 per month. Oliur is a designer and creator from the United Kingdom. He began as a visual designer, but now he does everything from media production to e-commerce store management. He also enjoys investing in and providing design advice to startups.
Oliur's 2021 — 2022 Revenue (Proof)
- Digital Products are easier to make
According to Oliur:
"There are many benefits of selling digital products over physical products, one of which is that it is fast and very easy to make. You can make them with your existing skill, or you can learn new skills in producing them easily. You may create a notion and you can turn it into a new business offering notion templates, guides, and other related resources."
Furthermore, he stated:
"A great example of this is a person named Easlo who I see regularly pop up on Twitter. This person simply shares how to be more productive with the notion, and how to get more out of the notion. He shares tips and tricks and other resources. And in June 2020 (2 years ago), they claimed that they made monthly revenue of over $30 000 sales which is pretty incredible".
- Cost of Making Digital Products is Quite Lower
You usually only need your own time to make them, and you don't need to invest in buying samples, equipment, and machinery that you might need to make physical products. To get your physical products right, you must spend a lot of money on samples, which is a lot of work. You also do not have to invest in the inputs and materials that will be used to construct them.
- The Barrier to Entry is Ridiculously Low and Much More achievable
Selling digital products can be a viable option for most people, particularly those with limited starting capital. For example, you may need to purchase samples of your dropshipping products before you begin promoting them. Before you can make any money, you must first invest some money in promoting physical products.
Unlike physical products, when a person purchases a digital product, it is delivered immediately in the form of a download link or an email, giving the buyer an instant award. They do not have to wait a few days or a few weeks to receive their product.
Because the seller has nothing to ship to the buyer, neither the seller nor the buyer pays for shipping costs. The products are delivered directly through the internet. When a shipping cost is attached to the goods being sold, potential customers may be discouraged from making purchases.
- There is no limit to How Many You Can Sell
Physical product supply chains typically have issues that are not limited to inventory and defect issues. These issues can prevent physical products from making a lot of money, but they do not apply to digital products. With digital products, you can easily scale up without having to deal with all of the barriers associated with traditional physical goods.
By devoting little or no time to maintenance, you can concentrate on sales without worrying about irritating your customers as a result of poor maintenance. If you are selling WordPress Themes or any other design software, you may need to open a customer service board room where you can interact with buyers; however, this type of maintenance is not as rigorous as selling physical products.
Although there are some exceptions, the profit from marketing digital products is usually greater than the profit from marketing physical products. The cost of producing digital products is lower than that of producing physical products because there are no costs associated with them such as the purchase of large machines, high levels of maintenance, warehouse maintenance, shipping, and so on.
A Platform for Selling Digital Products
There are many online digital platforms out there, but Oliur chose to use the following:
Gumroad
Gumroad is a powerful, but simple, e-commerce platform that puts a wide selection of tools at your fingertips. Now you can sell the digital services you want — books, memberships, courses, and more, right to your audience. You can easily set up your store on the platform, or easily embed it on your existing site. If you do not have your website or online store, you can use their flexible page editor to build a storefront and customize your site’s colors, and more.
Sellfy
Sellfy is an easy-to-use eCommerce for creators where they can sell merchandise or digital products. Everything can be sold, and it is the reason it is called an all-from-one-place platform. You can sell digital products such as ebooks, videos, audio, and music, or any other files like PSD, AI, and many more. In addition, you can sell physical products and tangible items from your Sellfy storefront.
According to Oliur, he prefers using Sellfy recently because of the following additional services:
- Video streaming — You can offer your videos on demand, reduce the risk of piracy and eliminate download issues with video streaming.
- Print on demand — You can sell t-shirts, hoodies, mugs & hats using their built-in print-on-demand. They will automatically print incoming orders and send them to your customers.
- Subscriptions — You can create digital subscription products and charge your customers on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.
Also, Oliur seems to like Sellfy's built-in marketing features which market better, outrun the competition users might face, and grow businesses with ease. Some of the features are:
- Discount codes — You can use discount codes to engage with customers and increase your sales.
- Email marketing — You can send product updates to existing customers and collect newsletter subscribers to your store.
- Upselling — Users can provide powerful upsells to users who go through checkout and increase their average order value.
- Tracking pixels — A very good feature is the ability to add Facebook and Twitter ad pixels to create ads for your store and track their performance.
- In addition, you can sell from your website, social media, or anywhere else.
Marketing Your Digital Products on Social Media Platforms
According to Oliur,
"A lot of people think word of mouth is enough, and to honest with you, that is just complete fantasy. Unless, you come up with something that is absolutely out of this world, or something explosives, word of mouth is not just going to work. I think social media marketing is by far the cheapest and the easiest because it is the path I have taken myself. The barrier to entry is very low and extremely cheap. This is why social media marketing is the one that most people should consider when they start selling their own products."
Social Media Quick Mentions
Oliur does not put tons of effort into social media marketing; rather, he simply gives a sort of quick mentions on YouTube videos, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. He has used this method to promote a wallpaper, laptop, and other physical and digital product. An example is the image below.
Another option is to upload photos. He usually uploads photos from his most recent vacations and holidays, which he edits with his presets. Many people have asked him about the quality of his photos, so he took advantage of the opportunity to promote his presets and affiliate referral links. Below is an example of an image he took during one of his vacations.
He mentioned his iPhone 13 Pro camera in the image above and included his affiliate link in the post.
Oliur does not over-promote his products, and he does not hold large product launches; instead, he prefers a more organic and natural style. This is an excellent strategy if it works for him and he made more than $70 000 last year. In any case, you should put more effort into posting high-quality content on social media.
What if I Do Not Have an Audience?
The simple answer to this is that you should build an audience. According to Oliur:
"Building an audience is just the cheapest and easiest way to do it. Unless you have thousands of dollars already to spend on advertising using Facebook ads, Google ads, or influencers marketing."
The Formula to Build an Audience
These are the basic formula to build an audience which has worked for Oliur. This formula works for most people who do it.
- Providing Value for Free. Always try to provide something that helps people, teaches people, or just makes their lives easier in some ways
- Providing that Value Consistently. Sharing that value on social platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others on a regular basis is one of the best ways to do so. As a result, it is critical that you organically build your audience, and if you consistently drop quality and valuable content, people will naturally be drawn to what you have to offer and will be looking forward to the next value you will drop.
- Providing a Premium Product of Exceptional Value. To sell a premium product, you must use the audience you have built. The final product will be a compilation of everything you have previously shared. Take note that not everyone will buy it, but you want a small percentage of the audience to buy it. These few people are your most valuable followers, and you should strive to keep them by satisfying them. It's a cycle; keep doing it, keep rolling out quality values, and keep releasing premium products at regular intervals (you should regulate it and not roll out too many premiums).
- Be Patient and Consistent. Do not expect this method to work for you and start providing you with consistent income overnight; instead, put in more effort at the beginning to build faithful and loyal followers. It necessitates hard work and patience.
Conclusion
Having an audience, providing value to the audience, and developing a premium product or a few products is a sure way to make thousands of dollars each year. Oliur, an online digital products marketer used this strategy to earn more than $70 000 last year.
Digital products are the easiest to promote online and earn a reasonable income from, and social media marketing is still the cheapest way to go unless you have thousands of dollars to spend on buying ads from Facebook and Google, or paying to engage in influencing marketing, which involves paying influencers.
