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This post is all about essential tips for starting a digital products business. 

Have you always dreamed of starting your own digital products business but don't know where to start? You are in great hands! I am going to break down 3 essential tips for starting a digital products business. 

If you're new to the world of online selling, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Especially with decision-making on what platforms to use, what digital products to sell, photo images, tools, and strategies. 

After learning these tips you will feel prepared to start your digital products business and be successful. 

ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR DIGITAL PRODUCTS BUSINESS

1. How to Start a Digital Products Business

The first thing you want to do is think about what you love to do, are passionate about, or already have a great amount of knowledge in. Go ahead take out a piece of paper and pen, or use your phone and start jotting down all of the thoughts that come to mind. Remember this is a digital products business so you want to make sure it's something that can be made into a digital product. This is called your niche, and it's so important that you pick one that you will fall in love with creating.

Now who can you offer that passion and knowledge to?  You need to be very clear on who these people are. This is your target audience and you will be solving a problem for them through your digital products. Are they stay-at-home moms looking for organization tools? Is it the family next door looking for a way to stay on track with their budget and finances? Could it be a gym guru who is looking for that perfect fitness journal? Or is it a homeschooled family that needs educational resources? 

Once you have your niche pinned and your target audience then it's time to do some market research. You will want to find out what keywords your target audience is searching and the timeframe. I use Google Trends and Keywords Everywhere, and Everbee for this process. Keywords Everywhere is a paid tool, however, so worth it! You will want to keep track of keywords that people are searching. When you use Keywords Everywhere it will give you a volume number under the search bar, that is the number of times people are searching that exact keyword. Everbee is an extension that you put on your computer for selling products on Etsy. Everbee tells the number of times a specific keyword has been used. You will be able to see other creators' keywords used, how many times they have sold the product, and even the amount of money they have made on that particular item. 

Now that you have your keywords you will want to go to Google Trends type in each keyword individually, and select the past 12 months tab, to see when that keyword is the most popular. The dates that the keywords were searched the most are the timeframe of when you want to use those keywords in marketing your digital products. 

You have pinned your niche, found your target audience, and researched the most searched keywords for your digital products, now is the time to start deciding on the price point. 

After you have decided which platform to sell your digital products, more on this below, you will go to that platform and search for the digital products you are selling. Look at your competitor's photos, the title, keywords used, pricing, how many pages you get from their products, and any feedback from their buyers. This is all tangible market research for your own digital products business! 

Now it's time for the fun part, creating your digital products! I have a blog that goes more into depth on how to do this How to Create Digital Products.

2. Digital Products to Sell

Let's discuss some digital products to sell according to specific niches. I could never hit every niche, however, I wanted to give ideas under a few popular ones. 

Fitness

ebook: on nutrition, macros, recipes

membership site: workouts, mindful breathing, and meditation

templates: fitness journal, fitness tracker, pre-made workout program, menu planner

Graphic Designer

templates: branding, Canva templates, social media post designs

course: on how to DIY websites, stock photos/videos, how to use Photoshop and/or Adobe

printables: wall art, thank you cards, wedding invitations

Finance

templates: budget planner, expense tracker, budget spreadsheets

ebook: investing, getting out of debt 

Organization

templates: chore charts, planners, cleaning schedules, menu planners, label stickers

Educational

templates: educational posters, worksheets, unit study

ebook: unit study, specific topics 

To get more product ideas read 100 Digital Product Ideas.

3. Where to Sell Digital Products

Oh the decision-making on which platform is right for your digital products business is an undertaking, right? How can one choose when there are so many platforms? Well, the answer to this question depends on what digital products you're selling. 

For example, ebooks, printables, and templates could be sold on Etsy, Shopify, Stan Store, and Gumroad. I personally use Etsy. 

If you're selling online courses you'd want to choose a platform such as Teachable, Kajabi, or Thinkific.  

If you are selling a combination of e-commerce items and digital products Shopify would be a great platform to use. 

Another thing to keep in mind when choosing which platform is your business budget, the cost of each platform, how easy is set up, and how they pay you.