10 Valuable Lessons I Learned Selling Low-Cost Digital Products

One of my favorite ways to monetize a website or online business is by creating and selling digital products. Many people focus on creating high-ticket digital products like courses that sell for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, but low-cost digital products present excellent opportunities as well.

My first adventure with digital products involved creating a shop that sold products to web and graphic designers (things like icon sets, Photoshop brushes, PSD files, vectors, etc.). Later on, I also created three different online shops that sold digital products to photographers (Photoshop actions, Lightroom presets, photo overlays, print templates, etc.).

Most of my individual products were priced from $5-$50, but I also sold bundles or memberships at every site (more on that in a minute).

I no longer own any of these websites (I’ve sold them all), but I’m currently working with a partner on plans for digital products for entrepreneurs and startups at Founder Reports, so the topic has been on my mind recently.

This article shares some of the lessons I’ve learned through nine years of experience selling digital products.

1. Low-Cost Digital Products Are Often Impulse Purchases

High-ticket products like thousand-dollar online courses are certainly capable of generating plenty of revenue. I have nothing against higher-priced products, but I think it’s important to recognize that lower-priced products are significantly easier to sell.

Most people won’t spend $500 or $1,000 on a course without giving it a lot of thought and doing plenty of research. But many people will buy a $27 product without much thought. Lots of small sales can easily add up to something significant.

2. Many Digital Products are Relatively Inexpensive to Create

I’ve created a lot of my own products, but I’ve also hired freelancers to create products for me. Many simple digital products don’t cost a lot to create, making it possible for just about anyone to start.

I’ve hired many freelancers through Upwork to create products, but I’ve also found people in other ways. For example, when I started my shops, I looked for designers who were selling products at marketplaces like GraphicRiver.

I found people who created high-quality products that didn’t have a lot of sales. These people were skilled at product creation, but maybe they weren’t very good at marketing, or maybe they were just getting started. Since they were spending a lot of time creating products that weren’t selling at other marketplaces, many of them were happy to work for me and collect a flat rate for each product they created.

3. Selling on Other Platforms and Marketplaces is the Fastest Way to Profit

Speaking of marketplaces, there are some excellent opportunities to sell your digital products aside from only selling on your own site. I started by selling on daily deal sites like MightyDeals, InkyDeals, and several others. Later, I sold on marketplaces like Creative Market, bundle sites like Ultimate Bundles, and popular deal sites like App Sumo and Stack Social.

Initially, the money I made from these other platforms allowed me to invest in creating more products while I also worked on building the audience of my own sites (so I wouldn’t have to rely on other platforms). Later, I continued selling at some of these platforms to supplement the income from my site and to continue reaching larger audiences.

I believe building your own audience is the best option, but there are plenty of opportunities to make money by also selling your products at other places, especially when you’re just starting.

4. A Strong Email List Is Incredibly Valuable

Digital products and email lists work incredibly well together. There’s no better way to promote and sell your digital products than through an email list.

You can email your list whenever you have a new product to offer or whenever you run a sale or promotion. You can also share tutorials, testimonials, and other content with your email list to help sell your products.

As you get more buyers on your email list, the possibilities continue to expand. This is another reason why low-cost digital products can be a great idea; because small purchases often lead to repeat purchases or bigger purchases in the future.

5. Freebies are Excellent for Building Links and Growing an Email List

I used freebies extensively, especially with my photography sites. For example, my top products were packs of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions. I gave away some individual presets and actions for free as a way to get people to try the products.

Freebies are excellent for attracting links from other blogs and websites because many people like linking to free resources. Getting a link to a free resource is infinitely easier than getting a link to a sales page, but your freebie actually leads visitors into your sales funnel.

I also used freebies to grow email lists. Visitors would sign up for the email list to get a free pack of Lightroom presets (or another digital product). My list grew really quickly since conversion rates were high, and new subscribers received a discounted offer for a related product.

If your freebies are good, they serve as an excellent sales tool for your premium products.

6. Bundling Is Key for Maximizing Revenue

The vast majority of money I made selling digital products came from bundles. My sites encouraged visitors to purchase bundles of products rather than individual products, and the results were incredible.

If your pricing and offer make sense, many people will choose to pay more and get a bundle that represents a better value. For example, instead of buying a set of Lightroom presets for $29, the customer may choose to buy a bundle of 20 sets of Lightroom presets for $99.

Bundles are also extremely effective for order bumps and upsells (more on that in a minute). The value offered by a good bundle is hard for many buyers to turn down.

Of course, you need multiple products to create bundles. You might not be able to do it right away but keep bundles in mind as you’re planning the products you want to create.

7. Partnering with Other Creators is a Great Way to Increase Sales

When I ran my photography sites, I was approached by a few other product creators about doing cross promotions. We had similar audiences and non-competing products, so we promoted each other’s products to our email lists.t

These types of partnerships are great for reaching new people and growing your email list. And since low-cost digital products are relatively easy to sell, the conversion rates from someone else’s newsletter can be very high, which adds a lot of new buyers to your own email list.

8. Use Order Bumps and Upsells to Increase the Average Order

Platforms like ThriveCart and Samcart are excellent for increasing revenue through order bumps and upsells. With order bumps, customers are offered additional products on the checkout page. You can customize the offer so they see highly related products to the one they’re already purchasing. And if you give a discount, many people will accept the offer.

Upsells involve an additional offer after the purchase is completed. Many times, upsells will be a higher-priced product, for example, a bundle.

This is another reason why it’s worth having a number of products to offer.

9. Many Buyers Resist Recurring Payments

I found that selling products with a one-time payment was far easier than selling a membership involving recurring payments. Most people, myself included, are hesitant to sign up for recurring payments unless the product offers extremely high value.

When I ran my online shop that sold products to web and graphic designers, my primary goal was to get memberships with recurring payments. After a while, I tried selling a bundle of the same products for a one-time payment, and I was shocked at how well it sold compared to the membership. Even though the value wasn’t as good, many customers preferred the one-time payment without worrying about canceling future payments.

To have success with membership programs, you must continually add new and valuable products, otherwise, your members will cancel.

Both methods are viable, but based on my experience, sales with one-time payments are much easier.

10. Timeless Products May Generate Revenue for Years

Some of the products I created more than ten years ago are still selling today for the people who now own those sites. Of course, some products will have a longer lifecycle than others, but don’t underestimate the long-term value of digital products.

Final Thoughts

Low-cost digital products are an excellent way to monetize a website, and the possibilities are virtually endless. There are products you can create for just about any niche or audience, it’s just a matter of finding and creating the right product for your specific audience.