Digital products have revolutionised the way creators earn income. By offering value that can be distributed and sold repeatedly without ongoing effort, they provide a genuine opportunity to earn money while you sleep.
Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or a newcomer to the digital marketplace, the right products can set you up for substantial passive income.
In this article, you will learn:
- How to create and monetize your own e-book.
- Steps to develop a profitable online course.
- Best practices for selling digital art and graphics.
If you’re looking to build a stream of passive income, understanding the types of digital products that can help you achieve this is essential. Let’s dive into the various digital products you can create and sell to begin your journey toward earning a passive income.
7 Types of Beginner Friendly Digital Products
Non Fiction E-Books
E-books are a powerful digital product that can generate significant passive income. They are particularly appealing because they can be created once and sold indefinitely without any additional cost per unit.
This makes e-books an excellent entry point for anyone looking to start in the digital product space.
Creating an E-Book: The first step to creating an e-book is identifying a topic that you are knowledgeable about and that has a demand in the market.
Once you’ve nailed down your topic, outline your chapters and start writing. Tools like Scrivener or Google Docs can make the writing process more organised and efficient.
Conduct some research to ensure there is a paying audience for your topic.
Marketing Your E-Book: Once your e-book is ready, the key to success is effective marketing. Start by creating a compelling landing page that highlights the benefits of your e-book.
Use your existing networks such as social media, your website, or email newsletters to promote your book.
Consider leveraging platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing to reach a wider audience. Offering the first chapter free can entice readers to purchase the full version.
E-books not only allow you to earn money but also help establish your authority in your niche, making it a highly valuable digital product to consider.
Online Courses
Online courses have surged in popularity growing by a staggering 900% since 2000 as more people turn to the internet for learning new skills and knowledge. They represent a lucrative opportunity to earn passive income by sharing your expertise on a subject.
The global eLearning market is estimated to be worth a whopping $325 billion by 2025 and there is expected to be over 1.1 billion users enrolled in online courses by 2029.
Making it a market that is more than worth getting into.
Developing an Online Course: The first step in creating an online course is similar to that of an e-book: identify a topic where you have both expertise and there is existing demand.
Use market research tools to validate your course idea. Once confirmed, structure your course into modules and lessons that progressively build on each other.
High-quality video content, interactive quizzes, and downloadable resources can enhance the learning experience and add value to your course.
But if you’re just starting out, creating a written course or audio course can be just as valuable. And the best part is you can keep updating it as the years go by.
Selling Your Online Course: To effectively sell your online course, choose a reliable platform like New Zenler, Payhip, Systeme.io or Freshlearn which can handle hosting, payment processing, and user management.
Or you can publish your course on a marketplace like Udemy, which is great for building an audience.
Create a compelling sales page that outlines the benefits and outcomes of your course. Use email marketing campaigns, webinars, and partnerships can significantly increase your course’s visibility and sales.
By packaging your knowledge into a structured online course, you not only monetize your expertise but also create a scalable product that can continue to generate income long after the initial launch.
Digital Art and Graphics
For creative individuals looking to enter the digital marketplace, selling digital art and graphics offers a fantastic opportunity. Even without advanced technical skills, modern tools make it possible to create appealing artwork that can attract buyers worldwide especially with AI.
Creating Digital Art for Beginners: If you’re new to graphic design, platforms like Canva or Krita offer user-friendly interfaces that are ideal for beginners.
Canva provides a vast array of templates and design elements that you can customise to create unique digital art pieces.
Krita, on the other hand, is a powerful open-source painting program that’s great for artists interested in creating more traditional styles of digital painting.
Additionally, using AI tools like Dalle-3 and Midjourney to generate ideas or even base designs can streamline the creative process and inspire unique artwork.
Selling Your Artwork: You can start selling your pieces on popular platforms like Etsy, which is known for its massive audience looking for unique and artistic items.
Alternatively, setting up your own website can give you more control over how you display and sell your work, allowing you to build a brand around your art. Platforms like Payhip makes this free and easy to get started.
Implementing SEO best practices on your website can also help attract more visitors and potential buyers.
Creating and selling digital art is not only about expressing your creativity but also about leveraging the right tools to make your art accessible and appealing to a broader audience. With the right approach, this venture can become a rewarding source of passive income.
Templates and Frameworks
Templates and frameworks are essential tools for many professionals, from web developers to graphic designers and business analysts.
Creating and selling these digital products can provide a steady stream of passive income due to their high demand in various industries.
When I say templates I mean templates for Notion, Google Sheets, Canva, Airtable, WordPress or even resume templates.
Creating Templates and Frameworks: Begin by identifying common needs or pain points in your field of expertise.
For instance, website templates for WordPress, presentation templates for PowerPoint, or resume templates can all be highly sought after.
Use tools like Adobe XD or simpler platforms like Canva to design these templates. Or for platform specific templates use the actual platform like Notion.
Ensure that your templates are customizable, user-friendly, and cater to current trends to keep them relevant and appealing.
Selling Your Templates: Once your templates are ready, you can sell them through your own website or on marketplaces like ThemeForest, Creative Market or Etsy.
These platforms attract large audiences specifically looking for ready-to-use digital assets, which can significantly increase your visibility.
Additionally, consider offering a free sample or a demo version of your templates to give potential buyers a taste of your product’s value, which can encourage purchases.
By focusing on quality and usability, and by continuously updating your designs to reflect new trends, your templates and frameworks can become invaluable resources for a wide range of users, leading to sustained sales and revenue.
Membership Sites
Membership sites offer a unique way to earn passive income by providing exclusive content or services to subscribers for a recurring fee. This model builds a community around your niche and creates a steady revenue stream.
There are many different types of membership sites with a wide range of prices from $7 to $97 being the most popular. But there are memberships that are much more than this.
You get to decide what type of membership you will have; low touch or high touch. Which will determine your price point.
Creating a Membership Site: The first step is to identify a niche that aligns with your expertise and has an audience willing to pay for premium content.
Whether it’s educational material, fitness coaching, or niche hobbies, ensure there’s enough depth to provide ongoing value.
Use platforms like WordPress with plugins like MemberPress, or dedicated services like Patreon or systeme.io which simplify the process of setting up and managing a membership site.
Monetizing Your Membership Site: Determine what content or services you’ll offer exclusively to members. This could be in the form of video tutorials, articles, webinars, or even personalised consultations.
Set up different tiers of membership to cater to various levels of engagement and investment from your audience if you want.
Regularly update the content and engage with your members to keep the community active and reduce churn.
Membership sites not only help you monetize your expertise but also allow you to deepen relationships with your audience, turning them into a loyal community.
And having a regular and predictable monthly revenue streams doesn’t hurt either.
Printable Products
Printable products offer a creative and accessible way for individuals to start generating passive income.
These digital items can be designed once and sold repeatedly to customers who print them for personal use. Common printable products include planners, worksheets, art prints, stickers, and labels.
Creating Printable Products: Start by identifying which printables are popular within your target market or niche. Use tools like insightfactory, erank or everbee to see what’s selling on Etsy. Or just do some research on Etsy itself.
Tools like Canva can be used to design these items. Focus on creating high-quality, attractive designs that are practical and cater to the needs of your customers. When you find something that’s trending you can get content ideas from ChatGPT.
Offering a range of styles and customizable options can also enhance the appeal of your products.
Selling Your Printable Products: Etsy is one of the best platforms for selling printable items due to its vast audience looking for unique, DIY, and customizable products.
Additionally, setting up your own website can provide more control over the sales process and allow you to build a brand around your printables. Be sure to optimise your listings with effective SEO strategies to attract traffic, and consider offering bundle deals or seasonal discounts to boost sales.
Printable products are not only easy to create and distribute but also allow for endless creativity in what you can offer, making them an excellent option for generating passive income.
PLR (Private Label Rights) Products
Private Label Rights (PLR) products are a unique category of digital goods that allow the purchaser to modify, rebrand, and resell the content as their own.
This model is especially appealing for entrepreneurs who want to quickly expand their product offerings without creating content from scratch. In essence you can create any of the previous products mentioned and offer them as PLR.
You can even start your business with one of the previous products and if you have a bestseller you can choose to start selling that as PLR.
Understanding PLR Products: PLR products can range from articles and ebooks to software and graphics. When you buy a PLR product, you typically receive the rights to alter it and sell it under your own brand.
So if you choose to sell PLR it’s important to carefully review the licensing agreements put in place, as rights and restrictions can vary significantly. And it’s really up to you what rights you pass onto buyers.
Creating and Selling PLR Content: To start, decide on a specific niche. This can be small business, coaching or health. Find a niche where there may be alot of demand for products so sellers want to enter the market but it may be harder to create products for instance Notion Templates.
Once you find a trending topic within a niche, create the product, create a licensing right document and choose your selling platform.
You can then package and sell these products on your website or through digital marketplaces. As you’ll be selling these with commercial rights you can price these products higher.
PLR products offer a fast track to market entry for your customers with ready-made content, providing an efficient way for them to scale their business and generate passive income.
They can be particularly lucrative if you target niches with high demand but limited content availability.
Conclusion
In this article, we explored seven types of digital products that can help you earn money while you sleep. Each offers unique advantages and can be tailored to different skills, interests, and market needs:
- E-Books allow you to share knowledge and expertise in written form.
- Online Courses enable you to educate and engage with a global audience.
- Digital Art and Graphics tap into creative markets and diverse applications.
- Templates and Frameworks provide essential tools for various professional needs.
- Membership Sites build a community and offer recurring revenue through subscriptions.
- Printable Products cater to the DIY market with easy-to-distribute creative content.
- PLR Products puts you in the position as a business supplier, giving customers quick ways to set up their own business.
As you consider which digital product to create, think about your strengths and where you can provide the most value. Begin with one product, learn from the experience, and expand as you grow more confident and understand the market better.
Your journey to earning passive income through digital products starts now—pick a product type and take your first step towards building a revenue stream that earns even while you sleep.
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