How to Sell Digital Products in WordPress (Step By Step)
Are you trying to figure out the easiest way to sell digital products in WordPress? It’s a lot more simple than you might think.
If you’re an entrepreneur or content creator looking to monetize your skills and expertise, selling digital products is a lucrative avenue to explore. And what better platform to leverage than WordPress, the leading content management system (CMS) powering millions of websites worldwide?
🔎 In this article, we’ll cover:
Why Sell Digital Products?
Digital eCommerce has become increasingly popular. Whether it’s downloadable content, software, or another type of digital asset, there are a handful of reasons to consider selling digital products online.
Let’s look at some of the best reasons.
- Passive Income: Selling digital products allows you to generate passive income. Once your products are created and listed, you can continue earning revenue without the need for constant physical inventory management or order fulfillment.
- Global Reach: The internet provides a vast marketplace where you can reach customers from all around the world. By selling digital products, you can overcome geographical barriers and tap into a global customer base.
- Low Overhead Costs: Compared to physical products, digital products have minimal production and distribution costs. You don’t need to worry about manufacturing, storage, or shipping. This translates to higher profit margins and scalability.
- Easy Updates and Revisions: With digital products, you have the flexibility to make updates, improvements, or revisions easily. You can release new versions, add bonus content, or fix any errors without incurring significant expenses.
- Automated Sales Process: Once your digital products are set up, the sales process can be largely automated. Customers can purchase and download your products instantly, allowing for a seamless and efficient buying experience.
Overall, selling digital products offers many benefits for businesses and content creators, including low overhead costs, unlimited scalability, and the ability to reach a global audience.
Types of Digital Products to Sell
There are many types of digital products that you can sell online. Here are some ideas to consider:
- E-books: If you have expertise in a particular topic, you can create an e-book to share your knowledge with others. Topics can range from business and finance to health and wellness.
- Online courses: Online courses are becoming increasingly popular and can be a great way to share your skills and knowledge with others. You can create courses on various topics, from cooking and gardening to programming and design.
- Music and audio files: If you’re a musician or audio producer, you can sell your music or sound effects as digital downloads. You can offer individual tracks or entire albums for purchase.
- Stock photos and videos: If you’re a photographer or videographer, you can sell your work as stock photos or videos. These can be used by bloggers, marketers, and other content creators.
- Software and plugins: If you’re a developer, you can create software or plugins to solve a particular problem or enhance the functionality of existing software. These can range from productivity tools to games.
- Printables and templates: If you have design skills, you can create printable templates for planners, calendars, and worksheets. You can also create templates for resumes, business cards, and social media graphics.
Ultimately, the best digital products to sell are those you’re passionate about that offer value to your target audience. You should also consider the market demand and competition for your product, pricing, and marketing strategies to reach your target customers.
- 🤔 The Complete List of Digital Downloads You Can Sell
- 🤔 The 14 Most Popular Digital Downloads to Sell
How to Sell Digital Products in WordPress
Ready to get started? Below, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step tutorial on how to sell digital products in WordPress.
Still need a WordPress website? Don’t worry. SiteGround’s Managed EDD plans provide everything you need to start selling digital goods.
1: Get Easy Digital Downloads
The best way to sell your digital downloads with WordPress is Easy Digital Downloads.
The free version of EDD includes:
- Protected product files,
- Full control over pricing
- Shopping cart
- Flexible checkout options
- Discount codes
- Customer management (basic CRM)
- eCommerce reports
- Stripe and/or PayPal integration
- White label (full control over branding)
You can expand your store’s functionality as you grow. Grab one of our Passes to add features like:
- Recurring payments (subscriptions, subscribers)
- Email marketing integration with popular platforms like Mailchimp, AWeber, or ConvertKit
- Integration with Amazon S3 or Dropbox
- Email list building with Free Downloads (lead magnets)
EDD is used by more than 50,000 digital creators. People like you and me. We use Easy Digital Downloads and WordPress every day to run our business. EDD’s first customer was EDD!
That is our promise. Most eCommerce solutions limit your creativity
…not Easy Digital Downloads!
2: Create a Digital Product
After you install Easy Digital Downloads you’ll see a new menu item called Downloads on your WordPress admin menu (left side).
First, we recommend selling your download files as ZIP files, unless you have a specific reason not to.
On your WordPress dashboard, hover over Downloads and click Add New.
You need to give the Download a name. Then add a description in the main text area below:
Next, set a price for your download under Download Prices.
Next, we need to configure the Download File. This is file (or download link) that the customer gets after purchase. They’ll get an auto-expiring link on their purchase confirmation page and confirmation email. This helps prevent piracy.
- Under File Name type in a phrase that describes the product. We suggest, for this example, typing something like “My Download”. This is the clickable link text that will be used on the confirmation page and email.
- Under File URL click Upload a File and upload your ZIP. It automatically protects files from unauthorized file downloads (by non-customers) and search bots.
Last, you need to add an attractive Download Image. This is important. It’s the product image. It’s what the customer sees as they are shopping. Make sure it looks nice.
🎨 Free Document product image template
🎨 Free Spreadsheet product image template
Once you have an image ready, go under Download Image and upload your image.
3: Publish & Preview the Digital Product
Good work! It’s ready. Click Publish.
Your digital product is set up on your WordPress site to sell. Next, look at it as the customer will see it on the product page.
Click on View Download on the top notification banner that appeared after you published.
You’ll see your digital product on the front-end of your website. This is the product page or download page.
4: Set Up A Payment Method
Last, you need to set up a way for customers to pay with a credit card (or Apple Pay or Google Pay).
We recommend using Stripe for its great features and ease of use. With Stripe you also can set up Apple Pay or Google. Pay. If Stripe is not available in your country, or you need certain currencies, PayPal is a good option.
Click one of the links below to get started:
Once a customer makes a purchase they’ll get a purchase confirmation email that looks like this:
The presets for this email work fine. Or, you can customize this email all you want under Downloads » Settings » Emails » Purchase Receipts.
The ‘My Download’ link that you set up above is what the customer uses to grab their new download. The link provided expires after 24 hours.
FAQs About Selling Digital Products
Can I sell digital products and physical goods with Easy Digital Downloads?
Yes, Easy Digital Downloads allows you to sell both digital and physical products. You can create separate product listings for each type or combine them in a single store, depending on your business model.
Can I offer free downloads with Easy Digital Downloads?
Yes, Easy Digital Downloads includes the option to offer free downloads. This can be useful for providing sample content, freebies, or limited versions of your digital products to attract potential customers. Check out our guide to learn more.
How can I promote my digital products?
To promote your digital products effectively, consider the following strategies:
- Content marketing. Create engaging and valuable content related to your products. This can include blog posts, tutorials, videos, or podcasts. Share your expertise and build an audience that is interested in your niche.
- Social media marketing. Leverage popular social media platforms to showcase your digital products. Engage with your audience, share product updates, and run targeted advertising campaigns to reach potential customers.
- Email marketing. Build an email list of interested subscribers and regularly send them updates, exclusive offers, or freebies related to your digital products. Email marketing helps nurture relationships and encourages repeat purchases.
- Affiliate marketing. Set up an affiliate program where others can promote your products in exchange for a commission. This can significantly expand your reach and drive sales through the efforts of affiliates.
Use EDD to Sell Digital Products in WordPress
Congrats! You just learned how to sell digital products online.
We have plenty of great resources for digital creators and entrepreneurs. What do you want to learn about next?!
- 🤑 The Astonishing Benefits of Selling Digital Downloads
- 💰 The Complete List of Digital Downloads You Can Sell
- 💸 The 14 Most Popular Digital Downloads You Can Sell
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Using WordPress and want to get Easy Digital Downloads for free?
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