How to Sell Digital Products on Shopify for Profit in 2023?

In an increasingly digital world, selling digital products is a critical component of many prosperous enterprises, and artists worldwide have gained a fortune by selling digital versions of their works.

The good news is that selling digital products on Shopify is simpler than you imagine.

This blog post will show you how to sell digital products on Shopify and some easy digital products to sell on this platform.

What Are Digital Products?

Digital products (downloadables or virtual products) are intangible products or pieces of media that can be purchased and distributed online without needing new stock. 

Basically, everything that can be downloaded and delivered electronically can be referred to as digital products, such as MP3s, films, plug-ins, PDFs, and templates. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can create and sell them online or through brick-and-mortar retailers.

Digital goods are intangible items delivered electronically

Why Is Selling Digital Products A Good Idea?

Selling digital products on Shopify has several benefits over selling physical ones, making them particularly alluring to entrepreneurs:

Cost Saving

As the product is not physical, a digital store has no business with any costs for raw materials, production, packing, shipping, storage, employees, and logistics teams. Thus, the only expense you need to worry about is the initial costs of developing the product and maintaining the website. 

High-profit Margin

In fact, selling digital goods is a low-risk, high-reward business. You have a better chance of increasing your profit if the expense of manufacturing physical goods and maintaining a physical store is eliminated. However, you will still need a solid digital marketing plan and first-rate customer support to increase sales.

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Easy Customers Access

As digital goods are intangible, they are offered on websites that demand email registration. That means you will get direct access to customers once they sign up for Shopify to buy your digital items. This way, you can advertise other goods or services you provide, which is not the case at a physical store where the customers merely leave after making a purchase.

Constant Availability

Digital products are not tangible goods, so you can make as many as you like, and your shelves will never be empty. Furthermore, visitors to your website never have to read the phrase "out of stock," and you won't miss possible sales due to the infinite stocks. Additionally, you may sell these things for many years and get a consistent passive income without doing anything with the automated process.

Restricted Entry Barriers

You can create digital items if you have creative capacities in any area, like writing, music, design, video, computer programming, or any other. Nothing can stop you from doing it. Simply setting up a Shopify store and paying the monthly subscription fee will suffice. Using a computer or smartphone, you may manage your business with or without assistance from others. 

Global Sales

One of the major obstacles to selling physical goods online is logistics. Luckily, this is not an issue if you offer digital goods. These products can quickly be sold to anybody in the world. As you use the internet, finding customers with similar interests is simpler. You could be surprised to learn that a skill no one values in your area is in high demand elsewhere. 

How to Sell Digital Products on Shopify?

Step 1: Sign Up to Shopify

Shopify is fantastic for both novice and experienced users. It is affordable and simple to set up. 

For a limited time, you can sign up for a 3-day free trial of Shopify and take advantage of its $1 per month plan for the first months. This is the perfect opportunity to test out all the features that Shopify has to offer.

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If you are just getting started, we’ve got your back with a Shopify Tutorial - a detailed guide with valuable resources, tools, and best practices on getting set up in Shopify.

Step 2: Upload Your Products to Shopify

How to add digital products to Shopify? After signing up to Shopify, log into your account. Go to your Shopify dashboard (Shopify admin) and select Products on the left sidebar. After that, click the Add Product button in the middle of your dashboard.

Now, it is time to write Shopify product descriptions to make sure everything is clear. If you find it challenging, follow this comprehensive tutorial on How to Add Products to Shopify for more detailed information.

Additionally, you will need to inform Shopify that your item is digital, as you want the shipping email to be deactivated and all fulfillment to be automated. Scroll down to the Shipping section to mark the item as digital. 

• For new stores: Enable the Digital product or service option
• For old stores: Uncheck the This is a physical product checkbox

Given that digital goods don't have inventory limits, you can disable the Track Quantity option so your products won't display as Sold out.

Step 3: Create and Build Your Shopify Store

When your product is prepared and you have a select group of eager customers, it's time to set up your store to deliver digital products.

You can choose to have the digital products delivered automatically or manually by following the steps below from your Shopify admin:

• Go to Settings
• Select Checkout

Scroll down to Digital Products and click to Automatic Delivery or Manual Delivery

Keep in mind that automatic delivery options are available for your consumers to receive the digital goods they ordered immediately from your Shopify store. However, as Shopify doesn't provide the option of direct download from the store, you must use third-party software for automatic delivery.  

With manual delivery, your customers will get digital products after purchasing the manual file you sent. For your customers to download the file, use Dropbox or Google Drive and provide a link.

Step 4: Test Your Workflow

Shopify advises placing a test order before launching full-scale digital sales on the site. Making a 100% discount private coupon is the simplest way to do this. You will be the only one with access to the coupon, and Shopify won't record a dollar-value sale.

Test your checkout process to ensure all order email templates and download links appear and work as they should.

Step 5: Launch Your Store and Begin Selling

You should now have a solid understanding of Shopify and be prepared to decide whether it is the best platform for your needs.

You cannot launch your site before selecting and paying for a Shopify plan. So if you are ready to commit to this platform, it is time to do so before your three-day free trial expires. You can upgrade your plan whenever you need more advanced tools.

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Step 6: Promote Your Brand

You now have several chances to market your business after launching your first digital product on Shopify. 

For instance, Facebook Ads let you target people precisely so that you can focus on traffic that will be interested in what you offer. You may also enlist the assistance of friends or business partners with relevant audiences to expand your reach.

Best Shopify Apps for Selling Digital Products

Digital Downloads

Digital Downloads is a well-known Shopify-developed app that provides a quick method to add non-physical items to your store. Additionally, you can use the reporting by adding your digital attachments to a variant.

Rating and Reviews: 3.1 (359 reviews)

Key Features:

• Simplicity: Instead of directing you to another website, this app operates within Shopify. After installation, it directs you to a product page where you may add a file to an item. 
• Customers Get Files Instantly: Your customers receive a direct download and a connection through email after checkout.
• No Overall Storage Restrictions: This app allows you to save as many files as you like, but no file can exceed the 5GB file size limit. 

Pricing and Plans: Free

BookThatApp

Your customers may use BookThatApp to check real-time availability online or at Shopify POS. Additionally, the app offers configurable reminders through email and SMS as a bonus so that you can get reminders tailored to particular products.

Rating and Reviews: 4.7 (360 reviews)

Key Features:

• Real-Time Calendar: By encouraging customers to make online reservations using real-time availability tests, your sales rate will be greatly increased.
• Reminders: Send customers customized emails, SMS notifications, and follow-up messages.
• Flexibility: Facilitates varied scheduling, billing, and staffing situations utilizing various staffing tools and the import/export schedule.

Pricing and Plans:

SendOwl

You may use SendOwl to sell digital goods, including software, ebooks, audio, and other types of files on your Shopify store. 

Rating & Reviews: 4.2 (156 reviews)

Key Features:

• Moment and Planned Conveyance: Shopify digital downloads are provided through a secure, lapsing download connection to protect your files from unwanted attention.
• Reliability: You get the assistance of a full-time team whose sole job is to develop and expand SendOwl. There are no seasonal employees here.
• Proven Execution: This app has successfully delivered more than 8 million requests for Shopify users, making it the only automated delivery application available on Shopify Plus.

Pricing and Plans:

FetchApp

Another excellent app for controlling Shopify digital downloads and monitoring who has access to your premium content is FetchApp. With the help of FetchApp, you can manage the number of times a product can be downloaded as well as how long a download link is valid.

Rating and Reviews: 4.1 (39 reviews)

Key Features:

• Adaptable to Your Needs: Attach several files to a single item, pair a single record with many things, or limit downloads by time, volume, or both.
• Simple Order Management: Receive orders from various trucks and entryways and manage from a single location. Orders may be physically terminated, returned, or sent again at any moment.
• No Commission Fees: It doesn't charge commission for your transactions. Only your capacity demands determine monthly fees. 

Pricing and Plans:

Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a wonderful option if you want to set up and start mailing immediately. Regularly sending "learning boosts" to your email list is a terrific strategy to stay top-of-mind and make sure that your audience continues to benefit from your material.

Rating and Reviews: 3.9 (1678 reviews)

Key Features:

• Integration: Subscribers are instantly added to an address book. You can build automated emails to promote customer reviews, make product suggestions, and provide excellent thought leadership material to their inboxes.
• Synchronization: Sync your real-time and historical store data to help keep track of every interaction.
• Pre-built Email Templates: This app contains a variety of pre-built email templates to help you launch your campaigns.

Pricing and Plans:

5 Most Profitable Digital Products to Sell on Shopify

Online Courses

The market for online courses is flourishing, and it is predicted to be worth $370 billion globally by 2026, according to Statista. You may also join this trend by putting your knowledge and skills into a digital product and selling it. All you need is thorough expertise in your chosen subject and a passion for teaching. There are no restrictions on the types of online courses you can develop or market.

John D. Saunders did exactly that by using his site design accelerator and SOPs courses to earn over $10,000 on launch day alone. He now owns a six-figure company and has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling online courses.

John D. Saunders has been successfully selling his online courses on Shopify

Graphic Templates

Graphic artists and designers can create many distinctive and useful products and reach a huge customer base by selling digital files. This is a fantastic method to show your creative brilliance to the world while earning money online. 

As an illustration, the My Social Boutique has one of Creative Market's top-selling templates. More than 2,000 people have purchased their collection of 400+ engagement-boosting Instagram themes, which amounts to approximately $100,000 in earnings for a commercial license that costs $49.

My Social Boutique offers a lot of attractive graphic templates

Membership Sites

Rather than selling your content as a single product, you may bundle them and charge a monthly membership fee for customers to access it. Indeed, it is ideal to continue making passive income while educating many people.

To illustrate, when Rhett & Link from the Good Mythical Morning channel launched the Mythical Society, a closed online group that grants subscribers access to behind-the-scenes photos and unique information, they created a new recurring venue stream. 

Rhett & Link created the Mythical Society to earn money

Digital Music

Music is one of the world's most beloved crafts and is considered the food of the spirit. Fortunately, musicians can make money from their art in several ways, like selling them as digital goods. You can produce audio guides, demo sounds, and ringtones according to your audience's requests and charge an attractive price.

Digital music is easy to sell on Shopify

If you have a fan base, you can even sell entire albums or individual song files via your website store on streaming platforms like Spotify. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said that The Weeknd's track "Save Your Tears" sold 2.15 billion digital copies. 

Software and Games

You are sitting on a gold mine if you are a software engineer or programmer. You can design games that address particular demands and sell them on your Shopify store, ranging from easy puzzles to intricate 3D virtual ones. 

For instance, Supercell (the company behind Clash of Clans) generated over $1.9B in revenue from digital games in 2022.

Supercell company made a great profit from selling digital games like Clash of Clans

Tips to Sell Digital Products on Shopify to Get the Best Profit

Provide Samples or Free Trials

A survey done by Opinion Research Corp. on behalf of the United States Postal Service found that 81% of consumers claimed they would try a product after obtaining a sample. Whether you sell the first chapter of an eBook or a limited-time software trial, these samples can be used as lead magnets to grow your email list. You can then gradually nurture those prospects over time using automated emails, SMS messages, or customized sales materials.

Set Up Your Store Correctly

In order for customers to quickly locate what they're looking for, navigate the website, and make purchases, be sure that you have completed all the necessary steps from the Shopify Tutorial. Additionally, make use of good navigation, product descriptions, and pricing details, all of which will help increase sales.

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Use Social Proof

Since digital products cannot be held or touched, their perceived worth may be lower. With that in mind, potential clients may wonder, "Will this work for me?" 

Social proof, or user-provided testimonials of your product's worth and quality, is one strategy for overcoming this. According to statistics, websites featuring testimonials get 45% more traffic than those without them, and 88% of buyers believe online reviews to be as reliable as personal recommendations.

Launch an Affiliate Program

The global affiliate marketing market is expected to reach $14.3 billion in 2023 and $15.7 billion in 2024. Digital products are especially simple for affiliates to advertise in exchange for a commission. You can find influencers in your industry, then create an affiliate link they may distribute on social media and other sales channels.

Make Use of Shopify SEO

Shopify SEO is known as the process of improving the website and content of your Shopify store to raise its visibility and ranking in search engine results pages. Your Shopify store may rank higher in search engine results and get more organic traffic to your website with a properly implemented SEO strategy, increasing sales and revenue.

Provide Many Payment Options

More payment alternatives give buyers a better chance of finding one that works for them. Doing so decreases the time spent considering the items in their shopping basket, encouraging them to finish the transaction. Statistics demonstrated that having more payment options increases conversions by 71%. 

Learn more: Shopify Payments vs. Paypal: What's Best for You in 2023?

Conclusion

Shopify is an all-in-one platform that makes selling digital products a breeze. With its user-friendly interface and powerful tools, you can create an online storefront that is both functional and visually appealing. And if you're looking for an intuitive storefront design solution, look no further than GemPages. 

With its easy drag-and-drop interface and customizable templates, GemPages makes it easy to create stunning pages that showcase your digital products and help you convert visitors into customers. 

So why not give GemPages a try and take your Shopify store to the next level? Sign up now and start building your dream storefront today!

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FAQs about Selling Digital Products on Shopify

Can you sell digital products on Shopify?

Yes, Shopify supports both physical and digital products. You only need a Shopify store and a third-party app to upload and manage your products on Shopify.

Can you sell any digital file type on Shopify?

Yes, you may use a digital product app on your Shopify store to upload and sell any file type.

What kind of digital products sell best?

While there are many easy digital products to sell on Shopify, the most popular ones are courses, PDF ebooks, and media.