Ecommerce Empire Builders

Creating digital products to sell online is one of the best ecommerce strategies for new businesses because of the profitability. Unlike physical products, you only need to create them once, and then you can make repeat sales with them. Unfortunately, a lot of people neglect to create and sell these products properly. They may overcomplicate things and neglect to take full advantage of these opportunities, only to drop them out of frustration. However, there are plenty of great products out there that are worth the investment.

The following are five of the best-selling digital products to sell online, whether your business is just starting out or you’re looking for new worthwhile digital products to add to your growing inventory. You can sell them repeatedly, or you can even offer them as free giveaways to gain more subscriptions and email leads.

1. Video Courses

close-up of a professional camera as a man starts creating video course content

While video courses can be extremely lucrative, it’s important to keep in mind that they require you to be engaged and truly invested in them. Other digital products to sell online may not demand too much interest or expertise on the seller’s part. But video courses are the exception. If you’re going to teach people about a certain topic, you need to have some knowledge and experience in that niche.

Use YouTube to Begin Your Research

The first step you can take when getting started with video courses is to look on YouTube. Here, you can determine if a niche is actually consuming free video content. The big indicator here is that if people aren’t consuming free content, they’re not likely to spend much money on more premium content down the road. Try to look for videos that get up to a million or more views, which is a good sign that free content is popular in that niche and that many of those viewers will probably buy content from you.

For instance, if you look up poker video courses on YouTube, you’ll find plenty of content that a lot of people consume. Many of those videos easily get up to over a million views. While many videos in the poker niche might not get more than a few hundred, the fact that many other videos approach or reach that million-viewer threshold is indicative of a viable market.

Check Clickbank to See Where People Are Buying Content

There are a couple of places to see where people are buying video content, the first of which is Clickbank. Simply create a free account and search for the topic you want to cover. The nice thing about Clickbank is that they make it obvious which products are selling the best on a daily basis. However, not every niche appears on Clickbank.

Look at Udemy

If you’re not finding your niche on Clickbank, you can also check Udemy. The courses on Udemy may not be the most in-depth, but they can give you some insight as to which niches are the most profitable for selling video content.

You may also find that your niche is popular on one platform but not the other. For instance, when you search for poker videos on Udemy, you’ll get a lot of results, but there are curiously very few results on Clickbank. If anything, identifying these differences can help you identify opportunities to sell that others in that niche aren’t seeing.

2. Templates

Templates are also very profitable digital products to sell online. Many people want something that makes it easy for them to follow and semi-automate certain processes. For example, there is a big market for email templates because businesses and professionals don’t want to have to manually create every email from scratch.

Look for Templates on Google Images

When looking for examples of templates, one of the easiest methods is to simply do a Google Image search. Look for templates in your niche. Some niches will be harder than others, of course. Take our poker niche for example. It’s not the best if you want to sell templates instead of or in addition to video content. Meanwhile, the home and fitness niche has plenty of templates out there for home workouts.

Templates make both profitable products and excellent giveaways to generate more leads and subscribers.

3. E-books

screen grab of researching potential ebook niches on Amazon

E-books and templates are somewhat similar. But, while templates are good for a quick win for customers, e-books require more active investment. People actually have to read them.

Many people who think of e-books think of them as massive feature-length books of 100 pages or more. But you don’t need to make them anywhere near this length. In fact, a good length for an e-book is around ten pages — or even fewer, if possible. It all depends on your niche; some niches may require longer e-books to cover everything that customers want to know.

Check Out E-book Examples on Amazon

When looking for examples of e-books in your niche, the best place to go is Amazon. Specifically, look for your topic in the books section.

Selling e-books is likely profitable if you find that a lot of people are buying books in that specific niche. You can look at the most popular topics to cover. Reconceptualize some of the ideas discussed in those books to help you find the most lucrative e-book opportunities.

Use The PLR Store to Find Your E-books

One of the easiest ways to put your e-books together is to visit theplrstore.com. Private label rights (PLR) will give you the right to sell an e-book repeatedly for profit as your own product. You may need to create your own e-books if you aren’t able to find your niche on The PLR Store, but this site can save you a lot of time, money, and effort.

When selling your e-books, remember that it’s best to avoid overwhelming the customer with information. Give them valuable content that they’ll find useful one product at a time.

4. Membership Sites

There are two different types of membership sites that you can run, both of which are ideal digital products to sell online for many niches.

Charge One-Time Fees

You can offer a one-time fee for membership on some sites. For example, you may include a selection of video content on your membership site, for which you would charge a one-time fee to give members access to all video content at once.

Giving Access on a Monthly Basis

It’s also possible to give people monthly access to your website with a subscription. Unlike a membership site with a one-time fee, you can earn more money from long-term subscriptions in turn for providing information to customers on a regular basis. In the process, you’ll be able to gain their trust over time, and they’re likely going to spend more money on your products.

With subscriptions, you can release regular updates featuring video courses, templates, e-books, and more that keep people coming back to you.

5. Coaching and Consulting

woman practicing yoga with a virtual yoga group and instructor

If you’re an expert in something or really enjoy a certain activity and have something to offer to others, you can make that a profitable skill through coaching and consulting. People are always looking for mentors to help them learn more and remain accountable.

Consider what you can offer to your customers on a weekly basis if you want to focus on these digital products to sell online. You may need to charge anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars on a monthly basis for this kind of content—it will ultimately depend on the kind of advice or guidance you’re offering.

One great example is the fitness niche. If you’re somebody who stays active and healthy and can spread your knowledge to people trying to get to your level, people are always looking for someone like you to hold them accountable. Spend a few hours with a group of students or mentees, and help them grow and improve. While you may be tempted to give away free consulting, it’s typically best to charge for every course or session, as people spending money on your services are more driven to succeed.

Consult With the Pros at Ecommerce Empire Builders

All of these digital products are great dropshipping opportunities to consider for your business. But just creating these offers and waiting for the digital products to sell online isn’t enough. If you would like to learn more about how to excel as a dropshipper, reserve your seat at the free ecommerce masterclass. You’ll learn how to start selling these and other best-selling products today. You can also find fresh insights and dropshipping strategies on the Ecommerce Empire Builders YouTube channel.

One of the easiest ways to increase your profits via ecommerce is to create recurring revenue. You can do that through the sales of subscription boxes. Many people who get into dropshipping miss out on the chance to maximize income because they don’t take advantage of opportunities to generate recurring revenue. Get started by reading (and watching) the Ecommerce Empire Builders guide on how to start a subscription box business.

How to Find Subscription Boxes That Help Dramatically Boost Profits

Subscription plans can essentially help you earn free money by encouraging people to make repeat purchases on a regular basis. The key is knowing where to look for those lucrative subscription boxes that are likely to be worth the investment.

Start With a General Search

One of the best places to start your search for the ideal subscription box is Google. Simply conduct a Google search around “subscription boxes” and your specific niche. For instance, you might search “hiking subscription boxes,” which may yield many results to review. If you don’t see a lot of results in your search, this could indicate that you’re narrowing down your search too much. It’s best to keep things relevant but relatively broad.

Remember: just like with products, it’s important to choose competitive subscription box niches. Don’t complicate the process of how to start a subscription box business by trying to break new ground.

Look Through Affiliate Posts

You may come across a result that features an affiliate blog listing the “top subscription boxes” in your specific niche. You can look through the list for ideas for which subscription boxes are the best models of what to sell to your customers. While you might believe that people aren’t likely to spend upwards of hundreds of dollars on a monthly basis for a subscription box, you’d be mistaken. In fact, particularly in hobby niches, people love to spend money on what they love doing, be it hiking or another activity that they’ll always enjoy. This holds true regardless of the state of the economy.

Examine the Actual Boxes

Take a look at an individual subscription box and determine what they offer in each box, along with the pricing structure. A good subscription box will offer around two to three plans at most. This keeps things simple, and that’s more likely to encourage prospective customers to make a commitment.

One big selling point is the retail value included in the subscription box. This should be clearly displayed on the merchant’s page. The value should always outweigh what the customer pays, which truly shows that the box is worth the investment. However, this is very different from competing on price. Watch this breakdown of the secret to subscription box profitability.

Why It’s Often Best to Sell Physical Products

Many people prefer to subscribe to subscription boxes that make it easier to get what they want or need without putting much thought into it. For instance, you might be subscribed to a shaving kit subscription box, which keeps you stocked with high-quality shaving supplies. Now, you don’t have to think about going to the store or manually choosing your shaving products. At the same time, the retail value in each box outweighs what you actually end up paying per month.

This is why it’s often easiest to sell physical products over services through subscription plans. The key to how to start a subscription box business and be successful is to always think about what the customer needs.

Regardless of which plan you consider, look at multiple options and determine which subscription offers the best value and can attract the most customers.

Take a Look at Examples to Better Gauge the Value

When looking at the various subscription boxes out there, examine your potential competitors in depth. Do what you can to find examples of boxes that show precisely how much each box contains and display what customers can expect. Many subscription boxes websites allow you to view boxes that reveal what was included in previous shipments.

If you can’t determine if the value is higher than the price of the subscription box, or if a poor-quality website may reflect the quality of the products, move on. It’s best to look elsewhere for a more trustworthy subscription model.

Also, Take a Look at Your Suppliers

Once you’ve found the right subscription box for inspiration, keep in mind that you won’t necessarily need to be the one fulfilling the orders for each subscription. Before you get too deep in your journey of how to start a subscription box business, you need the right suppliers. Your supplier should have fulfillment centers that help simplify this process. You can also work with manufacturers who will customize designs, put each subscription box together, and ship them to your customers.

Create a Landing Page That Fully Illustrates the Value of the Subscription Box

When you’ve created the right box, it’s time to begin selling it. One of the first steps to take is to develop a strong landing page. Make sure it highlights the features and value of the box. In most cases, you should try to find a box with a retail value of at least $50 per box.

One small tip to help you sell your subscription box to customers is to use an unboxing video that clearly shows what’s included in each box. You don’t have to make one yourself. You can work with an influencer. They’ll produce an unboxing video for you. Then you can use it on a landing page that customers will be able to see. A brief unboxing video can go a long way in helping sell those boxes.

Avoid Selling the Subscription on the Front End

Before you try to sell your subscription, it’s important to entice customers with a specific product. Don’t try to sell a subscription right from the start of the sales funnel. Instead, create a funnel that begins with selling a single product that will encourage people to buy more from you.

From there, they may be more likely to subscribe to your box. Upsell with a simple offer such as, “Do you like our product? Give our subscription box a try.” If the customer liked that first product, they’ll probably consider your subscription plan. Subsequently, you’ll save more money as you essentially earn those customers for free.

By looking at the many subscription boxes out there in your niche and pinpointing the value they offer vs. the price they charge, you can craft the right subscription box for your ecommerce business. Remember, you need to show the value of what your customers are getting. Then, you’ll be a lot more likely to increase sales and maximize profitability with recurring revenue.

Consult With the Pros

Would you like to learn more about how to grow your ecommerce business and find out how to make money easily? Reserve your seat at the Ecommerce Empire Builders free sales funnel masterclass. You’ll find out how you can generate a full-time income online without any need for a full business website, touching the products you sell, or expensive ads.

Tagged : dropshipping business growth / how to start dropshipping / recurring revenue / subscription boxes / upselling tips