Software industry is growing at a rapid pace. In addition, for most people the internet is the first source of information. Due to this, software companies are developing solutions that you can download on your PC. There are some free software applications and some paid. Everything depends on customer requirements. There are free website templates, free bootstrap templates and trial versions of software applications. But if you are running a business of software, you normally provide software applications at a cost. So the question of how to sell digital products online is very relevant. Business runs on money and you must maintain finances to survive. Let us understand the step by step process of selling digital products online.
What is a digital product?
First of all, let us start with the definition of a digital product. Software is an application in your phone or computer, intangible that you cannot touch and feel. But it is useful and solves a specific purpose. For example, you can use accounting software to manage your finances. If you are good at coding you can make good software. If your application connects with people and solves a real problem you can earn money without investment. In simple words it is your key to become rich overnight.
Online Selling Apps
There are many online selling apps you can use to start an online selling business. Most of them allow free product listing and charge a small commission once sale happens. In addition, many people use this as one of the digital marketing tools. If the online selling platforms allow selling the product at other places also then you can do it. For example: Envato allows you to sell products on their platform and at other places also. The company has a lot of traffic from organic search. A portion of it may come to your website also. Many people redirect the customer for demo purposes. But most customers trust the platform so the sale will happen on their platform. Therefore, if you wish to increase traffic on a website, there are many things you can do.
Why is selling Digital Products profitable?
The best part of selling digital products is the ability to duplicate. You do not need to develop software applications with every new sale. Instead, you create copies of software products. It is simple to create copies of digital products and that too unlimited. In addition you can reduce the size and carry large data in small devices like Pen Drive, SD cards or Hard drives. The convenience of using software is unmatched. Selling digital products is also one of the best passive income ideas.
How to Sell Digital Products Online?
Here I believe you already have a digital product. This can be in the form of a software application, an eBook or music. You can read our article on types of digital products to sell online for more details. You can sell them using these modes.
Google Ads
This is probably the best way to sell digital products online because of the reach. Google works on the pay per click model. If your product has good margin then it is very easy to sell via Google ads. You can set daily or monthly budgets and sell according to your capacity.
Facebook Ads
Facebook is an amazing platform to sell digital products online. You can find users based on social profile and are. If your potential clients are on Facebook then you should also be on the same platform.
LinkedIn Ads
LinkedIn is a network of professional users. For example: you want to sell a recruitment software to a firm or an HR software. Look no further because most professionals have at least a LinkedIn profile. You can contact customers on LinkedIn easily.
Instagram Ads
If you have an existing fan base on Insta then you can sell a lot of products. You can use Instagram ads manager to sort your potential and design your campaign accordingly. You can simply give a link to your website and sell from there directly.
Search Engine Optimization
If you want to get organic traffic, search engine optimization is your tool. This is a long process and does not guarantee sales. However if you work on this, you can expect users on the website which may later convert to sale. SEO for small businesses is one of the important marketing tools for selling online.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
First of all, you keep adding some meaningful content on the website. Create backlinks, make social media presence and write customer engaging things. Something that your customers would like to read. With time the traffic increases and you can expect some costumes to buy products online. If the SEO strategies work well, there is no limit on how many customers you can expect. People make millions of dollars via selling online.
Some people consider this is one of the free marketing tools but there is a cost. All the time you spend doing SEO is the biggest cost of doing SEO. If you want to sell digital products online, it is worth considering.
Bulk Mails is a good option to sell digital products online
One of the easiest ways to find potential users on the internet is to send mass mailers. If you are low on budget, you can use free mass mailing tools. Initially it works better and with time, as the sales increase you can take the paid one for better reach.
Bulk Messages reach directly to customers phone
To send free mass text messaging, you need to use your phone. Due to this, it works for a limited time duration only. You need to use bulk SMS services where you get a web portal. Make sure it is white labeled so you can use your credentials in the sender name. These messages directly reach your potential customers’ phones. You can expect call backs from them. At times, this is the most profitable marketing strategy. If you want to sell digital products online, and the quality is good this can do wonders.
What is white label services?
When we refer to white labels, this means you can use your credentials or branding. Many software applications come as white labels where you can upload your company’s logo. As a result, your customers do not know that you are using a third party software application.
What is third party software? Compare in-house software vs outsource which one is better?
When you start a business, you need many software applications. For example: to manage a sales team, you need sales management software. For invoicing & accounting purposes you need a billing software. Similarly, to manage employees you need an HR software. The cost of software development in house is extremely high. Due to this, many companies use outsourcing services. Above all it is not possible to maintain a high standard of quality. On the other hand when a software company develops an application, there is a team to do it. There are many phases of software development. These include, skeleton design, user interface development, backend coding, testing, deployment and feedback. Many companies use a more robust structure to manage things. But if you want to sell digital products online, creating your own software is good for full control and better margins.
How to start selling online?
First of all, you need to decide on the nature of business. You can sell products online and you can also sell services online. This is completely your choice. However, the business model may be different for both of them. For example: if you are selling digital products, you can keep the margin fixed. In the case of services, it keeps fluctuating. This is because of changing customer demands. Let us understand this with an example: You are making a website and the customer asks for a new feature. You can only do time & cost estimates and quote the customer (if applicable). Services have time limitations and time is money. You may bear loss if your estimates go wrong or delay in delivery.
In the opposite scenario, if you are selling a product there is a fixed price. You create software in advance, analyze the cost and set the selling price after adding some margin. You show the demo and if the customer likes the product, delivery is instant.
How much money can you make with one digital product?
First of all, there are many ways to make money online. Selling digital products is just one of them. If your products are useful you can definitely make money with low investment. By this I do not mean making software is a low cost thing. For making a software application you need a lot of resources. Therefore, cost is also involved. But once successful, you can recover all that. In addition, you can make much more than you expect.
For example: you develop a software application with a total cost of $100,000. After completion, you can decide the cost and make unlimited copies of the application. You just need one hundred customers that are ready to pay $1000 per installation. This way you will recover all the cost and rest all is profit. You change the fortune with just one good software application.
Marketing Cost to Sell Digital Products Online
Marketing cost for selling a product online is important. There are small business marketing costs (considering you have just one product). You also need to estimate marketing costs and create a successful marketing strategy. So it may take a little more than one hundred customers. You can use various small business marketing tools to promote the product. You need to calculate the cost of promotion per product and add it to the final cost. If you are able to calculate the most accurate cost then you can easily pass on the cost to the customer and make money from online selling.