Sell Digital Downloads | Where, and How

If you can save someone time, make their life easier, or help them get from point A to point B a little faster, you can sell a digital download. 

And you do not even need to be a full-time creator to do it. Templates, workbooks, planners, swipe files, mini guides... yes please. The internet is basically begging for good digital products right now. So, if you have been sitting on that idea thinking, "Is this even worth it?" the answer is a loud yes.

In this article, you will find 8 of the most efficient ways to promote your digital downloads and generate passive income. They will not make you sweat much because all of these methods are intertwined into a working system that most successful creators use today. 

For extra inspiration, I added examples on how other creators promote their digital downloads. By the end of this guide, you will have a clear idea of what type of digital downloads you can sell and where the best place to start is. 

But before going into sales and marketing, make sure you also check out these free resources:

• Guide: How to Create Digital Downloads to Sell
• Template: Customizable templates for creating digital downloads 

Let’s see how you can turn those downloads into a sweet little income stream that works while you are busy doing other things.

Why sell digital downloads now? 

If you ask for side hustle ideas, every third person will tell you to sell digital downloads. And suddenly, the number of transactions for digital products has increased by 70% in recent years. Why has selling digital downloads become so popular all of a sudden? 

• You do not need a big team, funds, or any other resources. You can start with just your laptop and WiFi.
• You create a digital product once and sell it again and again. 
• You can sell to someone across the street or across the ocean.
• Profit margins are high. 

And doesn’t it saturate the market? No, it does NOT. At least not in the near future. Because you have almost infinite opportunities to create digital downloads, design, and deliver them in your unique way. And why not, maybe make a few extra hundred dollars a month? 

So, choose an item from the list of these digital downloads to sell (or a few), and we will discuss how you can promote them easily and make sales: 

Written digital downloads

• eBooks and audiobooks
• Guides and tutorials
• Templates (e.g., resumes, business plans)
• Planners and spreadsheets
• PDF documents

Visual digital downloads

• Graphic designs and illustrations
• Fonts, icons, and logos
• Photography and stock photos
• Printable art (e.g., coloring books, posters)

Audio digital downloads

• Music tracks, beats, jingles, and sound effects
• Podcasts or audio lessons
• Meditation or relaxation audio files

Video digital downloads

• Online courses and tutorials
• Short films, animations, or documentaries
• Stock videos. Etc. 

How do you promote your digital downloads? 

Making money selling digital downloads sounds like all sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows. Until you actually have to promote your products and sell them. 

Yes, you can place your digital downloads for digital products on marketplaces or on your website, and expect people to find out about them. But if you want to make them a solid source of income, you should have a system in place for how and where you plan to promote your downloadable resources. 

In this section, I want to share some not very popular but highly effective ways you can sell digital downloads. 

Upload pins on Pinterest 

Pinterest is more than just a place to post pretty pictures. In fact, it has as much SEO potential as Google because this platform is considered to be a visual search engine. Which means you can make Pinterest your middleman to sell digital downloads. 

Plus, 46% of users who are on Pinterest weekly discover new products and brands on this platform alone. And if your target audience is mostly Gen Z, the chances of selling double. 

All you need to do is create eye-catching Pins that show off your template, or whatever you might be selling. 

• When you set up your Pinterest profile, use keywords your audience would actually type into the search bar. 
• Then, link every Pin straight to a landing page or product page where people can buy your digital download. 

Like Google, Pinterest loves fresh content and is a slow-burn platform. Here, a Pin can bring you traffic for months after you post it. 

For example, here I searched for a business plan template. One of the first results, is a template by Zsofi Kiss, who is a brand strategist for businesses. As I visited her website via the link, I could not only find the template, but also discover her other helpful resources, like workbooks, and a small guide on how I could use it effectively. 

Create YouTube videos on the same topics 

The next search engine you can use to sell your digital downloads is YouTube. Not to mention, it is the world’s second-largest search engine. 

And if you want to make digital downloads one of the main ways to generate passive income, it is high time you started your YouTube channel. If you already have one, go ahead and

• Post videos that educate your target audience on the topics for which you create your digital downloads.
• In your introduction, mention your digital download as a way for an easy implementation of the solution they were looking for
• Include the digital download link in the video description
• Add the link to the info card when you introduce the resource, also do not forget to mention it on the end screen

What is great about YouTube is that one good video can bring you sales for months or even years. Sticking to the business plan example, I searched for the same thing on YouTube. Which led me to discover Destiny Adam’s video, which shows how she writes her business plans.

In the description box, she places all the necessary purchase links, including the one to her fillable business plan, which she sells on her website for $50. 

Promote in short-form videos 

Continuing with the video content, now you can repurpose that long video into short-form videos that you can post on TikTok, Instagram reels, YouTube Shorts, or any other platform. In the same way, you can include the landing page link to these videos and direct your audience to purchase. 

Here is how Plan It Easy did it. He created a template with spreadsheets where he presents an income and expenses tracking template. In the video, he explains how people can use the template and where they can download it. 

The link leads to a simple page on Paystack, where people can buy not only the expense and income template, but many other business-related templates. 

Share in your newsletter 

If you have a newsletter that you send monthly or weekly, you can promote your digital downloads and other resources there. 

You can write a short story about a problem they are facing and how your digital product solves it. You can share a quick tip from the download and tell them where to get the full thing. You can even give them a sneak peek inside.

Another way to sell digital downloads via a newsletter is when you make it available to paid subscribers. And whoever pays and subscribes to your newsletter gets “free access” to some of your digital downloads. This increases the value of your offer. Plus, if they discover your resources through a newsletter, there is a high chance they can purchase your other digital downloads that you do not include in their subscription. In the end, it is a win-win. 

Here is an example from Emily Kramer’s marketing newsletter, which she shared on MKT1. She shared her templates via email. Yet, those who are paying subscribers can actually get access to the templates. 

Create blog articles 

Your blog articles and newsletters can work hand-in-hand. Just as you repurpose YouTube videos into short-form videos, you can repurpose your blogs into newsletters. 

To promote your digital download, you can embed a banner in your blog article that directs people to the sales page. But let’s say, you only focus on growing your newsletter, and you figured out that the people who subscribe are more likely to convert. 

In that case, you can guide people to your newsletter, and then use email marketing to sell your digital downloadable product. 

For example, Mariana is a travel blogger and digital creator who shares travel and road tips. On her blog page, she shared the resources she uses while planning the trip. Plus, she included her newsletter sign-up form not only on this page but also on other individual articles as well. 

Present as a down-sell offer 

Do you also offer a higher-priced offer than your digital downloads, like a book, coaching program, or a course? If so, you can position your digital downloads as a down-sell offer for your higher-value product. 

For the downsell offer to work, it needs to be closely related to the topic of your other product. Why does this strategy work? 

Let’s say you are offering online courses, and you have dedicated sales pages for those. Based on the average conversion rates in the industry, you can usually convert only 3% of your page visitors into buyers. 

What happens to the rest of the visitors? Another 3% can end up buying your down-sell offer, which is your digital download, solving a certain aspect of the user’s needs that your course also focused on. 

Add the offer on your Thank You page 

The opposite scenario to the one I described right above is when your site visitors actually end up enrolling in your course, your coaching program, or any other product you offer. How can you sell them your digital download? 

You can do it as you have completely set up their checkout experience with a Thank You page. They are already in buying mode. A simple message like "Since you are here, you might also love this" can work. 

But if you want to implement this marketing strategy, consider the following:

• The key is to make your digital downloads a natural next step. It should be related to what they just bought. It should feel like it makes their life easier or helps them get results faster.
• And in no case should your students feel like you were gatekeeping the digital download just to sell it separately. 

That is why this suggestion really depends on what your main product is and what you are promoting as your digital download. 

Create an affiliate program 

And the last marketing channel on our list to promote and sell your digital download is by creating an affiliate program. 

If you have happy students, clients, or just people who believe in what you do, give them the chance to promote your digital download for you. In return, they earn a small commission for every sale they send your way.

It is a win-win. They get rewarded for sharing something they love. You get your digital product in front of new audiences without paying for ads.

For this to work, you do not need a complicated setup. Most course platforms have built-in affiliate tools. You just need to create a simple page where people can sign up to become affiliates. Give them a unique link and some easy-to-use graphics or templates to help them promote.

For example, if you have Uteach as your online course platform, you can create a partnership program in just a few steps. You can set up everything to the very detail, such as:

• Commission fee - this is the percentage your affiliate partners will get as a result of the sales.
• The minimal affiliate request - set the minimum amount the students can request for commissions. 
• Generated profit request availability - set after how many days the student will be able to request the commission.

Monetize your digital downloads easily with Uteach 

Now you know how you can sell your digital downloads and products. The question is, where can you actually sell them? 

The best platform to sell your digital downloads is Uteach. Why? You can upload your digital products, set your prices, create beautiful sales pages, and start selling in just a few clicks. You can also bundle your downloads with your courses, live sessions, or coaching programs, making it super easy to increase your sales without feeling salesy. And the best part? You keep full control over your brand, your products, and your customer experience.

Let’s go step by step and see how you can monetize your digital downloads with Uteach. 

• Create the digital product. 

You can follow these steps to upload your digital products and start selling. 

• Head to your dashboard’s Products section and click Create New Product
• With Uteach, you can create and sell both physical and digital products, so choose the type you need
• Add the description and the necessary details that appear on your product page once you are done uploading
• Set the price and apply the discount if there is a need. 

You can add your product as a file or a URL. In the settings, you can control who has access to your digital product, as you can set it to private, give access via link only, or make it public. 

Learn more: How to create digital products

• Customize the landing page experience 

Once you upload the product and make it public, it appears on your Product page, which is by default. 

What is great is that you can enable filtering and create categories for all your digital products. So, when your students land on this page, they can easily find what they need.

However, you also have the opportunity to create a separate landing page for any of your digital downloads you sell. To create a sales page:

• Navigate to the Pages section from the Page builder and click Create New Page
• Choose a landing page from the type you are offered

Once you create a page, you can see the template you previously set for your school website as the theme. Now, you can customize and edit this page with the drag-and-drop page builder. 

As you click on the plus sign between your ready-made website blocks, a window like this will appear. 

From here, you can choose the product widget design you like better if you want to build with a template. A new window will appear where you can choose any of the products or multiple products you want to present in that section. 

As you choose the digital download you already made, the pricing information, description, and all the other details will automatically show on your sales page. 

Besides just the product widgets, there are many other ready-made blocks you can add to your sales page. For example, it might be CTA buttons, FAQs, relevant articles, etc. 

What is great is that you can customize every detail of the page, from blocks to website element colors and designs. And if the templates and elements are not enough, you can always access the custom code. 

Learn more: How to use the page builder

• Connect your payment gateway 

To complete the setup of your school website, you also need to connect a payment gateway. 

Uteach is one of the few course platforms that does not limit your options to only PayPal and Stripe. In fact, you can connect to 25+ payment providers, including your local one. 

As you set your country and currency, you can access all the payment options available for you. You can access the payment methods from the financial section of your dashboard. 

Learn more: How to set up a payment gateway

• Start selling 

Now, you are ready to implement the strategies we discussed in this article to sell your digital products. You can promote them from your landing page using email marketing, create discounts for your products, sell them in bundles with your other offerings, and accept payments. 

Later, you can even track your sales and student activity inside your dashboard without needing extra tools. 

Whether you want to sell ebooks, templates, workbooks, or printables, Uteach makes it easy to manage everything from one place and keep the process smooth for you and your buyers.

Start with your 14-day free trial and start monetizing your skills today.