How to Start Selling Digital Products: A Step-by-Step Guide

@emmaleger

The digital product game is the ultimate side hustle — no inventory, no shipping stress, just pure profit potential. Whether you’re a busy student, a 9–5 babe, or a full-time creator, this guide will show you how to launch your own digital product empire (without even having to create your own products from scratch).

Selling digital products like templates, eBooks, online courses, and journals can help you unlock passive income while sipping oat milk lattes or living your soft life. Let’s walk through how to start — step by step.

1. Pick a Niche

1. Pick a Profitable Niche

Your niche is your corner of the internet. It’s where your digital products live, thrive, and serve your dream customers. The key is to blend what you’re good at, what people are searching for, and what they’re willing to pay for.

How to Choose Your Niche:

• Think about your passions, skills, and what people always ask you for advice on.
• Use tools like Pinterest Trends, Google Trends, and Keyword Planner to validate demand.
• Don’t forget to stalk social media (especially TikTok and Pinterest) for what’s trending in the digital space.

Hot Digital Product Niches to Explore:

• Productivity & planning (think: digital planners, notion templates)
• Self-growth & wellness (eBooks, guided journals, affirmations)
• Business & marketing (Canva templates, media kits, digital workbooks)
• Creative tools (Instagram templates, Lightroom presets, etc.)

Picking a niche helps you build trust, charge higher prices, and serve your audience better.

2. Create a Product

There are two paths here:

• DIY (Do it yourself) your product
• Or buy a done-for-you (DFY) product and customize it

Option 1: DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Your Product

This is for the girlies who love to create. You can use tools like:

• Canva – perfect for eBooks, planners, and social media kits
• Kittl or Adobe InDesign – great for advanced design work
• Google Docs/Sheets or Notion – super useful for trackers, templates, and digital downloads

Start with a product that solves one specific problem. Simplicity sells.

Option 2: Use DFY Digital Products

Yes, you can totally start selling digital products without creating them from scratch.
DFY (Done-For-You) digital products are pre-made items you can rebrand, edit, and sell as your own.

DFY is perfect if you’re short on time, not techy, or just want a fast launch.

Platforms like Creative Fabrica, PLR.me, and Etsy PLR shops offer editable templates for journals, planners, eBooks, and more. You can also shop curated DFY bundles made for creators.

You can start with these top selling DFY digital products👇

3. Choose a Platform to Sell

Choosing the right platform to sell digital products is crucial. There are many ecommerce platforms, online marketplaces, and digital product hosting solutions. Each has its own features and benefits. It’s important to pick the one that fits your business goals, product, and target audience.

Payhip

Payhip is a favorite among digital product creators. It’s easy to use and has good pricing. With a free plan and low transaction fees, it’s great for beginners. But it’s more for those that would like to have a free website. I also don’t like their mobile interface though, because it shows one image per row. But it’s free and has a 5% fee per sale.

Etsy

Etsy is a top choice for selling unique, handmade, and digital products. It has a big buyer community and easy sales tools. It’s perfect for creators wanting to grow their brand and reach more people. However…The competition is crazy in there.

Beacon.ai or Stan Store

Beacon.ai and Stan Store are new ecommerce platforms with AI features. They give a link in bio type of shop. They help with copywriting, photography, and marketing. They’re great for creators who are short on time. I think Beacons is best for beginners because it’s free but the transaction free is over 5% per sale.

Shopify

Shopify is known for physical goods, but it’s also good for digital products. It offers customization and integrations. Creators can create a branded shopping experience for their customers. I recommend Shopify for those that want a big store from the get go. They offer $1 per month for the first 3 months.

I myself use to have a Shopify shop for digital products only. That was when I use to create digital products from scratch so that people can resell them as their own.

4. Market Your Products

Marketing is where the magic happens. You don’t need to go viral — but you do need to be visible.

Focus on These Platforms:

• Pinterest: Long-term traffic, highly visual, search-friendly
• Instagram: Great for building your brand + DM-based selling
• TikTok: Use trending audio + short value-packed videos for visibility

Use aesthetic content, how-to tutorials, and sneak peeks to grab attention.

Little heads up: How-to-tutorials are not for sales, their for traffic.

Smart Marketing Moves:

• Launch with a low-cost offer to attract buyers
• Create limited-time bundles or bonuses
• Share daily value on your socials (ex: “5 things my planner helped me do this week”)
• Add urgency with countdowns or flash sales

You can even use DFY marketing templates and captions to save time when promoting.

You can start with these TOP SELLING DFY digital products👇

5. Make Money

Now that your digital product is live, here’s how to actually scale it:

• Add new products to your shop to meet your audience needs (or update old ones)
• Use feedback to improve and create offers people really want
• Reinvest some of your earnings into better tools, ads, or upgraded DFY bundles

The global digital product market is growing fast — expected to reach $560B+ by 2024. Tap in now babe!

Pro Tip:

Start with a goal to make an extra $200-$500/month. Once you get a feel for what sells, you can rinse, repeat, and stack income streams.

You can start with these DFY digital products👇

6. Rinse and Repeat from Step 4

Digital products are scalable. That means once you build one, you can sell it again and again — no extra work needed.

Keep an eye on trends, track what’s selling best, and continue building products that serve your niche.

Every launch gets easier. Every product gets better. Every sale builds momentum.

Final Tips for Your Rich Girl Digital Empire:

• Solve a real problem with each product
• Don’t aim for perfect — just launch it
• Use Canva Pro or templates to keep things cute + consistent
• Keep learning, testing, and refining your offer

And remember: you don’t need a warehouse, big budget, or tech skills to start. All you need is Wi-Fi, a strategy, and a little rich girl energy. 💅

💡 Ready to start?
You can shop done-for-you digital products here 👇 and customize them to sell ASAP. My favorite guide is the one showing how to launch your first digital product step-by-step in just 7 days!