Start Selling Digital Products: A Simple Guide for Beginners

Want to make money online without dealing with inventory, shipping, or customer service headaches?

Digital products might be exactly what you’re looking for.

I’ve made over $200,000 in a year (and over $2 million in total) selling things like wallpapers, templates, and online courses – and in this guide, I’ll explain you can do the same.

What Are Digital Products?

Digital products are things you sell online that your customer downloads – no physical item involved.

Think: eBooks, wallpapers, templates, presets, software, courses, and more.

The beauty is you only have to make them once.

After that, you can sell them again and again with zero extra effort.

This makes them ideal for building passive income.

When I first started, I was making Tumblr themes and custom Android icons.

I literally just started as I wanted to make my Tumblr account and phone icons look better.

Later, I added things that I was interested in, like Lightroom presets, website templates, and wallpaper packs.

All digital, all scalable.

Why Digital Products Are a Smart Way to Make Money

There are a few reasons digital products are one of the best online business models:

• Passive income: Create once, sell forever. No repeat work per sale.

• Scalable: Selling 100 vs. 10,000 copies costs the same amount of effort.

• Low startup costs: You don’t need inventory or physical production.

• Location freedom: You can run your store from anywhere with Wi-Fi.

For me, it was life-changing.

I built a business that earns while I sleep, travel, or work on other projects.

Best Types of Digital Products to Sell

There’s no one-size-fits-all.

But here are some of the most profitable and beginner-friendly options:

• Wallpapers & digital art: Especially great for artists and designers.

• Templates & themes: Resume templates, Notion layouts, Instagram graphics, website themes—people love done-for-you tools.

• Presets: For photographers and videographers. My Lightroom presets have been a big hit for me.

• eBooks: Great if you’ve got niche knowledge or experience to share.

• Courses & tutorials: Online education is booming. My Video Creator Course is one of my top sellers.

• Plugins & tools: If you’re into coding or problem-solving, these are gold.

• Audio & music: Sell soundtracks, effects, or loops for creators.

• Memberships: Recurring income from exclusive content or community access.

The key?

Create something that saves people time, improves their work, or adds aesthetic value.

How I Made Over $2 Million With Digital Products

Here’s a snapshot of what’s worked for me:

1. Tumblr Themes

My first real success.

I taught myself HTML/CSS to customise my own Tumblr, released a few free themes, then got accepted into Tumblr’s theme marketplace.

Over the years, I made close to $700K from this alone.

2. Wallpapers

A side hustle that surprised me.

I used custom wallpapers in my YouTube videos and people kept asking for them.

One wallpaper pack alone made $30,000+, and it took maybe a day to put together.

3. Presets & Templates

These sell well because they’re practical.

People want things that make their content look better or workflows smoother.

I packaged the tools I use daily and sold them – turns out, people were willing to pay.

How to Start Selling Digital Products (Step-by-Step)

If you’re starting from scratch, here’s what I’d do:

1. Pick Your Product

Choose something you’re already good at—or something you’ve built for yourself that others might find useful.

Don’t overthink it. Start simple.

2. Use the Right Platform

You don’t need a full-blown website.

These platforms are beginner-friendly:

• Gumroad – Best for quick setup and great UX.

• Payhip – Good for slightly lower fees and ease of use.

• Sellfy – More control and customisation.

They handle payments, emails, and even taxes in some cases.

3. Create Quality Visuals

Mockups and previews sell products.

Use high-quality images or product demos.

Platforms like Figma and Canva make it super easy to do this.

I always make sure my product pages look polished – it makes a huge difference.

4. Promote It

You don’t need a big audience.

I’ve had products go viral with no link in the original tweet

If your product looks good and solves a real problem, people will find it.

The first step is to create products that people want and that actually add value.

The audience will follow.

Leverage:

• Twitter or X (aesthetic posts do well)

• Instagram or Pinterest (great for visual products)

• YouTube (behind-the-scenes and demos)

• SEO (optimise your titles and descriptions)

5. Automate and Scale

Once your product is live and selling, it becomes semi-passive.

Focus on creating more products or scaling your audience through content.

I built a digital product system that runs in the background while I focus on new ideas.

That’s the end goal.

It’s Not Too Late

People love to say “digital products are saturated".

They’re not.

Wallpapers have been around forever.

So have eBooks and templates.

The difference is in how you package and present yours.

If it’s helpful, looks good, or solves a real problem – it will sell.

I’ve broken down the entire process, step-by-step, inside my Online Creator Course.

From product ideas to scaling your store, I cover everything that’s helped me generate 7-figures online.

If you’re serious about building online income, start today.