Selling digital products — like mobile apps, eBooks, online courses, templates, and memberships — has opened up massive opportunities for creators, educators, and business owners. Unlike physical products, digital goods don’t require manufacturing, storage, or shipping. You create them once and sell them repeatedly, often with little additional cost.
But while digital products remove some headaches, they come with their own challenges. The biggest one? Standing out. Since digital products don’t require factories or warehouses, anyone can create and sell them. That means competition is fierce, and simply having a great product isn’t enough. If people don’t know about it or don’t trust that it will help them, they won’t buy it.
This is especially true for mobile apps, where competition is brutal. With millions of apps available across the App Store and Google Play, even a well-designed, highly useful app can get lost in the crowd. Getting downloads isn’t just about building a great app — it’s about making sure people discover it, trust it, and see why it’s better than the rest.
Source: 42matters
To succeed, you need a smart, focused marketing plan that does three things:
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but every successful digital product strategy is built on these four areas:
A great marketing plan connects all four. If people see your product but don’t get curious, you lose them. If they’re interested but don’t trust that it’s worth their money (or storage space on their phone), they won’t download it. If they download but don’t find value fast, they’ll delete it and never come back.
People trust people. That’s why influencer marketing works so well. Instead of trying to convince strangers to trust a brand they’ve never heard of, you partner with someone they already follow and respect.
Here are some numbers: 83% of Gen Z, 80% of Millennials, 67% of Gen X, and 50% of Baby Boomers trust influencers’ recommendations.
Source: Famesters’ influencer marketing report
Here’s an article rich with data that will tell you more about how exactly influencers can — well, influence consumer behavior: How influencer marketing impacts consumer behavior and purchase decisions
For digital products, this is even more important. When you sell a physical product, people can see photos, read descriptions, and imagine how it fits into their lives. With digital products, it’s harder for customers to picture what they’re getting. A trusted influencer can explain it in real terms, show how it works, and make it feel like something worth buying — or in the case of mobile apps, downloading and using.
Unlike paid ads, influencer marketing feels natural. People are more likely to listen when someone they admire shares their experience instead of a business running a generic sales pitch. When done right, this builds trust fast and can lead to more sales and downloads with less resistance.
But influencer marketing isn’t the only way to sell digital products. The best results come from using a mix of smart strategies. In the next sections, we’ll break down other powerful ways to get your product in front of the right audience and turn interest into sales.
A digital product is anything you can sell online that doesn’t have a physical form. Unlike physical goods, digital products don’t need warehouses, factories, or shipping. Once they’re created, they can be sold over and over again without worrying about restocking inventory.
Think about the last time you downloaded an app, bought an eBook, streamed a webinar, or purchased a design template. Those are all digital products — intangible, instantly accessible, and highly scalable.
Selling digital products isn’t just about convenience — it’s also one of the most profitable and flexible ways to make money online. Here’s why:
With physical products, if you sell 1,000 units, you need to produce, store, and ship 1,000 units. With digital products, you create something once and sell it to an unlimited number of people. Whether you sell 10 copies or 10,000, the effort to create the product stays the same.
No product is truly passive — you have to build, promote, and update it. But once your digital product is out there, you can keep selling it without constantly putting in new work. A mobile app, an online course, or a subscription service can keep generating revenue long after it’s launched.
Forget about raw materials, shipping fees, or renting storage space. Your biggest expenses are likely to be your time, software tools, and marketing. Since there’s no manufacturing involved, profit margins tend to be much higher than with physical goods.
A physical business is tied to a specific location. A digital product can reach customers all over the world instantly. Whether it’s an eBook, an app, or a stock music track, people from any country can buy it, download it, and use it right away.
Since you don’t have production costs for each sale, every sale after the first one is mostly profit. Even if you spend money on ads or influencer marketing, your potential return is far greater than with physical products that require constant production and fulfillment.
Digital products come in all shapes and sizes, but here are some of the most popular and profitable ones:
Apps are one of the biggest digital product categories, with millions of downloads happening every day. Whether it’s a fitness tracker, a dating app, a photo-editing tool, or a planner app, mobile apps make life easier (or more fun) for users worldwide. Many apps make money through one-time purchases, subscriptions, or in-app purchases.
People are always looking to learn new skills, and digital education is booming. Some of the most successful online businesses sell:
Graphic designers, marketers, and content creators rely on digital assets to save time and improve their work. Some of the most popular ones include:
Software simplifies tasks and improves productivity. Digital tools can be sold as:
Entertainment-based digital products thrive because people are always looking for ways to consume content. Some big sellers in this category include:
Subscription-based content is a powerful way to earn recurring revenue. Instead of selling a one-time product, you offer ongoing access to valuable content. Examples include:
In the next section, we’ll look at how to market digital products effectively — so your audience actually finds, trusts, and buys what you’re selling.
Selling digital products takes more than just visibility — you need a mix of strategies that attract, engage, and convert customers. Here are six essential strategies to drive consistent sales and growth:
A strong digital product marketing plan combines multiple strategies to create steady growth.
Here’s an article that will help you learn more about it: What is an integrated marketing campaign and how to run it for your brand’s profit
Next, we’ll see how to make each one work for you.
Traditional ads are everywhere — and people are tuning them out. But when a trusted influencer talks about a product, it feels personal and credible. Their audience sees it as a recommendation, not a sales pitch. This is especially important for digital products like online courses, mobile apps, software tools, and templates, where trust and social proof can make or break a sale.
Influencers help overcome one of the biggest challenges of selling digital products: the lack of a physical experience. With a tangible product, people can see it in stores, hold it, and try it. With digital products, they rely on recommendations and demonstrations. Influencers bridge that gap by showing how the product works, what value it provides, and why it’s worth buying.
Different influencers serve different purposes, and the right choice depends on your goals and budget.
Not every influencer will be a good fit. The key is to find someone whose audience aligns with your target market and whose content feels authentic.
Where to look for influencers:
How to evaluate influencers before partnering:
The way you collaborate with influencers can impact the success of your campaign. Here are a few approaches:
Different types of influencer campaigns work for different products. Here are some of the most effective approaches:
Have influencers showcase your product in action. For example:
Give influencers a unique discount code or referral link and pay them a percentage of each sale. This is highly effective because it gives their audience an extra incentive to buy. It works particularly well for:
Live content creates a sense of urgency and real-time engagement. Some effective options:
Encourage influencers and their followers to create content around your digital product. For example:
If people can’t find your product, they won’t buy it. That’s where search engines come in. Every day, millions of potential customers are searching for solutions online. When your digital product appears at the top of their search results, you’re tapping into a steady stream of free, organic traffic.
Unlike ads, which stop working the moment you stop paying for them, search engine optimization keeps delivering traffic over time. When done right, content marketing and SEO can turn your website into an engine that attracts and converts customers around the clock.
To show up in search results, your content needs to be relevant, valuable, and easy for both users and search engines to understand. That means:
Search engine rankings don’t change overnight, but when you build a strong content foundation, your site can keep bringing in new customers without you lifting a finger.
SEO gets people to your site, but content is what turns them into buyers. Instead of just telling people to buy, show them why your product is valuable by educating, entertaining, and solving their problems.
Well-written blog posts do two things: they bring traffic from search engines and guide readers toward your product. The key is to create content that matches what your audience is searching for while naturally leading them to your product.
Some effective blog formats include:
Not everyone wants to read a blog. Some people prefer to watch, listen, and learn visually. That’s why video content is one of the most powerful tools for digital product marketing.
The best part? You don’t need a big budget or professional equipment. A simple, well-edited video shot on a phone can drive thousands of views and sales.
Some video content ideas that work:
SEO brings visitors to your product page, but if that page doesn’t convince them to buy, you’re losing money.
To turn visitors into buyers, optimize every part of the page:
SEO and content marketing aren’t quick fixes, but they’re powerful long-term strategies. Unlike paid ads, which disappear once you stop spending, well-optimized content continues to drive traffic and sales for years.
Combining SEO-friendly blog posts, engaging video content, and high-converting product pages helps you build a sustainable system that attracts, educates, and converts customers on autopilot.
If you want to scale digital product sales fast, paid ads are one of the most effective tools. Unlike organic marketing, which takes time to build momentum, ads put your product in front of the right people instantly. But throwing money at ads without a plan is a recipe for wasted budget. The key is knowing where to advertise, how to target the right audience, and how to bring back people who showed interest but didn’t buy.
Every digital product has an ideal platform for advertising. The trick is to match your product to the platform where your audience is most engaged.
These platforms are built for precise audience targeting, which makes them great for digital product sales. You can:
Best for: Mobile apps, online courses, ebooks, templates, membership sites, digital services.
Google Ads work differently from social media ads. Instead of pushing ads to people who might be interested, you’re showing ads to people who are already looking for a solution.
For example:
Best for: Software, mobile apps, productivity tools, stock assets, premium content subscriptions.
Pinterest is a powerhouse for selling digital products, but it’s often overlooked. People go to Pinterest looking for inspiration, solutions, and ready-to-buy ideas. Unlike other platforms, Pinterest ads feel less intrusive because they blend in with organic content.
Best for: Ebooks, printables, templates, digital art, stock assets.
According to the research, people retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to just 10% when reading text. That’s why YouTube Ads are one of the best ways to market digital products.
There are two main ways to advertise:
Best way to make YouTube Ads work? Create short, engaging video content that demonstrates your product in action. A quick 30-second clip showing how your product solves a real problem can be far more effective than a text ad.
Best for: Online courses, membership sites, mobile apps, software, digital services.
Not everyone buys the first time they see your ad. In fact, 96% of website visitors leave without making a purchase. That’s where retargeting comes in — bringing back people who were interested but didn’t take action.
These tools track who visits your website and allow you to show them ads later.
Someone visits your online course landing page but doesn’t sign up? Retarget them with a video ad explaining the course’s benefits.
A potential buyer adds an ebook to their cart but leaves? Show them a “Don’t forget your ebook!” ad with a small discount.
A visitor checks out your membership site but hesitates? Retarget them with testimonials and success stories.
These users already know your brand, so they’re far more likely to convert than cold audiences.
If someone showed interest in your digital product but didn’t buy, sometimes a well-timed email can make all the difference.
Email marketing might not be flashy, but it’s one of the most powerful tools for selling digital products. Why? Because unlike social media, where algorithms control who sees your content, your email list is yours — no one can take it away. A well-crafted email strategy can turn cold leads into loyal customers and keep them coming back for more.
Before you can sell anything, you need an audience that actually wants to hear from you. That’s where an email list comes in. But people won’t just give you their email address for nothing — you have to offer something valuable in return.
A lead magnet is a freebie that hooks potential customers and gets them on your email list. The trick? It has to be useful, relevant, and directly related to your digital product.
Here are some high-performing lead magnet ideas:
Make sure your lead magnet flows naturally into your main digital product. If you’re selling an online course, offer a free preview module. If you’re selling a set of design templates, give away one for free and upsell the rest.
You don’t want to send every email manually — that’s a waste of time. Instead, use email automation tools (like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, or ActiveCampaign) to automatically send emails when someone signs up, makes a purchase, or abandons their cart.
With the right setup, your email list works for you 24/7, bringing in new leads and converting them into paying customers — without you having to lift a finger.
Now that you’ve built your email list, what do you actually send? Sending random emails whenever you remember won’t work. Instead, use strategic email sequences to guide subscribers from “just looking” to “take my money.”
Your welcome emails set the tone for your relationship with your audience. If you just send a generic “Thanks for signing up!” you’re wasting an opportunity.
A strong welcome sequence should:
A good welcome sequence warms up your audience so that when you do make a real sales pitch, they’re ready to buy.
When you’re launching a new digital product, you can’t just say, “Hey, it’s live!” and expect people to rush in. You need a plan.
A launch email sequence builds excitement and nudges people toward buying. Here’s a simple structure:
Once someone buys from you once, they’re more likely to buy again. That’s why upselling and cross-selling are essential.
63.8% of people on Earth, or 5.22 billion, use at least one social media network. Social media is where people hang out, share opinions, and discover new things — including digital products. If you’re not showing up where your audience is, you’re losing sales. But posting random content and hoping for the best won’t get you far. You need a smart, consistent approach that turns followers into engaged buyers.
This isn’t just about getting likes — it’s about building trust, starting conversations, and creating a loyal community that wants what you’re selling.
Forget boring “buy now” posts. Your content needs to be engaging, valuable, and shareable — something people actually want to interact with. Here’s how to do it right:
Not all content gets traction. The posts that perform best are entertaining, relatable, or educational.
People love exclusive spaces where they can connect with like-minded individuals. Creating a private group or community around your digital product keeps customers engaged and makes them feel part of something bigger.
Best platforms for community-building:
Why does this work?
People don’t trust businesses. They trust other people. That’s why social proof — showing real customers using and loving your product — is one of the strongest sales tools you have.
Nothing sells better than real customers showing off your product. Get people to share their experiences and feature them everywhere.
Ways to encourage UGC:
Here are some examples:
A single screenshot of a happy customer saying “This was worth every penny” can be more convincing than a thousand-word sales page.
Ways to use testimonials effectively:
Social media isn’t just about broadcasting — it’s about engaging, building trust, and keeping your audience involved. The more people interact with your content and community, the more likely they are to buy from you, recommend your product, and become long-term customers.
If you make your audience feel heard, valued, and part of something bigger, your digital product won’t just be something they buy — it’ll be something they believe in.
Affiliate and partnership marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to sell digital products. Instead of spending money upfront on ads or promotions, you only pay for results. You get exposure, reach new audiences, and drive sales — without the heavy lifting.
Building an audience from scratch takes time. Why not leverage someone else’s? Affiliates and partners already have engaged followers who trust their recommendations. If they promote your digital product, it instantly reaches people who are more likely to buy.
Instead of chasing customers one by one, partnerships allow you to scale faster with less effort.
Unlike paid ads — where you spend money upfront and hope for conversions — affiliate marketing is performance-based. You only pay a commission when a sale happens. That means zero wasted ad spend.
This is low-risk, high-reward marketing. Affiliates do the promotion, and you only pay when they generate revenue. Everybody wins.
A strong affiliate program isn’t about signing up random people — it’s about working with the right ones.
Affiliate marketing runs on trust — and trust comes from transparency. You need the right platform to track:
Some of the platforms for tracking:
These tools automate tracking, so you don’t have to manually calculate commissions or chase down referrals.
Not all affiliates are created equal. Some will drive massive sales — others will do nothing.
The best affiliates already have an audience that trusts them and actively create content in your niche.
Top affiliate types to recruit:
How to find them:
Once you’ve found potential partners, reach out with a strong offer — one that makes it worth their time.
Marketing isn’t just about launching campaigns and hoping for the best — it’s about tracking what’s working, cutting what’s not, and constantly improving. If you’re not measuring, you’re guessing.
Let’s break down what to track and how to optimize your strategy for better sales and higher profits.
Every marketing effort should lead to one goal — more sales. But to improve results, you need to know why customers buy, why they don’t, and where you’re losing them. These are the key numbers to track:
How many people visit your product page versus how many actually buy? A low conversion rate means something is off — your messaging, pricing, checkout process, or even product-market fit.
If you’re running ads, this number is critical. It tells you how much you’re spending to get each sale.
If you’re using paid ads (Facebook, Google, YouTube, Pinterest) and influencer marketing, you need to know if they’re profitable.
Confused by all the abbreviations? Here’s a guide that will help you: Influencer marketing 101: FAQs & basics, terms & definitions, tips & tricks
Not all traffic is equal. Some channels will bring in engaged buyers, others will waste your time.
Use Google Analytics and UTM tracking to figure out where your best traffic is coming from — then double down on those channels.
Tracking numbers is one thing — but what do you actually do with the data? Here’s how to turn insights into action and continuously improve sales.
If your conversion rate is low, pricing might be the problem. Test different strategies to see what works best.
Customers will tell you exactly what they love and what’s missing. You just have to listen.
Small tweaks based on real feedback can make the difference between an average product and a must-have.
Your time and money should go where they get the highest return.
Digital product marketing is an ongoing process of testing, improving, and scaling. Track your numbers, listen to customers, and refine your approach. The result? More sales, more profit, and a digital product business that keeps growing.
Selling digital products is exciting, but it’s also challenging. There are no shipping costs, no warehouses — just you and the internet. But with so many people selling similar products, how do you get yours noticed?
Influencer marketing is one of the fastest ways to get your product in front of the right people. When a trusted creator recommends your product, it feels like a personal endorsement, not an ad. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. If you want steady sales, you need a mix of strategies that work together — content that builds authority, ads that bring in fresh eyes, emails that nurture interest, and a community that keeps people engaged.
No single tactic is enough. A smart marketing plan is one where everything connects. Start by reaching out to influencers, but don’t stop there. Make sure every part of your strategy works together, so your digital product gets the attention — and sales — it deserves.
The Famesters experts are here to help you get the most out of influencer marketing for your digital product. Contact us at [email protected] if you’re ready not only to show people what you’ve got, but grow and scale your business fast!