Six of the best sites and features that allow you to sell digital downloads

Find out about the most important features you need to include in selling digital downloads on the internet. This article explains what features to look for and popular sites to market digital downloads.

The top platforms for selling digital downloads that cater to different kinds of creators

If you are deciding on an online platform to market digital downloads, be sure to look for a tool with ease of use, functionality, support, advertising features, affordable fees and cost-effective expenses.

• Shopify and Etsy have been specifically created for selling physical items, however they permit sellers to offer digital downloads, too. They allow selling digital products However, the possibilities are limited.
• Gumroad has a variety of features that are robust, and allows you to sell a variety of file types and without any annual costs. The only problem is Gumroad will charge you high transaction charges for each sale.
• Easy Digital Downloads is a WordPress plugin which lets you sell your products through your site. While it's totally available for free, you'll likely require extensions or integrations.
• It's easy to establish and allows you to create sale of all files, without restrictions. The platform has advanced marketing tools which are integrated into the platform. Our assistance is excellent - or as our customers have said about us.

In the beginning, when I first launched one of my digital products I thought that the toughest element would be the transformation of the thoughts of my mind into something that would actually be appreciated by the people who purchased it.

We wouldn't like that to happen to anyone else.

There are a variety of places you can offer digital downloads in the present, but choosing the right software to use to market your product can be as easy as a timer.

Why do you think you should sell digital downloads?

Digital downloads are the type of files that can be purchased through the internet. If you are a creator, digital downloads may become a hugely profitable component of your offering.

There are a few reasons selling digital downloads is a good idea for your business

You don't have to stress about the shipping process or stock. If making daily visits at the post office sounds like your personal nightmare, digital solutions are the best alternative.

There are six aspects to take into consideration in deciding the best location to sell digital downloads on the internet

Certain platforms take it to the next level by incorporating high-end capabilities. It's vital to determine the one that best fits your goals that you want to create as of this moment, but also in the near future.

Transferring your instruments between different tools is about as fun as going to the dentist. Avoid your future self the toothache by picking an instrument which is simple to use , yet has room to grow.

To make deciding a little more simple There are a few qualities to look out to look for:

Ease of Entry:First and foremost, the website you use to sell digital downloads ought to be easy to collaborate with  as an author.

Functions:You're a multifaceted creator and could create a range of different digital products in the future. Be on the lookout for platforms that do not limit to the kind of files you upload.

Customer SupportIf you're in the same situation like many customers are, then you're expecting answers to any support issues within 10 minutes of asking the inquiry. Selecting a business with great customer service can save your customer from disappointment later on.

Fees for transactions:Transaction fees are a fraction of the transaction that the platform retains. The fees typically range from 1 to 10% of the total amount of the transaction. Some platforms also charge listing charges and credit card processing charges that can increase every time you make a transaction.

Price:Finally, we have to calculate the figures. However, cheaper doesn't mean the best choice, because lower-cost platforms usually include greater costs and features that cut costs.

The features we've identified are now known that you should look out for, now take a look at the top selections to find out which ones are the best.

As an example, author Emily Connell utilizes her website to provide free digital downloads and offer live classes or online on-demand courses as well as one-on-one coaching programs.

It is the best of all because it offers an affordable plan. You can create your own site and manage your online community and also offer one digital download for sale as well as one item to coach for no cost.

Are you interested in trying the system yourself? Register your free account today.

Here are the benefits that you can reap from using :

The program for free permits the user to sell their first digital download without a massive upfront cost.

It is possible to provide any type of digital download with unlimited file size.

Although we believe it is an excellent program, it is not an absolute fact that all program is ideal for every person. Below are the reasons it could not be the ideal option for you.

The world has become digital and if you are looking to promote physical goods a platform such as Shopify or Etsy could be a better fit.

highlights

accessibility 5.5% out of 5. The creator-facing dashboard that is on the left side of the screen is easy and clear to use. Our onboarding process is customizable along with step-by-step instructional videos, you'll get your product listed in just less than a minute.

Function: 5 out of 5. You can offer documents in almost any formats, with no limitation to file size. It's your choice to bundle your product or sell them as upsells and charge them as you please.

Support Five stars out of five. Have you yet spoken with our customer support staff yet? If not, do it now! Visit the chat window on the lower left of the page and say hello. Chat support with us is among the most effective, fast, and friendly chat service in town.

Marketing 4.5 five stars. Our site was designed to provide a complete solution to the needs of your company and the functions for marketing is an important piece of this piece of the puzzle. Setup and prelaunch items, distribute coupons or even set up your own affiliate program straight out of the box.

I've taken a half percentage off because we do not provide a marketplace option, even though this isn't a requirement for all businesses, and we allow you to create an individual fanbase using our lead-capturing tools.

Fees for transactions: 4.5 out of 5. With , there is no charge for transactions when you purchase a paid plan. Users who are on free plans will be charged an 8.8% transaction fee for products sold.

It's kept at a low cost while you're starting out but you'll have the possibility of improving the cost of transactions and decrease the amount as you grow your business.

Like most platforms, there are payment processor costs that are unassociated with . Stripe or PayPal charges a typical transaction fee of 2.9 percent plus 30 centsor. We also offer instant payouts to authors in order that you can have access to your funds in a short time.

Cost: 's free plan offers a web site as well as an online community. one download, and one coaching program. The plans that cost money are priced between $39.90 up to $199.99/month.

Do you want to know more about managing your business online using a platform like ? Come along to an interactive demo in order to try it out.

Shopify

Shopify is an ecommerce giant that is well-known for creators. More than 1.7 million organizations make use of Shopify for their websites and creators who use Shopify have made over $200 billion in revenues.

Shopify is most well-known in the business of selling physical items, however, it is also able to sell online products. Since its inception, Shopify has also added many international functions for its e-commerce website.

If you're a creator who wants to market digital as well as physical goods to clients around the globe, Shopify might be a great place to begin.

These are Shopify advantages:

Shopify comes with powerful marketing tools as well as integrations with a variety of social media platforms.

Shopify is their own processor for payments that's called Shopify Payments. It's user-friendly and it's included with the entire plan. You do not have to join with any third-party processors, if you don't wish to.

Design stunning websites, with storefronts that can be customized and even storefronts.

These are Shopify pros:

Shopify's focus is on physical product sales. There are premium features for those who are only selling digital goods.

If you don't use Shopify Payments, there are additional charges that are added to your cost of your monthly subscription.

The fee system generally is complicated.

Shopify has features

Accessibility 3 stars out of 5. The reason for this is that Shopify was first built for selling physical items, you'll need to take additional steps in order to offer digital downloads. There are videos on the site that will guide users through how to upload their products via Digital Downloads. Digital Downloads app, but this isn't the most straightforward method.

Functionality 3/5. This time around, Shopify loses points because many of its functions were designed to sell physical goods.

In order to sell digital downloads, the maximum size of the file for selling is 5GB for each file. You can only sell just one file for each variation However, you can offer multiple variations including different images resolutions or ebook formats. It will need the ZIP file to incorporate multiple files into one product.

Support Customer Support: 3 5 stars from 3. Shopify has 24/7 chat and email assistance, as well as a forum in which users seek assistance from fellow users. There are many online reviews that complain about poor response times for support.

Marketing Five out five. Shopify is a top performer in the marketing department. They offer a robust site builder, which allows you to build an online store as well as manage your own blog.

It's integrated email marketing in E-commerce templates. You can design coupon codes, create gift cards as well as display authentic customers' reviews. Additionally, it works in conjunction with social media platforms.

Transaction fees: 2.5 out of 5. The Shopify fee structure can be a bit difficult to understand. It's difficult to determine exactly the transaction cost and the charges to process card transactions.

There's no transaction fee when you make a payment through the Shopify Payments service. But if you don't use Shopify Payments, there's a charge to utilize an external payment processor.

Additionally, if you use large credit cards you'll be charged a credit card fee on each purchase. The percentages vary based on which plan you select.

The basics of Shopify:

Processing costs for credit card transactions: 2.9 percent plus $0.30

A transaction fee is charged when you don't make use of Shopify Payments 2 percent

Shopify:

The processing cost for transactions with credit cards: 2.6 percent plus $0.30

Charge for transaction when you do not utilize Shopify Payments: 1percent

Advanced Shopify:

Processing cost for credit card processing: 2.4% + $0.30

Transaction fee if not using Shopify Payments: 0.5%

Price: $29 -- $299/month. Shopify has three plans available. You pay the monthly cost as well as the fees listed below.

Etsy

Many people utilize Etsy for buying hand-crafted and unique merchandise. Etsy has earned a name for being the ideal place to purchase unusual, vintage, and quirky merchandise created by artists and small businesses.

Etsy has over 400 million daily visitors this is an enormous number of eyes on your product. Etsy also offers a reputable marketplace where you can sell your products and get noticed by potential customers.

The positive side is:

Etsy is an established brand that helps to build confidence with its customers.

When you are on your store's Shop Page you can subdivide your merchandise into categories to facilitate organization and easier search.

Etsy provides a simple seller dashboards where you can get reviews, communicate with customers, create coupons, and even offer discounts coupons.

It's the perfect spot to sell items like designs, templates, presets, fonts, vectors as well as creative works.

On the other hand:

Etsy is designed to allow sellers to sell physical products in addition to digital ones. It is important to specify in your ads that your items are digital to prevent confusion.

While being listed in Etsy's marketplace Etsy marketplace is a nice perk, there's lots of competition, and products that are in the top categories can be obscured.

Etsy offers

Ease of entry The rating is 4.5. Etsy is able to adapt to an market very easily. It is easy to set the shop can be done in one afternoon and then adding items can be as simple as filling out an online form that describes your product and uploading the images of your products by dragging the images onto the site, and then clicking on the button to publish.

Functionality 3.0 Out of 5. The good thing about Etsy is that you are able to sell diverse kinds of files however you are only able to upload 5 files per product. There is a limit of 20MB per file. this could restrict some creators.

Support: 3 out five. But, Etsy has a great Creator community that allows you to inquire about issues. Sellers are also able to access an extensive documentation on help and support as well as the seller's manual.

However, Etsy support is only contactable via emails. As of now, they offer a the ability to respond within a day which isn't great for urgent questions.

Marketing Rating 4/5. Etsy has some intriguing marketing tools that sellers can use. While other platforms may have the ability to sell on the market but none have the reach of Etsy.

It's a race to the finish, but it is possible to attract buyers who are serious about your products. In fact, there exist other third-party tools for keyword research which are specifically designed to cater to Etsy rankings in the results of searches. Etsy provides advertising services which sellers are able to use.

Transaction charges 2/5. There are a few fees to be aware of while selling your goods through Etsy. First, there is a $0.20 cost for listing each item in your shop. Each listing is active for four months , or until it's sold.

If you're selling a product that is taxable, you'll be charged a 5 percent transaction fee in addition to a 3 percent plus $0.25 transaction processing fee.

Price-Free --10 dollars monthly. The creation of the Etsy shop is completely free but it will cost $0.20 to list products as well as other transaction charges.

Simple Digital Downloads

It's specifically designed for selling digital items, however, it requires some extra lifting in order to provide the same capabilities similar to the others on this list.

Positives:

EDD is an excellent alternative if you already own an WordPress website , and you wish to keep your content in the WordPress community.

It could also work for those who require a more an advanced level of customization. But keep an eye on the fact you'll require an excellent understanding of writing code as well as dealing with.

In the negative

To get the features you require to market digital downloads, it's necessary to utilize extensions and integrations with other software.

The additional features and enhancements can have their own costs and technical challenges.

It's easy to download Digital Downloads feature

Easy entry 3.5% accessibility. If you're used to using WordPress and you've already added plugins prior to making the change to EDD is the same as it is. If you've not worked before with WordPress it's not the most effective option since you'll need to learn two ways of working.

Functionality 3.0 out of five. With EDD you can sell any type of file that you upload to WordPress. This allows you to sell a large range, but be mindful of the amount of bandwidth you are using on your site in case you plan to sell large products.

We've previously mentioned the fact that EDD can be integrated with additional tools developed by third-party companies to provide more features. It's extremely customizable, but managing multiple systems can be difficult.

It is the best option for someone who wants to build and manage their own selling setup. Building blocks are great but the real issue is are you willing to complete the work?

Support: 2 out five. EDD provides customer service via the ticket system. However, the live chat isn't available. Priority customer service is offered on higher-level plans.

One thing you should think about is that in the event you encounter problems with your integration you may need to contact their support also. This could result in unpleasant exchanges of messages.

Marketing: 2.5 out of 5. From the beginning, EDD offers coupons and discounts. EDD also has an excellent shopping cart function.

With extensions, you'll have the ability to expand your marketing tools with affiliates, emails stars reviews, star ratings and reviews in addition to cross-selling as well as upselling. A few of these integrations are offered on top-tier plans.

The first step is to get started with a WordPress website. This comes with hosting and domain costs. There are also fees associated with the premium integrations that you intend to utilize.

The cost is $999 annually. The base EDD plugin is available for no cost. If you want more tools however, you'll need buy these independently. It is also possible to upgrade to a better plan and get full features.

Gumroad

Gumroad can be described as a market in which creators can sell digital downloads in all sizes and forms. In the last 10 years, Gumroad's creators collectively achieved over $500 million in revenue from digital products.

It's user-friendly and is now a top choice among makers However, is it the best choice? Let's take a look at its advantages and disadvantages.

Here's a place where Gumroad's shining:

Gumroad is an easy option to get started selling almost any type of product you can think of and even tangible items, in the event that you select.

The service is completely open to all users You'll only pay transactions fees in the event that you've sold. This is an excellent option for those who are trying to sell digital goods and you want to test it out before making the leap to using an expensive instrument.

Creators have access to Gumroad Discover which is a marketplace for potential buyers to locate your goods.

Here are some of the Gumroad pros as well as pros and

There is a limited amount of customization options for checkout pages as well as product pages. It's difficult to design a traditional sales page, and you don't have an online builder.

Although it's not costly to sign up for this service, it's possible to get costing a lot for every transaction. The service is great for when you're only starting out but when your company grows can result in a loss of the profits.

Gumroad has

Easy to use Rating: 5/5. The process of setting up your products for sale on Gumroad is simple and easy. You can publish your initial listing in only a few seconds after which you'll be in a position to market your product.

Functionality: 4.5 out of 5. Gumroad is a great platform for selling products. Gumroad allows you to sell digital and physical documents, including memberships, products variations, and rentals. You can also choose the date you release your product, make key code sales for licenses if you're selling software or sell subscriptions.

If you purchase premium items, there is a maximum file size is 16 GB. When you buy free editions, the limitation for the file size is 250MB. The package can include whatever number of files you wish to.

Aid: 2.5 five out of 5. Gumroad's resource library is packed that includes helpful videos and articles. They don't offer live chat or support via phone, therefore the most efficient option to reach them with specific questions is by using the email addresses provided by Gumroad.

Marketing 4.5% of the time. Marketing Rating: 4/5. Gumroad's affiliate program is a swansong. If you're planning to implement affiliate marketing to promote your product, Gumroad lets you set this up free of charge with their simple-to-use procedure.

Gumroad also has the ability to integrate with a range of tools which allow you to connect your marketing and email tools together with Zapier's integration.

Transaction fees: 2.5 out of 5. There are transaction costs that range between 9% to 2.9% in this area, it is that Gumroad is the one that loses most points. It is true that the cost of transactions decreases the more you make sales, however 9percent is an expensive amount for newer artists. There is also an additional $0.30 charge for every transaction.

Gumroad provides weekly payments when you've crossed the $10 threshold.

Pricing: zero plus the charges. There's no recurring per-month cost, however the transaction costs are calculated by the number of lifetime sales.

What are the most important factors to take into consideration when choosing the best place to market digital downloads

Each creator is different. That's why it's nice to be able to select what software will power your business.

If you've got a safe digital download program on your partner and you'll have access to an improved product lineup with endless earning opportunities.

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