What Is a Digital Product?

Imagine this…

The house is finally quiet. You’ve tucked the kids into bed, cleared the dinner plates, and for the first time today, you get a moment to yourself.

But instead of feeling drained, you feel energized, because you’re about to spend an hour on something just for you. A project that lights you up. Something creative and purposeful, where you get to share what you know and help someone else along the way.

That project? It’s your digital product.

No inventory. No shipping. No trips to the post office.

Just your knowledge, your creativity, and a way to reach people who genuinely need what you have to offer, even while you're busy living your life.

What Is a Digital Product?

A digital product is any product that exists in a digital format and can be sold or distributed online. Unlike physical products, digital products are intangible and delivered electronically, examples include online courses, eBooks, templates, and memberships.

The goal of a digital product is simple: To help someone solve a problem, achieve a goal, or make their life a little easier.

Digital products come in many forms:

• Online courses

• eBooks or PDFs

• Templates, themes, or presets

• Memberships and subscriptions

• Art, music, or stock photos

• Plug-ins, software, or apps

And the best part?
Once you create it, you can sell it again and again, without trading your time for every sale. No physical materials required. It lives in the digital world, making it easy to deliver to your customers anytime, anywhere. 

Digital Products are Beginner-Friendly (and Mom-Friendly, Too)

There are a lot of reasons digital products are such a great fit if you're craving more time, freedom, or flexibility than a traditional 9-5 can offer.

• Low overhead: No inventory to manage, no shipping costs.

• Scalable: One product can help 5 people or 500 people.

• Work from anywhere: Your kitchen table, a cozy coffee shop, collaborative co-working space, etc.

• Automated delivery: Set up and use simple systems that deliver your product even while you’re living your life.

• Creative freedom: Share what you know in a way that feels right to you: behind the scenes, on-camera, or through beautifully designed resources.

You don’t need to be an influencer or have a huge audience to get started.
You just need to know a little more than the person you’re helping.

Popular Digital Product Ideas (That You Can Create on Your Laptop)

There’s no one “right” type of product. What works best for you depends on your skills, your audience, and how much time you want to spend creating and maintaining it.

Here are some of the most popular digital products (plus a few questions to help you think about which might fit you best):

Online Course or a Blended (Hybrid) Course

Have people ever asked, “Can you teach me how to do that?”

Courses are perfect for teaching something in-depth. You can host them on your website, deliver them by email, or even include live elements like I do with group coaching based on my course, perfect if you want to create connection and offer accountability.

Memberships

Love the idea of building an ongoing community?

Memberships offer exclusive content, resources, and connection on a monthly or annual basis. They can take a bit more time to maintain, but create beautiful recurring income and incredible communities.

Templates

Are you great at design, organization, or writing?

Templates save your audience time and help them get a polished result faster, whether that’s email swipe files, Notion templates, social media templates, newsletter templates, or website themes.

eBooks and PDFs

Have knowledge or experience to share?

eBooks and PDFs are an easy way to package your insights. They can be short and sweet or more in-depth, depending on what your audience needs.

Licensable Digital Content

Are you creative?

Fonts, stock photos, illustrations, music, filters, and presets are all examples of digital assets you can sell individually or through a subscription.

Subscriptions

Think: digital subscription box.

Provide a fresh resource or set of goodies each month. You could create things like monthly templates, graphics, curated learning materials, photo editing pre-sets, etc.

Software, Apps, and Plug-ins

More tech-savvy (or curious to learn)?

These take more upfront work and support but can offer huge value if you know how to build solutions people need. And AI can help you learn to code and write software. 

How Do You Know What Kind of Product to Create?

Here’s the truth...

If anyone tells you exactly what kind of digital product you should create… they’re not putting your audience first.

The best product for you depends on your niche, your skills, and your ideal customer’s needs.

Here’s what works better than guessing or following trends:

1. Get clear on your niche.
   (What are you good at? What do you love helping people with?)

2. Know who your ideal customer is.
   (Who do you actually want to work with?)

3. Ask them about their struggles, not about the product.
   (Figure out what the people you want to work with needs. Your ideal customer may not know what they need. It’s your job to listen and create the solution that bridges the gap from where they are to where they want to be.)

When you start there, your product becomes a thoughtful solution, not just another download sitting in someone’s inbox.

Is a Digital Product Business Right for You?

If you’re wondering whether this business model could work for your life, try this quick gut check.

Do any of these sound like you?

• You’re looking for more time and flexibility than your current job allows.

• You know how to solve a problem or help someone achieve a goal.

• You’re passionate about something others want to learn or improve.

• You’ve been through an experience that could help someone else.

• You’d rather work more behind the scenes than be front and center.

• You want to build something once and automate the delivery of it, so you can keep working on your business... but also not be tied to your laptop when someone buys what you offer.

If you nodded along to even one or two of these, this path might be worth exploring.

You Don’t Need to Be an Expert, Just a Step Ahead

One last thing (and it’s important):
You don’t have to be the world’s leading authority or have a huge audience to start.

You just need to be willing to share what you know.

Start simple. Keep listening. Build as you go.

I believe in you, and I can’t wait to see what you create!

Are Digital Products a Good Fit for You?

I created a quick quiz to help you figure out which type of online business would be the right fit for you and your life.

👉 Take the quiz here

It only takes a few minutes, and it might just give you the clarity you’ve been looking for.

Want to learn more? Here are some other helpful posts that you may be interested in:

• 3 Steps to Start an Online Business That Actually Supports Your Life 
• Recurring Income vs. One-Time Sales: How Digital Products Actually Make Money
• 7 Common Mistakes New Entrepreneurs Make (and How to Build Smarter)