Types of Digital Products You Can Sell
eBooks, Templates, Printables, Courses & More
Open interactive version (quiz + challenge)Real-world analogy
The digital product world is like a giant food court. eBooks are the classic burger joint — reliable, proven, and always in demand. Templates are the build-your-own-bowl station — customers love customizing them. Printables are the grab-and-go snack counter — cheap, impulse buys that add up fast. Online courses are the fancy sit-down restaurant — higher prices, more effort to create, but the biggest checks. You can run one stall or the whole food court.
What is it?
Digital products are any goods that exist in digital format — files that can be downloaded, accessed online, or printed by the customer. Unlike physical products, they have no inventory, no shipping costs, and can be sold infinitely. The digital product ecosystem spans eBooks, templates, printables, courses, guides, checklists, presets, audio files, and more. Each type has different creation effort, pricing norms, and ideal platforms.
Real-world relevance
Sara Blakely (Spanx founder) is famous for physical products, but consider the digital-first success of someone like Thomas Frank. He started by creating free Notion templates and YouTube tutorials. He then launched a paid Notion template called 'Ultimate Brain' on Gumroad and earned over $1 million in the first month. His entire product is a single Notion template file — no manufacturing, no inventory, no shipping. He proved that a well-designed digital template, backed by a strong audience, can generate physical-product-level revenue.
Key points
- eBooks — The Gateway Digital Product — eBooks are the most accessible digital product to create. They range from short guides (5,000 words, $2.99) to comprehensive books (50,000+ words, $9.99-$14.99). Formats include PDF, EPUB, and MOBI. Average production time is 2-8 weeks. They work in virtually every niche from fiction to business to cooking.
- Templates — The Reusable Gold Mine — Templates (Notion, Canva, Excel, Google Sheets, resume templates, social media templates) are hugely popular because they save people time. They typically sell for $5-$50 and can be created in hours rather than weeks. Canva template packs and Notion templates are especially hot right now, with top sellers earning $10,000-$100,000+ per month on marketplaces like Etsy and Gumroad.
- Printables — Small Price, Big Volume — Printables are PDF files customers download and print: planners, checklists, wall art, worksheets, coloring pages, budget trackers, meal planners. They sell for $1-$10 each but generate massive volume. Etsy sellers report selling thousands of printable planners per month. Production cost is essentially zero after design.
- Online Courses — The Premium Play — Online courses are the highest-ticket digital product, ranging from $47 to $2,000+. Platforms like Teachable, Udemy, Kajabi, and Thinkific make hosting easy. They require more effort (video recording, slides, exercises) but generate the highest revenue per customer. The global e-learning market is valued at $375 billion.
- Workbooks & Guides — Interactive Learning — Workbooks combine teaching content with fillable exercises, prompts, and activities. They sell for $7-$30 and work especially well as companion products to courses or eBooks. A fitness workbook, a journaling guide, or a business planning workbook adds enormous perceived value and can be created in Canva or Google Docs.
- Checklists & Cheat Sheets — Quick Wins — Concise, actionable reference documents that people can use immediately. They often serve as excellent lead magnets (free giveaways to build email lists) or low-priced impulse buys ($1-$5). Examples: a wedding planning checklist, a travel packing list, a coding cheat sheet, or a home buying timeline.
- Stock Photos, Graphics & Presets — If you have design or photography skills, selling digital assets like stock photos, illustrations, Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions, or icon packs can be extremely lucrative. Platforms like Creative Market, Envato Elements, and Etsy are popular marketplaces. Top creators earn $5,000-$50,000/month from asset libraries.
- Membership & Subscription Content — Instead of one-time sales, some creators offer ongoing access to a library of digital products for a monthly fee ($9-$49/month). This creates predictable recurring revenue. Platforms like Patreon, Substack, and Memberful make this model accessible. A library of 50+ templates with monthly additions is a powerful subscription offer.
- Pricing Psychology Across Product Types — Different digital products have different price anchors in consumers' minds. eBooks: $2.99-$14.99. Templates: $5-$50. Printables: $1-$10. Courses: $47-$997. Knowing these ranges helps you price competitively while maximizing revenue. Bundling lower-priced items together is a proven strategy to increase average order value.
Code example
=== DIGITAL PRODUCT COMPARISON MATRIX ===
PRODUCT TYPE | PRICE RANGE | EFFORT | TIME TO CREATE | MARGIN
----------------|-------------|----------|----------------|--------
eBook | $2.99-$14.99| Medium | 2-8 weeks | 35-97%
Templates | $5-$50 | Low-Med | 1-5 days | 90-97%
Printables | $1-$10 | Low | 1-3 hours | 95-100%
Online Course | $47-$2,000+ | High | 4-12 weeks | 85-95%
Workbooks | $7-$30 | Medium | 1-3 weeks | 90-97%
Checklists | $1-$5 | Very Low | 30-60 minutes | 95-100%
Stock Photos | $1-$25/each | Varies | Ongoing | 50-85%
Presets/Filters | $10-$50 | Low | 2-5 days | 90-97%
Audio (music) | $5-$50 | Medium | 1-4 weeks | 70-95%
Memberships | $9-$49/mo | High | Ongoing | 85-95%
=== BEST PLATFORMS BY PRODUCT TYPE ===
eBooks .......... Amazon KDP, Gumroad, Payhip, Apple Books
Templates ....... Etsy, Gumroad, Creative Market, Notion Mktp
Printables ...... Etsy, Shopify, Gumroad, Teachers Pay Teachers
Courses ......... Teachable, Udemy, Kajabi, Skillshare
Stock Assets .... Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Creative Market
Presets ......... Etsy, Gumroad, FilterGrade
Memberships ..... Patreon, Substack, Memberful, Ghost
=== REVENUE POTENTIAL (MONTHLY, ESTABLISHED SELLERS) ===
Beginner (0-6 months) ........... $100-$1,000
Intermediate (6-18 months) ...... $1,000-$5,000
Advanced (18+ months) ........... $5,000-$50,000+
Top 1% Creators ................. $50,000-$500,000+Line-by-line walkthrough
- 1. The comparison matrix lays out all major digital product types side by side — notice how printables and checklists have the highest margins and lowest effort, making them ideal starter products.
- 2. Time to create varies enormously: a checklist can be done in under an hour, while an online course might take 3 months. Match your product type to your available time and energy.
- 3. The platform guide is crucial — each product type has its own 'home base' marketplace where buyers already go looking. Selling eBooks on Etsy or printables on Amazon KDP would be like selling sushi at a pizza shop.
- 4. Revenue potential shows this is a real business, not pocket change — established sellers routinely earn $5,000-$50,000+ per month, and the top 1% reach six figures monthly.
- 5. The key insight: building a portfolio of multiple product types creates a flywheel where each product markets the others and increases your total revenue per customer.
Spot the bug
PRODUCT LAUNCH PLAN:
Product: Notion Budget Template
Platform: Amazon KDP
Price: $19.99
Target Audience: Young professionals
Marketing: SEO optimization on Amazon
Goal: 500 sales in month oneNeed a hint?
Is Amazon KDP the right platform for selling Notion templates?
Show answer
Amazon KDP is designed for eBooks and print books, not Notion templates. A Notion template should be sold on Gumroad, Etsy, or the Notion Template Marketplace where buyers actively search for templates. Selling on KDP would also be technically difficult since Notion templates are shared via links, not downloadable files in EPUB/PDF format. The right platform match is critical — always go where your buyers already shop.
Explain like I'm 5
Imagine you have a coloring book. Normally, only one friend can use it. But what if you could magically copy any page and give it to every friend in the whole school? That is what digital products are! You can make a fun worksheet, a cool planner, or a storybook on the computer, and then sell copies to everyone in the world — and you never run out. Some things are cheap like stickers (printables), some are like a big box of LEGOs (courses), and some are in between (eBooks).
Fun fact
The most popular printable on Etsy — a simple minimalist daily planner PDF — has generated over 500,000 sales at $3.99 each. That is nearly $2 million in revenue from a single PDF file that probably took a few hours to design in Canva. The creator continues to earn from it years later with zero additional production cost.
Hands-on challenge
Create a 'Digital Product Portfolio Plan.' Choose 3 different product types from this lesson that complement each other (for example: an eBook + a companion workbook + a checklist). For each, define: (1) The specific topic, (2) Your target price, (3) The platform you would sell it on, (4) Estimated creation time, and (5) How the products cross-promote each other. This is your first product ecosystem blueprint.
More resources
- 25 Digital Products You Can Sell Online (Shopify Blog)
- How to Sell Digital Products: The Ultimate Guide (HubSpot Blog)
- The Best Digital Products to Sell in 2024 (Neil Patel)