Wondering how to sell digital products on Amazon? Thanks to their accessibility, ease of distribution, and low-cost, low-effort production, it’s no wonder why digital products are all the buzz these days. If you’re a creator interested in generating some passive income, it’s a good idea to have at least one digital product in your back pocket.
But what counts as a digital product? Anything that you create and offer in a digital format that can be easily accessed or downloaded online is considered a digital product. Some examples include ebooks, downloadable templates, and online courses.
While there are tons of platforms to sell digital products out there, can you sell digital products on Amazon? Absolutely, but there are some important steps and regulations to consider before your products go live.
Read on to learn about what types of digital products you can sell on Amazon, and the best practices for getting the biggest bang for your buck.
7 digital products you can sell on Amazon
Not sure where to start? Fortunately, there are a ton of digital products to choose from. If you want your creations to be among some of the best-selling digital products on Amazon, we recommend starting with one (or more) of these tried-and-true digital products:
1. Ebooks
One of the most popular digital products out there, ebooks are in-depth, higher-value digital products that creators can offer their audience as more comprehensive guidance on a specific topic than, say, a free guide, Instagram Reel, or video tutorial.
If you’re reading this article, chances are you’ve heard that creating and selling your ebooks on Amazon means it can reach an audience of millions — and you’re not wrong.
Amazon’s Kindle platform stands out as the leading global hub for ebooks, boasting millions of titles (1.4 million self-published ebooks every year, to be exact), including diverse formats like PDFs. What’s great about ebooks on Amazon is the versatility they offer — you’re not limited to fiction or business books; you can create travel guides, case studies, cookbooks, or any content that resonates with your audience.
To publish on Amazon, you’ll need to use Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) platform, which makes it easy to upload your ebook and start selling it to a worldwide audience. Just make sure to read up on Kindle Direct Publishing rules and regulations before uploading.
Kindle Direct Publishing presents multiple selling options, and allows creators to earn up to 70% on ebook sales.
Ultimately, Amazon is an accessible and cost-effective way to publish your work, no matter the length or subject material. This avenue allows creators to sell ebooks directly to readers or opt for print-on-demand services, gaining visibility and reaching millions of potential readers effortlessly through Amazon’s vast marketplace.
2. Graphics and digital art
If you’re a graphic designer or digital artist, you may want to sell digital art on Amazon Merch on Demand, since it could be a great avenue for you to generate some serious passive income.
How does it work? In a nutshell, you upload images of your design or art to Amazon Merch, and decide on what products you’d like to see them printed on. This can be anything from printed t-shirts and coffee mugs, to tote bags and stickers. The idea here is that you focus on the design, while Amazon delivers.
Amazon Merch works in six simple steps:
- Upload your artwork.
- Suggest a list price.
- Amazon prints your design on-demand (i.e. only once it’s sold).
- Your customer receives fast shipping with Amazon Prime.
- You track the success of your sales with Amazon analytics tools.
- Earn monthly royalties and watch your revenue grow.
While selling with Amazon Merch on Demand means that you’re still technically producing physical products, we still count it as a digital product because you’re only producing the digital version, and don’t have to deal with any inventory management, production costs, or shipping and distribution logistics.
3. Online courses
While you can’t directly sell an online course on Amazon that’s hosted on other platforms like Thinkific, you can indirectly sell or offer your online course on Amazon by providing access to it through other means. For example, you can include your online course as a bonus offer or supplement to an ebook or other digital products.
Let’s say for example you’ve authored an Amazon ebook on how to get your career started as a freelance graphic designer, and you also have an online course on the topic that’s hosted on a separate platform. You can include access to your course as a value-added component. So, you’d sell the ebook on Amazon, and provide clear instructions or a link within the ebook on how buyers can access the course hosted on another platform.
Make sure you promote your online course if you’re pairing it with other digital content! And keep in mind the bonus content when setting your price.
Before uploading any digital content to Amazon, it’s always best to review Amazon’s terms of service and guidelines regarding external links and the promotion of off-site content to make sure you comply with its policies.
4. Software
If you’re a software developer, Amazon can be a powerhouse of a platform for selling digital software products. There’s a broad spectrum of software product potential on Amazon, ranging from gaming software and productivity tools to mobile apps, ecommerce themes, and website templates.
Software can be sold in a few different places on Amazon, including Amazon’s Marketplace or Amazon Web Services platform, as well as the Amazon Appstore.
If, for example, you’re selling digital downloads like a website theme on the Amazon App Store, Amazon’s commission on sales is 30%. While that may seem high, you’ll want to also consider the increased reach your product will have due to being hosted on such a popular platform.
Especially if you’re just getting started, selling software products on Amazon can be a great way to reach a wide audience in a short amount of time. Plus, you’ll have access to Amazon’s analytics and marketing tools, which can help you refine your strategies and optimize product visibility, while also enhancing your digital product sales performance.
5. Audiobooks
Amazon has established its self-publishing platform, Audible, as the leading provider of audiobooks, offering creators an expansive platform to showcase their narrations and stories to a global audience.
Creators benefit from the credibility of Amazon’s platform, which enhances the visibility and marketability of audiobooks and quickly fosters trust among customers. Plus, Audible’s marketing programs and recommendations help boost audiobook discoverability, increasing sales potential.
Digital audiobooks are a hot commodity these days, as many people prefer the convenience of purchasing, downloading, and listening to a book over reading one. While anyone can leverage Audible to upload and sell audiobooks — that’s right, you don’t have to be a published author — you’ll need to make sure the sound quality is of the highest standard.
Overall, if you want to get into the business of audiobooks, Amazon stands as a lucrative marketplace for audiobook creators, providing an extensive reach and robust infrastructure to showcase and sell your digital storytelling.
6. Templates
Ever wished you had a guide on the best format for a cover letter or freelance contract? Or, need a well-designed PowerPoint for that presentation that was due yesterday? Enter the template.
There’s a huge market for templates for one major reason: people love examples, or at least having something to reference. While templates aren’t the most common digital product sold on Amazon, they also mean less competition than an ebook.
Whether you’re a pro at writing resumes, producing presentations, building out social media posts, or designing educational worksheets or lesson plans, digital templates can be an easy way to monetize your work.
While Canva and Notion are popular platforms for creating templates, keep in mind that Amazon does require you to upload your digital template through Kindle Direct Publishing.
At the end of the day, templates are all about taking your knowledge and expertise and turning it into digital products that can help your audience.
If you’re still fishing for template ideas, check out The Leap’s database of 120 Notion template ideas that you can use as lead magnets or sell on Amazon.
7. Downloadable prints
If you’re a creator who specializes in art or design, there are plenty of options to leverage selling digital products. We’ve already discussed the approach of uploading your art or design and selling it as merchandise printed on demand by Amazon. Another option is to sell your design or art as downloadable prints.
The key to downloadable prints is to do your research, and make sure you’re uploading prints with engaging titles and product descriptions. Also, don’t forget to get creative with it! Prints to download can encompass anything from posters to coloring book pages, greeting cards, or workbooks.
How to sell digital products on Amazon
As a digital creator, selling digital products on Amazon has a high potential for helping you generate some serious passive income. Between the platform’s expansive reach and user-friendly interface, selling your digital products becomes a seamless and rewarding experience.
The best part? It’s super easy to get started. Follow these six simple steps:
- Research opportunities and competition
- Create content
- Create your own Amazon Seller Account
- Upload and list your products on Amazon
- Set your price
- Promote your digital products
Step 1: Research opportunities and competition
Let’s say you already know what kind of product you want to produce. Maybe it’s an ebook about wellness and meditation practices, or a website template for a creative director portfolio. Whatever your digital products are, it’s always good practice to conduct some research within your content niche and see how other people are selling similar products.
The better equipped you are with research knowledge and the better understanding you have of the market and your competitors, you’ll be able to create a higher-value product that’s based on the needs of your potential target audience.
Step 2: Create content
Right out of the gate, you’ll want to build a strong foundation for creating your digital content. To do so, keep in mind these two crucial steps:
1. Identify your target audience
Ask yourself: “What does my target audience need?” Or, “What problem can I solve for my target audience?”
The answers to these questions, paired with thorough demographic research, will lead you to a better understanding of your target audience, resulting in increased success and revenue over time.
2. Define the value of your digital product
Once you’ve figured out who your product is for, you’ll want to zero in on what the real value of your product is.
Ask yourself: “What problem do my digital products solve?” Or, “What sets my digital products apart from others?”
All that research you’ve done before will help you here. If you investigate the market and observe what other content creators are offering, you’ll likely notice gaps in your content niche that need to be filled by your content.
If you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed at this stage, just keep in mind: Once you locate the value proposition of your digital products, the easier it will be to create them.
Step 3: Create your own Amazon Seller Account
To begin selling digital products on Amazon, you’ll need to create a seller account on the relevant Amazon platform. For example, if you’re getting into ebooks, you’ll need an account on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP); if you are looking to sell digital art, you’ll want an Amazon Merch on Demand account; if software is your thing, head over to the Amazon Developer Portal to get started.
When setting up your account, you should have the option to choose either an Individual plan where you pay Amazon a fee from each sale, or a Professional plan where you pay a fixed monthly fee.
Amazon’s sign-up and setup process is super simple and streamlined so you shouldn’t have any issues, but if you do, you can always reach out to Amazon’s 24/7 customer service team.
Step 4: Upload and list your products on Amazon
After you’ve set up the relevant Amazon accounts for all your digital products, decide on what kind of product you are going to sell, and make sure your content adheres to Amazon’s format and compliance guidelines, then your products should be ready to go live!
Once your product is live on Amazon, it should be ready for instant download, so double-check you have everything correctly formatted beforehand.
When uploading your products, make sure you write an engaging, keyword-rich description and take high-quality photos or design mockups of your products. Amazon is a competitive marketplace so, like with all other digital content, you want to make sure your digital stores and digital products stand out.
Step 5: Set your price
Ultimately, there are several different pricing models to follow from value-based, cost-based, and competitor-based pricing (and more).
In general, most content creators choose a value-based pricing approach for their digital products, meaning your prices are set based on quality over quantity. This is easier to do for digital products because you don’t have to consider limiting factors like cost of production or distribution.
If you’re still feeling lost on how to price your product, this is where your earlier research on the market and your competitors will come in handy. When considering the proper price for your digital product, it’s always helpful to keep in mind what other products in the same category are selling for.
Step 6: Promote your digital products
Amidst all the focus and attention put on creating and listing your digital product on Amazon, make sure you don’t forget to promote your digital product.
While selling on Amazon comes with the advantage of listing your digital product on a platform that millions of customers already trust and rely on, it’s also a competitive marketplace that requires you to put a little bit of effort into making your product stand out amongst all the others.
Consider promotional marketing tactics like a pre-launch campaign, offering a discount to your email list audience, or promoting your product on Amazon through content on other social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.
The idea here is that you want to generate interest on social platforms, or create your landing page or website to drive more traffic to your digital products on Amazon. Amazon also comes equipped with a robust kit of marketing tools to help boost your visibility and sales on the platform.
Benefits of selling digital products on Amazon
When shopping around for the best platform to sell digital products, there are a few things you want to keep in mind. For example, the ease of use, scalability opportunities, what pricing and payment processing options are available, analytics and insights, etc.
Not only is Amazon a direct gateway to a massive global audience, but it also handles the logistics of selling digital products — from transactions to customer service to distribution — which helps free up time for you.
- Passive income
- Quick start
- Increased audience reach
- No need to deal with inventory
- Instant delivery
- Scalability
- Trusted platform
Passive income
Selling digital products on Amazon opens doors to passive income streams, offering a continuous revenue source without constant hands-on involvement. Once your digital product is uploaded and live, it’s accessible to customers 24/7 on Amazon’s platform. This means your product can generate sales even while you’re sleeping, eating, traveling, or ideating and creating other projects.
The beauty of passive income through Amazon lies in the platform’s ability to handle the whole sales and distribution process, freeing you from any day-to-day management.
Additionally, since Amazon has a vast customer base and global reach, your digital product is more likely to attract buyers worldwide without you having to market or promote it actively.
This aspect of passive income allows for scalability — you can continue creating and uploading new digital products, multiplying your income streams and gradually building a portfolio that generates revenue over time, all while giving you the freedom to focus on other endeavors or expand your creative pursuits.
Quick start
One of the biggest advantages of selling digital products on Amazon is that it’s super easy to get started. Whether you’re slinging ebooks through Kindle Direct Publishing or showing off your designs on Amazon Merch, getting started is a breeze.
Think of selling products on Amazon like you’ve just set up shop on the busiest street in SoHo where everyone’s already looking to buy.
Creators can turn their expertise into ebooks or templates and market on a platform that already has a massive following, while artists and designers can put their creations up for grabs as prints or digital downloads.
The basic idea here is that you get to focus on creating while Amazon handles all the techy stuff like business transactions and customer service. Plus, it lays it all out for you with clear instructions on what to do.
Increased audience reach
As of 2023, Amazon has about 310 million customers worldwide. For context, that’s almost the entire population of the U.S. So, no big deal or anything, but if you’re selling your digital products on Amazon, you’re already positioning your content in front of people from corners of the planet you might not have even imagined reaching.
With Amazon’s colossal user base browsing the platform daily, chances are your digital offerings will gain more traction than on social media or other ecommerce platforms.
Whether it’s ebooks, art, or software, your creations become accessible to people worldwide, any time, day or night. This broad exposure increases the chances of your digital products finding new leads across diverse regions and demographics.
No need to deal with inventory
That’s right. No packaging, tracking numbers, or making space in your already too-packed closet for storing products. One of the best parts about selling digital products on Amazon is that you don’t have to deal with any physical inventory.
When your products live entirely in the digital realm, that means zero fuss when it comes to storing or shipping physical stuff. Think about it — no piles of inventory taking up your space or worrying about shipping logistics. Let Amazon handle all of that for you so you can focus on the more important stuff, making the content that inspires your audience.
Instant delivery
What’s better than not having to deal with inventory? Not having to deal with delivery!
Digital products sold on Amazon are super simple to download and use instantly. Even if you’re selling art or design through Amazon’s Merch on Demand service, the platform handles all the shipping, usually through its Amazon Prime service, making things even more convenient for both you and your customer.
Scalability
Amazon has a robust infrastructure that’s built to handle millions of transactions and site visits per day. This is a huge advantage to any digital creator, because it means you can trust that you can scale your digital product business effortlessly without having to worry about technical limitations, shipping logistics, or inventory management.
As your sales increase over time, Amazon’s system is more than strong enough to handle the increased demand, making the entire process as seamless as possible for both you and your customers.
Plus, since your digital products are infinitely scalable. For example, you can create an ebook once but sell it over and over again indefinitely. The profit margin on every scale is much higher when you compare it to producing and shipping physical products.
Trusted platform
Whether you use it or not, you’d pretty much have to be living underneath a rock to not be familiar with the Amazon platform.
The point is that Amazon is a powerhouse of an ecommerce platform. Its success lies in its ability to make all its products effortlessly accessible to its millions of customers across the globe. Love it or hate it, people trust Amazon as a reliable online retailer.
It’s a powerful level of credibility that can help boost your digital product’s visibility and increase trust among your customers and potential leads.
Beyond credibility, Amazon comes to the table with marketing opportunities and robust analytics that can provide invaluable insight on how to adapt your digital products and promotion strategies over time to best suit your audience’s needs.
Tips for maximizing your digital product sales on Amazon
- Optimize product listings
- Know the do’s and don’ts
- Fine-tune your pricing strategy
- Don’t forget to leverage Amazon’s tools
- Focus on customer engagement
- Take the time to review and understand analytics
Like any digital content, selling digital products on Amazon comes with its own set of best practices for maximizing success:
Optimize product listings
Craft detailed, keyword-rich descriptions and use high-quality visuals to make your digital product stand out. Clear and concise titles, accurate descriptions, and relevant keywords help improve discoverability.
Know the do’s and don’ts
Compliance and quality terms are always important, especially when it comes to Amazon. That means, making sure your digital product complies with Amazon’s guidelines and offers high-quality content. This includes adhering to copyright laws, providing accurate information, and, of course, delivering value to your customers.
Fine-tune your pricing strategy
Research competitor pricing and set your product at a competitive yet profitable price point. Consider occasional promotions, discounts, or offering lead magnets to attract buyers.
Don’t forget to leverage Amazon’s tools
Amazon is equipped with loads of marketing tools, like sponsored ads, to enhance visibility and reach a broader audience. Educate yourself on Amazon’s algorithms and optimize your product listings based on them for even better rankings.
Focus on customer engagement
If utilized correctly, another big perk of Amazon is its infamous review system. Encourage customer reviews and respond to any issues or questions promptly and you’ll be on the path to credibility town in no time. Never underestimate the power of a positive review — especially a positive Amazon review!
Take the time to review and understand analytics
Leveraging Amazon’s analytics tools to monitor sales performance, customer behavior, and trends can be a huge advantage to your digital product business. It may seem overwhelming at first, but trust us, you’ll quickly nerd out on all the data Amazon generates, which will only help you refine strategies for better targeting and improved customer engagement.
Ready to launch your own digital products?
With its massive audience reach and user-friendly setup, it’s no secret that Amazon is a goldmine for creators looking to dive into the digital product market.
But hey, if you’re looking for a more personalized touch and want an all-in-one platform that’s free, intuitive to use, and designed specifically for creators like you, check out The Leap!
The Leap is an AI-powered tool that helps you create and sell digital products in minutes. Entirely free, it’s an alternative platform that allows you to say goodbye to juggling multiple tools or drowning in commission costs or fees. Try out The Leap for free today.
Build, market, and sell digital products all in one spot with The Leap!
How to sell digital products on Amazon FAQ
What are the best-selling digital products on Amazon?
From digital art to ebooks and online courses, to sell digital products on Amazon means you have a broad range of digital products to choose from. Ebooks, digital music downloads, audiobooks, and downloadable prints are popular. On the software front, downloads ranging from productivity tools to antivirus programs and gaming software are among the best-selling digital products on Amazon.
Can you sell digital printables on Amazon?
Absolutely! Amazon can be a terrific platform for selling digital printables. Whether it’s art prints, planners, worksheets, or other digital designs, you can easily set up shop on Amazon’s marketplace through programs like Amazon Merch or Amazon Handmade (depending on the type of printables you’re offering).
However, there are certain guidelines and specific categories for digital products on Amazon so you want to make sure your digital printables comply with Amazon’s policies regarding content, copyrights, and file formats.
Is selling digital products still profitable?
100%, yes! Digital products can be supremely profitable for content creators as they’re low-effort, low-cost to create, require no shipping or inventory logistics, and can be sold on-demand, providing a lucrative stream of passive income.
While certain digital product platforms like Amazon take commissions or come with a monthly fee, there are free alternatives like The Leap, which raise your profit margins by allowing you to create, promote, and monetize your digital products all in one place, at no cost!
Build, market, and sell digital products all in one spot with The Leap!
Follow The Leap on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more monetization tips for creators. We also make a newsletter.
Further reading
- How To Sell Digital Products Online: A 6-Step Launch Checklist
- 15 Digital Product Ideas To Sell for Every Niche
- How to Price Your Digital Products for More Sales
- How To Promote Your Digital Products: 10 Ways To Boost Sales
- How To Make Passive Income Selling Digital Products
- 15 Profitable Digital Products To Sell Online (+Real Examples)
- How To Write Digital Product Descriptions for Your Online Store (Tips + Free Template)
