I started my journey into selling digital downloads online at the WORST POSSIBLE TIME during the pandemic.
And even though I can now see the silver lining, let me tell you why it was the worst possible time.
I run a gay travel blog called Designing Life. I started writing it as an experiment in 2017, about two years before the pandemic.
As I traveled and documented it, I began going to my favorite city more and more. And that city is Berlin, Germany. I explored the venues and then came across their wild gay scene. It was so amazing and shocking that I wrote blogs in detail.
That’s when my blog blew up. In 2019, I created a gay travel guide I sell as a digital download. To my surprise, people loved it. Mind you, I used Stripe and a plugin called EasyDigitalDownloads. And yes, it was super easy.
The pandemic came quickly, and no one was traveling. My sales dropped to zero. So I thought I should entice readers to download a gay travel guide, even though no one was traveling, using a public domain image I found of a naked man.
Stripe banned me right away. So I changed the image and tried to get them to unban me, and it didn’t work.
Through my many weeks of research, I found that you can sell digital products on Etsy.
And that’s how I began selling digital products online and I love it. And I want the whole world to learn what I learned and how you can do it, too.
It might seem daunting, but YOU CAN DO IT.
Is Etsy the Right Platform for Selling Digital Downloads, For You?
You can use many platforms to sell digital downloads or digital products. You don’t have to stick to Etsy. Etsy is just a starting point.
For instance, after two years (during and post-pandemic) of selling digital products on Etsy, I began to explore my options.
I found that Gumroad works a lot better for me than Etsy. Currently, I’m in the process of getting rid of my Etsy store and switching everything over to Gumroad.
I’ll elaborate more on why I chose Gumroad over Etsy in a later post.
But even if you don’t want to choose Gumroad or Etsy, you have options.
Which platforms allow you to sell digital downloads?
- Gumroad is fantastic if you’re selling digital downloads that are NSFW. (Although there’s a whole lotta grey area with this.)
- Etsy is great for selling smaller digital downloads.
- StanStore is great for selling digital downloads on social media.
- LinkTree now lets you link your digital stores for easier access, and if you choose the paid option, you can sell smaller digital products directly on your LinkTree.
- Systeme.io is not just for emails; you can create sales funnels and even sell eBooks.
- I used Payhip once, but it got stuck on the purchasing screen. But I’ve heard it works great for other people.
- Shopify is a great option if you want your own website.
- Squarespace is also a great option if you want your own website, but they can get picky and have many rules that may shut your store down.
- WooCommerce, if you have a website, you can sell whatever you want, just as if you opened a physical store. The chances of WooCommerce shutting you down are slim to none.
- Authorize.net is a merchant that allows you to sell products online, but they’re a little pricey, and sometimes, you’re at the mercy of their cranky employees. I tried selling my gay travel guides with them, and the agent I was working with did not like what I was selling and made lots of excuses not to allow me to use them.
- JustForFans. Yes, you read that right. They’re not just for porn; they allow you to sell just about anything, including porn. You can use their services to sell digital downloads, art, and more.
- PayPal allows you to use their services for selling digital downloads on your website or blog, but I could never get it to work. Also, PayPal has higher fees than Etsy or even Gumroad.
- Ko-fi. I used them long ago, but now they’ve become larger and even allow you to sell digital downloads. But I have not tried their digital downloading features. It’s worth looking into, though.
These are just the ones I’ve researched and dabbled with, but there are so many more. If one of them doesn’t fit your needs, you have other options you can try.
