Low-risk digital products that you can sell globally

In today’s fast-growing digital economy, selling digital products is more lucrative than physical goods, which require so much upfront investment and risk. Selling physical goods involves processes of inventory, shipping, and storage, while digital goods can be sold repeatedly to a worldwide customer base with little work after they have been created.

Digital products offer entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives the opportunity to reach customers worldwide at very low costs. The beauty of digital products lies in their ease of scaling: whether you sell to 10 people or 10,000, production costs remain the same.

In this article, you will find some of the best low-risk digital products you can sell worldwide, alongside tips on how to increase your sales.

Why digital products are low-risk

Typically, the greatest risk in business is losing money on something you can’t sell. For something physical, this translates into unwanted stock gathering dust in your garage. This is not the case for digital businesses. Once created, they can be distributed indefinitely upon orders with little to no extra cost.

What makes digital products low-risk: 

• No physical inventory: No storage, and no logistics required.
• Global reach: You can sell anytime, anywhere.
• Passive income potential: One product can fetch sales for several years.
• Flexible startup cost: Most products require only your time and skills (and maybe a computer). 

Low-risk digital products that you can sell globally

1. E-books

Publishing e-books is one of the simplest and most profitable ways to make money from digital products. If you are a subject matter expert or have experiences to share, however trivial, they can be developed into an e-book. You can make money from e-books on personal finance, cooking, health tips, self-help, and even niche hobbies! Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has made it simple to publish and market your products to millions of readers.

The main job is to write and format the book. After that, all you do is market it and maintain updates periodically. An e-book can be sold for as little as $2.99 or as high as $20, depending on the content’s value.

2. Online courses

Online learning has been experiencing a rise in popularity across the world, with Udemy, Skillshare, and Teachable opening the doors for creators to generate sales from students all over the globe. If you can teach a skill, whether it is graphic design, coding, writing, cooking, or fitness, you can turn it into an online course.

Courses are appealing simply because they are high-ticket products. While e-books usually sell for less than $10, depending on the subject and specialization, courses sell for nearly $50 to $500. After recording your lessons just once, you will sell them for years.

3. Templates and printables

People love ready-made solutions, which is exactly why templates and printables are popular low-risk digital products. These can include:

• Business templates (resumes, pitch decks, contracts)
• Design templates (social media posts, flyers, invitations)
• Printables (planners, calendars, budget sheets)

You can sell your templates and printables on websites like Gumroad and Creative Market, which provide a thriving marketplace for sellers.

4. Stock photos and graphics

If you have some photography or illustration skills, you can sell stock photos, illustrations, or icons. You can upload your work to websites like Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, and iStock and earn royalties whenever someone downloads it.

This is low-risk because your photos can sell repeatedly without any further effort. For any creative who already loves photography or digital art, this is a great way to earn passive income from your passion.  

5. Music, sound effects, and voiceovers

The content creation world (YouTube, podcasts, and advertising) always needs background music, sound effects, and professional voiceovers. With some musicality or a beautiful voice, you can create audio products to sell on platforms like AudioJungle or Epidemic Sound.

Once uploaded, those audio files will earn royalties time and again, creating a passive income opportunity.

6. Apps and software

Apps and software could be one of the most profitable digital products if you are knowledgeable in programming. From productivity apps to niche software like budget trackers or writing assistants, people are willing to pay for software that solves problems.

While you may not be a coder yourself, you can partner with a developer or use popular no-code platforms to build basic apps. Though this option might be more work than making an ebook or a template, it has a much larger earning potential. 

7. Membership sites or paid communities

Sometimes users want a little more than a single product; they want to belong to a community. A membership site allows you to charge monthly or yearly fees for exclusive content, advice, or community interactions.

It’s a low-risk model, as you’re not counting on one-off sales but recurring income instead. Useful systems for this type of monetization exist: Patreon allows you to host members on your private community; to further set up monetization, you can use Slack, Discord, or even Facebook groups. 

8. Digital coaching and consulting

If you are an expert on something, like business development, health, wellness, personal development, and so on, a great option is to digitalize your knowledge into coaching. Instead of just selling one-on-one coaching sessions, you can package your product with pre-recorded videos, PDFs, and checklists, the combination of which helps you save on live hours while still delivering something of value.

How to succeed with digital products

The creation of a digital product is just half of the whole journey. To achieve success, you need a method for visibility and sales.

• Purpose your niche: Do not target “everyone”. Have a particular set of audience that you are marketing to. 
• Research demand: You can only make money if people actually need your products and are willing to pay for them. Start by asking around on social media and conducting keyword research.
• Start small: Don’t complicate things: just launch a simple ebook or template. The hardest part is to start, so just start, no matter how small.
• Do steady marketing: Marketing is invaluable if you want to make sales. Use blogs, social media, and mailing lists to keep promoting.
• Add value: Make sure that your product actually solves a problem that your customers are facing. The more useful your product is, the more it will be marketed by word of mouth.

Conclusion

The digital landscape has dramatically lowered the barriers to entry into entrepreneurship. Today, you don’t need hordes of cash or warehouses filled with goods. You can build a global business from your laptop using creativity, consistency, and the right marketing. The important thing is to start small, concentrate entirely on solving real problems, then scale gradually. Low-risk but high-reward potentials, these digital products are wise investments to make for anyone who believes they are ready to enter the online marketplace.