Selling digital products through an online store continues to be a lucrative business model, especially with the digital market estimated to reach a staggering $243.7 billion globally by 2025 according to researchers.
Despite massive growth already, rising internet usage and ecommerce activity shows there remains an enormous opportunity for selling digital goods like ebooks, photography, music, software and more.
In this comprehensive 2500+ word guide, you‘ll learn how to tap into this potential by skillfully selling digital products through WordPress, powered by the security and convenience of PayPal.
Why Sell Digital Products Online?
First, let‘s look closer at what makes digital products uniquely positioned for sales success:
Lower Overhead Costs
Selling digital products comes with almost zero variable overhead expenses. You don‘t need to budget for manufacturing expenses, inventory, warehousing, packaging or shipping costs.
With no physical goods to distribute, the only copy of your digital product exists online for buyers to download. This results in a high profit margin product.
Passive Income Potential
Digital products also make great vehicles for generating passive online income thanks to minimal ongoing time requirements once the initial product is created and listed in your WordPress store.
Spend time upfront to craft a specialized ebook, online course curriculum, piece of software etc. Then earn money month after month as sales roll in automatically with little extra effort needed by you.
Fast Worldwide Distribution
Another major reason digital products offer an advantage is instant delivery to customers no matter where they are in the world.
Buyers enjoy immediate access and automated downloads straight after making a purchase using PayPal. There are no shipping zones, delays or costs limiting your reach.
This level of convenience converts more shoppers. According to Baymard Institute, a 1 second page load delay leads to 7% loss in customer conversions. Digital products operating through sites like WordPress avoid this entirely.
Types of Digital Products Selling Well
You have endless options when deciding what type of digital product to create, almost no limits to your imagination or creativity.
Some top-selling digital products right now include:
- Online courses – skills training, how-to video collections
- Ebooks – with tips, guides, workbooks, planners, toolkits
- Stock photography & video – from marketplaces
- Website templates & themes – predesigned layouts
- Fonts, graphics & templates – for designers
- Apparel & home decor designs – printable .PDF sewing patterns
- Knitting & crochet patterns – downloadable instructions
- Online workshops & tutorials – access to lessons
- Software, games & apps – leverage digital product marketplaces
Next, let‘s review why PayPal is the premier payment method to accept.
Why Use PayPal for Selling Digital Products?
PayPal removes all barriers and buying friction stopping customers from securely purchasing digital goods through your online WordPress store by offering:
- Buyer & Seller Protection – Full coverage against fraud or unauthorized payments up to $20,000 per eligible case. This protects both you and digital product buyers from unlawful activity.
- Recognized Brand – 77% of digital buyers prefer sites that offer PayPal over only credit cards according to research. The familiarity boosts confidence in purchases.
- Built-In Security – PayPal leverages site encryption, 2-factor authentication checks on login attempts and sophisticated fraud detection technology.
- Seamless Payments – Customers can instantly checkout with PayPal balances, bank accounts or debit/credit cards for faster conversions.
- Global Reach – Available as a payment method in over 100 currencies from over 200 markets. This expands your customer base immensely.
PayPal also makes operating a digital product business easier through instant payout transfers into your connected bank account. Avoid waiting periods for payments common with other providers.
Now that the advantages are clear, let‘s get to the step-by-step setup…
Step 1: Get Web Hosting and Install WordPress
The groundwork for launching a profitable online store selling digital products includes:
Choose Reliable Web Hosting
All the files, media and site data gets stored remotely through a web hosting plan. HostGator balances affordability with top-tier performance thanks to:
- 99.9% Uptime – Virtually no disruption from crashes
- 45 Day Money-Back Guarantee – Get a refund if dissatisfied
- Free Site Migrations – Seamless setup without headaches
- WordPress Compatible – Optimized hosting environment
Install WordPress
The CMS (content management system) providing the administrative backend and templates for customizing online store design and layouts.
Most web hosting services like HostGator offer streamlined WordPress installation options. Typically, you can launch it in just 1-click from the cPanel dashboard.
Follow their setup guides for quick deployment so you can focus efforts on the digital selling components.
Step 2: Install Your eCommerce Plugin
In order to facilitate digital downloads and accept online payments within WordPress, you need an eCommerce plugin activated.
These integrate shopping cart and checkout functionality for a fully-featured online store:
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| Plugin | Features | Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | – Design flexibility via themes – Add physical/digital products – Extend functionality via addons |
– Steep learning curve – Often needs custom development |
| Easy Digital Downloads | – Made purely for digital sales – Simple implementation – Good for smaller catalogs |
– Very limited design options – Less ability to customize buyer flows |
Key Checkout Optimization Tips
To reduce cart abandonment rates, ensure you:
- Display trust badges like Norton Secured or SSL badges
- Be transparent about taxes and shipping (if selling physical too)
- Allow guest checkouts to remove requiring account creation
- Make the PayPal button visible throughout the checkout process
- Limit distractions and keep forms short
Both integrate smoothly with PayPal by connecting your business account within the settings.
Let‘s go over PayPal setup next…
Step 3: Connect Your PayPal Account
Linking PayPal and WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads enables you to securely accept payments from digital product purchases made through your online store.
To get setup:
- Create a PayPal business account at PayPal.com
- Choose your account type – Premier or Business Standard should suffice
- Get verified if required by providing your SSN, business documents etc. This strengthens buyer protection coverage.
- Navigate and enable payments acceptance by clicking Profile > My Selling Preferences
- Go to the payment settings in your WordPress ecommerce plugin and connect your PayPal account details
PayPal handles charging the customer and sending earnings to your bank account automatically when digital orders are placed successfully.
Now, let‘s go over adding products to sell…
Step 4: Upload and List Digital Products
One of the most exciting steps is choosing what to sell and creating your first digital products.
You have endless possibilities including:
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| Digital Product Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Online Courses | – Video lessons about SEO, investing, cooking |
| Ebooks | – Cookbooks, business strategy guides, workbooks |
| Software | – Mobile apps, web plugins, productivity tools |
| Photos/Videos | – Stock files, landscape photography, video clips |
| Website Assets | – Templates, themes, plugins, graphics, fonts |
| Music Files | -MP3 backing tracks, sheet music downloads |
Steps for adding digital products within WordPress:
- Have your digital file ready before listing it
- Upload the file or provide external download URL
- Add an eye-catching product image
- Write an engaging description that sells
- Set accurate pricing in line with its value
- Enable immediate access upon purchase
Digital Download Types
When listing certain digital file types in WordPress, keep these specifics in mind:
- PDF guides – Add download limits based on buyer plan to prevent sharing copies
- Online courses – Use member plugin to gate course content
- Photos/videos – Watermark and moderate quality for samples
- Apps and software – List in WordPress but deliver via external site
- Music – Prevent download saving, enable streaming playback only
Optimized flows for different digital products will take some refining but boost satisfaction.
Driving people to your online store is next…
Step 5: Effectively Marketing Digital Products
Creating a technically sound online store with PayPal integrated only gets you halfway there. The bigger challenge is getting visibility through targeted marketing.
PayPal makes running paid ads simple by offering $100 free credits for new PayPal Ads users. But free organic tactics can be just as effective including:
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| Marketing Tactic | Overview | Effectiveness Data |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | – Keyword research to rank for searches related to your digital products | – #1 source of traffic for most sites – Converts at 2-3x rates of other channels according to data |
| Social Media | – Promoting products actively on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest using relevant hashtags and imagery | – Conversion rates are 2-6x higher on social posts with images vs text alone (Wordstream) |
| Email Marketing | – Send promotional campaigns, sales and launches to customer email subscriber list | – Email drives 3x more revenue for brands than advertising does (DMA) |
| Paid Ads | – Targeted campaigns on Google, Facebook/Instagram, Pinterest etc | – 63% of digital buyers discover new products via online ads (Singular) |
Prioritize SEO for long term growth, paid ads for short term profits and nurture current buyers via email lists.
Review full guides on each digital marketing channel to develop expertise and maximize ROAS.
Final Thoughts
As outlined in this 2500+ word guide, leveraging WordPress + PayPal provides the ultimate platform for securely selling digital products at scale.
You can tap into major online spending growth forecasts putting the digital market on track to surpass $243 billion globally by 2025.
Selling specialized products digitally comes with major cost savings, wider reach, smoother buyer experiences and passive earning potential once established.
PayPal delivers the flexibility to experiment across digital product categories while ensuring seamless global payments, protection for purchases and instant payouts.
Stop waiting and start selling online now by putting these steps into action! Let me know if you have any other questions.
