Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness was buying the wrong things. Nowadays, there’s a new frontier of digital-first goods available to eager consumers looking for their next tech solution. They’re called digital products, and it’s time we all got acquainted.
Budding entrepreneurs searching for a future-proof, scalable business venture have met their match in making digital products to sell online. But how do you create them? If you’re after some inspiration, stick with us as we take a look at some digital product examples and unpack the design principles that go into our own creative process at Shoreditch Design.
What are digital products?
Digital products are non-tangible products that are generally made to be distributed and accessed online, using devices like PCs and smartphones. In contrast to physical products, digital products tend to be produced once and distributed repeatedly without needing to replenish stock. They are often available as downloadable files, such as MP3s or PDFs, or accessed via a browser,
These kinds of products represent a popular and relatively new channel for creators to earn a passive income. Typically, digital products don’t need to be shipped, and their delivery can be automated — meaning that they offer low overhead costs and the potential for high profit margins. As a result, the rise of digital products has blown open the market for digital entrepreneurs across education, entertainment, health and more.
What are some types of digital products?
Some of the most popular digital products to sell include:
E-learning courses
As education becomes increasingly decentralised, many choose to complete digital courses to gain qualifications, upskill in their careers, or explore new hobbies like cooking or exercising from home. Providers will often sell their courses as individual modules that can be engaged with online and at users’ own pace.
Digital music, TV and film
Even in the streaming era, many consumers still prefer to ‘own’ their favourite media in the form of a downloadable file. This enables content to be enjoyed as, when, and how they prefer, rather than exclusively on the streaming platform that owns its licence. To incentivise more profitable paid media purchases over streaming, many creators package their files with exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes footage, remixes, or codes for early access to concert tickets.
E-books
Thanks to the rise of cheap, accessible e-readers, digital books now represent one of the largest markets for digital products. Once painstakingly written and published, e-books can be widely distributed and purchased for a minimal fee in comparison to hard-copy books. The market has enabled many budding authors to self-publish and climb the e-book charts to stratospheric success — Fifty Shades of Grey is one example you might have heard about.
Digital asset licences
Stock media assets like photos, video footage and sound effects are constantly in demand, supporting an industry of creators producing online content. When you watch a clip on YouTube, Instagram Reels or TikTok, the digital assets you see on-screen have usually been produced by the creator or sourced online. Digital marketplaces sell the rights to use these assets and often charge a commission fee on top.
Mobile applications
One of the most popular digital products to sell in our iPhone economy is a mobile application. Nowadays, consumers purchase apps to support their every whim, from learning to drive and editing their photos through to gaming and reducing their screen time (ironically). The next trending app is always on the horizon, and budding entrepreneurs from some of the most exciting global tech unicorns have been quick to capitalise on these opportunities.
How Shoreditch Design creates digital products
So, where exactly do we fit into all of this? Put simply, our clever-clogs designers are the ones putting hand to mouse and designing the interfaces, user experiences, logos and more for the hottest digital products around. Between mobile applications, software-as-a-service and unique web platforms, we have years of experience in helping our clients to create beautiful digital products to sell online.
Here’s how we do it.
1. Conduct market research
Our first step is always the brainstorming phase. In collaboration with our clients, we identify the objectives of their digital product concept and the needs it fulfils within the target market. Our team thinks about the kind of consumer that will benefit from the product and the pain points that it needs to address. What demographic are we working with? What functionality do they require? How can we appeal to their specific use case?
2. Draft the interface
Now that you’re in the mind of your target user, you can think more deeply about where they will find value in your platform. At this stage, it helps to analyse competitor designs for what works and what doesn’t, looking at user flows and interfaces and comparing them to any existing platform structure that your client is using. Taking our wireframes and plans for colours, navigation, buttons and more, our designers will put together a set of different draft interfaces to pitch back to our clients.
3. Develop and advertise
Once we have feedback from our clients on what they like and don’t like, we can fine-tune our designs to their specifications. After considerable amounts of prototyping, iterative testing and reworking, the final product designs are ready to be sent for development. However, our work isn’t over just yet. We function best as an extension of our clients’ teams, meaning that our designers stay on hand to support the production of any supplementary marketing assets and prepare for your product launch.
Creating the best digital products for your business
Truncated though it may well be, that’s the lowdown on how we make beautiful, functional digital products. We’re experienced in making mobile apps, web platforms and more that sell, inform, and convert your users into brand-loyal customers.
Whether you have a structure already in action or need us to conceptualise a daring new product design for your business, we can help. Take a look at some more of our digital product examples or contact us today for a chat about your design needs.
