Passive Income Digital Design Bootcamp - Places to Sell your Work
Hey everyone and welcome back! Today we are going to discuss Places to Sell your digital files as part of our Bootcamp. It's VERY important to not put all of your eggs in one basket. This means there is ALWAYS risk by just selling on one platform. Having multiple platforms to sell on not only brings you more customers and brand awareness, but also makes sure if one platform ceases to exist you haven't lost all of your passive income.
If you've been following along, this is the 8th Lesson in the Bootcamp Series. So far we have covered:
- Choosing Your Market - This will get you honed in on a specific niche to work with
- Branding - Generating your brand so you can get recognized
- Goal Setting - What you’re working towards.
- Time Management - How to manage your time to ensure you stay on track
- Trademark and Copyright - Making sure your designs do not violate what someone else has already protected.
- Understanding License Types - The difference between commercial and personal and how you can incorporate these into your items.
- Pricing your Digital Items - A guide for how to price your files
Don't forget to Join my Facebook Group for Tips and Tricks and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for the most up to date posts and videos.
Choosing the best platform
Most people who start selling digital artwork begin with Etsy. This makes logical sense to build up a following and brand awareness. After awhile a lot of people are tired of paying fees and dealing with some occasional customer service snafus that affect your selling, so they reach out to other avenues. I've recently done the same thing and provide my services on three platforms - Etsy, Design Bundles, and this website.
Read More: Become a Designer on Design Bundles
Once you build up a portfolio of work, you can start to expand your reach to other companies. In this article I will discuss the different platforms and what they specialize in to help decide where you would like to start or expand!
Etsy
Etsy is the starting platform for a lot of digital sellers and has become one of the top platforms for creative types. Their fees are higher than most, but they have a strong, reputable website which also has a pretty decent advertising platform.
Keep in mind their fees (which I covered in the previous post on Pricing Files) can add up depending on how many listings you have and what is selling. To get seen in searches you need to have good SEO (which we will cover in last bootcamp lesson) and provide value.
Etsy is becoming a place with a lot of infringement and people who are copying other's ideas. I'm not sure what the future holds for the website in terms of digital sales, but I do make more here than I do at other websites hands down.
Design Bundles/Font Bundles
Design Bundles and Font Bundles is geared more towards the common seller for items like mockups, cutting files, fonts, backgrounds, logos, patterns and more. Most people who go to the above websites are looking for a specific product. This is advantageous because people going to the website are looking for your product. People on Etsy may be looking for anything, not to mention Etsy is full of knock off shops and poor products. There is more quality control on Design Bundles and Font Bundles. They do not tolerate trademark/copyright infringement and will delete listings that violate. Design Bundles and Font Bundles also does not tolerate crass language or other foul postings and will delete your listings and potentially shut your shop down.
They have a great team who actively promote listings, you rank in google very easily for designs, and if you get invited to a bundle, it's a cash cow.
It does not cost anything to list a product. You receive 50% of your listing price, unless someone clicks your affiliate link, and then you will receive 75%. You can sign up to apply by following this link. The community is very helpful and even has a Facebook group you can join to help increase sales and hone your niche. I highly recommend this as a second store front once your Etsy is populated.
The Hungry JPEG
Another popular platform for digital sellers, THJ is very similar to DB/FB. Although their payouts are not as generous and their platform for uploading listings is a little cumbersome, it has products geared towards crafters and digital designers.
It does not cost anything to list here and the payouts are 70% of your listing price. I just got approved for a storefront here and will be adding products as I get time.
Creative Market
Creative Market is geared more towards photography, graphics, templates, web themes, fonts, and applications/add-ons for Photoshop and other designing software. Here you receive 70% of your product commission and it does not cost anything to list your products. While I do not have experience selling on this platform, they do have some case studies of people making great money here.
If you create overlays for Photoshop, stock photography, patterns, or mock ups this is a great avenue for extra income.
SoFontsy
SoFontsy is geared towards SVGs and Fonts as their main sellers. They also have a large selection of embroidery and applique products on their website. While I personally do not have a shop here (YET!) I have heard good things about their website. Their payouts are not as generous as DB/FB and THJ, but if you're looking for another revenue stream this is a good option if you're a SVG/Font creator. SoFontsy is also created by Silhouette School.
The next lesson will cover promoting your work, so stay tuned for that. If you have any questions PLEASE let me know.
Don't forget to Join my Facebook Group for Tips and Tricks and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel for the most up to date posts and videos.
Cheers
Tanya
