The Ultimate Guide for Authors to Successfully Selling Digital Products With Your Book
In today's digital age, authors have a wide range of opportunities to monetize their skills and knowledge beyond traditional book publishing.
In fact, some of the most successful authors we’ve worked with here at DropCap are ones who have a book as one piece of a much larger platform.
Bullshift: How Optimism Bias Threatens Your Finances, has been licensed in German and Russian. The Author, John J. De Goey, is active on multiple social platforms and writes articles for multiple finance publications.
One effective way to generate additional income and connect with a larger audience is by selling digital products.
These products can range from e-books and online courses to templates and exclusive content.
The best part about selling digital products is that the added sales and exposure only provide us with more opportunities to remind our international book buyers and editors about why they should consider licensing your book in their geographies.
You Got a Phone! (Now Read This Book), published by Free Spirit Publishing, has been licensed in three languages with the help of DropCap. The author’s website has multiple digital downloads to bring readers to her page and access her message.
Of course, creating digital products is nothing you have to do as an author. The most important thing you can do to help sell your book is write a book that you can be proud of!
However, if you’ve been considering expanding your reach we will explore five digital product ideas that authors can use to enhance their revenue streams and engage their readership.
E-books and Audiobooks:
Having a Kindle and audio version of your book is becoming more and more of an expectation for career authors. And the good news is that it’s never been easier to have your book available in both formats.
Amazon KDP and their audio platform, ACX, are great choices for indie and traditionally published authors alike.
Scaling Up: How a Few Companies Make it… and Why the Rest Don’t, published by Forbes, has been licensed in 22 languages, including Greek, Portuguese, and Czech. The author, Verne Harnish, has all of his books available in audio and e-formats, with over 2500 reviews on Amazon.
Don’t worry about which format of your book is the better seller.
In the foreign rights world, they are looking to make sure that your content is successful in general, and if they are interested in licensing your work, we at DropCap will do those specific negotiations for you.
Online Courses and Workshops:
Authors often underestimate their wealth of knowledge and expertise in their respective fields, making online courses and workshops an excellent digital product option.
By creating educational content in the form of video lessons, worksheets, and quizzes, authors can share their insights and help aspiring writers or enthusiasts develop their skills.
F.U. Money, published by Forbes, is in its 2nd edition and has secured four translation rights contracts with DropCap. The Author, Dan Lok, has an extensive online platform, including coaching, training, and certification classes.
Platforms like Teachable and Udemy provide easy-to-use tools for authors to create and sell their online courses.
These platforms handle payment processing and provide a user-friendly interface for students to access the course materials.
Authors can leverage their existing readership and network to promote their courses, creating a valuable source of passive income while empowering others in their craft.
Exclusive Content and Memberships:
Many authors have dedicated fans who crave additional content and behind-the-scenes access.
Offering exclusive content, such as bonus chapters, character backstories, or author commentary, can be a compelling digital product for loyal readers.
This not only generates additional revenue but also strengthens the author-reader relationship.
Love as a Business Strategy: Resilience, Belonging, and Success, published by Lioncrest, has been translated into Indonesian with the help of DropCap. The author has an incredible page of resources for readers to access.
Authors can deliver exclusive content through platforms like Patreon or through their websites.
By charging a recurring fee, authors can provide subscribers with ongoing access to exclusive materials and build a community around their work.
Writing Templates and Tools:
As experienced writers, authors possess valuable knowledge about the craft of writing.
Creating and selling writing templates, worksheets, and other tools can be an excellent digital product idea for authors.
These resources can help aspiring writers with plot structure, character development, or story outlining, saving them time and enhancing their own writing process.
Story Like You Mean It: How to Build and Use Your Personal Narrative to Illustrate Who You Really Are, was published by Scribe Media and has been translated into five languages with the help of DropCap. The author, Dr. Dennis Rebelo, includes a book club guide on his website as a free digital download.
Authors can sell these templates and tools directly on their website or through platforms like Gumroad.
They can also package these resources into comprehensive writing guides or bundles, catering to different genres or specific writing challenges.
Personalized Consultations:
If your book is part of your business, offering one-on-one consultations or mentoring sessions can be a high-value digital product option for authors.
By sharing their expertise and providing tailored feedback, authors can help others refine their writing skills and navigate the publishing industry.
Hard to be Human: Overcoming our 5 Cognitive Design Flaws, published by Dundurn Press, has two translation rights contracts to date. The author, Ted Cadsby, uses his platform to advertise speaking, consulting, and advisory services.
There are multiple ways to set up consultation services directly through your website or platforms like Clarity.fm.
We’ve seen authors offer different consultation packages, such as manuscript critiques, writing coaching, or publishing advice.
While translation rights is our business here at DropCap, we are always looking for ways to help authors elevate their chances of securing deals AND find more success domestically!
Be sure your book is listed on our exclusive foreign rights marketplace to take advantage of all the ways we can help take your book to the global stage.
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