Do you know what hooks potential customers when it comes to selling your digital product? Many creators focus on the design, the title, or the marketing, and while ALL of these are important, they’re not the deciding factor. 

No, one of the most important hooks for your product is—literally—in plain sight. That’s right: we’re talking about your product images! 

How product images can make or break your listing

Gather around kids: An eternity ago, we posted pictures of ourselves on this site called MySpace. They had a very…well, let’s say distinctive look to them. (Camera up, duck face out, bangs swept to the side; the works!) It gives a totally different vibe than something like professional headshots, even at just a glance. 

People are visual creatures; we absorb visual info 60,000X more than text! That’s why we are way more likely to remember content that has visuals along with it, but not just any visual will do: it has to grab our attention. It needs to convey emotion as well as information. 

If you are NOT hooking potential customers with clear, clean product images, you are missing out on sales!

Not only are product images a way for your potential buyer to visualize seeing themselves using the product, but it helps to make buying your digital product a no-brainer. If the photos of your product are boring or confusing, you may be losing customers within a matter of seconds. 

So, if you are making this very common mistake, what can you do to fix it?

Don’t worry: your product doesn’t need to be supermodel-ready in order to have some amazing product images. You don’t even need physical versions of a digital product. All you need are a few well-planned and eye-catching images to show the highlights of your product. 

For starters, you need to know what your product image for digital downloads should include. Your product image reel should include these three main components. 

The cover of your digital download

Unfortunately, customers WILL judge your product by its cover. It’s unavoidable. The cover photo for your digital download will be one of the first things your customer sees, so the stakes are pretty high.

In one glance, your cover photo should be clear what you’re offering; you need to show value upfront. That doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated! In fact, a cluttered cover will obscure what you’re trying to say.

Instead, use clear, visually-pleasing graphics in moderation, with a readable font and high-quality resolution. Here’s an example from my Independent Contractor Template over at The Contract Shop®.

See?? I’m giving away the first page of a contract, that’s how dedicated I am to being clear about what people get when they buy.

Snapshots of the inside of your product

Once you’ve enticed your customer to look further into your product with an eye-catching cover photo, now it’s time to show what your product can do! These snapshots should give a glimpse into the full experience your customer will get when they use your product. Depending on your digital product, these may be simple and straightforward; that’s totally fine! Just make sure they’re easy to read and in high resolution (not blurry).

If your product has multiple features to it, you can include a video or a mockup to show what’s inside. Here’s one example from a student in my Simple Sustainable Shop Sales™ program.

Recent reviews and feedback

If you have glowing reviews or feedback, this is where you let it shine! You can take high-quality screenshots, or you can get extra creative and turn their review into a snazzy graphic in itself. Social media templates, like the quote templates in Canva, are great for this!

Below is an example of a rotating modal we have on our shop site, with testimonials next to a product mockup!

Now you’re ready for photoshoot (or graphic design) day!

Product images are just one piece of what it takes to create and sell digital products. There are several other moving pieces involved, but never fear; I have your back! Check out my guide on 4 mistakes to avoid when selling digital products instead of trying to figure it all out yourself. That’s a fast way to make costly mistakes and delay your sales.