Nothing is more frustrating than giving everything you’ve got to launch a new product and watch nothing (but cricket chirps) happen. Spending all of your precious time and energy pulling out all the stops just to get nothing in return really makes you wonder if you should just start over. 

If your digital products aren’t selling, it’s okay to be upset. But you don’t have to completely start over; you just need to make a few adjustments

I didn’t start out with contract templates. I was actually designing little signs on Etsy. It wasn’t until I started listening to the people I was meeting at events that I realized —light bulb ding!— that people needed contracts. Was it instant money? No, but I stuck with it.

I launched my first contract templates months before I sold even one. But because I stuck with it, I eventually sold multiple contracts in a day and I was hooked.

If you’re struggling with low (or no) digital product sales, you’re in the right place. While it’s cool to have a pity party and maybe curse at the moon for a bit, come back here once you’re ready. I’ve got some ideas on why your products aren’t selling and what to do about it.

Your digital products aren’t selling because…

You haven’t even started yet

This may seem a bit obvious, but I have to say it. If you haven’t tried to start selling digital products, you’re not making any money. I see tons of business owners say they’ll just create a digital product whenever they have X, Y, Z figured out… but the truth is that nothing will ever be perfect in your business. The right time is right now. 

Everyone has to start somewhere, but if you never make the jump, you’ll never see the amazing results you could produce. 

Your product is not benefiting your audience

Would you pay $200 for something you don’t want? No, you wouldn’t. So why do you think your audience might?

The first thing to look at when your digital products aren’t selling is to evaluate if it’s actually something your audience wants and if it actively solves an issue for them.

Understanding what your audience wants is the first step in creating a digital product that sells — because if no one is interested in your offer, then no one will buy it. This could be because you didn’t do enough initial research before creating your offer, or because you didn’t fully understand your audience’s pain points before getting sold.

You may even have a very different idea of what your offer should look like than your audience — and that’s okay! Survey them to find out more about what could be useful, then brainstorm ways to fuse the two. You can do this by posting a poll on your Stories or by sending a survey to your email list.

A common comment I get is, “But what if I don’t have an audience yet? Or any email subscribers? How do I know what they’re looking for and what language I should use?”

Well again, everyone has to start somewhere. You’ll never find your people if you don’t try. 

Find similar businesses in your niche and see what their audience is doing, commenting on, and what they’re interacting with. Doing this helps build that relationship long before you ever make a single sale. 

You’re not promoting your product enough

No one can buy from you if they don’t know your product exists. If you aren’t promoting your digital products, you’re losing money. It’s that simple.   

Promote it on your Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, and send it out to your email list. Then, do it again. And again. And again. 

If you’re not tired of talking about your products yet, your audience probably isn’t tired of hearing about them yet. 

Think about all the things you miss online because there is so much content out there. No one sees every single thing from the accounts they follow. That’s just not how the algorithm works (does anyone know how that thing works??). Your followers see a fraction of what you post, so don’t be scared to promote the shit out of your product!

You’re not using affiliate programs

If you aren’t letting other people also promote your products, you’re missing out!

Seriously, setting up your affiliate program to have affiliates promote your products is something that has transformed my shop. When I was off getting married, I didn’t have to give my business much thought (even though we had our second-biggest sale of the year happening) because of the wonderful folks selling my digital products as affiliates.

You have bad reviews (or NO reviews)

Be honest…how many times have you been on the verge of buying something only to look at the reviews and say “Thanks but no thanks!”?

When a potential customer sees even just ONE bad review — they’re gone! It’s enough to tell them that your product just isn’t worth it (even if you know, it is!). Not seeing any reviews might be a dealbreaker as well. 

How do you overcome this? Ask people for reviews! 

A little support goes a long way. Those reviews have a big impact on influencing other people’s decisions and your brand’s reputation. Reaching out to happy, satisfied customers can mean more positive reviews for your shop, which will help you build trust, and eventually, build back your reputation and increase sales.

Plus, if you build feedback into your purchase process, you can eliminate bad reviews, reduce refunds and chargebacks, and improve your products in one fell swoop. Your customers provide a wealth of insight into how your product is really doing. Listen to what people are saying, good AND bad, tweak your product if needed — make the sale an easy yes!

Your product pricing is off

Pricing can make or break your digital product. 

If your price is too high (especially if it’s higher than your competition), chances are you’re losing sales. If the price is too low, your customer could fail to see the value because our brains automatically see cheaper as lower quality. 

Consumers want a good deal, but they also want a quality product. You can find a happy medium by:

• Scoping out your industry and price competitively.
• Including bonuses to boost your product’s perceived value. 
• Having a solid refund policy that gives people assurance if they decide to return (no one likes to hear about this, but hey…it happens.)
• Selling bundles or utilizing upsells

Something I’ve learned from experience? People will pay what your digital product is worth, so don’t be scared to price it accordingly!

Anything is possible — you just need the *right* tools to get you there

Running a successful online shop isn’t the 100% passive income people tend to think it is. There is work involved to check in with your products and see if what you’re doing is working for your audience. But if you’re consistent and committed to creating a better product for your customers and increasing your sales, running a high-grossing online shop without much work from you is possible.

But if the thought of doing this time and time again stresses you out — I want you to check out my digital shop sales coaching program, Simple Sustained Shop Sales™. 

This program comes with 8 different sales strategies, broken down for you in easy-to-digest modules. These are the same techniques I’ve been using in my online shop for over six years, taking it from one sale every few months to a 7-figure steady stream of income. 

If you want to grow your online shop, and your business, even further, you can check it out here!