The Ideal Download Product

For those merchants, who wonder how to setup a good selling product I want to summarize the key aspects of a download product that can sell. While our point of view is very Tradebit-centric, I believe the factors I list below are quite common and work on other platforms, too.

Basic data:

• The “product” itself: The file you want to sell should be a self-explaining package. What that is differs with the type of file. Stock photos are simpler than reseller software packages. A photo shall have a huge resolution and be in a common format, people on Macs or PCs can open. Mention the format in your description. For software packages: it should include the license, be virus tested, etc.
• Preview data and description: The amount of preview data also depends on the kind of product. A photo should have a preview picture that shows the content of the original clearly. That preview picture can be watermarked. In fact: pictures for software packages, ebooks, album covers also should be watermarked, in case people could steal it and use it directly in their forums, etc. For bigger previews I recommend your domain name as a watermark. XNview can do that. The description should explain the product to the average user. “Nice song” is not a good description, nor is “Make money with this resell package” – people need solid infos!
• Pricing: The price is the value of the product. Keep in mind that there are many sites out there, selling similar stuff, so be moderate. BUT:the cheapest products on tradebit are not the best selling ones. People who try to make some sales by offering lower prices are doing it wrong. E.g.: our affiliates on Tradebit look for good commissions (of 20% and up) – low pricing will get your nowhere. Moderate pricing will give you more exposure and traffic makes the sale – not the price! A manual for a rare car, for example, makes more sales at 19.95 than for 4.95 – why? Because people EXPECT a valuable piece of information and do not believe they can get it for 4.95.

Additional information:

• Search engines: The traffic from search engines like Google and Bing is a solid source of revenue. So using keywords in your title and the description does not hurt. The automated ranking mechanism of the search engines are getting better every year: so do not just stuff words, but use fluent language that fits the content. Do NOT use duplicate descriptions, that come with the file (especially for MRR or PLR products). If you resell products and use the same description the product will decay in the search engines within weeks. Use the “tagging” feature, if there is one. Tradebit is offering 4 different tags per product.
• Marketing on the long run: Each buyer is leaving an email address we mail the download info to. This information is yours to work on. Be polite and ask for sign-ups to mailing lists. Create a user base that estimates the stuff you gather and sell. That is true for photographers and PLR sellers alike. We have musicians here that instantly have 100 sales when they release a new song and let their user base know. We have tutorials online with 10 or more episodes that sell like hotcakes, once the user bought the first episode and like it. Quality triggers additional sales.
• Contact information: Build trust by showing, who you are. You do not have to put your phone number or address online, but tell people roughly where you are located and that you stand behind the download you offer. Trust is the key in an online world full of fraud! Potential buyers see in the news that systems are compromised, hacked and abused every day. Show yourself and buyers will work with you!

There is much more to know, but these are the basic things to think about as a digital download seller.