digital products & digital marketing. let's talk about it

A 10 min read

I’m not sure how it started or where it came from, but one day the internet just decided that selling digital products equals digital marketing. Only.

And I get it, yes technically you’re selling something digitally and marketing your product, but to call yourself a “digital marketer” because you sell PLR & MRR templates on Stan Store is like calling yourself a chef because you know how to use a stove.

It’s not wrong. It’s just... incomplete.

So let’s clear this up.

What digital marketing actually is

Digital marketing is not a product. It’s not a thing you sell. It’s an entire ecosystem of how you get people to know you exist, trust you, and eventually buy from you through various digital channels.

Social media posts? Digital marketing.

Email newsletters? Digital marketing.

SEO optimization? Digital marketing.

Paid ads? Digital marketing.

Blogging? Digital marketing.

That reel you posted for that brand who hopes it goes viral? Digital marketing.

A digital product is what you sell. Digital marketing is how you sell it. It's how you get it in front of people who actually need it.

You wouldn't call yourself a professional artist just because you created one painting. The painting is the product. The brushwork, the technique, the creative decisions - that's the artistry. The art is the result. Using the paint brush is the process of making it.

Same thing here.

You can have the best digital product in the world, but if nobody knows it exists, how can they buy it? It’s just a file sitting in your Google Drive collecting digital dust.

You need both things to working together to build connections and make sales.

Why this matters more than you think

When you confuse digital products with digital marketing, you end up with:

No real strategy. Just hopes and vibes. You’re marketing and not selling or selling and not marketing and then wonder why sales are so inconsistent or none at all. (and yes these are two different things which I'll save for another time.)

No positioning. You’re just another person selling pretty templates. You haven’t figured out what makes you different or why someone should buy from you instead of the 147 other people selling the same time tracking planner.

No funnel or flow. You start to expect people to go from “I never heard of you” to “here’s my credit card” in one or two Instagram post. That’s not how people work.

No retention. You make a sale and then nothing. No follow-up. No relationship nurturing. No reason for them to come back to buy more or tell anyone about you.

That’s why growing your business can feel like pushing a boulder uphill while everyone else seems to have it figured out.

They don’t have a better product. They have a better digital marketing strategy.

“So how does selling digital products actually fit into digital marketing?”

Let’s say you created your digital product - a Canva template bundle, a course, an ebook, etc

Now this is where digital marketing comes in.

How are people going to find your product? How are you going to convince them it’s worth buying? How are you building trust so they don’t think you’re just another person selling the same thing everyone else is selling?

As I mentioned before, digital marketing can be seen in all kinds of different channels.

Content Marketing: You’re writing blog posts, creating YouTube videos, or recording podcasts that answer the questions your ideal customers are asking. Somewhere people don’t have to put in an email address or payment method. It should allow people think and relate - “Oh, this person gets it”, “She understands exactly what I’m going through” - before you even mention your product. Lead with value (yes for free), and the sale is the natural next step.

Social Media Marketing: Using Instagram, TikTok, Threads, or wherever your audience hangs out the most to let people know who you are and what you’re about by sharing insights, thoughts, and opinions, engaging in conversations, and building an audience around your product. You understand each platform’s algorithm and create content around how your target audience actually use that platform consistently to solve their problem. Don't just posting your product, income screenshots, and testimonials.

Email Marketing: This isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I do recommend building one, not only because you own your list, but a way to build a little community, and to have existing customers keep coming back to buy more. A welcome sequence helps introduces new subscribers to your world so they can get a better understanding of why you do what you do, and then regular emails or newsletters that has a mix of value and insights, with personality, sharing behind the scene moments, experiences, and thoughts - good and bad.

But don't be blasting your subs with sales pitches 3 months later after you went ghost once they’ve brought something or downloaded your freebie. It’s to continue nurturing the relationship on a much deeper level, outside of quick social media comments. Like having your own VIP section.

Influencer/Affiliate Marketing: Something that pretty much mostly everyone is doing or wanting to be, but you can partner with people who already have a huge following and their audience’s trust and allow them to sponsor your digital product for you.

And on the flip side of that (which I don’t recommended for beginners) but you could get other creators to genuinely recommend your products in their blogs, newsletters, or Youtube videos and you give them a small percentage for each person they bring to you.

Paid Advertising: I don’t personally do this as I like to build my community organically, but some people use paid advertising to pay a certain amount and run ads for a certain timeframe for their product to test which hook or graphic catches their audience’s attention the most, and refine their targeting. This helps them get a better reach and engagement as a beginner to the space.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and keywords: A term I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard before, where your website, blog posts, social media posts, videos, Etsy listings, etc are optimized or configured in a way so when someone Googles or searches “how to best organize my studio apartment closet” or “best meal planning system for a college student” you show up first. You’re not sitting and hoping that your product alone will bring in customers, but using words and phrases, stories, pain points to attract people who are actively searching for solutions right now.

This is digital marketing, and yeah, it’s more work than just posting your product link on Instagram and expecting thousands of dollars to pour in.

Also, understand that these aren’t the only forms of digital marketing. You also have video marketing, SMS marketing, PPC (pay-per-click advertising), chatbot marketing (which I didn’t know was a thing), AI marketing now, and much more, I just covered the most common ones.

You don’t have to be doing every single one of these to bring awareness to your product/service. Like for me I’m just blogging and using social media for now to market my blog ghostwriting services because I like to write. Other people use social media and emails to market and sell their products/services. Other people like to post videos and reels to sell their products. It’s all about finding which method(s) work best for you and your audience.

“Okay cool, semantics. Who cares what we call it?”

I care and you should too.

When you call yourself a “digital marketer” but all you do is drop links to your Stan Store, and make a post on social media that you just launch a new product, you’re not really building any authority. You’re not solving the real problem. People can smell when someone doesn’t actually understand the industry they claim to be in and just trying to make a quick buck, plus you’re missing out on understanding the skills that would actually help you sell more.

Most people who buy digital products aren’t struggling to find products, especially nowadays because there are TONS out there. They’re struggling with finding products that understands their exact problem and can show them how to resolve it.

Just selling digital products:

• Posting on Instagram: “New template bundle available! Link in bio!”
• Dropping the same post in 47 Facebook groups
• Hoping and waiting for sales
• Wondering why nobody’s buying

Actual digital marketing:

• Creating consistent content that demonstrates your expertise and builds trust (blog posts, reels, threads, etc)
• Using SEO, keywords, and ads so people searching for specific solutions find you organically
• Building an email list and nurture those subscribers with value and personality
• Sharing personal stories and case studies that shows your process
• Positioning your digital product as the natural next step for people who resonate with your approach
• Tracking what’s working, experiment, and trying again

One treats your audience like ATMs and burns you out in three months. One builds something sustainable and gives people a reason to trust you. Separates you from people who make $200 a month from people who make $20,000.

The mindset shift

Stop thinking of yourself as someone who only sells digital products. Creating the digital product is the easy part. Anyone can do it. You can literally buy PLR rights to a product or ask ChatGPT and create something today and have a store set up by tonight.

Start thinking of yourself as someone who solves specific problems through digital products. That takes skill. Strategy. Understanding human psychology, platform algorithms, content principles, copywriting, positioning.

That’s why most "gurus" don’t want to talk about it. It’s easier to sell the dream of “passive income from digital products” than to teach the actual skills required to make that dream work. They are showing you results from their day 1000 vs day 0.

If you want to be one of the people who actually succeeds, you have to understand the difference.

I’m not saying you’re doing it wrong. I’m just saying that there’s a bigger picture you might be missing.

You don’t just need better products. You need better marketing.

Not another course on “how to sell digital products.” You need to actually understand how digital marketing works so you can apply it to whatever you’re selling.

Trends change. What’s hot today is oversaturated tomorrow, but if you understand digital marketing and how to build an audience, create trust, and convert that trust into sales, you can sell anything. Forever.

In the end

Selling digital products is not digital marketing alone. It’s a business model that benefits from digital marketing.

And I get it. “Digital marketing” sounds way more professional than “I sell pretty templates.” But there’s no shame in being a digital product seller. It’s a solid business. Own it.

What’s not serving you is pretending that selling products is the same as having a marketing strategy.

You can be great at creating products and terrible at marketing them. You can be amazing at marketing and mediocre at product creation.

Ideally? You get good at both or partner with someone who complements your strengths.

So if you’re selling digital products ask yourself these questions to help paint the picture:

• Do I have a strategy, or am I just posting when I remember to?
• Can people find me when they’re actively searching for specific solutions I provide?
• Am I wanting to actually build relationships, or just trying to make a quick buck?
• Do I know what’s working and what’s not for my brand, or am I just hoping for the best?
• Have I made it easy for someone to go from “I just found you” to “I’m ready to buy”?

If you’re answering “no” to most of these, go back and redo it. Find what sticks and what needs changing. Stop just selling stuff online and hoping it works because hope is not a strategy.

You’ve got the product. Now go market it.