# How to Sell Digital Products Online: The Indie Maker Guide

> Sell digital products online as an indie maker: validated product types, 2026 platform fees, a $29 worked example, VAT, licence keys and a 90-day plan.

- Canonical: https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-sell-digital-products-online
- Published: 2026-11-08T15:30:00Z
- Author: ZeroRaised Team (https://zeroraised.com/blog/authors/zeroraised)
- Publisher: ZeroRaised (https://zeroraised.com/)
- Section: Revenue
- Tags: digital-products, pricing, distribution, bootstrapping

**Short answer:** to sell digital products online as an indie maker, choose a product your current skills can ship in weeks, validate demand with a presale or waitlist before you build the full version, and sell through a merchant of record so VAT and sales tax are collected at checkout. Price three tiers, list on a marketplace as well as your own site, and put the first 90 days into distribution rather than more features.

That is the whole shape of it. The rest of this guide fills in the parts that decide whether the shape holds: which product types fit which skills, how to validate without a big build, what each platform actually charges today, how VAT and licence keys work, how to price and market the thing, and a 30/60/90-day plan you can run without quitting your job. Every fee and rule below comes from the vendor or government page linked beside it, checked on 8 Nov 2026. The strategy in between is ours and is marked as such.

## TL;DR

- **Pick a product you can ship in weeks.** Templates, ebooks, presets, code and small courses all qualify. A digital product is a file or access right, not a business model, so the skill you already have decides the format.
- **Validate before you build.** Pre-sell, run a waitlist, or sell a tiny first version. If nobody will pay $19 for the outline, a $199 finished course is a bigger bet on the same demand.
- **Fees vary more than the headline suggests.** On a $29 product, Gumroad keeps $3.40 at its 10% + 50¢ direct rate, Lemon Squeezy and Polar's free plan keep $1.95 at 5% + 50¢, and Notion keeps $2.72 at 8% + 40¢ ([Gumroad](https://gumroad.com/pricing), [Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing), [Polar](https://polar.sh/), [Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace)).
- **Merchant of record is the tax feature.** Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Notion all state that they are the merchant of record, which means they handle sales tax and VAT on the sale ([Gumroad](https://gumroad.com/pricing), [Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing), [Polar](https://polar.sh/), [Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace)).
- **Licence keys are for software, not PDFs.** Lemon Squeezy issues a unique key per buyer with a licence length and activation limit, and ties subscription keys to the subscription lifecycle ([Lemon Squeezy docs](https://docs.lemonsqueezy.com/help/licensing/generating-license-keys)).
- **Price with a ladder.** A cheap entry product, a core product and a bundle give buyers a route in. Easlo sells individual Notion templates from $5 to $79 and a Pro bundle at $389, down from $640 ([Easlo](https://easlo.co/pricing)).
- **Distribution beats polish.** Email, marketplace search and a launch listing bring buyers. Another feature does not.

**Disclosure:** ZeroRaised publishes this guide and runs a launch site for bootstrapped products. Fees, limits and rules are quoted from the linked vendor and government pages as checked on 8 Nov 2026; they change, so confirm them before you sign up. ZeroRaised has no commercial relationship with any platform named here and earns nothing if you sign up. This is not legal, tax or accounting advice.

## What counts as a digital product?

A digital product is anything a buyer receives as a file, an account, a licence or access to a private space, rather than as a physical object. That covers an ebook, a Notion template, a Figma UI kit, a Framer template, a code boilerplate, a preset pack, a recorded course, a paid community, or a small desktop app with a licence key.

The category matters because the work and the tax treatment differ. HMRC's guidance on digital services lists "supplies of images or text, such as photos, screensavers, e-books and other digitised documents, for example, PDF files", "supplies of software and software updates" and "online magazines" as electronically supplied services ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-vat-rules-if-you-supply-digital-services-to-private-consumers)). The same page says a live webinar is not an e-service, and neither is a course with a live tutor, because a person is involved in delivery. A pre-recorded course with downloadable PDFs is an e-service.

That distinction is not academic. If you sell a live cohort workshop, you are selling a service with a human delivering it. If you sell the recording afterwards, you are selling a digital product. Both can be good businesses, but only one fits neatly into the "download it and we are done" model this guide covers.

Our read: the best first digital product is the smallest artefact that proves you can solve one specific problem for one specific person. A 20-page guide, a 30-block Notion system or a starter kit of five presets is enough. The mistake is treating "digital product" as permission to build a 40-hour course before anyone has paid for the outline.

If your product is really software, with installers, updates and support, read [how to sell software online](https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-sell-software-online) after this guide. It covers app stores, code signing, notarisation and refunds in more depth than a digital-goods guide should.

## Product types, picked by skill

The format should follow the skill you already have, not the format that looks most impressive. This table is our editorial view, built from the kinds of products the platforms above actually support.

| Your strongest skill | Product to sell first | Typical price band | Where it sells best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writing, research or operations | Ebook, playbook, swipe file, checklist pack | $9 to $49 | Your site, Gumroad, email list |
| Notion or Airtable systems | Notion template, dashboard, CRM, tracker | $5 to $79 | Notion Marketplace, your site |
| Design | Figma UI kit, icon set, presentation deck, brand template | $19 to $99 | Your site, design communities, Gumroad |
| Web design or no-code | Framer or Webflow template, component pack | $29 to $129 | Framer Marketplace, your site |
| Development | Boilerplate, script, plugin, small app with a licence key | $29 to $299 | Your site, Lemon Squeezy, Polar |
| Teaching or coaching | Recorded course, workshop replay, paid community | $49 to $499 | Teachable, Podia, Thinkific |
| Curation or taste | Preset pack, asset library, paid newsletter | $9 to $29/mo | Ko-fi, your site, membership platform |

Two rows deserve a warning. Code products invite support requests, so price for the support you are willing to give. Courses invite refund requests and content updates, so price for the maintenance. A $29 preset pack can be a better first business than a $299 course because the surface area is small.

Platforms support more formats than you might expect. Lemon Squeezy's feature list includes digital downloads, licence key management, bundles, upsells, pay-what-you-want and subscriptions on one account ([Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing)). Podia bundles courses, digital downloads, coaching, events and a community on every plan, including the entry tier ([Podia](https://www.podia.com/pricing)). You do not need a different vendor for every format.

## Validate demand before you build

Validation is not a survey. It is evidence that someone will exchange money for the thing. The cheapest evidence is a presale, a paid pilot or a waitlist with a clear price attached. The most expensive evidence is a finished product nobody asked for.

### Method 1: Pre-sell the outline

Write the table of contents, the outcome, the format and the delivery date. Put it on a checkout page at a launch price. If you sell five copies at $19, you have both validation and the first bit of revenue. If you sell zero, you have saved yourself a month.

This works because the buyer is paying for the promised outcome, not the file. Be explicit about what is finished and what is not. A presale that turns into an indefinite delay is how you lose the audience you were trying to build.

### Method 2: Sell a tiny version first

A 10-page guide, a single template, or a one-hour workshop can test the same demand as the full product. Easlo's catalogue shows the logic at work: individual templates are listed at $5, $9, $39 and $79, with a Pro bundle at $389 that includes all current and future templates ([Easlo](https://easlo.co/pricing)). The cheap templates are not the business. They are the entry point that proves people want the paid system.

### Method 3: Run a waitlist with a price

A waitlist without a price measures curiosity. A waitlist that says "the course will be $149, join the list for $99 at launch" measures intent. Ask for an email and, if you can, a one-line answer to "what are you trying to solve?" The answers become your sales page copy.

### Method 4: Ask five people who already pay for something similar

Do not ask "would you buy this?" Ask what they use now, what it costs, what is missing and what they did the last time it failed them. Past behaviour is more useful than a hypothetical. If nobody in the group currently pays for a solution, you are either early or wrong, and one conversation will not tell you which.

### Method 5: Check the marketplace before you build

Marketplaces show you what buyers already search for. Framer's creator page reports $753,000 paid out to creators in November and a $6.5M creator payout for 2025, which tells you the marketplace has real buyers rather than only free downloads ([Framer](https://framer.com/creators)). Notion's help page shows a paid template flow with a review process, payouts and a 14-day refund window ([Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace)). If a marketplace has a paid category and active sellers, that is a signal worth testing.

Our read: do the smallest version of the test that produces a real payment. A Stripe or Gumroad checkout and five conversations beat a 40-question survey every time. If you want a wider map of ways to earn before you pick a format, our guide to [making money from a side project](https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-make-money-from-a-side-project) covers the neighbouring options.

## Where to sell: the 2026 platform comparison

This table uses each vendor's own published pricing page, checked on 8 Nov 2026. Where a page did not state something, the table says so rather than guessing.

| Platform | Best for | Published cost | Tax handling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | Simple storefront, Discover marketplace | 10% + 50¢ per direct sale; 30% via Discover; no monthly fee | Merchant of record since 1 Jan 2025 |
| Lemon Squeezy | Software, licence keys, subscriptions | 5% + 50¢ per transaction; extra fees can apply | Merchant of record |
| Polar | Developer-first billing and digital products | Free: 5% + 50¢. Pro: $20/mo, 3.8% + 40¢ | Merchant of record |
| Ko-fi | Small shops, tips and memberships | 5% service fee on shop sales plus processor fees; Gold $12/mo, 0% service fee (processor fees still apply) | You are the seller; connect PayPal or Stripe |
| Notion Marketplace | Notion templates | 8% + 40¢ per transaction; 1% FX fee for payouts outside the US | Merchant of record |
| Framer Marketplace | Framer templates, components and plugins | 0% platform cut | Not stated on the creator page |
| Figma Community | Figma files, plugins and widgets | 15% flat; $2 minimum; new paid file sellers not approved at this time | Figma collects and remits sales tax |
| Podia | Courses, downloads, coaching and community | Mover $42/mo billed yearly ($49 monthly) + 5%; Shaker $84/mo yearly ($99 monthly), 0% Podia fee | Sales tax tools included; Stripe or PayPal processing extra |
| Teachable | Courses and coaching | Starter $39/mo + 7.5%; Builder $89/mo + 0% | Tax handling with Teachable Payments |
| Thinkific | Courses, memberships and communities | Start $82/mo billed annually ($109 monthly); no per-sale platform fee listed | Thinkific Payments processing "at 2.9%"; sales tax tools in TCommerce |
| Shopify + Digital Products | A full store with downloads | Basic £19/mo billed annually (£25 monthly); 2% + 25p online card rate; app is free | You are the seller; tax calculation tools included |

Sources: [Gumroad](https://gumroad.com/pricing), [Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing), [Polar](https://polar.sh/), [Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/pricing), [Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace), [Framer](https://framer.com/creators), [Figma Community](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/12067637274519-Selling-resources-on-the-Figma-Community), [Podia](https://www.podia.com/pricing), [Teachable](https://teachable.com/pricing), [Thinkific](https://www.thinkific.com/pricing/), [Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), [Shopify Digital Products app](https://apps.shopify.com/digital-downloads).

A note on currency: Shopify served UK pricing to this machine, so its row shows pounds because that is what its page published. Their US pages may quote different numbers. The percentages are the part that travels.

### How to read the table

The headline percentage is not the whole cost. Three things move the real number:

1. **Fixed fees hurt cheap products.** A 50¢ fixed fee is 1.7% of a $29 product but 5% of a $10 product. If your entry product is $9, the percentage-only comparison misleads you.
2. **Payment processing may be separate.** Ko-fi says its service fee is on top of "standard payment processor fees", and Podia says Stripe or PayPal charge their own 2.9% + 30¢ ([Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/pricing), [Podia](https://www.podia.com/pricing)). Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Polar and Notion fold processing into the platform fee because they are the merchant of record.
3. **Monthly fees need volume.** A $39/mo plan is $468 a year before you have sold anything, so it only beats a no-monthly-fee platform once the per-sale savings add up to more than the subscription. The worked example below shows that break-even for Teachable's Builder plan.

### The $49 comparison you may have read

Our earlier [Gumroad vs Lemon Squeezy comparison](https://zeroraised.com/blog/gumroad-vs-lemon-squeezy-for-indie-makers) goes deep on those two platforms and a $49 sale. The short version: Lemon Squeezy is cheaper per direct sale on published rates, Gumroad is simpler and has the Discover marketplace, and both are merchants of record. This guide is about the wider field, so it does not repeat that comparison.

## A worked example: what you keep on a $29 product

This is an illustrative calculation, not a quote. It assumes one sale, no refunds, no affiliate, no currency conversion and no monthly subscription except where stated. Fees are the published rates above, applied to a $29 price.

| Platform | Platform fee | Card or processing fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad (direct) | 10% = $2.90 + $0.50 | Included | $25.60 |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5% = $1.45 + $0.50 | Included | $27.05 |
| Polar (free plan) | 5% = $1.45 + $0.50 | Included | $27.05 |
| Notion Marketplace | 8% = $2.32 + $0.40 | Included | $26.28 |
| Teachable Builder | 0% | 2.9% + 30¢ (US cards) = $1.14 | $27.86, plus $89/mo |

The per-sale differences look small: $1.45 between Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy on a $29 sale. At 100 sales a month that is $145 a month, which is not nothing. But the monthly-fee comparison is where the real decision lives.

Teachable's Builder plan keeps $27.86 per $29 sale, the best per-sale result in the table. It also costs $89 a month. Against Lemon Squeezy's $27.05, the extra $0.81 per sale takes about 110 sales a month to repay the subscription ($89 divided by $0.81). If you sell 30 courses a month, the $89 plan is a cost, not a saving. If you sell 300, it is obvious.

Our read: for a first product, start with a platform that has no monthly fee. Move to a monthly plan when the per-sale saving exceeds the subscription for at least three months running, not on your best month.

## Merchant of record, VAT and sales tax

Digital goods are taxed where the buyer is, which is the awkward part of selling internationally. The good news is that you can hand most of it to a merchant of record.

### What HMRC says

HMRC's guidance is clear that the place of supply for cross-border digital services is the consumer's location. If you supply digital services to UK consumers, those supplies are liable to UK VAT. "If your supplies are liable to UK VAT you will need to register for UK VAT if you are based outside the UK," the page says ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-vat-rules-if-you-supply-digital-services-to-private-consumers)).

The same page also says that if you supply digital services through a third-party platform or marketplace, "the digital platform is responsible for accounting for VAT on the supply instead of you". That is the legal basis for the merchant-of-record model, and it is why the platform's fee buys you more than checkout software.

### What the EU says

For EU consumers, VAT is due at the rate of the customer's country. A business established outside the EU, with no EU fixed establishment, can register for the non-Union One Stop Shop in any one EU country, charge the customer's local VAT rate, file one quarterly return and make one payment through that country's portal ([Your Europe](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/finance-and-tax/vat/one-stop-shop/index_en.htm)). The alternative is registering separately in every member state where you sell, which is not a sensible use of a solo founder's time.

### What a merchant of record does

Gumroad says it has been the merchant of record since 1 January 2025 and handles "sales tax collection and remittance worldwide" ([Gumroad](https://gumroad.com/pricing)). Lemon Squeezy says it takes on "tax collection and calculation liability across all jurisdictions" ([Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing)). Polar says it acts as the reseller in over 100 markets, with "payments, sales tax, fraud, refunds and chargebacks" as its responsibility ([Polar](https://polar.sh/)). Notion says it is the merchant of record, charges 8% + 40¢, and handles regional sales tax or VAT as part of each transaction ([Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace)).

That does not mean tax disappears. It means the platform is the seller to the customer. You still report your own income and pay income tax where you live. The merchant of record handles the indirect tax on the sale.

### When you are the seller

Ko-fi is explicit: "you get paid directly, we never hold your money", and you "set your own prices, terms and manage your own supporters" ([Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/pricing)). That is a feature for some creators and a tax obligation for others. Podia includes sales tax tools across 230 countries, but its FAQ separates Podia's fee from Stripe or PayPal's processing fee ([Podia](https://www.podia.com/pricing)). Teachable lists "U.S. sales tax, global VAT, and GST handling" as a Teachable Payments feature ([Teachable](https://teachable.com/pricing)).

Our read: if you are selling to buyers outside your own country and you do not want to register for VAT in multiple places, choose a merchant of record for your first product. The fee is the price of not becoming an accidental tax administrator.

## Licence keys, piracy and delivery

### When you need a licence key

A licence key is a unique code issued to a buyer so your software can check that the purchase is real. It matters for downloadable apps, plugins, scripts and anything sold per seat. It does not matter much for a PDF, because a PDF can be forwarded whether or not it came with a key.

Lemon Squeezy's documentation explains the mechanics: when "Generate License Keys" is enabled, a unique key is created for each customer and shown in the receipt and the My Orders page. You can set a "License length" and an "Activation limit". Its own example is a $9 product with an activation limit of 1, so the software works on one computer, and a $19 variant with an activation limit of 3 for buyers who need more machines ([Lemon Squeezy docs](https://docs.lemonsqueezy.com/help/licensing/generating-license-keys)). For subscription products, the key is tied to the subscription lifecycle and expires when the subscription expires.

Gumroad also generates licence keys and offers a verification API; its help page notes that products created on or after 9 January 2023 require the `product_id` parameter rather than the product permalink ([Gumroad Help](https://gumroad.com/help/article/76-license-keys)).

### Piracy: be realistic

Our read: licence keys and access controls stop casual sharing. They do not stop a determined pirate, and a solo founder should not spend a month building DRM for a $29 product. The maths is simple: every hour spent on copy protection is an hour not spent on the sales page, the email list or the next product.

Use the lightest control that fits the product:

- **Software:** a licence key with an activation limit, validated at launch and on a schedule.
- **Notion templates:** Notion's Marketplace offers "access locking", which can prevent a buyer from moving the template to another workspace or copying blocks into another workspace ([Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace)). That is a meaningful speed bump for template resale.
- **Courses and communities:** an account login is the control. Do not pretend a video file is secure once it is downloaded.
- **PDFs and presets:** accept that they will travel. Compete on updates, support and the next edition rather than on locks.

### Delivery and updates

Delivery should be boring. The buyer pays, gets a receipt and gets access. Lemon Squeezy says its download links are "securely signed, throttled" and that it handles file hosting ([Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing)). Notion delivers a template into the buyer's workspace. Podia and Teachable host the files and the course player. Shopify's Digital Products app is free and lets a store attach files or links to products and send access after purchase ([Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/digital-downloads)).

Updates are where a digital product can beat a physical one. Keep a changelog, version the file name, and email buyers when the version changes. For a Notion template, duplicate the update into the same listing and tell buyers what changed. For a code product, tag releases and keep the old version available. Buyers remember the seller who fixed the thing six months later.

## Pricing: anchors, bundles and pay-what-you-want

### Use a three-tier ladder

A single price asks the buyer to decide yes or no. Three prices ask them to decide which one. A practical structure for a first digital product:

- **Entry ($9 to $29):** one template, one guide, one small pack. Its job is to convert strangers and prove the paid relationship.
- **Core ($39 to $99):** the full system, with the templates, the instructions and the updates. Most buyers should land here.
- **Pro or bundle ($149+):** the core plus extras, a call, a licence for a team, or lifetime updates.

Easlo's pricing page is a clean real example: individual templates at $5, $9, $39 and $79, and a Pro Access bundle at $389, reduced from $640, that includes all current and future templates ([Easlo](https://easlo.co/pricing)). The bundle anchors the top of the range and gives the $39 product a reason to look reasonable.

### Bundles do the discounting without cheapening the core

ShipFast's page shows the same pattern in code: the Starter plan is $199, reduced from $299; the All-in plan is $249, reduced from $349; and a bundle with CodeFast is $299, reduced from $648 ([ShipFast](https://shipfa.st/)). The bundle is not a discount on the core product. It is a different product with a different promise.

### Pay-what-you-want, carefully

Lemon Squeezy lists "Pay What You Want" as a checkout feature and describes "pay what you want" donations as a way to grow an email list ([Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing)). It can work for a lead magnet, a tip jar or a community-supported release. It is a poor fit for a product you need to fund and support, because the buyer who pays $1 expects the same support as the buyer who pays $49.

Our read: use pay-what-you-want for a small, low-support artefact, and set a minimum price that covers your payment fees. Do not use it for your core product.

### Raise prices with a reason

A launch discount is a reason to buy now. A permanent discount is a reason to wait. If you launch at $99 and plan to charge $149 later, say so and put a date on it. If you never intend to raise the price, do not pretend you will.

## Marketing a digital product without a big budget

### Start with the email list

The email list is the only channel you own. A marketplace can change its fees, a social platform can change its reach, but a list of buyers and interested people travels with you. Our guide to [building an email list as a bootstrapped founder](https://zeroraised.com/blog/how-to-build-an-email-list-as-a-bootstrapped-founder) covers the mechanics. For a product launch, the minimum is a landing page, one free artefact worth downloading, and a sequence of three to five emails that ends with the offer.

### Write pages for the job, not the category

"Best Notion templates" is a crowded page. "Notion template for freelance tax season" is a page a buyer can act on. Write the page that answers the question a buyer types when they are already in pain, then link it to the product. The same logic applies to YouTube, Reddit answers and community posts: solve the specific problem in public, and let the product be the next step.

### Use marketplaces as discovery, not as your only home

Framer takes a 0% cut and reports $753,000 paid to creators in November, which makes it an unusually seller-friendly marketplace ([Framer](https://framer.com/creators)). Notion charges 8% + 40¢ but puts your template in front of Notion's own users ([Notion](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace)). Figma charges a flat 15% and collects sales tax, but its help page says it is not approving new creators to sell paid files at this time, so check the current policy before you build around it ([Figma](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/12067637274519-Selling-resources-on-the-Figma-Community)). Each is worth testing as a discovery channel, but none is worth relying on exclusively, because you do not own the buyer relationship.

The pattern that works: list on the marketplace for discovery, put your own checkout link in the product, and invite buyers onto your email list. If the marketplace changes its terms, you still have a business.

### Launch somewhere with an audience

A launch is a spike, not a strategy, but a spike is useful when you have nothing. ZeroRaised is a launch directory for products built without institutional VC. When the checkout works and the first buyer has been through it, [submit your product](https://zeroraised.com/submit) for free. A launch listing will not carry a product on its own, but it gives you a reason to write the launch post, email the list and ask for feedback in one week.

### Consider affiliates after the first sales

Lemon Squeezy includes affiliate tools on its platform ([Lemon Squeezy](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing)). An affiliate programme makes sense once you know the product converts and you can afford the commission. Before that, it adds a second sales problem: recruiting people to sell a thing nobody has bought yet.

## What working examples actually look like

Only three examples here, each from the seller's or platform's own page, checked on 8 Nov 2026. Revenue claims are quoted as the seller states them, not as audited figures.

**Marc Lou and ShipFast.** The ShipFast page says 8,447 makers use the boilerplate, lists the Starter plan at $199 (from $299) and the All-in plan at $249 (from $349), and quotes Marc saying he is "happy and earn[s] $45,000 a month" ([ShipFast](https://shipfa.st/)). The product is a Next.js starter kit, which is a digital product with a licence-like promise: pay once, build unlimited projects. The useful lesson is not the revenue number. It is that the product is narrowly scoped to a developer's repeated setup work, and the pricing ladder runs from one product to a bundle.

**Easlo and the template ladder.** Easlo's homepage advertises 30+ Notion templates, and its pricing page lists individual templates from $5 to $79, plus a $389 Pro Access bundle, reduced from $640, that includes all current and future templates ([Easlo](https://easlo.co/), [Easlo pricing](https://easlo.co/pricing)). The catalogue is the marketing: free and cheap templates bring people in, the $39 and $79 products do the earning, and the bundle raises the average order. This is the cleanest example of product laddering in the digital-goods world.

**Framer creators.** Framer's creator page reports $753,000 paid to creators in November and a $6.5M creator payout for 2025, and it quotes creator Hamza Ehsan's posted monthly template revenue, which the page lists at $2,291 in November 2023 and $21,733 in June 2025 ([Framer](https://framer.com/creators)). The page also says creators keep 100% of Marketplace earnings and Framer takes a 0% cut. A 0% platform fee is unusual, and it changes the maths for a template seller who can bring their own traffic.

Our read: all three examples share one trait. The product is specific, the price ladder is visible, and the seller keeps shipping. None of them is a generic "digital products" store selling a bit of everything.

## A 30/60/90-day plan

This plan is ours, based on the steps above. It assumes you have a day job and 10 to 15 hours a week.

### Days 1 to 30: choose and validate

- **Week 1:** pick one buyer and one problem. Write the outcome in one sentence. List five products the buyer already pays for and their prices.
- **Week 2:** build the smallest sellable version, or the outline if you are pre-selling. Write the sales page before the product, because the page forces you to name the outcome.
- **Week 3:** talk to five buyers. Offer the presale or the small version at a launch price. Set up one checkout, either a merchant of record or a marketplace listing.
- **Week 4:** deliver to the first buyers. Collect one testimonial and one piece of feedback. Do not add a second product yet.

**Day 30 target:** at least one paying customer, a working checkout, and a written note of what buyers actually wanted.

### Days 31 to 60: finish the core and build the list

- **Week 5:** ship the core version. Add the three-tier pricing ladder and one bundle.
- **Week 6:** publish two pages that answer buyer questions. Put a free artefact behind an email signup.
- **Week 7:** list on one marketplace (Notion, Framer or a platform with discovery) and link it back to your own checkout.
- **Week 8:** email the list with the launch offer. Ask every buyer for a reply with their biggest objection.

**Day 60 target:** a product that has sold in more than one channel, an email list with real subscribers, and a clear objection you can fix on the sales page.

### Days 61 to 90: distribution and the second product

- **Week 9:** double down on the channel that produced buyers. If marketplace search worked, add a second listing. If email worked, send more useful emails.
- **Week 10:** raise the price or add a pro tier. Measure the conversion change for two weeks before deciding.
- **Week 11:** ship a small second product or a bundle upgrade. Use the same buyer and the same problem.
- **Week 12:** review the numbers: revenue, refunds, support time per sale and where buyers came from. Kill the channel that produced none of them.

**Day 90 target:** a repeatable product line, not a single artefact. The point of the first 90 days is to learn which buyer, channel and price actually work, so the next 90 are a bet you can make with evidence.

## Mistakes that cost indie makers money

1. **Building before selling.** A finished product with no buyer is an expensive hobby. Pre-sell or sell a small version first.
2. **Choosing a platform on the headline percentage alone.** Fixed fees, payment processing and monthly subscriptions change the ranking. Run your own price through the maths.
3. **Ignoring tax until the first international sale.** If you are not the merchant of record, you may be the seller for VAT purposes. Decide before you launch, not after.
4. **Over-engineering copy protection.** A $29 product does not need a licence server, hardware binding and a legal threat. It needs a buyer and a support email.
5. **Launching to silence.** A launch with no list, no marketplace and no community is a private event. Build one channel before launch day.
6. **Building a catalogue instead of a product.** Five half-finished templates do not add up to one product people trust.
7. **Discounting the core product.** Discount the entry product or the bundle, not the thing you want to be known for.
8. **No refund policy.** A clear refund policy reduces support load and increases conversion. Hiding it does neither.
9. **No email capture.** A sale without an email address is a one-off. A sale with an email address is the start of a relationship.
10. **Stopping after one launch.** Most products do not sell on day one. The sellers in the examples above kept shipping and kept iterating.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I sell digital products online with no audience?

Start with a narrow product for a group you can already reach: a community you belong to, a skill you are known for, or a marketplace where buyers already search. Validate with a presale or a small waitlist, then list on one marketplace and one direct checkout. An audience helps, but a specific product for a specific job can sell before you have a following.

### What is the cheapest platform to sell digital products?

It depends on volume and product type. On published rates, Polar's free plan and Lemon Squeezy charge 5% + 50¢, Ko-fi charges 5% plus card fees, Gumroad charges 10% + 50¢ direct, Notion charges 8% + 40¢, and Framer takes a 0% platform cut. Monthly-fee platforms such as Podia, Teachable and Thinkific only work out cheaper once you sell enough each month to cover the subscription.

### Do I need an LLC or company to sell digital products?

Not to make your first sale. You can start as a sole trader or sole proprietor and add a company later, but the right structure depends on your country, your risk and your tax position. This guide is not legal or tax advice, so check with an accountant before you incorporate or register for VAT.

### How much should I charge for a digital product?

Price against the outcome and the alternatives, not the number of hours you spent. A useful starting structure is a $9 to $29 entry product, a $39 to $99 core product and a $149+ bundle or pro tier. Check comparable products on the same marketplace, then test one price change at a time rather than discounting on impulse.

### How do I handle VAT and sales tax on digital products?

For EU consumers, VAT is due where the customer lives, and a non-EU seller can register for the non-Union One Stop Shop in one member state and charge the customer's local rate. In the UK, HMRC says digital services supplied to UK consumers are liable to UK VAT, and a business based outside the UK must register if its supplies are liable. The simplest route for a solo seller is a merchant-of-record platform that collects and remits tax for you.

## Sell the next one, not the perfect one

The first digital product is a test of a buyer, a problem and a price. It is not a monument. Pick the format your skills can ship, validate it with a real payment, choose a platform whose fee and tax handling you understand, and spend the first 90 days on distribution. If you want a place to launch it, [submit your product to ZeroRaised](https://zeroraised.com/submit) for free. For more teardowns, fee comparisons and bootstrapper playbooks, [join the ZeroRaised newsletter](https://zeroraised.com/newsletter).

## Sources

- [Gumroad pricing](https://gumroad.com/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Lemon Squeezy pricing](https://www.lemonsqueezy.com/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Polar homepage and pricing](https://polar.sh/), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Ko-fi pricing](https://ko-fi.com/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Notion: selling templates on Marketplace](https://www.notion.com/help/selling-on-marketplace), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Framer creators](https://framer.com/creators), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Figma: selling Community resources](https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/12067637274519-Selling-resources-on-the-Figma-Community), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Podia pricing](https://www.podia.com/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Teachable pricing](https://teachable.com/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Thinkific pricing](https://www.thinkific.com/pricing/), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Shopify pricing](https://www.shopify.com/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Shopify Digital Products app](https://apps.shopify.com/digital-downloads), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Lemon Squeezy: generating license keys](https://docs.lemonsqueezy.com/help/licensing/generating-license-keys), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Gumroad: license keys](https://gumroad.com/help/article/76-license-keys), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [GOV.UK: VAT rules for supplies of digital services to consumers](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-vat-rules-if-you-supply-digital-services-to-private-consumers), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Your Europe: EU VAT One Stop Shop](https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/finance-and-tax/vat/one-stop-shop/index_en.htm), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [ShipFast](https://shipfa.st/), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Easlo homepage](https://easlo.co/), last checked 8 Nov 2026
- [Easlo pricing](https://easlo.co/pricing), last checked 8 Nov 2026

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I sell digital products online with no audience?

Start with a narrow product for a group you can already reach: a community you belong to, a skill you are known for, or a marketplace where buyers already search. Validate with a presale or a small waitlist, then list on one marketplace and one direct checkout. An audience helps, but a specific product for a specific job can sell before you have a following.

### What is the cheapest platform to sell digital products?

It depends on volume and product type. On published rates, Polar's free plan and Lemon Squeezy charge 5% + 50¢, Ko-fi charges 5% plus card fees, Gumroad charges 10% + 50¢ direct, Notion charges 8% + 40¢, and Framer takes a 0% platform cut. Monthly-fee platforms such as Podia, Teachable and Thinkific only work out cheaper once you sell enough each month to cover the subscription.

### Do I need an LLC or company to sell digital products?

Not to make your first sale. You can start as a sole trader or sole proprietor and add a company later, but the right structure depends on your country, your risk and your tax position. This guide is not legal or tax advice, so check with an accountant before you incorporate or register for VAT.

### How much should I charge for a digital product?

Price against the outcome and the alternatives, not the number of hours you spent. A useful starting structure is a $9 to $29 entry product, a $39 to $99 core product and a $149+ bundle or pro tier. Check comparable products on the same marketplace, then test one price change at a time rather than discounting on impulse.

### How do I handle VAT and sales tax on digital products?

For EU consumers, VAT is due where the customer lives, and a non-EU seller can register for the non-Union One Stop Shop in one member state and charge the customer's local rate. In the UK, HMRC says digital services supplied to UK consumers are liable to UK VAT, and a business based outside the UK must register if its supplies are liable. The simplest route for a solo seller is a merchant-of-record platform that collects and remits tax for you.