How to earn money online with digital products (and why software referrals belong on the list)

The short answer: create, refer or do both

A digital product is anything people buy and receive as a file, an account or access: a course, a template, an ebook, a design asset or a piece of software. You can earn from digital products by making your own or by recommending products made by others. Neither is a shortcut. Both work when you know a specific audience well and solve a problem they already have.

Digital products you can create and sell

• Online courses and workshops that teach a skill step by step, such as bookkeeping, tax filing or running a small factory.
• Templates and spreadsheets, for example invoice formats, budgeting sheets or stock registers.
• Ebooks and guides that package your experience into a short, practical read.
• Checklists and toolkits for a specific job, such as month-end closing or a compliance calendar.
• Design assets, such as presets, icons or slide templates.

Your own product lets you set the price and keep most of it, but you also handle creation, updates, payments, refunds and support questions.

Earning from digital products you did not create

The second route is to recommend digital products made by others and earn a commission when people you refer pay. Software is the most common example, because businesses pay for it every month or year and the people they trust, such as teachers, accountants and consultants, are often asked which tool to use. Read our guide on how to earn money selling software without building it for the three partner models.

Your own digital product vs a software referral program

Why software can pay recurring commission

Most business software is sold as a subscription. When a program pays a share of each payment during a set commission period, one well-matched referral can keep paying for as long as that customer stays subscribed within the period. That is different from a one-time digital product, which pays once per sale. It also means fit matters more than volume: a customer who cancels early earns little, and refunds are usually deducted.

Step by step: start earning online with digital products

1. 01Pick one audience and one problem

   For example, small business owners who struggle with invoicing and stock, or students learning accounting.

2. 02Decide what to offer

   Package your knowledge as your own course or template, recommend software that solves the problem, or both.

3. 03Make something genuinely useful

   A clear tutorial, a worked example or a template that saves your audience real effort.

4. 04Join a program with written terms

   If you refer software, read the tracking window, payout rules, refund rules and approved claims before you apply.

5. 05Disclose and publish

   Label paid recommendations clearly and close to the link, then publish where your audience already looks for help.

6. 06Measure what keeps customers

   Track which content brings buyers or referred customers who stay, and improve that content first.

Disclose paid links and never promise income

Advertising regulators treat a commission as a material connection. The US Federal Trade Commission asks for a clear disclosure close to the recommendation, in plain words, and in videos as well as their descriptions. India's Advertising Standards Council (ASCI) asks for a label on each promotional post near the start of the caption. Follow the stricter rule where your audience lives, and never promise your audience a specific income, saving or result.