Sell digital products online without emailing files by hand

1. 01

   Start with a file people already ask you for

   The spreadsheet you use with clients, the guide you keep explaining by email, the pattern friends keep requesting: a first product that answers a question people already have sells faster than a broad catalog.

2. 02

   Package each product as one tidy download

   Put everything a buyer needs into one PDF, or one ZIP with a short read-me: what’s inside, which apps open it and how to print or install it. Name the files plainly so they still make sense in a downloads folder a year later.

3. 03

   Show what’s inside before they pay

   Nobody can hold a download, so show it: page spreads, a screenshot of the spreadsheet filled with sample numbers, a mockup on a phone or a desk. State the file format and the page or file count on every product.

4. 04

   Mark the product as a download

   On Cornerrr you set a product to “a download” and attach its files. After payment the order email points buyers to them, and they sign in with a code sent to their email to find every file in their account.

5. 05

   Put the license and refund terms on the page

   Say plainly whether a file is for personal use, for one business or for client work, and what happens if someone asks for a refund. Cornerrr can draft a refund policy page for you to edit; treat it as a draft, not legal advice.

6. 06

   Bundle once you have a few products

   With three or four products, add a bundle at a lower combined price and a discount code for past buyers. A bundle gives undecided buyers an easy yes and raises the size of each order.

• VAT on downloads sold to the EU

  When you sell downloads to consumers in the EU, VAT is generally charged at the rate of the buyer’s country, and the One-Stop Shop (OSS) lets you report it in one return. Stripe Tax can calculate it; ask an accountant when you need to register.

• The right to cancel in the EU and UK

  Consumers there normally have 14 days to cancel an online purchase. For a download, that right can end once the download starts, but only if the buyer expressly agreed to that and acknowledged losing the right before buying. Ask an advisor how to collect that consent.

• US sales tax differs by state

  Some US states tax digital downloads and others don’t, and some treat ebooks, music and software differently. Whether you must register in a state depends on your sales there, so check with an accountant as you grow.

General information to help you get started, not legal advice. Rules differ by country, state and product, so check the ones that apply to you.