Sell Digital Downloads Directly From Your WordPress.com Site

As a small business owner or content creator, you probably have some valuable digital assets at your disposal. Maybe it’s industry research that you compiled or a template for wedding invitations. If you’re a photographer, it’s likely some amazing photographs.

Have you considered monetizing this content? If so, you can sell digital downloads directly through your WordPress.com website.

It only takes a few minutes to set up a process for collecting payments through your site — here are two ways to do it using WordPress.com features available starting with the plugin-enabled plan.

1. Insert a Payments button

A simple and effective way to collect payments for digital downloads through your WordPress.com website is with a button you can add through the handy Payments block. The feature works extremely well for digital content creators looking to monetize digital products.

This option, which can be used with any paid plan, allows you to display a clickable button on your site with minimal setup. From there, you can collect debit or credit card payments via a Stripe account, and visitors will get instant access to the downloadable content.

To insert a Payments button, open an existing page that you want to place it on — or create a new post/page. Click the plus-sign icon and use the search bar to find the Payments block. From there, you can set up and style your button. If it’s your first time using this block, you’ll need to connect your WordPress.com account with Stripe.

2. Create password-protected premium content

The Premium Content block works in conjunction with WordPress.com Payments features so you can restrict access to certain pieces to paying subscribers only.

This option is ideal if you’re regularly releasing articles, guides, videos, or other digital content that a subscriber base is willing to pay for. It creates recurring payments and automatically charges your subscribers on a regular basis.

If your goal is to sell individual downloads, use one-time payments. If you want an experience that’s more like Patreon, use Payments with the Premium Content block. Your subscribers can then log in to get access to the content they’re paying for.

Alternate ways to sell digital content

plugin-enabled plan users can install additional plugins, many of which facilitate digital downloads. WooCommerce and Easy Digital Downloads are two popular options to consider.

Digital downloads are a popular way to monetize content, and with the right strategy, they can even become a business model in their own right. With the help of your WordPress.com website, you can sell digital downloads to boost your bottom line.