Selling digital products
The short answer: According to the BLS, employed online merchants, the closest job to selling digital products, earned a median $83,050 a year in May 2025. The catch is a slow start: Lauren Fulton, a Teachers Pay Teachers seller, says "most of the time, it doesn't feel worth it right away." (BLS OEWS; Lauren Fulton) Sandra Di says digital products "work perfectly for an already busy schedule," which points to people with a job. (Sandra Di)
| Median pay of employed online merchants | $39.93/hr ($83,050/yr) BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employee pay, not side-hustle income |
|---|---|
| Projected job growth, online merchants | +3.9% BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35 |
| One creator's reported earnings | $26/hr Reported by Lauren Fulton (A Rebranded Teacher), Feb 2026 |
| One creator's reported time to first dollar | 5 days Reported by The Side Hustle Show, Mar 2026 |
From 22 quotes by 7 creators and BLS data. A creator figure is one person's account.
How much do digital product sellers make?
The BLS put online merchant employees, not digital product sellers, between $47,880 (10th percentile) and $150,010 (90th percentile) a year in May 2025. Erika, an Etsy seller of Canva templates, reported about $2.17k profit in April. (BLS OEWS; Erika)
| Related occupation | Median pay | Middle 80% |
|---|---|---|
| Online Merchants | $39.93/hr ($83,050/yr), BLS OEWS, May 2025 | $47,880–$150,010/yr |
Median annual pay of employed business operations specialists, all other: $83,050 nationally; highest and lowest states below (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Highest-paying states | Median | Lowest-paying states | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $108,160/yr | Louisiana | $63,220/yr |
| Maryland | $101,500/yr | Arkansas | $61,240/yr |
| Washington | $100,360/yr | Puerto Rico | $46,700/yr |
What do people doing selling digital products say?
“That's making about $26 an hour for last year.”
“then that would bring me up to about $125 a month.”
“in my first year on TBT I was able to earn three thousand dollars just from putting up resources that I had already created”
“my total marketing spend, which is going to be my ads, was $1,361.88.”
“Because the Etsy charges you still the 20 cent listing fee”
What does it cost to start selling digital products?
Selling digital products carries platform fees, not inventory: The Side Hustle Show mentions Etsy's 20 cent listing fee, and Lauren says 15 cents on a dollar resource goes to Teachers Pay Teachers. (The Side Hustle Show)
Not enough evidence yet: No source we track states a dollar startup cost yet.
- Research demand on Etsy and keyword tools before choosing a product. (Kate Hayes)
- Build the file, such as a Canva template with a PDF delivering its link. (Erika)
- Make 2-3 mockup listing photos.
How fast do digital product sellers make a first sale?
A digital product seller on The Side Hustle Show reported her first sale just five days after posting her first product. (The Side Hustle Show)
Who should sell digital products?
Selling digital products suits people expecting breaks from work: Erika says it let her "continue to make an income when taking time off to do things like have a baby." (Erika)
Which platforms do people use for selling digital products?
Platforms people doing selling digital products use: Creative Market, Envato Marketplace, Etsy, Gumroad, Outschool.
Is selling digital products worth it?
Pros
- Katie Gettys says a digital product "can build exponentially for years to come" because the work is already done. (Katie Gettys)
- Katie earned three thousand dollars in her first year on Teachers Pay Teachers from resources she had already created.
Cons
- Etsy now filters digital products out of some searches, and Erika's April profit was roughly half of January's. (Erika)
- One of Lauren's resources sold 98 times and another six times, so results per product vary. (Lauren Fulton)
What are the risks of selling digital products?
Online Business for Teachers warns that taxes, expenses and slow months impact take-home income. (Online Business for Teachers)
What are the alternatives to selling digital products?
- Content Creator: Often covered together (5 shared videos).
- Self Publishing: Often covered together (5 shared videos).
- Online Marketplaces side hustle: Often covered together (28 shared videos).
- Brand Deals & UGC side hustle: Often covered together (1 shared video).
- Music and Audio as a side hustle: Also in digital products and content.
- Coaching and Mentorship: Often covered together (2 shared videos).
Sources and method
Quotes are verbatim and linked to the moment they were said. A figure from one report is not confirmed by a second source. BLS figures describe employees in the closest related occupation.
- Lauren Fulton (A Rebranded Teacher), YouTube, 22 Feb 2026.
- Sandra Di, YouTube, 9 Sep 2026.
- Erika (Canva templates on Etsy), YouTube, 13 May 2026.
- The Side Hustle Show, podcast, 26 Mar 2026.
- Lauren Fulton (A Rebranded Teacher), YouTube, 15 Feb 2026.
- The Side Hustle Show, podcast, 23 Mar 2026.
- Kate Hayes, YouTube, 1 Sep 2026.
- Erika (Canva templates on Etsy), YouTube, 21 Sep 2026.
- Erika (Canva templates on Etsy), YouTube, 9 Sep 2026.
- Katie Gettys, YouTube, 29 Aug 2023.
- Lauren Fulton (A Rebranded Teacher), YouTube, 4 Jan 2026.
- Online Business for Teachers, podcast, 7 Jan 2026.
- Kate Hayes, YouTube, 29 Sep 2026.
- Sandra Di, YouTube, 16 Sep 2026.
- Chris Koerner, podcast, 12 May 2026.
- Lauren Fulton (A Rebranded Teacher), YouTube, 8 Feb 2026.
- Online Business for Teachers, podcast, 29 Apr 2026.
- Online Business for Teachers, podcast, 7 Jul 2025.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025-35.
- O*NET 31.0 Database, 31.0.
Other data behind this page (10)
| Fact | Value | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Demand trend | growing | Accepted | BLS Employment Projections |
| Income volatility | high | Accepted | Lauren Fulton; Online Business for Teachers |
| Nearest occupation | Business Operations Specialists, All Other | Accepted | O*NET 31.0 |
| Fit by life phase (employed_moonlighter) | 0.76 score 0–1 | Accepted | Sandra Di |
| Fit by life phase (new_parent) | 0.70 score 0–1 | Accepted | Erika |
| Platform fee (stripe) | 3% | Accepted | Chris Koerner |
| Platform fee (teachers-pay-teachers) | 15% | Accepted | Lauren Fulton |
| Scalability | high | Accepted | Lauren Fulton; Katie Gettys |
| Schedule control | own schedule | Accepted | Erika; The Side Hustle Show |
| Work mode | remote | Accepted | Online Business for Teachers; Lauren Fulton |