If you’re an artist, author or musician, selling digital goods is a fantastic way to distribute your work. And with the free Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) plugin for WordPress, creating an online store is an efficient and affordable experience.
As great as the plugin is, it’s still a good idea to pair EDD up with an outstanding theme. Let’s explore just what makes for a great digital download shop and check out some themes that can help to make it happen.
1. Provide Free Content Previews
Tempt potential buyers by sharing some of your work for free. If you’re a digital artist, maybe you provide a free vector file or two. Authors could share a chapter from a recent book. For musicians, you might provide a stream of a top song.
SquareCode is a theme that offers a very attractive way to share audio and video. While the functionality for sharing multimedia is baked into WordPress, SquareCode takes it a step further by allowing you to easily customize the look and feel of the embedded media player. A more personalized look can make your site more professional and help to encourage sales.
The great thing about providing audio and video samples is that you can do so right on the product page itself. If a listener likes what they’re hearing, they can immediately make a purchase.
eBook authors will want to check out Booker – a theme that has some fun, interactive ways to share free content. Utilize their flip book to allow visitors to browse through sample pages and get hooked on your latest novel.
For other types of content, you might want to consider creating a free product. This method requires that a user goes through the EDD checkout system, allowing you to capture valuable contact information. Later on, you might use it to send a discount code or other promotional message.
2. Use a Simple, Well-Organized Layout
If you’re selling multiple digital products, arranging your product listings in an easy-to-read manner is essential. The Olam theme is a good example as it utilizes a simple grid layout and colorful product images to make each item stand out.
Olam’s EDD demo page is an example of how to keep a product listing simple. You get a featured image, product name, price, author information and icons to view, buy or add the product to your cart. It’s attractive and will also help to keep your site’s visitors from being overwhelmed with choices.
3. Go Beyond Standard Product Pages
A boring old product page won’t help you convert sales. It’s worthwhile to do something more. WordPress themes offer some awesome design capabilities and you should take advantage of them.
Ascent is an EDD optimized theme that features a visual page builder. Use it to create in-depth product pages with multimedia content, testimonials or something completely unique. Ensure that your website is just as beautiful and creative as your products.
4. Do More With EDD Extensions
The ability to add meaningful functionality to your shop can increase sales and make for a better customer experience. Easy Digital Downloads has a deep library of extensions that can do everything from supporting a specific payment gateway to allowing customers to subscribe to your content. This enables you to customize your site to meet the needs of your business.
To take full advantage, use a theme that is compatible with EDD extensions. Humbleshop will do the trick, as it supports some of the most popular extensions, such as: EDD Wish List, EDD Social Login, EDD Points and Rewards and EDD Commissions.
5. Use the Power of Community
If you’re thinking about creating something bigger than yourself, a multi-vendor marketplace may be for you. EDD’s Digital Marketplace Bundle will allow you to create a community of sellers–thus expanding your site’s earning potential.
Marketify is a theme that specializes in multi-vendor shops. It fully-supports EDD extensions and has some built-in features to help customers find exactly what they’re looking for.
Regardless of what you’re selling, combining forces with other talented people can boost your site’s profile. With great content and the right functionality, you’ll be able to position your community for success.
Digital Downloads, The Easy Way
While the web has always given a voice to anyone who has something to say, WordPress and Easy Digital Downloads provide a way to monetize it. No longer are we dependent upon traditional publishing methods. With the use of free software and a great theme, content creators can now easily sell their works to fans anywhere, anytime.
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