Shopify Sell Ebooks? Why Not! This Is How You Do It

Don’t let your talent for writing books go to waste and start to make yourself known while making money out of your talent by publishing and selling them out. You can start with making an ebook and selling it through Shopify. If you need detailed information on how Shopify sell ebooks, this article is your perfect guide.

From the pros and cons of selling your ebooks through Shopify to step by step on how to sell ebooks on Shopify and the tips on what you should and shouldn’t do when selling e-books, get all of the information you need here and prepare to gain money from your hobby. Have a good read!

Can You Sell Ebooks on Shopify?

While it is common to see both offline and online stores selling physical items, for the past few years, Shopify seems to be expanding its e-commerce library and making it possible for authors to sell ebooks online. 

Yes, you read that right! Thanks to Shopify’s system that makes things easier and seamless for both author and publisher. Through their “Digital Downloads” app, you can now sell your books without having to turn them into hardcopy first. Just a soft file and a download link then you are ready to sell. 

Pros and Cons of Selling Ebooks on Shopify

Before we get deeper into the topic and talk about how to sell PDF books online through Shopify, you should understand the pros and cons of selling your book’s soft file on the platform. Let’s start with the pros:

• You are enabled to upload and publish your masterpiece at ease and this is a good chance for self-publishing authors because all you need to do is just upload and publish the soft file of your book and set your rates.

• The Digital Downloads app is super easy to use! It is arguably the most straightforward app compared to publishing your books through another competing eBook platform.

• Selling your books through Shopify’s Digital Downloads app doesn’t require a registration fee. You can get started when you are ready without having to worry about the start-up fee. Putting your books on Shopify also costs less.

Now that you already see the pros and benefit you will gain by publishing and selling your books through Shopify eBook store, let’s acknowledge what’s the cons or the disadvantages of selling eBook online, for example:

• While you don’t need to pay for registration fee and startup cost to put your books for sale at Shopify, you still have to pay a percentage of royalties fee to Shopify for giving you a space to sell your work;

• Some customers may still prefer physical books over digital ones hence, an eBook can sometimes be harder to sell than one in physical form.

But you should not be worried since the fast-moving lifestyle in society nowadays gives chances for eBooks to grow and become more popular.

How to Sell Ebooks on Shopify

Now you already get the answer about can you sell ebooks on Shopify or not and already understand the pros and cons of selling your books digitally. So, next, we will have to talk about how to sell your ebooks via Shopify, here are the steps:

Download The Digital Download App

Get the Digital Downloads app by downloading it through your computer or smartphone device. You can download it from the “Apps” tab on your Shopify account page to get the app downloaded.

Add Your Digital File

To start your Shopify ebook store, after getting the app installed through your computer/smartphone device, add your digital product for sale by uploading it through the Digital Download app to your Shopify store. Usually, you are only allowed to attach one file at a time hence, if your file contains several documents, you will have to attach the file as a document or in .zip format.

Add Product

Go to your Digital Downloads app and click the “Add Product” to insert your book’s file, add a title, and a brief description to explain the bigger picture of your books. You will have to make sure every part of the form is filled including the relevant cover image and the book price as well as attaching your file before posting the product for sale.

View in Shop

Once you have done adding and posting your product through the Shopify Admin page, that means you have successfully made the Shopify ebook PDF and your digital book is already on the market officially. If you want to see the stats and sales of your digital book, you can click on the “View in Your Shopify Admin” option.

Read Also: Setting up Your Shopify Store for the First Time? Easy!

Do’s and Don’t When Selling Ebooks on Shopify

Through the steps above, we can conclude that if you want to sell your ebook online through Shopify, what you will have to do is:

• Brainstorming and get the idea to start writing your book.
• Make your Shopify store.
• Do your branding including the copyright of your works, your store logo, your copywriting technique, and more.
• Promote your store and masterpiece through social media marketing or influencer marketing. 

What you shouldn’t do when going to sell your ebooks online through Shopify is violate other people’s work copyright in the form of plagiarism or illegally selling other people’s works. 

Conclusion

Although you can’t 100% sell ebooks online free because Shopify still charges a royalty fee for each book that is sold, the fee is still considered as affordable. A few other reasons why you should be selling your work through Shopify are:

• It allows you to save some money because you don’t have to pay a store management fee. You can allocate the supposed store management fee into the promotional cost that will help you gain more exposure.

• You will be able to save some time from handling your product and shipping them out so you can minimize the selling risk.

• Your readers/audiences are allowed to browse and buy your ebooks from wherever they are which indicates you can sell your product across the world.

• Shopify as a platform is easy to use and beginner-friendly. 

Read Also: 6 Steps on How to Publish Shopify Store or Launch Store

Aside from Shopify, if you want to know how to sell ebooks online with PayPal through another platform, you can try to publish your ebook through Amazon, SendOwl, and Fetch. Not only ebooks, but you can also sell any other non-shipped products through these few platforms including Shopify, for example:

• Music/MP3.
• Audio Books.
• Automated Lessons/Courses, and many more.

So to answer the question of “can I sell ebooks on Shopify?”, we believe that you have finally got your desired answer. However, having products alone will not suddenly allow you to make money. To boost your selling, you will need exposure through promotions.

Join Ginee Philippines!

Ginee is a convenient ERP system that offers solutions for online businesses. Until today, Ginee Omnichannel has been entrusted by over 70,000 companies and entrepreneurs across Southeast Asia. Ginee also partnered with big names like Shopify, Shopee, and Lazada, allowing its users to manage their business in just one platform.

You can focus on your writing to make an incredible book while Ginee will help you gain exposure and attract customers through Ginee Ads. Through Ginee’s Customer Management, you can see your customer’s shopping behavior, allowing you to get a better idea of what kind of product you should prepare that will sell big.

To put it simply, Ginee will help you maximize the potential of your business and lead you to the path of success. All you have to do is go to Ginee Philippines‘ website and make a free registration. You will be allowed to try all of Ginee’s amazing features for seven days, free, and see how the system boosts your business. So, what are you waiting for? Chase your success right away and be the lead in the industries along with Ginee, join freely now!