As an introvert, it can be a challenge to create an extra income if you want to avoid interacting with others. I do not want to network, do sales calls, or be on Zoom calls.
However, I do want to earn an extra income. So I had to decide on a way that would be comfortable for me. The internet was the answer but what would I do?
Initially, I began with affiliate marketing. It seemed to be the ideal solution (and in a way it still is), but you have no control over the product you’re promoting (more on that below.)
After some trial and error, I decided on selling digital information products in the form of simple PDF files. It is one of the best online businesses I’ve done in terms of creating introvert side income.
Why Sell PDF Files?
There are so many benefits to selling your own PDF files. First, you have your own product. You can be as creative as you want and you can price your product for whatever you want.
Digital info products are easy to create. You can type them up using Google Docs and save them as a PDF file.
Another benefit is that you have full control of your product. You’re not at the mercy of another product creator.
You also never need to worry about shipping anything since your product is digital.
All in all, selling PDFs is a low-maintenance, introvert-friendly online business model.
Step 1: Choose a Topic for Your PDF
The first step is to come up with a topic for your info product. A lot of people get tripped up on this step.
Ask yourself this question:
What is something you do that used to confuse you?
Your answer to that question could be of value to a lot of people. All you’d have to do is put the steps into the word processor of your choice and save it as a PDF file.
Here are some examples to give you some inspiration:
- Become a minimalist in 30 days
- Beginner’s guide to freelancing without cold pitching
- Starting a YouTube channel as an introvert
- Email templates to gently sell your product to your list
You get the idea. Almost everyone has something they have become efficient at and that info can help other people.
If you struggle to come up with a topic, you can utilize ChatGPT or other AI tool to help you brainstorm.
Create a prompt asking to help you come up with topics to help people in a specific niche.
You can then narrow down those ideas and customize one that you resonate with most.
Step 2: Choose a Sales Platform
For step 2, you’ll need to decide on a sales platform for selling your PDF files. There are many to choose from depending on your needs.
If you want to use a free platform, Payhip is a great option. They take a percentage of every sale you make. The same goes for Gumroad.
Other platforms to consider are below. Some may have monthly fees associated with them:
- SamCart
- Systeme.io
- ThriveCart
- Kartra
- Etsy
- Stan Store
- E-Junkie
- Sellfy
- Lemon Squeezy
As a beginner, I recommend starting with a free platform that takes a percentage of each sale.
It gives you the time to work on marketing without having to worry about paying a monthly fee.
Pricing your product is completely up to you. The average price of a simple PDF is between $17 and $27.
If your product is a bit more comprehensive, you can charge more–for example, $47. Maybe you include some video tutorials, then a good price point is $97.
Step 3: Marketing Your Product
The goal is to make sales and without traffic, that is difficult to do. There are two types of traffic you can work on: organic or paid.
I do a bit of both. Organic traffic is considered “free” traffic because you don’t pay for it. However, you are paying with your time.
Think of the time you spend on social media promoting your business or how much time spent writing a blog post or creating a YouTube video.
Organic traffic takes time but it can be worth it in the long run because you won’t be spending money on ads.
Paid traffic is buying ad space on a platform like Facebook, Google, Bing ads, and many others.
What’s nice about paid traffic is that you can start generating new leads and new sales almost immediately.
I run Meta ads to a couple of Instagram carousel posts. This method has been working well to generate new leads.
My goal is to grow my email list.
Note: Most people will not buy your product right away. However, marketing your product using email marketing helps to increase sales as you build trust with your audience.
Step 4: Email Marketing
I highly recommend building an email list for your digital info product business.
Even if you are generating most of your traffic from social media or running paid ads, it’s important to build a list of email subscribers.
I’ve heard stories over the years of people losing their social media accounts due to them being closed by the platform.
You don’t own the followers you have on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
But, you do have control of your email subscribers. If one or more of your social media accounts is closed for any reason, you still have your audience that is your email list.
Next Step
The next step is to create your own digital information product–a simple PDF file. If you are ready to dive in, get a copy of my quiet creator guide and launch your first PDF.