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How to Sell Digital Goods using PayPal [More Profits]

You’ve successfully created a digital product, and it’s time to reap the benefits by selling it online. That’s great, but you need to set up a trusted payment platform before anything else.

You can’t sell digital goods within PayPal’s platform directly, but you can use Shopify with PayPal integrated as the payment gateway for customers to pay. You will then need to install the Fileflare Digital Downloads app on your Shopify store to deliver the files to your customers.

In this article, you’ll learn how to sell your digital product with PayPal and receive payments anywhere in the world. Ready to start earning? Let’s proceed. 

How to sell your digital goods with PayPal

You can set up the sale of your digital goods with PayPal in three easy steps.

1. Sign up to PayPal & choose a suitable PayPal account type 

PayPal offers two account options:

  • A personal account
  • A business account

Since you’re in for business, you must choose the business PayPal account. Selecting a business account makes it easier to receive payments on your website or app if you have any and send out PayPal invoices for the digital products that you’ve sold.

To get started, go to PayPal.com and click on “Sign up”. Choose the business account option and fill in all the required details. Getting a business account is free on PayPal, but you’ll pay fees for every transaction.

2. Sign up to Shopify & set PayPal as your payment gateway

Now, you’ll need an online store to sell your digital products, and Shopify provides the best option for you. Creating a Shopify account and store is seamless, and if you already have one, you can skip this section.

Sign up

  1. Go to Shopify and click on “Get started”. 
  2. Enter your email address, and choose a store name (same as the username). 
  3. After entering your store name, click on “Create store”.
  4. Now you can start filling in your store and personal details as required. You’ll answer questions like: Are you already selling? When would you like to launch your store? How will you want to sell? What is your current revenue?
  5. Click “Next” and input your address details necessary for receiving payments. 
  6. If you have a website, input the URL. Otherwise, click on “Enter my store”, which takes you to your admin page and you’re all set. 
  7. To receive payments via PayPal, you must set it as your preferred payment gateway on Shopify. 

Find out how to set up PayPal as a gateway on Shopify here, or read PayPal’s guide.

Setting up Paypal as a gateway

  1. Go to your Shopify dashboard
  2. Click on “Settings” in the bottom-left
settings button shopify
  1. Go to “Payments
payments tab
  1. Go to the “Additional payment methods” section and add PayPal
paypal gateway

3. Install this reliable digital product delivery app

After setting up your store, you need a digital goods delivery platform to deliver your products.

PayPal is only a payment gateway, so you’ll need a reputable and efficient digital goods delivery platform like Fileflare Digital Downloads. This app can take care of this aspect for you because Shopify doesn’t have the in-built tools for delivering digital files.

It also includes file protection features and powerful customization features.

fileflare digital downloads dda

Here’s how to set it up:

Installing the app
  1. Go to your Shopify dashboard, and click on “Settings”, which you’ll find at the bottom-left of the page. 
  2. Go to “Apps and Sales Channels”, then click on the “Customize your Store” button. 
  3. Go to this link – “Fileflare Digital Downloads“, and click on “Add App”. Install it and enjoy the free plan or upgrade to unlock some amazing features.
Uploading your digital goods
  1. Upload your digital files by clicking on the “Upload” button.
  2. Once uploaded, you can click the blue link.
  3. Attach your digital files to the relevant Shopify products by clicking on the search box under “Attach this asset to products” section.

Final thoughts

Your digital files are now attached to your relevant Shopify products, and your customers will receive them in emails after they make payment.

The process is straightforward, thanks to Shopify apps. Setting up a digital goods store is relatively easy, thanks to our modern technology. 

So if you’ve ever wanted to be a publisher, this is how you can do it!