Demand for digital products is booming in the Asia-Pacific region, with sales recently increasing 500% year-on-year. There’s never been a better time for students looking for an extra income stream to tap into this lucrative market.
Since digital products allow you to sell the same product repeatedly without needing to restock, they’re an ideal way to generate passive income with minimal maintenance.
Digital tools
Digital tools help people complete tasks that they typically can’t complete by themselves – either because they lack the required skill set, or they’re simply too time- and energy-consuming. So, by selling a digital tool that meets the needs of a certain audience, you can therefore generate a decent passive income stream.
When considering which digital tools are most worthwhile for you to market and sell, consider how you can best meet the needs of a specific target audience – what are their typical pain points, and how can you solve them? For example, if you’re good at web design, you may want to develop icons or fonts for web designers and developers.
You could even sell UX kits: designs, templates, and graphic elements that make up a cohesive download. Alternatively, you could sell graphic design templates for businesses, bloggers, or educational organizations, for example. These templates can include posters and flyers, as well as larger pamphlets and brochures.
Educational courses
The e-learning industry is booming – it’s expected to be worth $325 billion by 2025, with over 32% of this growth set to originate in APAC. In fact, 39% of undergrads and 52% of grads already consider elearning better than classroom learning. So, by creating and selling an elearning course, you can tap into this lucrative market.
Of course, creating a valuable and engaging e-learning course requires sticking to your area of expertise to teach others what you know. You’ll need to invest a significant amount of time up-front to devise your course – you may want to include presentations, video recordings, quizzes, live tutor sessions, and interactive activities.
In fact, it’s worth starting small with an introductory mini-course to assess demand and make any changes as needed, before launching a bigger, more in-depth course.

Digital music or art
Digital products can be a great option for student artists or musicians looking to capitalize on their talents, while also getting their name out there and building a fan base. Although custom print t-shirts are usually a given option in terms of merch, musicians can also turn their most popular songs into ringtones, for example.
Alternatively, illustrators can put their designs on phone wallpapers, printables, or print-on-demand products. The great thing about digital products is they don’t require you to stock physical inventory, which means you have the freedom to experiment with different products to test audience demand without too much risk.
Selling digital products can be a great money-maker for students. Whether you sell tools, educational courses, or music or art, digital products can create a steady passive income stream with minimal maintenance required.
Guest writer: Sabrina Mentz