Digital Downloads Blog

Many people who sell digital products online are aware of the danger involved in doing so. Without using a proper payment processing and delivery service, they leave themselves open to theft of their downloads. It really is in an entrepreneur’s best interest to utilize a secure means of collecting purchase money and to deliver product. A few sites for this part of doing business are 1ShoppingCart, e-Junkie and PayPal IPN. They’re good examples of Secure Download Delivery services.

1ShoppingCart and e-Junkie

These two companies offer real time transactions and storage without having to download anything to your computer. Your server receives instant notification when a purchase of your product is made. Upon verification from your server back to the payment processing company, the customer receives the product. Both companies enable you to accept credit card payments. If you enroll in the right account, all of your back end activities, such as affiliate commissions, can be automatically taken care of as well.

The downside to these and other similar services is that there are recurring monthly fees to pay. Some can be pretty steep for a full, top-end service that takes care of Secure Download Delivery and the handling all of your back end tasks. Also, if your server is down, your sale won’t go through.

PayPal IPN

PayPal’s Instant Payment Notification is a good payment processing and secure digital delivery service that also offers all the features you’re likely to need or want, same as above. Since PayPal is known the world over, you have the added bonus of using a program that your customers are sure to know and trust. Unlike the first two payment processors mentioned, there are NO monthly fees. Also, if your server is down, PayPal IPN will try you again later – no missed sales.

The only real downside to using PayPal IPN is the installation. If you have a computer programming background, you’ll probably be fine. If not, you’d be well advised to purchase a user-friendly desktop application to implement the code for you. If you get the coding wrong, you are at high risk of not receiving payments. It’s crucial to get it right, so check out some secure software help, such as the kind offered by Minisite Sales System. The program deals with the code and files, you just need to upload them to your webhosting site.

Secure Download Delivery doesn’t happen by itself. Business owners need to be proactive and vigilant to avoid incorrect set ups and unscrupulous people. It can’t be stressed enough that you must ensure that you get the coding set up and installed properly for optimum protection, and sales that go through without a hitch.

Jonathan Hook helps website owners automate their digital product delivery and increase the security of their downloads with a unique piece of software at http://www.minisite-sales-system.com

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Online fundraising is becoming increasingly prominent and accepted…and why not? You don’t have to go door-to-door, or stand out in the cold, or by your own children’s candy just to satisfy the commitment. With digital download products, you are not just asking for money. You are delivering real products with real value. It is not just looking for a hand-out (although that can be appropriate sometimes), it is giving a hand in exchange.

So what are digital downloads? They can be eBooks. They can be software. They can be still images. They can be videos. They can be audios. Anything that be downloaded directly from some Web Site is a digital download product. They are dead simple to sell online…especially when it is for a worthy cause.

Everyone understands selling cookies, or popcorn, or books, or candy to raise money. You sell a box of cookies for Ten Dollars and your organization gets to keep Five Dollars for your cause. You have to get the order. Take the money. Get the products. Deliver the products. You walked miles, or stood for hours, or physically humiliate your co-workers to get the orders. It was all hard and not terribly efficient.

Now, imagine this…you find a digital product…maybe a piece of software, maybe an eBook, maybe something else. Perhaps they already have program for fundraising, or perhaps you negotiate one (it is certainly easier if they already have a program). They establish a way for you to get a direct, online link to a Shopping Cart that is specifically established for you (this may be a unique page, or it may just a program, coupon or reference number on their standard order page). You let your potential buyers know about the link/product. They go and buy the product using credit cards, perhaps Paypal. The owner of the digital product supplies it directly to the buyer. You get the money.

So how do you let your potential buyers know. Here are just a few ways:

1) Put a link and description on your organization’s website or in their electronic or physical newsletter;

2) Hand out cards or flyers, or just leave them lying around, with a brief story and a link;

3) Here is the best-viral email; you send a personal email with a compelling description of the cause you are raising money for and ask people to go to a link a buy the product for your cause. Tell them how much they will enjoy the product. Now…here is the best part…send this email to ten of your friends…ask them to copy the main body, add their personal endorsement and send it to ten of their friends. And repeat. Sure, at some point the chain will run out…but look at the basic math… suppose 8 of your friends do what you asked…and then for each of them 4 of their friends…and for each of their friends 2 of their friends…and then for one more friend does it. If you could make $10 per product (a minimum that you should expect here), you just made your organization over $10,000…and you never left the house, never handled money, never handled product. LIFE IS GOOD! (And if you want to make this better, just imagine that instead of just you starting this, imagine that your committee of 10 people each started this the same way…you just made $100,000).

There are literally hundreds of other ways to use digital download products for your fundraisers. The common thread is this…it is easy, it is efficient, and it is effective.

Here is how to get started and what to look for in using digital download products for online fundraising:

1) Find a digital product that will be interesting to the audience your organization touches. Selling gambling software to a religious organization may not be a great idea (broadly). If you are dealing with Moms, look for cookbooks, childcare books, and child protection tools. Make sure your offering relates to your audience.

2) Make sure your organization gets a fair return on the sale. If you are not getting 50% of the Suggested Retail Value, walk away. If you are not getting at least $10.00 per sale, walk away.

3) Ensure that the product supplier can accept all reasonable forms of payment online. At a minimum, the supplier must accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, JCB and PayPal. Accepting online checks is a nice bonus.

4) First use suppliers who have established online fundraising programs already established and who can provide tools like email templates, web pages, advertisement suggestions. You should not have to do all the work yourself.

5) Make sure you receive funds received at least twice a month and that there is no specific limit on how long the fundraising program can be continued. At the same time, make sure that you can “pull” the program whenever you want.

6) You be the boss. This is your program, make sure it works for you and your organization.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. It isn’t hard. It isn’t internet mumbo-jumbo. It is real. It works. Try it. Make it work for your organization today.

Have fun! Good luck!

Myril Shaw is a principal in SauceAndMoreWithLove.com http://www.sauceandmorewithlove.com/ and is an Internet Marketing expert. He has helped pioneer the use of digital download products for online fundraising. Earlier in his career he led sales and marketing organizations for many leading internet and technology related organizations.