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3 Reasons You Should Offer Digital Downloads to Increase Your Creative Revenue

Last week, we rolled out our very first HUG Artist Storefront, featuring none other than longtime HUG collaborator, award-winning artist Amber Vittoria.

At HUG, we believe that diversifying revenue streams is key to every creator’s success. As we introduce another Artist Storefront this week, this time by award-winning calligrapher Jackson Alves, we wanted to share 3 reasons why you should consider offering digital downloads to grow & diversify your creative revenue.

What are digital downloads?

Digital downloads have emerged as a powerful strategy for both monetizing one’s know-how and expanding market reach.

Many things can be sold as digital downloads, from ebooks, audio files, high-resolution digital images, software, online courses, templates, and many more. As the name suggests, they are typically delivered to customers in an instant via download or email, and are hence an easy way for creators to monetize their craft without carrying the risk of physical inventory.

At HUG, we believe that digital downloads are a must for every single creative entrepreneur, and here’s why.

#1: They expand your reach and addressable audience

Digital downloads transcend geographical boundaries, enabling you to connect with customers worldwide. This accessibility opens up new markets and allows you to reach diverse audiences who share an interest in your creative work.

It can also be a way to grow your audience! For instance, take a look at digital artist and creative director Jack Butcher’s Permissionless Apprentice. Here, Jack invites users to download a short principle framework for a low cost of $1.00, which acts as a gateway to other more extensive courses that he offers.

#2: They are a great source of passive income.

With digital downloads, you can generate passive income by selling products repeatedly without incurring further production costs. With orders delivered instantly without requiring any additional oversight, this frees up your time to focus on other aspects of your creative business while continuing to earn revenue from your digital offerings.

For instance, Korean artist Kohui sells creative coding resources on Patreon, while also providing YouTube tutorials to help onboard more artists into the world of generative art. The tutorials act as a way to attract customers, and the resources gives Kohui the ability to generate income while establishing themselves as an authority in their field.

On HUG, Jackson Alves is selling a flat brush pack that can be used in Procreate, so other artists can make use of his beautifully-designed lettering art to enhance their own creations.

#3: They make it easy to provide different and flexible options.

Digital downloads make it easier to offer different types of options at different pricing to attract a wide range of customers. For example, if you have are offering a high-resolution image download for someone to use as a phone wallpaper, you could consider offering them as individual downloads in different resolutions or bundle them to get a discount.

Similarly, you can also think about digital downloads in the form of a recurring subscription. Creative entrepreneur and content creator Casey Lewis started a free newsletter that covers the latest in Gen-Z trends, and was then able to introduce a paid offering which makes her $130,000 a year.

Closing thoughts

Incorporating digital downloads into your creative entrepreneurship strategy can yield significant advantages, from reaching a global audience to creating passive income streams. If you are interested in growing and diversifying your creative revenue streams with HUG, join our waitlist today and be the first to try out HUG Artist Storefronts.

Artist Grants and Opportunities

• 🖼️ HUG is giving away $1000 in our Portfolio Contest: To celebrate the launch of our newly designed HUG Artist Profiles, we are awarding $250 to the best Portfolio in each of the following categories: Digital Art, Physical Art, Multidisciplinary Art, and Most Innovative.

• 🐶 Calling dog lovers who’d like their art showcased at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC! Take one of the AKC dog breeds and show us your best digital interpretation of it. Learn more and submit here.

• ☕️ Sell & feature your art on a coffee roast: CoinCoffee™ is seeking 3 artists to create art for coffee packaging and as an accompanying NFT, with artists receiving 21% of each sale. Learn more and submit here.

• 🌞 Share your picture-perfect summer in a photography exhibition: Indonesia’s leading digital art gallery, Superlative Gallery, is seeking summer-centric photography for an upcoming Solstice Snapshots Exhibition. Learn more and submit here.

• 🎥 Showcase animated works for Art on Arb with Transient Labs: Digital Dreams Gallery in Kansas City is curating art on the theme of digital identities to mint with The Lab by Transient Labs. Learn more and submit here.

• ☁️ Get access to Celo’s $150,000 USDC Creator Fund: Get awarded with several 1000 USDC grants from Celo, a new NFT marketplace powered by RaribleX. Learn more and submit here.

• 💰 HUG is offering $500 USD grants to two artists each month in exchange for artwork to raffle off to our community. Learn more and meet all our HUG Visionaries here.

This Week’s Art Drops

Did you know that these are just 8 of hundreds of art drops on HUG? Get a full list of this week’s art drops from HUG here.