The eCommerce industry has introduced a plethora of opportunities for content creators and marketers alike. As a result, several online platforms have emerged as potential avenues for selling digital merchandise. One of the most notable eCommerce platforms used for selling digital goods is WooCommerce. In this article, we explore the step-by-step process of using WooCommerce for eBooks.
Table of Contents
Getting Started
Before setting up an eBook store, you must ensure that you have a self-hosted WordPress site and an active WooCommerce plugin installed. Once you have these two elements in place, you can proceed with creating an eBook store.
Adding Products
In the WooCommerce settings, select the ‘Products’ tab and click on ‘Add New.’ Fill out the required fields, including product name, description, and the price of your eBook. In the product type drop-down menu, select ‘Digital Download’ as the product type.
Uploading The eBook
Once you fill in all the necessary fields, scroll down to the ‘Digital Download’ section. Here, add the file path/URL to where your eBook is hosted. Ensure that this link is from a tested source, as it will be the link that buyers will use to download your eBook. Also, make sure that the file is in PDF format, as this is the most widely used format for eBooks.
After adding the file path, fill in the ‘Download Limit,’ preferably setting it to an unlimited number of downloads. It’s advisable to enable the ‘Grant access to downloadable products after payment’ option. Doing so prevents fraud by denying access to non-paying customers.
Adding Product Images
Adding product images is essential as they attract potential buyers to your listings. While creating a new product, you will see an option to add a product image. Find a high-quality, professional image that relates to your eBook’s genre and use it as a cover image.
Setting Up Payment Gateways
WooCommerce provides many popular payment gateways such as PayPal, Stripe, and Square. You can choose the payment gateway which aligns better with your requirements and enable it. PayPal is a popular and widely accepted payment gateway used for eCommerce transactions. To enable the PayPal payment option, navigate through WooCommerce settings > Checkout > PayPal, and enable it.
Managing Orders
Once you have successfully published your eBook in your WooCommerce store, you can manage orders made by your customers. WooCommerce generates an order ID for every purchase that a customer makes, which you can use to update their order status.
If you’re not using an automated delivery platform for eBooks like SendOwl, you will have to manually deliver your eBook to your customers. Before doing this, ensure that the payment is complete, and the order status is ‘processing.’ Next, locate the order ID and send the buyer a download link to their email address.
Conclusion
In summary, setting up an eCommerce store with WooCommerce for selling eBooks is a straightforward process. Although some steps may require attention to detail, following the procedures described above will lead to a successful, cost-effective, and profitable enterprise for digital merchandising.