This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
Our story of a woman in New Zealand who sells virtual paint brushes for iPad users was very popular. I remember when we first aired this story, I got a lot of response to it. And then we recently did a throwback Thursday segment, just kind of going back to get some updates. And I got some feedback on that one too. So a lot of people are interested in this idea of virtual items.
And in fact, one of our listeners came along with this question. Are there any other digital assets that can be made for resale? The idea, of course, is that you're creating something intangible. Therefore, no need for inventory, no need for even drop shipping, right? You don't even have to have somebody else ship your item for you because there is no shipping.
So this whole topic, broadly speaking, digital assets, it's one of these whole new world concepts that maybe some of our listeners think is totally normal, depending on your age. And of course, future generations won't think there's anything at all out of the ordinary about it. But I think for anyone my age or older, there's still this element of, wait, how does that work? People can actually make money designing these tools that are then purchased by people all over the world on their own timing. And it's just a really fun process.
So are there other types of digital assets that can be sold in a similar manner? That's the question. Here's a shout out from our sponsor and then we will get to it. Hi, Chris. This is Amber from Toronto and I've been listening to the show for a couple of years and still loving the puns.
I really like the story of the women in New Zealand who sells virtual paintbrushes for iPad software. I never knew such thing existed. It got me thinking, what else is like this? Of course, I know about things like ebooks and apps, but the paintbrushes seem like a different category. What about all of the items that people buy for games like Fortnite and Starcraft or something else?
I love the idea of selling something for real money in a virtual world or a digital platform. Thanks for your help, Chris. Thank you, Amber. Great question. And yes, as I said, a whole new world.
So when we think about digital assets, virtual items, you know, the obvious answer is, well, anything educational. OK, so when I've talked about digital assets in the past, that's usually what I've been referring to. So that includes courses of any kind, like any kind of online course, any kind of like one off deliverable for an educational product or material. So an outline, an e-book, a manual, a report, anything where you're communicating information via a written format. Could also be audio content, right?
Doesn't have to be written. It could also be video content. So all that stuff is in the educational realm, let's say. And what Amber is asking about, as she notes so well, is, you know, let's go be on that, OK, because it seems like, you know, virtual paintbrushes are kind of their own category. So here are a couple of tips I would encourage anybody who's interested in this to check out the Gumroad Marketplace.
If you go to gumroad.com, you can find a marketplace there. This is a service that I used to use. I'm not selling anything actively through them now, but I was a happy customer for years and you can still find all sorts of digital items that are sold. Chances are you're going to see a lot of those educational materials I mentioned. But if you keep searching, you're going to find some other stuff as well.
So I did that just now. And I also looked at a site called Selfie.com. Or actually, I guess it's Selfie. So it's not quite like Selfie the photo. It's like S-E-L-L-F-Y.com.
S-E-L-F-Y.com, let's say. Anyway, I took a look there as well as Gumroad. So a couple of ideas here. Fonts. So if you're a designer out there, you can design a font and sell it.
And it's actually a big business, or at least it is for some people. Other visual assets. So from fonts, you kind of like, OK, what else is there? Stock photography. Website themes.
Wallpaper. Downloadable journal or calendar templates. Principal origami. That was one of my favorites. Paint-by-numbers coloring activities.
All of this stuff can be digital. It can all be delivered electronically. It is in some ways like those virtual paintbrushes. I also found musicians who were selling their virtual drum kits, or other virtual instruments, or virtual plug-ins for various electronic music. A lot of stuff for that.
Back to the visual, customizable YouTube backgrounds. So if you're a YouTuber and you want to get a background made, but you're not an artist, well, you can purchase a downloadable YouTube background. Customize it. It's going to look really nice. I also saw icons.
So these are just a few examples. And Amber also mentioned in-game items, like what you can purchase for Fortnite and Starcraft. That's a little bit trickier because the problem is the marketplace. Most of the companies that run those games, they control the marketplace for their items. There's not a third-party marketplace, or they don't even allow for third-party selling.
If they do, they usually make it so difficult that it's not really worth it for most people. I'm sure there are some exceptions. I'm sure in the future there will be other exceptions. It's going to be kind of a case-by-case situation. Overall, ultimately, we're going to see a lot more of these things.
And so it's a whole new world that I think is pretty exciting. So thank you, Amber. And listeners, if you have a question of your own, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. You know what it is. We'll be featuring them throughout the rest of the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects.
Thank you so much. You're awesome. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. From the Onward Project.
