How to Sell Digital Products Using ThriveCart and ActiveCampaign

Creating and selling digital products can be a great way to turn your knowledge and passion into passive income. But while creating digital products can be a relatively straightforward process, selling them can be a real challenge.

You’ll need to consider how you’re going to accept payments, charge taxes, collect buyer info…and of course, actually deliver your product to your customer.

I’ve sold many different digital products over the years, and have used a variety of payment and delivery strategies. In this post, I’m going to share the tools and strategies I’ve used, and tell you which ones have been most effective for me.

I’ll also show you exactly how I use my two favorite tools to not only sell my products but to add new customers to my email list… and even have them directly enter email automation.

Three Ways To Sell And Deliver Your Digital Products

When I first started selling digital products, I used E-junkie as my payment and delivery tool. In my opinion, the biggest draw to E-Junkie is the price: they charge a flat monthly fee that starts at just $5/month.

Using E-junkie is extremely simple, making it a great option for anyone new to the digital product world. You simply cut and paste a small piece of code onto your product page, and you’re ready to start selling.

For me, it was the perfect tool to help me get started. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize I needed a more advanced, customizable tool. The main issue for me was the inability to properly integrate the tool with Google Analytics – meaning I couldn’t tell where my sales were coming from.

The next tool I used was a free WordPress plugin called Easy Digital Downloads. While it’s pretty easy to install the plugin and start selling, I did end up needing to hire professional several times to help with some customizations.

A major disadvantage of this tool is that it only comes with one payment gateway: PayPal. If you want to accept payments via Stripe, PayPal Pro, or Authorize.net, you’ll pay a hefty $89 per year, per gateway. That’s $267 per year just to accept payments!

There are tons of other extensions that will let you add different functionalities. For instance, there’s an extension that lets you integrate the tool with ActiveCampaign, allowing customers to opt-in to your email list at checkout. However, you’ll pay an annual fee in the range of $49-$89 for each extension…and this adds up fast.

A few years ago, I made the decision to switch to a tool I had heard a lot about: ThriveCart. I have never looked back, and don’t think I’ll ever use another online shopping cart again!

It’s extremely easy to use, and I love that there’s no annual fee: it’s a one-time cost of $495 for the basic version or $690 for the advanced version.

One of my favorite ThriveCart features is the ability to easily add upsells and bump offers. Using bump offers allowed me to recoup the cost of the tool in just a few months!

How I Sell Digital Products Using ThriveCart and ActiveCampaign

Selling products is so easy for me now thanks to these two tools. If you want to know how to use ThriveCart and ActiveCampaign to sell your digital products, here’s the exact process I use.

1. Create your product in ThriveCart

On the main product page in your ThriveCart account, click the “Create Product” button to get started.

You’ll then choose whether you want to sell a digital or physical product. Obviously, you’ll want to choose digital. From here, you can add and customize your product, including:

• Setting the price
• Uploading your digital product file
• Adding a bump offer
• Choosing your payment processors. Some options include Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, and Apple Pay.
• Designing and customizing your checkout page

2. Connect your ActiveCampaign account to ThriveCart

In a previous post, I shared how I make an extra $1,000 per month using ActiveCampaign automations. Make sure to read through that post to learn the exact steps I use to sell my digital products using ActiveCampaign automations.

The short explanation, however, is this: the key to selling your digital products is to promote them in your email automation.

Before you can do this, you’ll need to connect your ActiveCampaign account to your ThriveCart account.

To do this, go into ThriveCart and click on the dropdown box next to the blue circular button at the top right-hand side of your screen. Go to “Settings”, and then click “View integrations”.

On the next page, you’ll see all the integrations you can choose from. Under the ActiveCampaign box, click the “Integrate now” button.

You’ll now be asked to enter your API URL and Key. To get this info, you’ll need to go into your ActiveCampaign account. Click on “Settings” on the bottom left-hand side of your screen, and then click on the “Developer” link. You’ll now be able to see (and copy) your API info.

Go back to your ThriveCart account, and paste this info into the corresponding boxes under the ActiveCampaign integration. That’s it! Your Thrivecart account is now connected to your ActiveCampaign account.

3. Add an opt-in box to your shopping cart

While ThriveCart gives you the option to add ALL your customers to your email automation, I strongly recommend adding a checkbox to your shopping cart so your customers can choose to opt into your list.

To do this, go to the “Checkout” tab, and select “Launch Editor”. You’ll now be able to customize your checkout page: some options include adding an image or video, including FAQs, and adding or editing your headings or subheadings. You can also customize the colors and layout of your page.

To collect customer emails, click on “Contact Information”, and you should see some additional options in the left-hand column. Scroll down until you see the “Show opt-in checkbox”. Make sure this box is checked.

Now all your customers need to do is check this box at checkout, and you’ll know they consent to be added to your email list.

4. Add customers to your email automation

Your email automation will be where you promote your other digital product(s). Here’s how to have new customers enter this automation:

In your ThriveCart account, go into your product page, and click on the “Behavior” tab. Click “+ Add rule”.

You can now specify multiple rules including:

• When you want customers added to your list. Select “When your custom checkbox is ticked”.
• Which email service do you want to connect to. Choose ActiveCampaign.
• Which list or automation do you want your customers added to. Select “add them to” and “automation”.
• You can now choose which automation you want them added to.

Final Thoughts

Using ActiveCampaign and ThriveCart to promote and sell your digital products is an easy, effective way to start earning passive income. Once you understand the basic steps above, you can use them in a variety of ways:

• Create a lead magnet, and when people sign up for your list, have them added to your email automation. Promote your digital products in your automation.
• When customers check the opt-in box on the checkout page, add them to automation that promotes related products. Since they’ve bought from you once, there’s a good chance they’ll buy from you again.
• Include links to your ThriveCart product pages in the weekly emails you send to your list.

There are so many ways to sell your products and grow your email list using these two amazing tools. I hope you try them out for yourself!

Have you tried either or both of these tools? How has the experience been for you?