How to sell digital products on YouTube (2026)
How to sell digital products on YouTube: which videos sell, where links still work (descriptions, pinned comments, your channel), Shorts limits, and tracking.
To sell digital products on YouTube, make tutorials that end with a clear next step, then put one link to that step in the video description, a pinned comment, and your channel profile. Long videos can carry clickable links once you turn on YouTube's advanced features. Shorts can't: links typed into Shorts descriptions and comments aren't clickable, so a Short should point to a long video or your channel link instead. Tag every link with UTMs so you can see which videos actually make sales.
This guide is for creators with a channel (any size) who want to sell a template, course, guide, coaching, or AI tool to their viewers. Full disclosure: we make Eden, a creator workspace with a store, and we show how to do this on Eden near the end. YouTube's rules below come from YouTube's own help center, checked in September 2026.
Which videos sell
Most YouTube videos don't sell anything, and that's fine. The ones that do share a shape: they solve part of a problem and make the rest of it obvious.
- Tutorials that end with the next step. "How I plan my week in 20 minutes" sells the planner template. The video shows the method. The product saves them from building it.
- Build-alongs. You make the thing on screen. Viewers who want the finished version, or the files, buy it.
- Breakdowns of your results. "What 12 months of newsletters taught me" sells the course that teaches the process.
- Answers to one narrow question. A video that ranks for a specific search keeps bringing buyers for years.
Commentary, vlogs, and reaction videos build trust, but they rarely sell on their own. Keep making them if you enjoy them. Just don't expect the link under them to do much.
The test: if a viewer finishes the video and thinks "I want to do that too," there's a product. If they think "that was fun," there isn't.
Where links still work on YouTube
YouTube has tightened links over the years to fight spam. Here's what works today, according to YouTube Help.
| Place | Clickable? | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Long video description | Yes, with advanced features | The main link for that video's product |
| Comments and pinned comment | Yes, with advanced features | Repeating the link where viewers read |
| Channel profile links | Yes (up to 14) | Your store or link-in-bio page |
| Shorts description or comments | No | Nothing. Use a related video instead |
| Shorts related video | Yes, to your own YouTube videos | Sending Short viewers to the long tutorial |
| Brand link on a Short | Only for a reported brand deal | Sponsors, not your own products |
| Posts (community tab) | No | Mentions, not links |
Turn on advanced features first
Clickable links in long-form descriptions and pinned comments need advanced features. In YouTube Studio you verify your phone, then one more step: a valid ID, a short video of your face, or enough channel history. Phone alone only gets you intermediate features. Do this before you launch anything.
The description
Put the link in the first two lines, before "Show more." Say what it is in plain words: "Get the planner I used in this video: [link]." One product per video. A wall of ten links sells less than one.
The pinned comment
You can pin one comment per video. On a computer it shows at the top of the comments. On mobile, viewers have to open the comment section to see it, so don't rely on it alone. Pin the same link and one line about who it's for.
Your channel profile
You can add up to 14 links in YouTube Studio → Customization → Profile. The first one shows near the Subscribe button on your channel page. Make it your store or link-in-bio page, not a single product, since it covers every visitor.
Shorts
Since August 2023, links in Shorts descriptions and comments don't click. What you can do is add a related video in YouTube Studio: viewers see a clickable link under your handle that opens one of your own long videos, Shorts, or lives. It can't point to an outside site.
So the path from a Short is: Short → related long video → description link. Make Shorts that tease the long tutorial, not Shorts that try to sell directly.
What about YouTube Shopping and memberships?
YouTube Shopping lets channels in the YouTube Partner Program tag products from a connected store (Shopify, Wix, merch partners, and others). Featured products must follow Google Shopping policies, which don't allow eBooks and digital books, services, or digital content with a recurring subscription. In practice it's built for merch, not templates or courses.
Channel memberships are YouTube's own paid tier. You need 500 subscribers, 3 public uploads in the last 90 days, and either 3,000 public watch hours on long videos in the last year or 3 million public Shorts views in the last 90 days. You keep 70% of membership revenue after taxes and fees. Memberships work for perks like badges, early videos, and member-only posts. They're not a way to deliver a course or a file, and you don't get your members' emails.
Many creators use both: memberships for fans who want to support the channel, a store for products.
Start with a free product
A cold viewer rarely buys on the first video. A free product gets them onto your email list, where they can buy later.
- Make it the first step of your paid product. A one-page version of the template. The first lesson of the course.
- Mention it in the video, around the moment it helps: "I put this checklist in the description, it's free."
- Deliver it right away and follow up by email with the paid version.
More ideas in how to create a lead magnet and growing your email list from your link in bio.
Track which videos make sales
YouTube Studio tells you views. It doesn't tell you sales. Add UTM tags (small labels on the end of a link) so your store can tell you which video sent each buyer:
https://yourstore.com/planner?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=weekly-planning
utm_source=youtubefor every YouTube link.utm_mediumfor where it sat:video,comment, orchannel.utm_campaignfor the video's name.
After a month, look at sales per video, not views per video. A tutorial with 4,000 views that sells 30 copies is worth more to you than a video with 200,000 views that sells none. Make more of the first kind.
How to sell on YouTube with Eden
Eden gives you a store and a free link-in-bio page, plus two tools that fit YouTube well.
- A free creator page at
yourname.eden.so, on every plan. Put it as your first channel profile link. Every product you publish shows up on it. - Content links, one per video. In Your store → Links, paste a video. Eden picks the matching product and writes a headline, and the link (like
yourname.eden.so/go/planner) opens your page with that product on top and "From the video" naming it. You can change which product an old video points to later, and the link you posted keeps working. See content links. - Sales by source. Your store's Overview shows visits, buy clicks, and sales by source (YouTube, X, your newsletter, and so on), reading UTM tags first. Each content link shows its own visits and sales. See where your sales come from.
- Start here. Turn on Start here on one product to make it the first thing visitors see on your page, with everything else below. Good for the product most of your videos lead to.
- Free products for your list. Set a price of 0. Signups can go straight to Kit, beehiiv, GoHighLevel, or Substack.
- More than a file. Sell a course, a digital download, coaching, or a Custom AI that answers questions using your videos and notes.
Where Eden falls short: no custom domain (your page lives at yourname.eden.so), and Eden isn't the merchant of record, so sales tax through Stripe is yours to handle. Selling needs the Starter plan at $29 a month, and Eden takes 5% per sale. The page is free on any plan. See the full Eden store.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell digital products on YouTube directly?
Not really. YouTube Shopping is built for physical merch and doesn't allow things like eBooks or services. Most creators sell from their own store and link to it from the description, a pinned comment, and their channel profile.
Why aren't my description links clickable?
Your channel probably doesn't have advanced features on. Turn them on in YouTube Studio by verifying your phone plus an ID, a short video, or channel history. If it's a Short, links in the description never click.
How do I sell from YouTube Shorts?
Add a related video to each Short that points to your long tutorial, and put your product link in that long video's description. Your channel profile link also works for viewers who tap through to your channel.
How many subscribers do I need to sell on YouTube?
None to sell your own products from a link. You need advanced features for clickable description links, which don't depend on subscriber count. Memberships need 500 subscribers, and YouTube Shopping needs the YouTube Partner Program.
Ready to put a store behind your videos? Start Eden free and make your first content link.