In case you haven’t noticed, the creator economy has exploded in recent years. In addition to providing valuable products for corporate business professionals, designers and developers have been rewarded with a unique opportunity to build tools and resources for other creatives. From custom fonts and Procreate brushes to presentation templates and brand kits, the demand for high-quality, customizable digital products has never been higher.

For many graphic designers, creating digital assets and products offer respite from the daily grind, especially when the target audience shares a similar sense of style. However, there are other benefits to tapping into this unique market. While the current job market provides reason to keep that cushy 9-5, there are also plenty of arguments to keep an open mind about what’s next. If you’re a creative professional, here’s a few reasons to consider creating something for, gasp, yourself.

Passive Income
Unlike client work, digital products can be sold repeatedly without additional effort. Once you’ve created a brush pack or a proposal template, for example, it becomes a passive income stream. Platforms like Gumroad and LemonSqueezy even handle payment and delivery, so creators can focus on what they do best: creating. 

In fact, 75% of top the top earners say that multiple revenue streams are required to be a financially successful creator. The top revenue streams of six-figure creators? You guessed it: digital products.

Massive Demand from a Familiar Audience
Speaking from experience, designers and content creators are constantly searching for tools that save time and elevate the quality of our work. Lucky for us, Etsy and Creative Market are filled with buyers looking for fonts, textures, icons, and templates that are both functional and beautiful. Strike the right chord, and seemingly mundane templates can get hundreds of positive reviews and thousands of sales. The rise of online retail spaces like Notion Marketplace further proves that niche digital products have engaged — and eager — shoppers.

Conversations lead to Conversions
Among my favorite reasons to consider designers as a new audience: Creating assets for other creatives is an opportunity to connect with customers that speak the same visual language. Whether it’s a font that pairs well with a specific branding project, or a pitch deck template that’s intuitive and user friendly, insider knowledge, understanding, and empathy provides a competitive edge in the marketplace. Plus, communities on Reddit and TikTok are easily accessible and ready to provide feedback on product development.

Creative Freedom
Digital products also allow creative professionals to explore styles and ideas that probably don’t solve for most corporate client briefs. Want to make a brush set inspired by vintage tattoo design? How about a font based on brutalist architecture? Chances are another designer shares a similar sense of style. The creator economy rewards originality and experimentation.

Global Reach
Selling creative assets connects content creators to a worldwide network of graphic designers, illustrators, and entrepreneurs. It’s not all about selling stuff. Other creatives around the world are just like you — they just need to create. In this way, we’re all contributing to a shared ecosystem of creativity. Many of the e-commerce platforms are simply great places to showcase unique work and to build a community around digital product.

Working as a corporate designer for most of my career, I’ve never really created anything for anybody other than my clients. But, as you can probably tell, I’m a little interested in the idea of creating some type of digital product for other designers. However, I’ve always been most confident when speaking from experience. Which is why, after nearly twenty years of professional experience, I’m finally putting my money where my mouth is. I’m in the early phase of my digital product launch journey, and here’s the research I’ve conducted so far.

No matter how long you’ve worked in this industry, I feel like the creator economy offers a chance to build something useful, meaningful, and creatively fulfilling. Initial research indicates that the tools are out there — and so is a great audience.