What retailer doesn’t love subscriptions (if it makes sense for your product or service) and the recurring revenue it brings your business?

Not to mention the chance to grow customer loyalty — which in turn enables growth at an accelerated rate (up to 2.5 times faster) in comparison to companies without successful loyalty programs.

And now there’s even more good news on the subscriptions front. 

You can expand the appeal and reach of your memberships, by adding downloads of digital content to your subscription program. 

Here’s how:

You take advantage of a new integration feature offered by the app Sky Pilot, getting it to work in tandem with your current membership program. 

Sky Pilot, which is also part of the Shopify ecosystem, enables you to sell and deliver digital music, videos, e-books and other files directly from your ecommerce site. 

There isn't any other solution on Shopify right now that allows customers with active subscriptions to stream (this is generally preferred with a subscription model) or download digital files as part of a membership experience, so this is a pretty unique option.  

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Is it hard to integrate one Shopify app with another?

Not in this case! 

Integrating Sky Pilot with whichever subscription app you use (obviously, we’re somewhat biased and are big fans of Bold Subscriptions), as well as your Shopify site, is seamless, because of the versatility of the app and the customization opportunities it offers.

In terms of versatility, you can deliver any type of digital file you wish to those purchasing your content. And unlike most competitors, Sky Pilot enables you to fully own your relationship with your customer. Meaning, you can personalize every element of the digital download experience with your own branding and user experience. 

And you keep all your customer data in your Spotify dashboard as well, which is great for data and analytics. 

As for customization, you can build the integration to function pretty much any way you like, with variations specific to your business needs. 

From notification emails when a new download has dropped to flexibility on how often you provide fresh content, every element of the digital download experience is up to you.  

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Digital products = a great revenue opportunity

We’ve already mentioned it, but it’s worth repeating. 

If you add digital products to your membership offering — or vice versa, you have digital products and have decided to sell them as a subscription offering — you’re boosting your revenue potential. 

Digital downloads, which can include anything from educational products, music, services and art to online templates and tools, have only grown in popularity since the pandemic. 

So a digital product offering can be a lucrative source of revenue just on its own. Add in the potential to sell your streaming or downloadable content on a weekly or monthly basis thanks to a subscription service and you’ve upped the ante, to generate recurring revenue. 

Which is basically the holy grail of revenue sources.

Now of course there’s a lot of other elements required to successfully sell digital content via a membership program (think: knowing your audience, the right marketing, good quality content etc.), but having the right tech is integral too. 

Sky Pilot enables customizable delivery of digital goods that you can count on for reliability. Which leaves you more time to focus on all the other things you need to do for your business.

Other benefits of digital content + memberships 

If you’re fairly new to the digital product landscape — say you provide traditionally in-person services like yoga, but have expanded into offering online content too, there are a lot of operational benefits (in addition to revenue) to selling online products according to Shopify. 

And then of course there’s the added bonus of integration with subscriptions. 

• Digital products often have low overhead costs because you don’t need to store or ship physical items. Sky Pilot would be your only “delivery” cost to get your product to buyers, (compared to shipping charges for every order, your costs are miniscule).  
• High profit margins: once you’ve produced a piece of content you don’t have to pay for materials to mass produce it. You can sell it multiple times over from there, especially if it’s part of a membership plan that lots of people subscribe to.
• Fulfillment is easy and even automatable with an app like Sky Pilot. So once you set up your integration, every time a subscription is scheduled to be delivered, you know you can count on it to happen efficiently and near instantaneously. 

If you're looking to expand your reach, Sky Pilot can put your business on the cutting edge of the subscription industry. Sign up today to get started with your 14-day trial. Distributing digital content has never been easier, or more profitable. 

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