How to deliver a file the moment someone pays
The ten seconds after the payment decide whether somebody buys from you again.
Somebody has just paid you on their phone, probably while doing something else. What happens next is the whole of their experience of buying from you, and it is worth getting right.
Deliver it immediately
The download should be waiting the moment the payment clears, on the same screen, without the buyer doing anything. Any gap between paying and receiving is a gap in which somebody wonders whether it worked.
Send the link by email as well. Phones close tabs, buyers pay on the train and open the file at home, and the email is what they search for in three months when they want it again.
Name the file properly
The file name is what the buyer sees in their downloads folder, possibly months later. Ten Weeknight Dinners, by Sara Whitfield.pdf still makes sense then. ebook-final-v3.pdf does not, and it looks careless at the exact moment somebody is deciding whether you were worth it.
Put your name in it. When somebody sends the file to a friend, and they will, your name goes with it.
Write the email like a person
Say what they bought, give the link, and say one sentence about how to use it. That is the whole email. It is also a good place to say what to do if anything goes wrong, because somebody who can reply to a problem does not ask for a refund first.
Make the first thing they open a good one
If you are sending a zip, put a short read me at the top level: what is in the folder, how to install it, and how to reach you. It takes ten minutes to write once and prevents most of the messages you would otherwise answer individually.
Handling updates
When you improve a product, send the new version to everybody who bought the old one. It costs nothing, it is the kind of thing people mention to other people, and it turns a one off purchase into a reason to trust the next one.
When somebody loses the file
It happens constantly and it is not a problem. Find the sale, resend the link, and be pleasant about it. Somebody asking for a file they paid for a year ago is somebody who still wants your work.
Questions
What if the buyer mistypes their email address?
The download appears on screen straight after payment, so they still get the file. If they message you, the sale is in your Stripe dashboard and you can send the link on.
How big can the file be?
Large enough for ebooks, preset packs, audio and most video. Very large video is better hosted where it can stream, with the page selling access to it.
Can I stop people sharing the download link?
Links can be limited, and it is worth remembering that most sharing is somebody recommending you. Focus on making the buying experience good, and treat the occasional forwarded copy as advertising.
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