SendOwl

What is SendOwl

SendOwl is an e-commerce platform designed for creators and businesses to sell digital products online. Its main purpose is to provide a simple and secure way to deliver files like e-books, software, music, videos, and online courses to customers after purchase. Founded in 2010 by George Palmer, the company operates to help sellers integrate a checkout process anywhere they can paste a link, such as on a website, blog, or social media page. SendOwl handles payment processing through gateways like Stripe and PayPal and automates the secure delivery of digital goods, making it a complete solution for digital commerce without needing complex technical skills.

SendOwl Features

SendOwl offers a range of features to manage and grow your digital product business:

• Versatile Product Types: Sell various digital goods including e-books, software with license keys, videos, audio files, photos, and bundles of multiple products.
• Flexible Payment Models: Set up one-time payments, subscriptions for recurring revenue, or even a "pay what you want" pricing model to give customers flexibility.
• Secure Product Delivery: Protect your digital files with features like expiring download links, download attempt limits, and PDF stamping to add the buyer's name and email to each page.
• Customizable Checkout: Create a checkout experience that matches your brand. You can use SendOwl's hosted checkout, embed it on your site, or use a pop-up cart.
• Marketing and Sales Tools: Boost your sales with built-in tools like discount codes, 1-click upsells to offer additional products after a purchase, and an affiliate marketing system to recruit partners.
• Multiple Integrations: Connect SendOwl with your favorite tools, including email marketing services, website builders, and analytics platforms to automate your workflow.
• Drip Content Functionality: For products like online courses, you can release content gradually over time instead of all at once.

SendOwl Pricing Plans

SendOwl provides several pricing tiers to fit different stages of a business. The plans are structured based on the number of products you can list, the amount of file storage provided, and access to advanced features.

• Starter Plan: This plan is for new sellers and solopreneurs. It typically includes a limited number of products, basic features, and standard file storage.
• Growth Plan: Aimed at growing businesses, this tier offers more products, increased storage, and access to features like subscriptions, upsells, and cart abandonment emails.
• Pro Plan: Designed for established businesses and high-volume sellers, this plan provides the highest limits on products and storage, along with all advanced features, including affiliate management and video streaming.

SendOwl Free Plan

SendOwl offers a free plan that allows you to start selling without a monthly subscription fee. This plan is ideal for beginners and typically includes the ability to list a small number of products and use basic selling features. There are limitations on storage space and access to advanced tools like subscriptions and upsells. The free plan usually has a higher transaction fee on each sale compared to the paid plans. SendOwl also provides a free trial for its paid plans, allowing you to test all features before committing.

How to use SendOwl

Getting started with SendOwl is a straightforward process designed to be quick and easy.

1. Create an Account: Sign up for a SendOwl account on their website. You can start with the free plan or a free trial of a paid plan.
2. Upload Your Product: In your dashboard, go to the 'Products' section and click 'Add Product'. Choose the product type, give it a name, set a price, and upload your digital file.
3. Connect a Payment Gateway: Go to the settings and connect your preferred payment processor, such as Stripe or PayPal. This allows you to receive payments from customers.
4. Get Your Selling Links: Once your product is created, SendOwl generates selling links and buttons. You can choose from 'Buy Now' buttons, 'Add to Cart' buttons, or a direct product link.
5. Start Selling: Copy the generated HTML code or link and paste it onto your website, blog, social media profile, or in an email newsletter.
6. Automated Fulfillment: When a customer clicks the link and completes the purchase, SendOwl processes the payment and automatically sends a secure, unique download link to the customer's email.

Pros and Cons of SendOwl

Pros:

• Ease of Use: The platform is very user-friendly, making it simple to upload products and start selling quickly.
• Flexibility: Supports a wide variety of digital products and payment models, including subscriptions and drip content.
• Strong Security: Features like PDF stamping and expiring links help prevent unauthorized sharing of your products.
• Built-in Marketing Tools: Upsells, discount codes, and a native affiliate system help you increase revenue.
• Integrates Anywhere: You can add SendOwl's buy buttons to almost any website, blog, or social media platform.

Cons:

• Transaction Fees: Some plans include a transaction fee on top of the fees from your payment gateway.
• Limited Customization: The design options for the storefront and checkout pages are not as extensive as dedicated website builders.
• Feature Gating: Some important features, like the affiliate program and subscriptions, are only available on higher-priced plans.

SendOwl integrations

SendOwl connects with many popular applications to streamline your business operations. You can set up these integrations in the marketing and settings sections of your dashboard.

• Shopify: Add SendOwl to your Shopify store to handle the secure delivery of digital products sold through your shop.
• Mailchimp and ConvertKit: Automatically add your customers to your email marketing lists to send them newsletters and updates.
• WordPress: Easily embed SendOwl buy buttons and products into your WordPress site using a simple code snippet.
• Stripe and PayPal: Connect with major payment gateways to securely process customer payments from around the world.
• Zapier: Integrate with thousands of other apps by creating automated workflows between SendOwl and tools like Google Sheets, Slack, or your CRM.

SendOwl Alternatives

• Gumroad: A popular platform for creators that is very simple to use. Gumroad has a different fee structure, taking a percentage of each sale, which can be higher than SendOwl's fees for high-volume sellers.
• Payhip: A direct competitor offering similar features, including digital downloads, courses, and memberships. Payhip has a free-forever plan with a transaction fee, making it a strong alternative for beginners.
• Podia: An all-in-one platform for selling online courses, webinars, memberships, and digital downloads. Podia is more focused on creators who need a complete storefront and community features, and it generally has a higher price point.
• ThriveCart: A powerful shopping cart platform with a one-time payment for lifetime access. It offers advanced features for creating sales funnels, A/B testing, and affiliate management but requires a larger upfront investment.

SendOwl API

Yes, SendOwl provides a comprehensive API for developers. The API allows you to build custom integrations, automate product management, manage licenses, and fetch sales data to connect with your own systems. You can find your API key and secret in your SendOwl account under Settings > API. The developer documentation provides all the necessary information to interact with the API endpoints.

Here is an example cURL request to fetch a list of your products:

curl https://www.sendowl.com/api/v1/products.json \
  -u "key:secret"

Replace key and secret with your actual API credentials. The API enables deep customization for businesses with specific technical needs.

SendOwl Affiliate program

SendOwl offers an affiliate program that allows you to earn money by referring new customers to their platform. As an affiliate, you receive a unique referral link to share with your audience. When someone signs up for a paid SendOwl plan through your link, you earn a recurring commission for as long as they remain a customer. The commission rate is typically a percentage of the subscription fee paid by the referred user. Payments are usually made monthly via PayPal, once your earnings reach a minimum threshold. You can sign up for the program through the affiliate page on the SendOwl website.