There are several methods for packaging, and for delivery of, electronic or digital goods like ebooks, templates. software, and photos.

Packaging:

If you are delivering more than a single file, they should be wrapped up or <b>zipped</b> for delivery. There are many programs out there that can take a selection of files and compress them into a single deliverable file. Winzip is probably the most noteworthy program. It can create a simple zipped file or it can create a self-extracting executable file.

ZIP: A plain zip file must be unzipped (decompressed) by the recipient. XP has that function built-in, so recipients using XP can get to zipped files without problems.

EXECUTABLE: A self extracting executable is a zipped file that will launch itself when clicked, and will decompress the files and place them in a specified folder on the recipient's computer. This is usually the easiest for recipients to deal with, but may be a little more effort for the seller to create.

Even though zipping is the recommendation for delivering multiple files, some find that it is a good way to deliver individual files as well, since it can create a smaller file size and may be easier to deliver through some security filters.

Delivery:

Files can be delivered on CD, via email, or as a download from a website. Digital delivery, of course, entails using email or web delivery.

EMAIL: Plain text files can simply be copied and pasted into the body of an email. More complex pages, like HTML, photos, and programs, can be attached to an email. Attached files must pass through the recipient's email and spam filters, and some carriers do not allow attachments at all. Therefore, sellers must know if the recipient can accept attachments before sending them. Some email services still have a limit on the size of the attachment, and dialup users may not appreciate receiving a 5MB email attachment that hangs their mailbox for half an hour.

Attachments can often be opened or saved, and typically, the user would save the attachment to the desktop or folder where they can find it again.

Email recipients may also have filters that prevent the delivery of executable files, and thus self-extracting zip files may not pass through. This can sometimes be circumvented by changing the file extension from exe to exx so that the recipient must save the file and rename it before it will launch.

WEB: Web delivery requires the seller to have a website, personal webspace from their ISP, or subscribe to a file hosting site where they can maintain control over the content loaded there.

Individual files or a zip file can be uploaded to the site, and the recipient is given a link to the page by the seller. Almost any file type can be stored there, and browsers cope with the files differently.

A browser will read HTML files, images, and SWF files, and might read plain text files. But it should treat a zip file and an exe file as a download.

Web delivery is usually the easiest for recipients because they can fetch the file on their own terms, and the browser will usually ask if they want to run or save the file.

The downside of website delivery is that the goods are there for anyone to download if they happen to find the link. Some sellers get around that problem by moving the file after every delivery or after a few batches of deliveries. There are also file escrow sites that will host files and allow one download after the recipient enters a password.

 

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