Digital Products I Would AVOID When You're Just Getting Started

PodcastScaling

Sep 11

Episode 882: Show Notes

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been creating digital products for over eight years now! I’ve learned so much that I want to share with other creators, because I want to see more people be successful with their digital creations too. Today I’m sharing which kinds of digital products I definitely wouldn’t create if I was just getting started. I think you’ll be surprised– the ones I’d skip aren’t what you’d expect.

Before we dive in, I want to make sure you know about Digital Product Jumpstart. I’ve had so much fun teaching people how to create their own strategic digital products that serve an actual purpose. These kinds of digital products act as an entry point to attract strangers to your business, and many of them will be your personal ideal customers! Wouldn’t you love to get paid to bring in more leads (that are pre-qualified) for your existing offers? Check out all the details here.

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Avoid these 2 Very Common Mistakes

Mistake #1

What do most beginners get wrong when creating a digital product? They get fussy about the format and get stuck in perfection mode. And if their digital product doesn’t sell, they assume it’s because it doesn’t have the right “look” or that it should be fancier. But guess what? If your digital product isn’t selling, it’s more likely that you’ve created something that your target customers just don’t want…(keep reading)

Mistake #2

Don’t create something that requires a big commitment from your audience. Even if they really want your offer, they believe it will help them, and they trust you… they really don’t want to work too hard to get results. Sad but true. Don’t make extra work for yourself by creating something that you then have to convince people they have the ability to DO and get results. For example, a 2 week challenge with daily homework could be scary for people to believe they can commit to doing.

Scratching an Itch is Most Effective

The most effective digital products scratch an itch for people. These are digital products that cover a topic they were already interested in potentially exploring. Show them what’s possible! They can dip their toes into a subject and see for themselves if it makes sense to go even deeper with you (with your other offers). You’re essentially doing all the research for them and presenting it in a way that makes it easy for them get up-to-speed quickly.

Keep it Simple & Deliver Transformation

There are so many choices for what type of digital product you could create. Maybe it will be an ebook, a guide, an audio file, or even a course. When designing your digital product, keep it simple. Think about how you can deliver transformation to your customers with the least amount of friction.

I’ve sold my mini-course, Trello for Business, 10,500+ times… which gave me 10,500+ PAID leads! That course initially came out when project management was a hot topic, and it quickly explained how to use Trello in small business. We included strategic boards with sample data, so our customers could put what they learned into action quickly and easily.

But it gets even better than that. After I nurtured those leads, many of them purchased additional products and services from my company, bringing in even more revenue through the years.

Highlight Your Affiliate Products Inside

One of the other early digital products I created was Your Business on Autopilot, which shared our favorite tech stacks for just $11. Inside, I showcased software and tools that I’d found to be the most helpful for my company and our clients. Most of the things I genuinely recommended were services I had affiliate links for, and those links were included directly into the PDF file. The strategic goal of this digital product wasn’t about short-term sales of the guide– it was about earning recurring revenue from our affiliate links. And boy, did that work! Boss Project has been a Top 50 affiliate for some of the biggest companies in the world.

Our Main Bread & Butter Digital Offers

In 2020, we opened our Creative Template Shop to offer individual strategic templates for small business owners. Shortly after, we created the Co-Op membership, which offers access to all of our templates, plus hand-picked educational materials and courses. The reason our shop has done so well is that people can find super specific, individualized products without being overwhelmed. It also allows us to target our SEO for different templates with specific keywords that people are searching for.

Maximizing Integrations for the Win

Some of our best-selling templates have been so popular because they directly integrate with specific software our customers are already familiar with and using. For example, we worked with Dubsado to develop strategic templates and forms that our customers could easily install with just one click. Partner up with the software or resource you’re wanting to work with and build that into your promotions and plans.

Get Visible & Bring People into Your World

In order to sell your digital products, you’ve got to make it a priority to be visible– to be in front of your ideal customers. You want to attract these people into your world. Next, you’ll nurture them and let them see that not only can you be trusted, but you’re giving them something valuable. Once they see you, trust you, and like you, the rest just falls into place. I have done this on-repeat in my business over the years.

One of the products I created that drew in new people was Your Digital VA. It helps make AI easier to understand and use in business. I included a ton of scripts to plug into ChatGPT so that anyone can test it out for themselves.

Start Your Own Digital Product Empire

I have so much more to share with you about creating digital products! That’s why I created Digital Product Jumpstart. Make a small commitment, jump in, and learn how to attract more ideal clients and customers into your world. Don’t do this alone– do it in a supportive community with me! Find out more here.