Stop Wasting Time on the WRONG Digital Products
Episode 903: Show Notes
It's b-a-n-a-n-a-s to think I’ve been creating digital products for more than eight years now! I’ve learned so much along the way, and I’m eager to share it with the world. I want to help more people and cheer you on as you find success too. In this episode, I’m diving into the digital products I’d avoid if I were starting fresh—and trust me, it’s not what you’d expect. Don’t miss it!
I truly enjoy teaching people how to create their own strategic, entry-point digital products. Your digital product should be a tool that magnetizes strangers who are your ideal customers. In Digital Product Jumpstart, I teach you how to actually get paid to bring in qualified leads for your offers.
Avoid This Common Beginner’s Mistake
The key to successfully selling digital products isn’t about the format—it’s about whether people actually want what you’re offering. Even if they love the idea, fully trust you, and believe it will work, the real challenge comes when there’s an element of self-commitment involved. If your product requires them to invest effort or confidence in their own ability, that’s where the friction starts. To succeed, you need to sell them on their own capability to DIY what you’ve created.
The Best Structure for Your Digital Product
The best digital products solve a problem people already care about. They tap into an interest they’ve been curious about and offer a glimpse into a whole new world. Your product lets them explore it without needing to commit upfront. It’s like you’ve done all the heavy lifting—gathering the info and breaking it down so they can quickly and easily soak it all in.
What Makes a Mini-Course Popular
A digital product can take many forms—like a guide, an ebook, or a course. The key is figuring out how to deliver a transformation with as little friction as possible. For example, my mini-course, Trello for Business, has sold over 10,500 copies—all from paid leads. Many of those buyers later invested in higher-ticket programs, premium coaching, and more. This course launched at a time when project management was a hot topic in the small business world. It showed how to use Trello specifically for small businesses, breaking down its practical applications in an easy, actionable way.
Why Choose a Low Price Instead of Offering it Free
Our product, Your Business on Autopilot was created to address tech stacks. It showcases the software and tools we’ve found to be most helpful for our clients and customers. Instead of offering this for free, we chose a low sticker price of $11. And the content inside was promoting our affiliate links for the software we use and love! This was a strategic decision. Our goal wasn’t the profit from selling the digital product,it was to earn recurring revenue from our affiliate links. And it works well! Our company has been a Top 50 affiliate for some of the biggest companies in the world using strategies like this.
Our Longstanding, Successful Base Product
In 2020, we created The Creative Template Shop, which provides thousands of strategically designed business templates that people can purchase a la carte. The reason this works is because people can go in and choose the specific template they need to solve one specific problem– so it’s not overwhelming. We make it easy for them to start using the template in their business quickly. This is also helpful for SEO where we’re matching specific templates and courses with relevant search terms. We expanded on our shop with the Co-op, which offers ongoing access to all our templates, key business courses, and our private community.
Lean on the Power of Integration
Some of our most effective tools succeed because of how seamlessly they integrate with other systems. Take our Dubsado forms, for instance—we collaborated directly with the software company to create improved templates that are simple to implement. The goal with any digital product should be to either (1) solve a highly specific problem without demanding too much of your customer’s time, or (2) give them the freedom to explore their curiosity, helping them decide if they want to dive deeper into that topic or area of their life or business.
How to Level-Up Your Own Business
Your priority needs to be visibility, and getting in front of your ideal customers. You want to attract people into your world who have both the desire for your product or service AND the financial means to buy it. After they know who you are, your next goals are to show them the value you offer and gain their trust. Do this correctly, and sales will follow.
I have so much to say about this topic! That’s why I’ve created Digital Product Jumpstart. Now, this does require some element of self-commitment, and I’m fully aware that this means I have to do more work to get someone excited. But this is for someone who has likely been in my world for more than a minute. I can’t wait to help you bring in more people who are completely aligned with your value system and how you want to run your business.
Quote This
The most effective digital products are actually all about curiosity– they scratch and itch for people.
Highlights
Avoid This Common Beginner’s Mistake [0:02:32]
The Best Structure for Your Digital Product [0:04:22]
What Makes a Mini-Course Popular [0:09:13]
Why Choose a Low Price Instead of Offering it Free [0:12:13]
Our Longstanding, Successful Base Product [0:16:53]
Lean on the Power of Integration [0:20:03]
How to Level-Up Your Own Business [0:23:42]
Key Topics:
Customers, Courses, Business Planning, Digital Products, Marketing, Affiliates, Trends
We Mentioned:
Talitha Coffee helps support survivors of human trafficking
Indeed.com/STRATEGYHOUR for a $75 sponsored job credit
Porkbun.com/StrategyHourPodcast with code STARTACHAT to get a .chat domain for less than $2 for the first year