Creating and selling digital products can be an incredible revenue stream for your business or as a side hustle, but it can seem like a daunting task when you're just starting out. So let's boil it down to 3 basic steps:
1. Plan
2. Create
3. Publish
Is creating and selling digital products a super easy process that lets you start making money overnight? Unfortunately, no. If you want it to be successful, you need to put in the time and effort up front to make sure you're selling a quality product, it's something people actually want/need, and you're getting it in front of the right people.
But when you're approaching a big task like "start selling digital products," it can be helpful to get back to the basics and break down your task into smaller parts. Like plan, create, and publish 🙂
I've got lots of resources for each step of this process, so here are some of my best ones:
1. Planning your product
A quick intro to digital products + a list of 50 digital product ideas — this will give you a good introduction to the world of digital products and help you get the wheels turning for the types of product(s) you may want to offer.
The anatomy of an online course — An obvious and popular choice when thinking about digital products to sell is an online course or class. This post breaks down what all that could entail and the components that typically make up an online course, so you know what you'll need to create.
2. Creating / Writing / Recording your product
My notecard method to organize content for an online course — I love this part of online courses, the organizer in me loves to think about the best way to present information so the user has the best experience with your course, and also comes out at the end of it with a tangible, practical outcome. In this post, I outline a few different ways you can approach the organizing of your course's content.
My 3-step system for re-recording my entire course — I originally recorded my first online course in 2015 (followed by many others), and then I re-recorded the entire thing in 2019. I share all my logistics to work efficiently through the recording and editing of 44 different videos without completely loosing my mind or my social life.
Design a printable planning PDF and promo graphic in just 20 minutes — If you need help with the design side of things, feel free to check out my free design training where I design a printable day planner in real time in Adobe InDesign. This is especially helpful for non-designers, as I talk through my design decisions. Plus, I have time to create an Instagram graphic complete with a mockup of our new PDF design to go with it!
3. Publishing your product
My favorite platform for hosting all my online courses — I've used the same platform for hosting my online courses since Day 1, and I'm still loving it. I share about my experience, why I chose a lesser-known platform (one you may not have ever heard of!), and some things to consider as you're choosing a platform for your own course content.
A mega roundup of platforms for selling digital products — If you want more options, check out this mega list of other platforms and what types of products they work best for.
I hope these resources are helpful to you as you're working towards creating and selling digital products. There's no magic formula for instant success – like all good things, it takes time and patience to get it right.
For more in-depth training on how I've created a digital product revenue stream in my business, I have a mini-class called Digital Product Startup that does just that.
After years of earning the majority of my living from digital product sales, I’ve put everything I know into this mini-class.
It includes 3 hours of video training, a master checklist for every single task, a product ideas list, a launch planner, and an 8-page fully-designed PDF template (InDesign file) that you can use to create your own digital product.
It's only $99 — click here to read more + join the class!
