Last Updated on May 3, 2020 by ellduclos

How to successfully create and sell a digital product

Have you been blogging for a little bit now and wondering “how can I turn my blog into a money making machine?” It’s okay to want to make money blogging! When I first started my blog I had this negative money mindset about making money from my blog. I was afraid people would judge me for wanting to make money or that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish it. Fast forward 6 months into my blog and I was making money with affiliate marketing! About $1,500 a month. THEN, a year into blogging I launched my first digital product, e-course (Pinterest with Ell) and it TOOK OFF. Creating and selling digital products is a great way to make money blogging with little to no effort!

I remember reading that making sales when you first launch a digital product is extremely difficult, HOWEVER, I went about it my way and decided to believe in my launch!

When I first launched my e-course I sold 239 courses within the first month I launched. Who knows if this is good or bad but, for a smaller blogger from a small town, who had a dream of working for herself…selling those 239 copies made me feel accomplished and proud. I ended up making more that month selling my e-course than I did working my full time job! So yes, that to me was something to celebrate!

 

I was expecting to see little to no sales. I also expected to not continue selling my course, however, to this day, my e-course is a huge chunk of my blogging income!

In this post I’m going to share exactly how I was able to make my sales and continue making my sales with a ton of my favorite digital product selling tips!!!

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Disclaimer: Affiliate links are used which means if you purchase via my link I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you! I only recommend products I use and love! You can read my full disclosure here.

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STEP ONE: What does your audience need?

Before you can sell your digital product you need to figure out what you are going to create and sell! This is usually the hardest step and a lot of people stop here because they just don’t know what they should create!

For me, I created a Pinterest e-course because Pinterest was the number one source of my blog traffic. I figured out how to leverage Pinterest to bring me 70,000 – 90,000 blog views a month. I knew that my audience is filled with bloggers who are wanting to take their blog to the next level, especially when it comes to blog traffic so this was PERFECT! 

Think about what you write about and who your audience is, and figure out what they struggle with! What solution can you provide them with?

A great way to find out what your audience struggles with is to ask them!!! Ask and you shall receive! For me I asked things like, “what do you struggle with most when it comes to blogging?” 

If your niche isn’t business, DO NOT WORRY! You can still create and sell a digital product!

Here are some some ideas:

• any “how to” ecourse 
• Printables (planners, trackers, journal pages, etc.) 
• Digital planner 
• Ebook (write your own book!)
• Stock photos if you are a good photographer – Ivory Mix is a great example
• Digital graphics for social media (check out creative market for examples)
• Templates (Amira sells legal templates for your blog that I use and love!, social media templates etc)
• Textures, fonts, other blog branding items 
• Memberships (for example, Style Collective)

Use your creative mind to come up with something spectacular because I know you can!

STEP TWO: Bring your digital product idea to life!

Now that you know what you want to create as your digital product, it’s time to bring that digital product to life! 

You might be wondering where the heck do I create this digital product?

If you are wanting to create an e-course I suggest Teachable! I use Teachable and love it. They make it extremely easy to use and they have tutorials on how to use it which comes in handy if you aren’t as tech savvy because I definitely wasn’t! They also have pretty reasonably, affordably plans!

If you are wanting to create printables, planners, templates, I suggest checking into Canva! I love Canva because they have SO many template options that are easily customizable for creating printables and worksheets! Their app does glitch from time to time which really frustrates me but besides that, I really do enjoy using them! I also use Canva to create my social media and Pinterest graphics!

If you are wanting to create an ebook then I definitely suggest looking into Amazon’s KDP ebook program! 

STEP THREE: Pricing your digital product

Another step that many struggle with! “How much should I charge for my digital product?”

To be honest, even I struggled with this! I wanted to keep the cost reasonable and affordable since I know what it’s like to want to take an e-course but realizing the cost is too much. There are PLENTY of e-courses out there on the market for $100+ or even $500+ but I really didn’t want to charge that much unless I felt it was fair.

I won’t lie, it took me a while to create my e-course because I did type everything out and I used graphics rather than video. However, since it wasn’t video, I felt like my e-course should be under $100 for sure.

I thought to myself, what would I be willing to spend on my e-course. 

When I first created my e-course I priced it very low at I think $20. I thought this was reasonable, but as it sold more and more, I received feedback. A lot of people told me they were shocked that I priced it so low! This is when I decided I needed to be more fair to myself. I updated and re-launched my course for $32!

I feel very content with my price and I won’t be raising it unless I create an update with video!

When you come up with your price be fair to the buyer, make sure you are providing value for the cost BUT ALSO be fair to yourself! If you put in a lot of time and effort, of course that matters when it comes to the price! But what really matters is value. How valuable is your digital product compared to the cost? 

** NOTE: Don’t be afraid to look around the market to see how others are pricing their digital products.

STEP FOUR: Creating a sales page!

Before you launch your course you want to create a sales page that will increase your chances of making a sale! On teachable you can create a sales page but I found it even more beneficial to create a sales page on my actual website!

I easily did this by going onto my WordPress dashboard > and created a new page. I titled it “Pinterest E-course” and added it to my menu! 

Every sales page should include PROOF. In my opinion, how trust worthy is a course without PROOF that it will give you results.

This is where I see many bloggers lack. They create a product to sell, whether it be a “start a successful blog” course or a “Pinterest” course and they don’t show ANY results or “proof”

What I found helped increase my sales is the fact that I show proof that I actually get blog traffic from Pinterest. Without proof, your audience might hold back on purchasing.

Note** For the sake of your brand’s reputation, don’t lie to your audience to sell a product. If you don’t actually get blog traffic from Pinterest then don’t make a course that is about growing your blog traffic with Pinterest. Focus on creating a digital product that is honest and stay true to that. That’s how your product will sell!

You should also try to include reviews of your product on your sales page! In the beginning you might be thinking, how can I get someone to review my product without them purchasing it first?

Here’s where it’s time to think like a brand!!! When I first created my Pinterest course I offered it for free to a few bloggers in exchange for a review! This helped build my reviews in the beginning. Not to mention it helps get your product out there when you are first getting started! If your product is good and gives results, I promise it will start to spread word of mouth! 

Here’s an example of my sales page for my Pinterest course so you can have a better idea of what I do!

STEP FIVE: Preparing for the launch of your digital product!

Before I actually launched my product I made sure everyone knew about it! You could call it a “pre launch!” I would mention how I was creating and launching my product on all of my social media accounts. I also mentioned it in my Facebook group! 

You can also send out an email to your subscribers letting them know about your digital product launch date! Even use your launch as an opportunity to get more subscribers!

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PAUSE! Grab a FREE copy of my Instagram Crash Course!

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STEP SIX: The Digital product launch and coupon codes 

Now it’s time to LAUNCH your digital product! So how do you make it successful?! It really depends on your sales page and your connection with your audience! 

Does your audience trust you? If they don’t trust you then chances are they probably won’t purchase your product. However, as I said earlier, showing proof, results, and reviews will help increase that trust! 

Once you are ready to launch, mention it on all your social media platforms! Instagram, Facebook, twitter! Create a Pinterest pin for your product and schedule it to tailwind! Email your subscribers and offer them a promo code! 

When I first launched my course I had a discount code! I know a lot of people say don’t mark your product down (know your worth and stick to it) BUT everyone has their own way and this is what I did and it worked for me. I also like to have seasonal discounts! I’ll usually do a promo each new season. 

I LAUNCHED MY DIGITAL PRODUCT, WHAT NOW?

Now that you had your launch, don’t give up or forget about it! Continue to promote your product!

I try to create blog posts that relate to my digital products so that I can promote my product!

For example, I have this Pinterest post as well as this one that I am able to tie in with my e-course. 

I also always create new Pinterest pins every week. Pinterest is a great way to sell your products! Don’t sleep on it!

Make sure to create a link to your product’s sale page on your website’s homepage too! 

Gather affiliates for your digital product…

I love having affiliates and I believe it’s an important step when it comes to selling your digital product! If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing then check out this post. BUT, if you have someone who is an affiliate of your product, they will recommend your product to their audience using their affiliate link. If someone purchases your product via the affiliate’s link, they receive commission.

If you use Teachable you can set up affiliates easily and the affiliate commission will be taken out of the sale automatically! Makes things SUPER easy!

This helps get the word out about your digital product and gives back to your audience at the same time for helping promote!

SOMETHING TO REMEMBER

At the end of the day, if you want to successfully sell a product, you want to build a connection with your audience and potential customers. Go out of your way to be personable and engage with your audience! Create content that provides value. If you are creating valuable content then you are already starting to build that trust with your audience! Create free content that offers solutions so your audience knows what to expect if they were to purchase from you!

If you don’t make a million sales from the start it doesn’t mean your product sucks, it might just mean you need to re-think your marketing strategy! You got this!!!

I hope you found this guide helpful!!!