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Gift Guide Template: How to Leverage Holidays to Grow Your List

October 27, 2021 by Simplifying DIY Design 5 Comments

Last updated on March 9th, 2023

Are you ready to leverage your holiday traffic with a holiday gift guide? Learn to create a Christmas gift guide or use our FREE done-for-you Canva gift guide template that’ll be sure to boost your blog’s traffic, email sign-ups, and affiliate income for the holidays!

Boost your holiday traffic with our FREE gift guide template! It’s the PERFECT compliment to all of your gift guide posts that’ll be sure to bring in more email sign-ups and affiliate revenue!

GET THE FREE GIFT GUIDE TEMPLATE!

Quarter four is the best time to grow any blog in ANY niche. Why?

Because everyone has at least one problem, they’re frantically trying to find a solution.

They’re overwhelmed, stressed to the absolute max, and are looking to start fresh with the new year.

On top of that, they’re already primed to buy, making selling much more effortless.

Regardless of niche, you NEED to take advantage of the endless growth opportunities this time of year.

Plus, it’ll grow your email list and blogging income in the process!

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

YES! Fourth quarter was always such a waste for my business but now that I know how to leverage it and use it to my advantage- my business is growing (and not just at holiday time!) DONT MISS the gift guide template, it's ahhmazing and saved me a ton of time designing my printable freebie opt in

Find your reader’s holiday-specific pain point

Leading up to the holidays, many people are desperately looking for money-saving solutions specific to quarter four.

  • How to save money on holiday travel
  • Budget-friendly ways to decorate for the holidays
  • Host Christmas dinner on a tight budget

Some are looking for inexpensive gifts for the whole family. Others want ways to make a little extra for the holiday season.

Bottom line: You need to know your reader and their pain points. Then, get creative with how to sell them YOUR solution.

If you don’t know their pain points, listen up.

The key here is to build your audience first and the solution second. You’ll never know their pain points if you don’t know who you’re creating them for!

Related Post: The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products

Take it back to the basics by asking them what they want. Survey them, hang out in their favorite Facebook groups, and see what they’re asking about.

Once you know your readers’ problem, then it’s time to brainstorm those holiday solutions!

That’s the whole point of knowing what your reader is struggling with, giving you the perfect opportunity to help them.

Solve their problem. Meet them on their level and fill that need.

Doing so will not only help your reader and help you establish a relationship with them, but it’ll help you grow your blog and set you up for a killer start to the new year.

By the way, if you need more help with this, check out our FREE Product Creation Training!

Use a gift guide to solve a problem

A holiday gift guide is a perfect way to leverage the holidays for blog growth. As mentioned earlier, people are looking for SOMETHING and are likely pretty stressed out about it.

For many shoppers, having to buy gifts for others is an unpleasant task.

It’s not even the money aspect of it. It’s thinking about what to get them AND hoping they like it.

So, why not make this easier for your readers and create a gift guide? Speaking of easy, save yourself boatloads of time with our FREE gift guide template!

Don’t be afraid to include some affiliate links, either. You still need to make a living, you know!

Our friend Lizzy makes over $100k/year using JUST affiliate marketing.

Other ways to use a gift guide for the holidays

Referencing our examples from earlier, you can still use a gift guide template to solve those specific pain points.

Here are a few examples to help you get in the creative mood!

  • Holiday travel: Recommend hotels that offer free nights or credit cards with great flight benefits
  • Holiday decorations: Recommend products you use like spray paint, glitter, or…
  • Christmas dinner: Link to tutorials (YouTube, blog, etc.) to boost ad/sponsored post income

You can even do something simple like a resource list.

Throw your own spin on it like, “The resources we used to pay off 30K in debt in just 1 year,” and you’ll be amazed at how well it converts. Especially with new year’s resolutions right around the corner!

That’s the beauty of templates. You can easily customize them to fit your needs over and over and over again.

And if a gift guide just isn’t your thing, there are other holiday printables you can whip up in no time, regardless of your blog’s niche.

Related Post: Holiday Printables You Need to Create for ANY Niche

Do NOT miss out on this major growth opportunity that’ll set your blog up for an amazing start to the new year. We’re sure there’s a holiday printable you can make for your specific audience!

Side note: If you want to promote multiple gift guides, you NEED our Holiday Gift Guide Bundle with 5 different styles (and 15 matching Pinterest pin templates) for just $27!

Now, keep in mind that creating a solution is only half the battle. You need to communicate it effectively so they opt-in to your email list.

How to ‘sell’ your solution

When promoting anything (from freebie to product or affiliate offer), you must hit your audience’s pain points and deliver the solution.

They hear this pain point and say, “oh, that’s me! I totally feel like that, and I hate that!”

Like, when you say to the stay-at-home-mom:

“I know you’re exhausted. You’re trying SO hard and feel like you’re just not good enough. You know you’re a great mom, but sometimes you feel like you can’t win. I get it. I’ve been there, and I hear you.”

Or, when you say to the blogger:

“I know you’re spinning your wheels. You’re sacrificing so much, but you’re just not getting it. You don’t see the results you want, and it feels like everyone is reaching success except you. I know you’re frustrated, burnt out, and ready to throw in the towel.”

Use copy like this to draw awareness to a problem and connect with your reader.

Now, can you tailor this to the holiday season? Absolutely!

“The holidays are coming. I know you’re spending your days cooking, cleaning, budgeting for gifts, preparing for (and entertaining) guests, and doing ALL the things without a single break. You’re busy, tired, and just need some rest. I’m going to give you that break.”

You mention the pain point, even getting a little personal to really hit it home. Then, you let them know you have the solution.

Put your gift guide out there

You have your holiday gift guide (hopefully, you used our gift guide template!) and copy ready to go. Now it’s time to put your gift guide out there for your audience to find (and sign up for).

Set up a simple squeeze page and write a blog post that promotes your gift guide as a content upgrade.

Design a few Pinterest pins that lead straight to the blog post AND freebie landing page.

Related Post: Content Upgrade Ideas to Keep Your Readers Coming Back for More

Create a post for social media. Make a reel for IG and share it on your stories to cover all the algorithm bases.

You can even share it in Facebook groups and set up a paid ad promotion.

Get as many eyes on your gift guide as possible. Try to do it approximately 1-2 months before the actual holiday (depending on your audience).

Get our Holiday Gift Guide Bundle with 5 different gift guide styles (and 15 matching Pinterest pin templates) for just $27!

The whole point of your holiday gift guide is to get people onto your email list and not JUST over to your blog post.

Blog posts are great for traffic and should absolutely still be part of your strategy.

But, offering a printer-friendly (aka printable), more detailed version for someone to have handy in the gift-buying season can be a huge help.

All while growing your email list and supplementing your blog’s income with affiliate sales, of course!

Side note: We’re obsessed with the set-it-and-forget-it approach to affiliate marketing from the Lazy Guide to Affiliate Marketing. Elizabeth Goddard is a marketing genius, especially when it comes to affiliate sales!

The biggest benefit of using your gift guide as an opt-in is that you can access those subscribers after the holiday season.

This is when nurturing comes into play, so you can turn those subscribers into raving fans!

Use a gift guide to boost your income

A huge benefit to a holiday gift guide is its opportunity to grow your income. People sign up for gift guides because you’ve done the work for them when thinking of the perfect gift.

Or other gift guide-style examples that we chatted about earlier.

And it just so happens that they’ll be more likely to click on your affiliate links.

Not only are you solving your reader’s problems, but you’re also retaining them on your list for future growth and opening up the possibility for a nice Christmas bonus in affiliate or personal product income.

Another way to increase your income (and do so in an automated and passive way!) from a holiday gift guide is by creating a holiday or seasonal product offered as a tripwire.

Did you grab our FREE gift guide template? Click here to have it delivered to your inbox by the time you’re finished reading this post!

Lastly, it wouldn’t be right if we didn’t chat about templates for a minute.

If you choose to design your own gift guide, be sure to save it as a gift guide template. This will save you so much time (which equals money!) when creating other seasonal gift guides for your blog.

Keeping it legal

If your gift guide includes affiliate links, there are a couple of things to keep in mind to keep your business legal.

#1: MOST affiliate programs approve the use of a PDF. But Amazon does NOT. When designing your gift guide, we recommend that you make a page on your blog with those product links.

HOT TIP: On the last page of your gift guide, include the link for that page. It’s a little loophole that’ll help you stay in Amazon’s good graces while still letting you earn affiliate income.

#2: Make sure your blog has a Terms & Condition page and a Privacy Policy page you can refer to in your affiliate disclaimer.

#3. Prominently post an affiliate disclaimer in your gift guide (as well as any blog posts that include an affiliate link), which then links back to your Terms & Condition/Privacy Policy pages.

We use The Contract Shop for ALL of our contracts and legal documents. We have enough to worry about running a successful six-figure business – legal jargon and protection are not on that list, thanks to their templates!

Create your own gift guide template

If you want to save time and get your gift guide out as quickly as possible, grab our free Canva gift guide template.

Swap with your holiday color palette and branded fonts. Then, add images of your promoted products using your gift guide.

Related Post: How to Pick a Holiday Color Palette For Your Blog

Add descriptions of your products and any links (to include affiliates). Save it as a PDF and start promoting!

If you’re one of that DIY-type of business owners, you can easily create your own gift guide template using Canva.

Be sure your gift guide includes:

  • Beautiful cover page
  • Product page with all the products (and numbers) with a short description
  • 2-3 pages of longer descriptions of each product
  • URL/link page to your holiday affiliate links page on your site

Get your holiday gift guide designed and out there so you can leverage the holidays for maximum blog growth!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • FREE Gift Guide Template
  • The Lazy Guide to Affiliate Marketing
  • Website Terms & Conditions
  • FREE Product Creation Training
  • How to Pick a Holiday Color Palette For Your Blog
  • Holiday Gift Guide Bundle for just $27

Don’t forget to grab your FREE gift guide template! It’s the PERFECT compliment to all of your gift guide posts that’ll be sure to bring in more email sign-ups and affiliate revenue!

GET THE FREE GIFT GUIDE TEMPLATE!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that’ll cut your design time down to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every single design is put back into making MORE money in your business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

How to use the holidays to boost your business and help your readers! PLUS a totally FREE (already designed for you) gift guide template!

Filed Under: Growth Strategy, List Building, Product Creation

Seasonal Lead Magnets | Holiday Freebies to Boost List Growth

October 25, 2021 by Simplifying DIY Design 3 Comments

Last updated on March 9th, 2023

Fourth-quarter is such a great time to boost your affiliate income and email sign-ups because your audience is primed to buy! Learn to create seasonal lead magnets that drive traffic to your blog for the holidays AND grow your email list at the same time!

Boost your holiday traffic with our FREE gift guide template! It’s the PERFECT compliment to all of your gift guide posts that’ll be sure to bring in more email sign-ups and affiliate revenue!

GET THE FREE GIFT GUIDE TEMPLATE!

Is it just us, or does it feel like the holiday season comes faster year after year?

You blink, and it’s already time to start planning (again) for gifts, Christmas dinner, the in-laws coming to visit, recitals, and plays…

While you may not be ready for the holidays, your blog must be because we all know that quarter-four matters!

Now, we get it. You’ve been busting your butt all year long to get closer to your big WHY.

It’s no wonder that quarter-four is when most bloggers get blogger-burnout.

We know you may not want to hear this, but this is the time to give your blog everything you’ve got.

People are ready to buy. Heck, they WANT to buy.

Use this momentum by creating seasonal lead magnets that compliment your holiday content to grow your email list and make money blogging!

The best part? You’ll set yourself up for a fantastic new year where you can spend less time behind the computer and still make more money than ever.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

In fact, we know a lot of bloggers that take the entire month of December off.

Yes, the ENTIRE month! Talk about goals, huh?

Our goal for next year is to do the same because blogger burnout is very real, and it sucks.

What makes this worse is that it’s your livelihood! Getting burned out from your primary source of income is just NOT up for negotiation.

That’s why it’s so important to plan – the right way.

Now, what do we mean by that?

You can absolutely plan to take the entire month off and not have a single thing set up. You can miss out on holiday traffic, email sign-ups, and even product sales.

Or, you can have your holiday blog posts written and optimized, seasonal lead magnets to capture email addresses, and products ready for purchase.

Related Post: How to Pick a Holiday Color Palette For Your Blog

If you plan right, quarter four can be a total game-changer for your blog.

This is the time of year that people have problems that need solving. They’re stressed and looking for answers. They’re motivated to make changes for the new year. 

Not only will seasonal blog posts bring you tons of extra traffic, but perfectly-timed seasonal lead magnets can boost your email list and prepare you for a hot start to the new year.

Because even after the holidays are over (and you get back to your blog), those subscribers are still there, just waiting to be emailed by you!

So, let’s start planning the right way by creating seasonal lead magnets to pair with your brilliant holiday content.

#1: Planners

Planners are the perfect way to leverage those new year’s resolutions because everyone wants to ‘plan’ to be better at something.

Think of the most common resolutions you hear about.

  • Lose weight
  • Get more organized
  • Save money

Planners hit all of those points because most have meal planning and budget sections in addition to the monthly and weekly planner layout.

You can also personalize this to your own niche by adding sections that your audience won’t be able to resist.

Planners also make great paid products, so another option is to pull out certain pages of your lead magnet and sell the complete planner as a tripwire.

Related Post: 6 Best Tripwire Ideas That Turn Subscribers into Customers

If you want to save even more time, grab our FREE planner design worksheet to help you get off to the right start!

You can even create a couple of seasonal lead magnets (like a planner and challenge) that funnel together into a paid product.

#2: Challenges

Challenges are probably the most profitable of the seasonal lead magnets mentioned in this post.

First, they’re so easy to make. Using email automation, create a 5, 7, even 30-day email challenge that’s sent straight to their inbox.

Each day you’re giving your audience something of value whilst nurturing and priming them to buy at the same time.

Use this challenge as an opportunity to funnel your subscribers into your (related) paid product.

For example, a free 5-Day Healthy Living challenge could lead to a cookbook, workout program, meal planner, or 30-minute consultation.

Decluttering challenges are also huge this time of year. Use this to promote your book, eCourse, or product line.

Again, consider the most common resolutions people generally make. You can poll your Facebook group or email list to find out their own resolutions to help brainstorm the best seasonal lead magnets for your audience.

Design a challenge related to your niche to attract your target audience.

You’ll help your people and grow your list all at the same time.

#3: Gift Guides

A Christmas gift guide is a perfect opportunity to leverage the holidays and grow your bank of seasonal lead magnets.

Not only can you make a PDF-style gift guide and use it as an opt-in, but you can also use the opportunity to sell your own products or promote your affiliate links.

Related Post: How to Leverage the Holidays for Maximum Blog Growth

Growing your list, making money, AND helping your audience be more organized for their holiday shopping? Win-win-win.

Are you worried about the Amazon “no links in a PDF” rule?

  • Make a page on your blog that includes all your Amazon links with numbers that correspond to the gift guide
  • Add a section or page to your gift guide that says, “Want the links for these products? Visit www.yourblog.com/linksforholiday to check it out!”

That way, the link will go to your website and NOT Amazon.

Plus, you’re still getting them excited about the product in your gift guide without violating Amazon’s TOS. Most other affiliate programs approve the use of linked PDFs.

If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing, we HIGHLY recommend the Lazy Guide to Affiliate Marketing by Elizabeth Goddard. It’s perfect for those of us that would rather set-it-and-forget-it approach than push regular sales on our readers!

#4: Checklists/Worksheets

Holiday checklists and worksheets make great seasonal lead magnets for those that want things quick yet impactful.

If you have a killer holiday recipe or full-on Christmas dinner blog post series, make a grocery checklist to help them get in and out of the store fast.

Maybe you blog about budgeting and have a heavily-monetized blog post that shares how you paid off $50k of debt in two years.

Budgeting is huge for quarter four because so many want to go into the new year with a debt-free plan. So, take advantage of that traffic by creating a budget worksheet that walks them through it.

Related Post: 5 Easy Ways to Create Worksheets to Grow Your Blog

Help your audience build confidence in you by actually implementing your process to success. Work on that know, like, and trust factor right from the get-go, which will lead to recurring sales!

#5: Templates

Our most profitable quarter is hands down Q4. Our template sales go through the roof because, like all other resolutions, bloggers want to grow year after year.

They want:

  • Prettier Pinterest graphics
  • A fresh, new brand
  • Better sales funnels

To specifically leverage our holiday traffic, we designed two seasonal lead magnets to go with our holiday blog posts that both funnel into our paid holiday products.

See what we did there?

We built a holiday sales funnel that starts with a seasonal blog post –> seasonal lead magnet –> seasonal paid product using ConvertKit’s email automation.

Related Post: The Ultimate Guide to Designing a Funnel That Converts

Now, even if your niche isn’t blogging, you can still create seasonal templates to boost your Q4 sales.

Holiday tag templates for gifts, letter writing templates for kids – the sky’s the limit with niche-specific templates!

Or, keep it generalized with planner and calendar templates.

Templates make great additions to your seasonal lead magnets regardless of niche because they can be used over and over again. This makes them incredibly popular for those who want to cut down on single-use waste.

We’re totally serious when we tell you that the fourth quarter is a huge opportunity.

Not only when it comes to traffic but for income and growing your list. Never forget that the money is in the list.

That’s why we talk about list growth from the very beginning as often as we can!

Plus, when you plan out your seasonal lead magnets ahead of time, you can set yourself up for some awesome passive income while taking December off.

If you’re still unsure which seasonal lead magnets are right for you, check out these popular niche-specific holiday printables.

Blogging IS a rollercoaster; there’s just no other way around it. We’d be surprised if it didn’t send you through all the emotions in just one day.

Blogger burnout is no joke; we don’t want you to give up. Keep pushing through, friend. All your hard work and sacrifices WILL pay off, and it’ll be oh-so-worth-it.

To help get you there, pick one of these seasonal lead magnets and start making it happen! You’ll be surprised at the energy boost a successful holiday opt-in can give you!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • FREE Gift Guide Template
  • How to Pick a Holiday Color Palette For Your Blog
  • How to Leverage the Holidays for Maximum Blog Growth
  • ConvertKit
  • Printables You Need to Create for Holiday Traffic
  • Holiday Gift Guide Bundle for just $27

Don’t forget to grab your FREE gift guide template! It’s the PERFECT compliment to all of your gift guide posts that’ll be sure to bring in more email sign-ups and affiliate revenue!

GET THE FREE GIFT GUIDE TEMPLATE!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that’ll cut your design time down to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every single design is put back into making MORE money in your business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Filed Under: Growth Strategy, List Building

20 Tools I Use To Run a Six Figure Blog

August 20, 2021 by Simplifying DIY Design 1 Comment

Last updated on June 27th, 2022

In this post I’m going to go over the exact blogging business tools I use to run my six-figure blog! We will also dive into the tools I used when I just started out, when and why things shifted, and how you can use them in your business too!

If you’re looking for free Canva templates and business resources, check out my free design library now! Just click the button below to get instant access!

CLICK HERE TO GET FREE ACCESS!

If you’ve been following along with Simplifying DIY Design for a while, you may have seen a post that I wrote after running this business for a few months, 30+ Tools I used To Grow My Blog.

After almost 3 years of running this business, I wanted to update it! However, I still stand by a lot of those tools especially when just starting out.

Let’s face it, running a new blog vs a seasoned blog are two very different things.

Each new blogger has a different story. Different resources.

A lot of times when it comes to just getting started, it’s about what you can afford and the tools you choose to invest in.

For that reason, I want to leave that post the way that it is. After all, it IS exactly what I used when I just started my site.

So this post is essentially part two.

What I use now that my blog has grown and what I’m using to scale it.

I’ll also dive into the tools that we’ve changed and why we made that change as the business grew.

Let’s jump in!

Website

I’m still using a custom theme from Pixel Me Designs! We re-branded and got a new theme created about a year ago and Laura did another amazing job!

I’ve grown out of Siteground and now recommend BigScoots for hosting. With BigScoots, you will never run into issues. Their customer service is always wonderful, too!

Email Marketing & Leads

Convertkit

Convertkit was an expense I chose to make from the beginning and I have never switched or moved away from it. I continue to use and love Convertkit when it comes to my weekly emails, email marketing, sales funnels, etc.

Some things that I love about Convertkit include:

  • Tags. You need to be able to tag people. This comes in handy if you’re segmenting your list so you can track the things they are interested in. This is also handy to identify people who purchase products, people who sign up for specific lead magnets, etc. 
  • Segments. I love being able to create segments in Convertkit, it gives me a lot of data. For example, I can set up a segment of people who went through a specific lead magnet or funnel and which of them ended up purchasing the product. There are so many things that segments come in handy for!
  • Visual automations. I love using visual automations for my email funnels. I don’t have to mess with the rules as much and it let’s me look at the flow a new subscriber will go through. I can customize it to do (or not do) specific things based on the actions the subscriber takes as well. 
  • Data and analytics. The more data you have available to you, the easier growth is! I took entirely too long to dig into the data side of my business.. Don’t make that mistake! Business is numbers. Find what works and do more of it! If you don’t know what’s working or what needs optimizing, you won’t have a plan for moving the needle forward and you’ll just constantly be throwing spaghetti at the wall.

LeadPages

LeadPages replaced Thrive Architect for me. I started with Thrive because it was a one-time cost but it got clunky and difficult to use. I no longer recommend it as a page builder and if LeadPages is off the table for you, I would recommend Elementor as an alternative.

Products and Sales

Teachable

I continue to use Teachable. I did attempt at one time to switch to another course platform that was a bit cheaper and ultimately decided to switch back. It’s more important when growing a business to have tools that work well and do the things you need to do than to save a few dollars!

I have always loved Teachable both as a student and as a creator. It’s easy to use and the customer support is amazing!

With any technology, we have had glitches and issues over the years. Mainly, the checkout process.

Because of this, we switched to ThriveCart for our checkout process and never looked back. Because our sales pages are made with LeadPages, we can integrate them all together very easily.

ThriveCart

We recently made the switch to ThriveCart and couldn’t be happier. Not only is it easy to use but it’s robust and it integrates with all the tools I was using in my business already.

We also decided to move our affiliate program over as well and it was a very smooth transition. I personally love the ability to auto-apply affiliates to certain coupon codes: this opens up so many collaboration opportunities!

What I love most about ThriveCart is the ability to completely customize the checkout page with their drag and drop builder. You can test different designs and layouts, you can add order bump boxes, testimonials, and anything you want!

I continue to use Stripe and PayPal (integrated with ThriveCart) for payment processing.

Deadline Funnel

I use Deadline Funnel for my evergreen funnels. You can also use it for live launches as well but I typically just stick to using the countdown feature on Convertkit for the live launches.

Deadline funnel integrates with Convertkit using webhooks to deliver certain emails on certain days after the deadline funnel is activated.

This is essential when creating webinar funnels and other evergreen funnels that are triggered after someone gets added to your email list.

ManyChat

ManyChat is awesome! I can’t take credit for my chatbots as that was all my assistant, Sarah (who did a guest post about creating QR Codes on Simplifying DIY Design).

We have several chat funnels set up to answer common customer service issues, direct people to products that fit their needs, and we also send notifications for things like our monthly templates.

Task and Team Management

I still don’t have a large team by any means (and it’s not a goal of mine to have one) but I do have an assistant and have hired contractors for specific tasks before. Here’s what we use!

Slack

My assistant and I communicate via Slack. It’s essentially organized instant messaging. We have different channels for different things that we work on all the time.

We also have a channel for brainstorming and we integrate it with our chatbot for customer service issues.

Asana

We recently switched from Trello to Asana and I’m so happy we did! It’s hard to describe quite how amazing Asana is but once you get into bigger projects, you’re going to need Asana (or something similar such as AirTable or Clickup)

I also have my personal schedule and my kids scheduled in Asana under a different board. You can have different sections for different things.

My assistant is not added to my personal board and can’t see those things. She is added to different project boards based on the things she helps me with such as social media content.

We can assign each other different tasks, due dates, and make notes about things. Everything is color coded and organized.

You can see it in a board view (like Trello), list view, or calendar view. It’s beyond amazing and really deserves more than a few paragraphs but you get the idea!

Social Media

While I do outsource social media to my assistant, we both make graphics as needed and use my templates. We also use Tailwind to schedule pins and Facebook creator studio to schedule Instagram posts.

Design

Again, I am a certified graphic designer so I do know how to use (and love using) Adobe products. However, we almost exclusively use Canva for what we create for Simplifying DIY Design.

This is because I know my assistant can use it, we can collaborate on designs, and anyone else that I might hire will know how to use it. It’s better from a team aspect (at least in my eyes) to use a tool we can all jump in on!

Canva Pro

While I am never going to be someone that says you *need* to do or use something specific to be successful (how silly!!) I personally use Canva Pro.

Canva Pro has features that I can’t function without at this point like the ability to have as many folders as I want (and subfolders), downloading with a transparent background, having options for size and quality at download, etc.

They are adding more and more every day. If you’re looking for more help with Canva, check out Confidently Canva which teaches ALL about Canva and how to use all the features for a blogging business in addition to teaching you how to use it to create social media graphics and page designs for things like lead magnets and digital products.

Stock Photos

Most of the time I just use the ones available on Canva Pro for stock photos but I also have subscriptions to Depositphotos.

Find what blogging business tools work for you!

I firmly believe that it’s important to simplify your business while also helping it run more smoothly for you and for your customers.

This is something I’m always working on!

In addition, what works for me might not work for you and that’s ok! It’s all about finding out what works for you and doing more of it!

If you’re looking to get access to tons of free templates and tools, check out my design library now! Just click the button below to sign up!

CLICK HERE FOR FREE TEMPLATES AND RESOURCES!

 

Filed Under: Growth Strategy

My first product was a bust! But I took a step backed, found out what my audience was wanted and then I found a easy to create digital product that solved my readers problem... sales skyrocket! These digital products are amazing and has given me some incredible passive income

12 Hot Digital Products | Create + Monetize with E-products

August 19, 2021 by Simplifying DIY Design 9 Comments

Last updated on January 20th, 2023

Digital products are exactly how we make 80-90% of our full-time blogging income. The best part? It’s completely PASSIVE once you get your product created! Find exactly what product to make for your blog AND grab our free ebook template to make it happen!

Want our FREE Ebook (includes worksheet pages) for Canva OR InDesign? It’s available in our ever-growing Design Vault! Get that product made, out there, and generate income in no time at all!

GET THE FREE DIGITAL PRODUCT TEMPLATE NOW!

The very first monetization course we took was about 5 minutes after we started a blog.

We always knew we wanted our blog to be a business. As it was, we started blogging in order to generate income from home.

The person teaching the course was all about “products, products, products.”

Of course, not knowing anything about the online world, our minds went to “physical products,” not digital products.

Thus started the Etsy shop.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Learn how you can do the work once and get paid over and over! Digital products are an amazing way to create passive income for your blog and start making money online fast even without a ton of pageviews! #digitalproducts #passiveincome #eproducts #designproducts #designdigitalproducts

Our Etsy shop was a success and a failure all at the same time. People liked and bought our stuff; however, each product needed to be individually sewn and put together.

We sold things like military-inspired blankets, dog collars, keychains, etc. They were embroidered and would take us anywhere from an hour to a day to create.

The orders piled up, and soon we had a two-week waitlist, and we were spending almost ALL of our time at the sewing machine. Cursing at it and getting frustrated.

We hated it. We quickly decided this wasn’t for us and needed a way to generate a more passive income.

And then, we learned about digital products.

The thing about digital products, especially for bloggers, is that they can be a hit or miss. Luckily they cost almost nothing to make (especially when you design them yourself using Canva).

The key is to build your audience first and your product second.

Related Post: The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products

Ask them what they want, survey them, hang out in Facebook groups where they ask questions, and keep a running list of reader questions/concerns. 

Once you know your readers’ problem, then it’s time to brainstorm solutions. 

If you do that, they’ll buy it. 

And if you design it where it’s visually appealing and easy to use… You’ve hit the jackpot.

By the way, if you’re needing more help with this, check out our FREE Product Creation Training!

Now let’s jump right into the 12 best digital products (that sell like hotcakes)!

1. WORKBOOKS

Workbooks are something that works for almost every niche. There is something you can teach your audience that can be stepped out into a workbook. Take a moment to brainstorm!

We’ve seen everything from cleaning and organizing to budgeting and finances. We’ve even seen a workbook on parenting techniques and getting your child to listen (cool, right?).

Workbooks sell because it’s a step-by-step way of teaching that walks someone through the process of solving their problem. We’re workbook junkies. Show us a Pinterest-pretty workbook, and we’ll buy it.

Can’t quite commit to a full workbook just yet? Don’t worry, we have you covered with another hot digital product idea!

Start small by creating worksheets using our worksheet templates inside our FREE Design Vault!

Related Post: 5 Easy Ways to Create Worksheets to Grow Your Blog Fast

Worksheets were one of our very first digital products/lead magnets we used to grow our email list to now OVER 20k subscribers!

2. WORKSHOPS

Workshops are somewhat between workbooks and e-course (a combination of both, actually). This is an interactive e-course that includes worksheets and other learning material.

The selling point of the “workshop” is that the person is able to interact with you and other students, rather than an e-course which is self-paced and usually through a program like Teachable.

Related Post: How To Sell Tons of Courses on Teachable

Workshops are not generally held all the time because of the need for the creator to be involved. But, when a course is not constantly open for enrollment, it builds suspense and urgency, and people are more likely to jump on it when it opens.

Another amazing thing about workshops is that you don’t spend nearly as much time “creating” them. Full e-courses can take months to build.

If you decide to sell a workshop, you can spend about an hour outlining what you’ll cover in the class and set up a sales page. That’s it!

The “product” is created when you spend the 1-2 hours teaching, and then you’re done!

3. PLANNERS

People LOVE planners, and there are so many ways you can go with this. You can create a life planner, budget planner, organizational planner, chore planner, meal planner, etc.

QUICK TIP: Create multiple themed planners and then give people the option to purchase multiple ones! That way, they can essentially “customize” their planner by having the sections they need, and you can get repeat sales!

Once you have a few planner options, you can also offer bundles at a lower cost.

Planners also make fantastic digital products. Again, show us a Pinterest-pretty planner, and we’re in!

4. E-COURSES

E-courses are so popular because it helps your reader learn something and it also creates a passive income for you. They can either be created for free through email or through a platform like Teachable (just like us!).

When you create an e-course through a platform, you can also set up an affiliate program and get people to promote your course for free. E-courses generally take more time to make than other digital products but can be sold for 3, 4, or even 5 figures!

The best e-courses also have worksheets, checklists, and video content as well. Take the time to make your course awesome; it will pay off.

SIDE NOTE: Grab our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit with a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva eBook template to help you plan, design, and launch your first (or next) digital product!

Learn how you can do the work once and get paid over and over! Digital products are an amazing way to create passive income for your blog and start making money online fast even without a ton of pageviews! #digitalproducts #passiveincome #eproducts #designproducts #designdigitalproducts

5. E-BOOKS

E-books are a great tripwire, opt-in, or digital product. You can sell it through your blog and put it up on Amazon, Etsy, or even through ConvertKit Commerce!

E-books are pretty easy to make because you can repurpose a lot of your existing content, particularly if you have a blog post series or a lot of posts on ONE topic.

Related Post: 5 Ways to Build Your List by Repurposing Blog Content

The key to a bestselling e-book is a killer cover, which we go over (and SO much more!) in our COMPLETE Canva course, Confidently Canva.

Learn how to use Canva to grow your blog! Our comprehensive Canva course teaches bloggers how to use Canva, design lead magnets, and more - with confidence!

You’ll learn everything there is to know about Canva so you can feel completely confident in your designs because now you truly understand the tool you’re using and the design concepts involved.

Enroll now and get $20 off Confidently Canva today!

You can make an awesome cover in Canva, upload it to myecovermaker.com and create an eye-catching 3D model. They say, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but people totally do, especially online.

6. MEMBERSHIP SITES

Membership sites are fantastic for recurring income. The possibilities for membership sites are pretty endless.

Maybe you’re a fitness blogger? Create a membership site that provides different workout routines, meal plans, and accountability meetings each month.

Maybe you sell sewing patterns? Each month you can release a new set of patterns for your members. The list can go on and on.

SIDE NOTE: Join our FREE Facebook community to help brainstorm membership ideas for your digital products!

Some memberships are less about “new product” delivery (unlike our monthly template membership!) and more about community and interaction. Many include weekly or monthly meetings, some have support groups, and others have challenges.

You can really get creative with it! Each month you can release a new set of patterns for your members.

7. COACHING SESSIONS

Coaching is less “passive” than most other digital products. It does involve time with your client, but it allows for individualization and a personalized approach for your customer, which is a major selling point.

Plus, much like selling digital workshops, coaching doesn’t require actually creating anything ahead of time!

The “product” is the time you spend with your client, so there’s really not much to do prior except setting up a sales page and possibly an onboarding system to allow your client to sign contracts, book appointments, and pay.

SIDE NOTE: Before we retired our design coaching service, we used and loved Dubsado!

Each person learns differently and is at a different point in their journey. Allowing a set amount of time to talk about where your client is, where they want to be, and how to get it is priceless.

Not to mention, a lot of people are willing to pay higher price points for this.

8. APPS

You do NOT need to be an app developer to create an app.

All you need is a killer idea. You can hire an app developer to create it for you (find one on upwork.com), and then you can sell it.

Another way to make money with apps is to treat it as its own sales funnel by offering the app for free and having an upgraded paid version or in-app purchases.

This is the least popular out of all the digital products we mentioned, but the upsells within the app will pay off!

9. TEMPLATES

If creating digital templates to sell sounds like your cup of tea, you’re in the right place.

“Done for you” solutions are always a big hit! Especially anything that has to do with copy, spreadsheets (with formulas), etc.

Templates are essentially fill-in-the-blank mini-products that someone can customize to make their own. It gives them a jumping-off point and saves them a ton of time (like our templates)!

Our biggest source of income has always been from selling digital templates. They work for every niche because they’re entirely customizable.

In fact, our first product launch made over $10k in sales with an email list of only 2,077 subscribers. Design templates SELL! Check out our Complete Blogger Template Toolkit to see why!

Aside from graphic design products to sell, copy templates, spreadsheet templates, and many other versions of templates can easily be shared via Google Docs.

Make sure the Doc or spreadsheet is in view-only mode and instruct people to make a copy before editing.

10. PATTERNS

Typically, this is more for the craft niche. Sewing, knitting, crocheting, etc. These patterns are awesome digital products, and they totally sell like hotcakes. People love them!

Not to mention, things like these make great tripwires, bundles, and opportunities for a membership site.

Related Post: Profitable Tripwire Products to Design for Your Blog

In our opinion, though, patterns fall under an “instructional format” digital product.

This can include things like recipes, DIY, and the like. Anything that requires a list of needed items and then step-by-step instructions.

You’re essentially teaching someone how to create something, and it’s amazing!

11. DOWNLOADABLE FILES

If you know how to create files like fonts, embroidery art, clip art, stock photography, etc., then you have it made, friend.

People, especially bloggers or content creators, pay good money for things like this!

Plus, you can sell it on your own site along with sites like Creative Market (entirely digital products) or Etsy. If you do stock photography, sell it to the major stock photo sites and boost your income even more!

Of course, these things are also great to sell to clients as well. Selling to clients requires a little more “time for money” than other digital products.

However, you can sell it at a much higher price point!

12. SWIPE FILES

People love to know how you did it! Swipe files (you can create one in Google Drive) that include your exact copy for sales pages, launches, emails, etc.

The idea is that they will personalize it to their own style of writing that fits their product (similar to a template), but you are giving them direction.

It’s a huge bonus if you’ve had success. If you say something like “the sales copy that made me $10,000 in 3 days,” you are guaranteed to make sales.

The benefit of this is that you’ve already created it; you’re just packaging it up and selling it. The downside is that you may be exposing yourself to copycats.

Realistically, that’ll happen with all digital products. Be sure to make your Terms of Service very clear!

Of course, having an idea for digital products is one thing.

But knowing how to make it is another.

The majority of these things can be made or designed in something like Canva (you can also grab our FREE Product Design Planner to help you get started).

It doesn’t take a fancy, expensive product to make digital products sell. It just takes an eye-catching design that stands out among all the other things fighting for your audience’s attention.

Once they buy it, your amazing content will keep them coming back for more.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products
  • FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit (including eBook)
  • 5 Easy Ways to Create Worksheets to Grow Your Blog Fast
  • Profitable Tripwire Products to Design for Your Blog
  • 5 Ways to Build Your List by Repurposing Blog Content

Don’t forget to grab your FREE Ebook template (that includes worksheet pages)! It’s the PERFECT jumping-off point to any paid product (or even lead magnets!) that you can customize to fit your brand and use to start making that passive income.

GET THE FREE EBOOK TEMPLATE NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that’ll cut your design time down to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every single design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Learn how you can do the work once and get paid over and over! Digital products are an amazing way to create passive income for your blog and start making money online fast even without a ton of pageviews! #digitalproducts #passiveincome #eproducts #designproducts #designdigitalproducts

Filed Under: Product Creation, Growth Strategy, List Building

Design a Workbook in Canva Easily | Full Tutorial + Video

July 19, 2021 by Simplifying DIY Design 1 Comment

Last updated on March 13th, 2023

Workbooks are so popular because they’re great as a lead magnet or paid digital product. Check out this full tutorial on how to design a workbook in Canva (the easy way) and start growing your email list!

Ready to design a workbook AND launch it? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET THE FREE PRODUCT QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

It’s no secret product creation is where it’s at! It’s a one-and-done thing (for the most part), and it brings in consistent revenue month after month.

But it’s way easier said than done.

Ever wonder how so many people are able to create a jaw-dropping Canva workbook? Or, how they make them at all?

Well, product creation is one of the things we cannot get enough of. It’s our jam, and we’re fine with that because we get to show you exactly how you can do it, too!

The very first workbook we designed was for a client with a VERY large audience. This was before we realized the power of digital products!

She created a very long, 60+ page workbook, and she totally rocked the launch.

REMEMBER THIS POST LATER! PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

If you're a blogger that is making Digital products or lead magnets then you won't want to miss this post! Find out exactly how to design a workbook in Canva- it's so much easier than I thought!!

Now, we were a bit nervous. We had just started dusting off our graphic design skills; all we had to work with was Canva.

It probably took us over a month to design a workbook between the design, the edits, the testing of usability, even more edits, etc.

But our jaws almost hit the floor when we read her income reports shortly after. Want to take a guess at what they were?

She was able to generate 6 figures from this workbook in the 3 months after the launch. WOW! She seriously rocked it!

WHY DESIGN A WORKBOOK IN CANVA?

It was said before, and we’re going to say it again. Product creation is a MUST if you want to go from blog to business.

Workbooks, ebooks, courses, you name it. Product creation is the best way to monetize your blog and make a recurring income.

Here are some key points to remember:

  • Have a solid audience in place to survey and find out what they want and need
  • Determine the best learning method, whether writing (workbook), watching (video), etc.
  • Don’t just launch it and let it go – Turn it into a tripwire or add an email funnel so it’s still making you money after the launch

SIDE NOTE: Our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit will list out all the things you need to do before launching a digital product!

So today, we wanted to do a tutorial about creating a product (specifically, a workbook). The thing is, we know this is kind of a “giving too much away for free” type of video, but we don’t really care.

We started this site to help you learn, and that’s what we’re going to do.

Here are the nuts and bolts of it: (make sure to watch the video at the top to see how it’s done!)

START WITH A COVER DESIGN

Whether we like it or not, people judge a book by its cover. Your cover design should be used in product mockups for Pinterest, social media posts, landing pages, the works.

You’ll use it to promote your workbook because it gives your audience an idea of what they’ll get in exchange for an email or credit card.

Related Post: How to Create a Product Mockup Template in Canva

With that said, your workbook cover design needs to be strategically thought out.

It’s the difference between your reader saying, “YES, I need this!” and “Not even worth my email address.”

  • Busy covers create overwhelm, so keep it simple – white space is your friend
  • They say, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but people do it literally all the time
  • Minimal is best, even if you have a colorful, busy brand like ours, so keep it professional and clean
  • Stick with your brand colors and fonts to maintain brand consistency

When you design a workbook or other digital product, it’s important to choose the style that you want to carry throughout the workbook.

Remember, keep the look of your Canva workbook consistent with your brand for a more organized and cohesive feel.

Related Post: How to Brand Your Blog | Achieve Brand Consistency

When we design a workbook, we often start by outlining all our sections and what is going on in those sections. This is helpful when it’s time to plan the layout of each page.

You can do this in something like Google Docs or whatever program you use for your content creation.

Use the same type of layout and style throughout the book and decide whether it’s appropriate to add page numbers.

For example, planners may not need page numbers because people might print multiple copies of one page.

Workbooks may need page numbers because the order is important. What if someone prints it, and the pages get out of order? Instant frustration!

If the thought of designing a workbook from scratch has you sweating bullets, not to worry, friend. Our Canva workbook templates in the Design Shop offer the perfect solution to blank page paralysis.

Just swap out your colors, fonts (optional), and text. That’s it!

We also cover in-depth how to design your very own printables in our COMPLETE Canva course, Confidently Canva!

You’ll learn everything there is to know about Canva so you can feel completely confident in your designs because now you truly understand the tool you’re using and the design concepts involved.

Enroll now and get $20 off Confidently Canva today!

START CREATING YOUR WORKBOOK LAYOUT DESIGN

After you add your border, header, and any subtitles you might have, it’s time to start laying it out.

As we said, we generally try to map this out on a large piece of paper prior to putting it on the screen. Be sure to use a pencil for this step because you may need to erase and adjust as you go.

It’s much easier to determine how things are positioned on paper rather than on the screen.

We’re a big-picture type of group!

You can use shapes to create a writing space for people to ask questions. You can also use bullet points or checkboxes to help organize the space your potential customers will be filling out.

Here are a few examples of some VERY different page layouts from our DiyDesign Creators Vault.

After creating over 100 Canva workbook designs since the start of Simplifying DIY Design, we can confidently say there’s no right or wrong design layout.

It’s all dependent on what your workbook will teach your audience and their particular learning style.

If your Canva workbook has check or text boxes, we recommend converting it into an editable workbook.

Related Post: The Easiest Way to Create an Editable Printable for Your Readers

That way, your readers can fill it out whether it’s printed out or kept digital. Little convenient details like this will continue to build trust and credibility with your audience.

CREATE A FUNNEL WITH YOUR CANVA WORKBOOK

Did you notice the QR code on the last page of our workbook template shown above?

That little element bridges the gap between products, thus creating a funnel.

Have you ever…

  • Bought a product (whether it’s a workbook, course, etc.) from a brand you trust
  • Implement the steps taught in the product
  • Want to continue the learning process but don’t know which product to buy next?

This has happened to us so many times, and we found it to be a bit frustrating.

We created every single product in our Design Shop to build on one another. But what we noticed was the influx of emails all saying the same thing.

“I have (product XYZ) but don’t know which product to buy next!”

Now, let us preface that we do NOT mind chatting with our readers via email and Messenger.

But can you imagine the number of readers who are NOT emailing and messaging us who have this same question? That’s sales we’re missing out on!

To remedy this situation, add a QR code to your workbooks, printables, ebooks, etc., to continue your product funnel.

Related Post: Simple Design Hack – How to Use QR Codes for Easy Money

When your reader scans the code, they’ll know the next product you recommend. Send them to a sales page, checkout page, or even something as simple as a blog post that you have monetized.

All in all, workbooks are a great lead magnet or even paid digital product. You can design a workbook from scratch or use a design template to make the creation process even easier (and faster).

And don’t stress, there isn’t a right or wrong way to design a workbook! You’ve got this, friend.

If you have questions on how to copy and paste in Canva, merge Canva designs, Canva keyboard shortcuts, and how to exceed the 300-page limit, check out our top 7 Canva design tips!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit
  • How to Create a Product Mockup Template in Canva
  • Confidently Canva
  • How to Brand Your Blog | Achieve Brand Consistency
  • DiyDesign Creators Vault
  • The Easiest Way to Create an Editable Printable for Your Readers
  • Simple Design Hack – How to Use QR Codes for Easy Money

Don’t forget our FREE Product Creators Quickstart Kit! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!

GET THE FREE QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that’ll cut your design time down to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every single design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Want to learn how to easily design a workbook in canva? This is a full video tutorial that will show you exactly how to design a digital product workbook in canva and it's totally free! This can be used by bloggers, shopify owners, etsy sellers, and more to make money online and scale your online business! #digitalproducts #canvatutorial #canvatips #canvatemplates
Ever wonder how to design a workbook in canva for free? Here is a full video tutorial that walks you through step-by-step how to design a workbook for lead magnets, digital products, courses and more! #workbook #designforbloggers #designaworkbook #leadmagnet #digitalproducts

Filed Under: Design Tutorials, Product Creation

Digital Worksheets | How Worksheets Can Grow Your Email List

June 17, 2021 by Simplifying DIY Design 17 Comments

Last updated on March 13th, 2023

Digital worksheets make great lead magnets because they’re super quick to make and help your reader take action. In this article, you’ll learn how to design digital worksheets AND the top 5 ways you can use worksheets to grow your blog!

Ready to grow your email list? Get our FREE Worksheet Template Pack! These fully editable Canva templates are perfect for creating high-converting digital worksheets!

GET THE WORKSHEET TEMPLATE PACK!

Owning a business is the best job, the best feeling we’ve ever had. It’s also the most frustrating one.

Doesn’t it seem like everyone else has it figured out? Everywhere you turn, someone who seems to be making a million dollars after 3 months of blogging.

And here you sit, struggling with engagement, pumping out content, writing to your email list, and doing ALL the things.

You invest, learn, and haven’t seen that return just yet.

That little time before you actually start making money with your blog is one of the most challenging times in business.

It’s also the time that people generally give up.

Of course, there will always be ups and downs. Like when you finally figure out a social media network, an algorithm change tanks your traffic.

Or when you set up an opt-in that took you a whole day to put together, and no one subscribes. It’s frustrating, right?

We totally get it. We’ve been there, and it’s NOT fun. But then we discovered the power of digital worksheets.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS LATER? SAVE IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD! ⬇

Digital worksheets make great lead magnets because they help your reader take action. Learn to design digital worksheets AND how to use them to grow your blog!

The one thing we consistently make for our blog (aside from newsletter content) is digital worksheets.

We’d create the worksheet, add it to our resource library, post about it, do a Facebook live to talk about it, then send it to our existing list as a NEW freebie.

Not only did that help us nurture our audience, but it also helped us develop even more content and grow our email list.

BENEFITS OF DIGITAL WORKSHEETS

Digital worksheets are great because they help people take action. If they’re taking action, they’re implementing YOUR strategies.

Once people have success with your methods, you have not only helped them, but you have now established trust with this person. They know their life is easier when they listen to you.

Think of the last time you implemented strategies you learned from a blogger.

  • How did you feel as you were taking action?
  • How did you feel after you were done?
  • How did you feel when you saw success from their strategies?

Those feelings will make selling a whole lot easier. They’ll trust your suggestions because you’re genuinely trying to help them, and they know that you know what you’re talking about!

If you’re a brand new blogger, you may not know what that feels like just yet. And that’s okay!

Did you ever have a lot of information thrown at you without any way to process it?

Digital worksheets complement that information by putting it into action. You’re writing it down, working through it, processing it, and remembering it.

Don’t forget to grab our FREE Worksheet Template Pack so you can elevate your content and put it into action!

Now that we know the incredible benefits of digital worksheets, let’s jump into HOW you can use them to grow your blog.

#1: As a content upgrade

Digital worksheets make a great content upgrade, especially any kind of informational or instructional post. Anytime you’re walking someone through a solution, adding a digital worksheet helps transform your words from theory to action.

Examples of digital worksheets as a content upgrade are:

  • Planners (home, blog, etc.)
  • Weekly calendars
  • Trackers (budget, progress, goals, etc.)

Plus, it helps the person have your information and the work they put in for future reference.

Related Post: 17 Content Upgrade Ideas to Keep Your Readers Coming Back for More

It’s just an added bonus that digital worksheets help grow your email list when used as a content upgrade!

#2: Actionable task for your email list

As we mentioned earlier, we’d always send new digital worksheets, printables, and freebies to our email list to nurture them and develop trust.

The strategy was simply taking a recent post and expanding on it in a more actionable way. We want someone to close our email after reading it and be so motivated that they actually do the thing we’ve called them to do.

And having a digital worksheet makes that really easy.

Being able to say, “download and fill out the worksheet,” is easier than, “Now go do all the things I just talked about.”

Not to mention, it actually helps increase your click-through rates which directly improves deliverability!

Here’s an example of how we send new freebies to our audience via email.

There are no new graphics, no promotional email, just a mention at the bottom of an email.

We don’t know for sure, but it seems like 99% of the population LOVE digital worksheets!

#3: To get people working for it

Have you ever seen people run challenges that promote giveaways to those who complete assignments?

We love it! And here’s why.

When you have a giveaway, and all you want them to do is sign up for your list, it might get those people on your list.

BUT, they only signed up because they wanted that free thing, and that’s it.

We’ve almost always found that people who sign up for a giveaway never even open an email unless the subject line is “Congrats, you’re the winner.”

This makes your list cold, resulting in poor deliverability, poor open rates, and less over-business growth.

The thing is that when you make them work for it, you’re getting them involved while giving them a tiny sample of what you have to offer.

We’ve seen giveaways with daily “challenges,” and the people are only entered to win if they complete all the challenges. We’ve also seen ones with a set of questions to answer.

Putting together a quick digital worksheet is an excellent way to have all your answers organized and easily referable.

If someone puts in the time and effort to win your free thing, they are way more interested in you and your business and much more likely to be a good lead for future sales.

#4: As a product

Do you want to know what we do with our worksheets AFTER we send them to our list? Repurpose them.

Take your worksheets, expand on them, add some in-depth content, and you’ve got a digital product ready to sell.

Related Post: 12 Digital Products That Are Selling Like Hotcakes

Create a simple sales page, design a few Pinterest pins and social media posts, and add it to your email funnel for new subscribers.

DESIGN NOTE: ConvertKit makes building funnels, creating automation, and tagging subscribers super simple. Since day one of our business, we’ve been using it and absolutely love it!

One-and-done product = passive income.

If you need some digital worksheet product ideas, check out these 40 best-selling Printables on Etsy. Some of those worksheets are pure genius!

#5: As part of your e-course

Have your heart set on an e-course? Guess what! You still need digital worksheets. The same goes for webinars and even masterminds.

Worksheets, again, help put your module or lesson into action.

If you’re getting people to take action, they’re going to implement your ideas and should have success.

If they succeed (or even simply finish your course), they’ll get so much more out of it. You’ll have satisfied customers while also making a difference in their lives.

You’ll probably want also to include checklists and other printable material in your course, but the same design principles apply.

The same goes for webinars! If you’re giving your attendee a worksheet, they’re much more likely to follow along and be engaged in your presentation.

Which means they’re more likely to make it to the end. And if they do, the odds of making a sale go UP.

Related Post: How Bloggers Can Use QR Codes for Easy Money

One design feature we love to add at the end of our worksheets and digital products is a QR code. This is the perfect way a buyer can continue through your funnel and on to your next paid product.

HOW TO MAKE DIGITAL WORKSHEETS

Head on over to Canva to design your digital worksheets! If starting with a blank page, your go-to size will be 8in. x 11.5in letter-size page.

Add an eye-catching header and a simple border. Add your content, design elements, boxes, and other items as needed (like checkboxes, charts, lines, etc.)

Keep your digital worksheets minimal (lots of white space) so they’re easily printable. Nothing is more frustrating than wasting half an ink cartridge on one printable!

(We’ve done it accidentally, and it was NOT fun!)

You can learn more about the perfect worksheet or printable here. Or, you can use our FREE Worksheet Template Pack, available at the bottom of this post, to cut your design time in half.

Simply change the colors and fonts to match your brand. Add your content and adjust any boxes as needed to fit your text. Click ‘Download,’ and you’re good to go!

Related Post: How to Create an Editable PDF the Easy Way

Don’t forget to make your worksheets editable (on both Mac and PC!) for those who prefer to keep things digital.

Then create a promo image for your blog post and a few Pinterest pins that lead to a landing page. Lastly, send it to your list as mentioned above in #2, and you’re all set.

While it may seem obvious, we cannot get enough of digital worksheets!

DIGITAL WORKSHEETS ARE GREAT TO HELP GROW YOUR BLOG.

We’re all about actionable advice, and digital worksheets help people implement ideas. You want your readers to take action – bottom line.

If you want to learn more about how you can create your own worksheets, printables, and graphics using Canva, you’ll LOVE our complete Canva course, Confidently Canva!

It’s EVERYTHING you need to know to feel completely confident in your designs because now you truly understand the tool you’re using and the design concepts involved.

Enroll now and get $20 off Confidently Canva today!

We promise digital worksheets will make it much easier when you’re ready to sell your first digital product to your email list.

And in order to have them clicking that ‘Buy’ button and practically throwing their money at you, you need to build that trust. It all starts with trust!

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:

  • 17 Content Upgrade Ideas to Keep Your Readers Coming Back for More
  • Anatomy of the Perfect Blog Printable
  • 12 Digital Products That Are Selling Like Hotcakes
  • How to Create an Editable PDF the Easy Way

Don’t forget to grab our FREE Worksheet Template Pack! These fully editable Canva templates will help you create actionable worksheets that build trust, so they’re ready to buy!

GET THE WORKSHEET TEMPLATE PACK!

TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS

Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that’ll cut your design time to just minutes.

To be honest? It’s the best $12.99/mo OR $119/yr we spend on our business because that time we save with every single design is put back into making MORE money in our business!

WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇

Digital worksheets make great lead magnets because they help your reader take action. Learn to design digital worksheets AND how to use them to grow your blog!

Filed Under: Growth Strategy, List Building, Product Creation

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