If you’ve ever fallen victim to limiting beliefs, you know that they can have such an undesirable hold on your mind and confidence. Don’t let these four common mindset mistakes hold you back from creating and selling digital products your audience is desperately searching for!
As graphic designers, we were hooked on digital products even before we had our own. You see, we were hired by a very well-known budget blogger when we got a request for a workbook.
Not only was it the first workbook we ever made, but we also made the entire thing in Canva.
Shortly after she launched her 80+ page workbook, she generated six figures in sales.
While that may be astonishing (because it definitely was!), we couldn’t get over how something we created just ONCE was able to sell on repeat without any extra work.
If that wasn’t emotional overload, we realized her products were changing lives.
Ready to launch your digital product? Get our FREE Product Creators QuickStart Kit today! You’ll get a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template to help you nail your launch!
As a budget and finance blogger, money was a hot topic for her readers. Naturally, the testimonials she got would bring tears to anyone’s eyes.
So when we started Simplifying DIY Design, we knew we wanted to create and sell digital products above all else. But in order to do that, we had to really, really know our audience.
We had to know what product to create and how to write copy that would resonate with them. We had to know what tech works best and the behind-the-scenes of a launch, like what days convert best.
Before we knew it, we got really good at selling digital products. So good, in fact, that we bring in six figures annually from product sales alone.
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We say all of that because we know a thing or two about what goes through the minds of bloggers when it comes to selling digital products.
We’ve helped hundreds of students create and launch their very first digital product using our Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox.
But before we get started, there’s one thing we want to make abundantly clear. If you sell Canva templates, you’ll need to abide by Canva’s Content License Agreement.
There are some major LEGAL dos and don’ts regarding Canva templates. Don’t break their agreement just trying to make money with your blog!
It would behoove you to READ THIS ARTICLE FIRST before you start creating and selling your Canva templates.
Now let’s dive right in! This is what EVERY blogger needs to know before selling digital products.
Table of Contents
- 1 “NO ONE WILL WANT WHAT I’M SELLING”
- 2 “MY EMAIL LIST IS WAY TOO SMALL TO MAKE MONEY FROM DIGITAL PRODUCTS”
- 3 “SELLING IS SPAMMY, AND I DON’T WANT TO SPAM PEOPLE”
- 4 “I CAN’T AFFORD A GRAPHIC DESIGN TO CREATE MY PRODUCT”
- 5 Don’t let these things hold you back from selling digital products!
- 6 RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:
- 7 TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS
“NO ONE WILL WANT WHAT I’M SELLING”
If you’re hesitant about selling digital products because you think no one wants what you’re selling, listen up.
This is why knowing your audience is SO important. How do you get to know your audience? Ask them!
You can ask for a reply to an email (your welcome email is great for this), or you can send them a quick survey via Google Forms or SurveyMonkey.
We’ve even seen surveys right in the welcome email by asking a question and linking to three or four different responses. Once the subscriber clicks an ‘answer,’ they’re immediately tagged in their email service provider.
This simple yet powerful ‘rule’ (if using ConvertKit) makes selling digital products a breeze because you’ll only email those who’ve shown interest right from the very beginning.
We’ve used surveys to help us map out our most profitable products. Seriously!
Related Post: The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products
Our very first product launch generated over $10k because it was created based on what our readers wanted.
We recommend gathering the following details about your audience:
- What they’re struggling with
- What they’ve tried before and why it didn’t work
- Why it matters to them to have this problem solved
Even these three little things can make such a difference in the creation and marketing of your digital product!
Again, if you create something specifically for your unique audience, you’ll never have to wonder if they’ll want what you’re selling.
“MY EMAIL LIST IS WAY TOO SMALL TO MAKE MONEY FROM DIGITAL PRODUCTS”
If we had a dime for every time we heard/read this, we’d have a lot of dimes.
Your list size means nothing if you’re providing valuable content to your readers. Our niche is very specific. With that, we’ve accepted that we’ll never have a crazy large email list.
We seem to average 10k-12k subscribers with a good clean-out every six months or so. By doing so, our weekly emails have an average open rate of 42%. Not to brag or anything, but that’s pretty freaking good!
Aside from emailing consistently, we ensure they’re nothing shy of valuable – quick Canva tips, free resources we think they’ll like, etc.
Related Post: How Worksheets Can Grow Your Email List
Did we always have a list of 12k subscribers? Heck no! We launched our first-ever product to a list size of 2,077 subscribers, to be exact.
Like we said earlier, we made OVER $10k in just seven days.
It’s not about the size when it comes to selling digital products. It’s about how engaged you are and what type of content you consistently provide your readers.
“SELLING IS SPAMMY, AND I DON’T WANT TO SPAM PEOPLE”
This is by far the most common response whenever we mention selling digital products in our weekly email.
Here’s the thing. Yes, you made your digital product so you can make money with your blog, and that’s a-OK!
You started your blog to provide for your family, leave behind the dreaded 9-5, or travel whenever and wherever. While our reasons are different, we all have a common denominator – to make money.
We’re not spending hours writing content that’ll help our audience simply because we ‘feel’ like it. We’re not going live because we like to hear ourselves talk.
And we’re not selling digital products because it’s a fun hobby.
We want to solve OUR problem (the reason we started a blog) while simultaneously helping our audience solve THEIR problem.
It’s hard to ask people to give you their hard-earned money, but you earned it! Products take a LOT of time and effort.
We never really valued a digital product until we made one. It was then that we realized, ‘holy smokes! That’s why some products are so pricey!’
Creating and selling digital products is incredibly time-consuming. And it doesn’t stop there. You answer questions, troubleshoot, provide excellent customer service, and update content.
If you have a Facebook group attached to your product, then it’s even more ongoing.
You’re providing value. You’re providing a transformation and deserve to be paid for it.
Besides, if someone is so inconvenienced by launch emails or a light mention of your product in a related blog post that they forget all of the FREE value you gave them the rest of the time, then they’re definitely not your people.
Related Post: Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Selling Digital Products
As long as you always work to provide value above all else, you’ll never feel spammy.
And yes, launch emails are a GREAT place to provide value as you educate your people on why they might need your product.
“I CAN’T AFFORD A GRAPHIC DESIGN TO CREATE MY PRODUCT”
As graphic designers, we know the average cost of an outsourced project.
Not everyone can afford to hire a graphic designer, especially regarding the first product, since your blog may not be making an income that you can re-invest.
The thing is, you don’t actually need to hire a graphic designer. You can create your very own digital product using a simple design tool like Canva!
Every single lead magnet, tripwire, and digital product sold through Simplifying DIY Design was created using Canva.
We highly recommend starting with a design template to give you a professional jumping-off point.
You change the colors and fonts to match your brand and add your content. Templates are super easy to edit and even faster than starting from scratch!
Related Post: How to Best Edit Design Templates for a Unique Look
Templates are actually how we grew our blog to a full-time income (with only a part-time time commitment) in just six months.
Because we’ve always been transparent about our growth (both the good and the bad), we noticed our audience continuously asked about product launches.
After a few surveys, we created our COMPLETE product creation system (which includes 325+ product design templates and so much more) at a fraction of what we’ve charged clients for a simple workbook.
Templates are the most cost-effective way to create professional-looking digital products for your blog.
Don’t let these things hold you back from selling digital products!
We completely understand that it can be scary putting yourself out there.
A few years ago, we went live on our Facebook Page for our weekly Design Lab, only to find out it was on our personal page for all of our family and friends to see.
It stings when you pour yourself into a product only to fall flat immediately after.
We’ve been there, done that.
But we also know how it feels to get heartfelt emails full of thanks and appreciation. To have people tell you that you’ve changed everything for them, made their life easier, and solved a major problem is so worth it.
We can’t even begin to imagine where we’d be if we let these things get in the way of creating and selling our digital products.
We would’ve never had so many opportunities to spend time with our families, take the entire month of December off, and make more money than we did with our full-time jobs.
If you haven’t created a digital product or you haven’t been successful with your digital product, we don’t want you to hold yourself back. It all starts with your audience.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS POST:
- FREE Product Creators Quickstart Kit
- The Easy Way to Create and Sell Printable Products
- How Worksheets Can Grow Your Email List
- Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Selling Digital Products
- How to Plan Your Digital Product Design from a Graphic Designer
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!
TRY CANVA PRO FREE FOR 30 DAYS
Start your FREE Canva Pro trial today and unlock ALL of their incredible time-saving features that 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 design is put back into making MORE money in our business!
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