1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:03,798 Morgan Franklin: The world of digital products is a magical 2 00:00:03,859 --> 00:00:07,447 and mystical place. It's the passive income we dreamed of. 3 00:00:07,509 --> 00:00:11,035 It's making money while we sleep. It's confusing. Welcome 4 00:00:11,097 --> 00:00:14,932 to pod School. Today's lesson is going to be about how to make 5 00:00:14,994 --> 00:00:18,582 and sell your first digital product when I think about the 6 00:00:18,644 --> 00:00:22,170 most impactful and accessible ways for podcasters to make 7 00:00:22,232 --> 00:00:25,387 money from podcasting, especially within that first 8 00:00:25,448 --> 00:00:29,098 year, it's having a digital product. Most of the time, your 9 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,748 first digital product can be created with minimal time and 10 00:00:32,810 --> 00:00:36,336 very limited overhead, so you don't need a lot of time or 11 00:00:36,398 --> 00:00:40,295 money. And I think that that's why this is so appealing for new 12 00:00:40,357 --> 00:00:44,068 podcasters. But of course, the big question is, what are you 13 00:00:44,130 --> 00:00:47,780 gonna make and how are you actually going to sell it. Hello 14 00:00:47,842 --> 00:00:51,058 and welcome to podcast for profit. My name is Morgan 15 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:54,089 Franklin. I'm a Podcast Producer, strategist and 16 00:00:54,151 --> 00:00:57,987 educator. This podcast will help you create and grow a podcast 17 00:00:58,048 --> 00:01:01,946 that cuts through the noise of social media and speaks directly 18 00:01:02,007 --> 00:01:05,719 to your target audience. If you're ready to create a podcast 19 00:01:05,781 --> 00:01:09,121 that will align you with the experts in your industry, 20 00:01:09,183 --> 00:01:13,080 position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source 21 00:01:13,142 --> 00:01:16,730 of revenue for your business. You're in the right place in 22 00:01:16,792 --> 00:01:20,627 this episode, we'll talk through those two specific questions, 23 00:01:20,689 --> 00:01:24,462 what kind of digital product will you create? What could that 24 00:01:24,524 --> 00:01:28,050 look like for you in your podcast? Then how will you sell 25 00:01:28,112 --> 00:01:31,700 it? How can you take this idea and actually turn it into a 26 00:01:31,762 --> 00:01:35,473 product that your audience wants to buy? About a year ago, I 27 00:01:35,535 --> 00:01:39,556 started my own journey trying to figure out what digital products 28 00:01:39,618 --> 00:01:43,577 I'd sell from this podcast, from my own podcast, and despite the 29 00:01:43,639 --> 00:01:47,412 glitz and glamor and excitement, I realized that this was not 30 00:01:47,474 --> 00:01:51,309 gonna be as easy as I thought it was gonna be. First of all, I 31 00:01:51,371 --> 00:01:54,897 had no idea what I was gonna sell. One, what would people 32 00:01:54,959 --> 00:01:58,485 actually want to buy from me? And two, how was I actually 33 00:01:58,547 --> 00:02:02,444 going to create that thing and sell it. Digital products can be 34 00:02:02,506 --> 00:02:06,156 anything, and I want to take a small step back here to talk 35 00:02:06,218 --> 00:02:09,991 about digital products and what they are before we really get 36 00:02:10,053 --> 00:02:13,888 into the episode. Product folio says that a digital product is 37 00:02:13,950 --> 00:02:17,476 any product or service that is primarily based on digital 38 00:02:17,538 --> 00:02:21,126 technology, existing in a non physical or intangible form. 39 00:02:21,188 --> 00:02:24,590 Okay? What does that mean, right? Basically, that means 40 00:02:24,652 --> 00:02:28,487 that this is a virtual product or service that someone can buy 41 00:02:28,549 --> 00:02:32,199 and use in a virtual space. Again, what does that mean? For 42 00:02:32,260 --> 00:02:35,972 example, I think of one of the first digital products that I 43 00:02:36,034 --> 00:02:39,622 ever bought, which was songs on Apple iTunes to play on my 44 00:02:39,684 --> 00:02:43,519 iPods. Now, obviously, most of us will not be selling songs or 45 00:02:43,581 --> 00:02:47,540 any kind of audio like that, but another product that I remember 46 00:02:47,602 --> 00:02:51,499 buying early on was presets for Photoshop and Lightroom to edit 47 00:02:51,561 --> 00:02:55,210 photos. I'd buy these from independent sellers and use them 48 00:02:55,272 --> 00:02:58,922 in conjunction with my Adobe software. And again, you might 49 00:02:58,984 --> 00:03:02,757 not have this kind of digital product either, but look on how 50 00:03:02,819 --> 00:03:06,778 to achieve the same results that you've been able to achieve, or 51 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,551 maybe a calendar or a Canva template, or hundreds, literally 52 00:03:10,613 --> 00:03:14,325 hundreds of other things. There are endless possibilities on 53 00:03:14,387 --> 00:03:18,222 what you could create and sell. But as I'm sure that you know, 54 00:03:18,284 --> 00:03:21,810 especially as a podcaster, endless possibilities does not 55 00:03:21,872 --> 00:03:25,769 always help you figure out what you should be doing or what you 56 00:03:25,831 --> 00:03:29,666 need to create, and that's why I made the most incredible tool 57 00:03:29,728 --> 00:03:33,625 for all my podcasters, for you, so that you can figure out what 58 00:03:33,687 --> 00:03:37,213 kind of digital product that you could sell and what your 59 00:03:37,275 --> 00:03:41,110 audience actually wants to buy from you. It's a form, and it's 60 00:03:41,172 --> 00:03:45,193 going to be linked in my episode description. And how it works is 61 00:03:45,255 --> 00:03:48,657 basically you put in the information about your podcast 62 00:03:48,719 --> 00:03:52,121 and your audience, and if you have any digital products 63 00:03:52,183 --> 00:03:55,647 already, and it'll just instantly email you 10 ideas for 64 00:03:55,709 --> 00:03:59,730 products you can sell. I've been working on this tool for several 65 00:03:59,792 --> 00:04:03,751 weeks, and I am just so excited for you to use it. I cannot wait 66 00:04:03,812 --> 00:04:07,524 to hear what you have to say, and all you have to do is take 67 00:04:07,586 --> 00:04:11,236 about a minute and a half to fill out everything about your 68 00:04:11,297 --> 00:04:15,009 podcast and audience, and the ideas will be emailed directly 69 00:04:15,071 --> 00:04:18,164 to you. It is that easy. Figuring out what kind of 70 00:04:18,226 --> 00:04:21,999 digital product that you should create is a lot like figuring 71 00:04:22,061 --> 00:04:26,020 out what your podcast should be about. That's what it reminds me 72 00:04:26,082 --> 00:04:29,917 of so much, because it needs to be at the intersection of your 73 00:04:29,979 --> 00:04:33,938 own knowledge and what you have to provide already and what. The 74 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,959 audience wants to hear from you or to buy from you, there has to 75 00:04:38,021 --> 00:04:41,485 be that like even balance of what we can create and what 76 00:04:41,547 --> 00:04:45,258 people actually want. My best suggestion for starting out is 77 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,784 to look at what you've already made for yourself or your 78 00:04:48,846 --> 00:04:52,248 clients. I'll use myself as an example. I was producing 79 00:04:52,310 --> 00:04:55,651 podcasts professionally for about three years before I 80 00:04:55,713 --> 00:04:59,362 started thinking about what I was gonna sell or any kind of 81 00:04:59,424 --> 00:05:03,259 digital product. So when I was brainstorming, I took a look at 82 00:05:03,321 --> 00:05:06,847 all the things that I had already created for my clients. 83 00:05:06,909 --> 00:05:10,559 What was I already using on a day to day basis to make this 84 00:05:10,621 --> 00:05:14,270 podcast production work? And my two digital products that I 85 00:05:14,332 --> 00:05:18,353 launched with and that I'm still selling are my podcast media kit 86 00:05:18,415 --> 00:05:21,632 and my podcast guest questionnaire template. And I'd 87 00:05:21,694 --> 00:05:25,714 made both of those and perfected them to the point that I thought 88 00:05:25,776 --> 00:05:29,550 when I'm thinking about what I think podcasters need and what 89 00:05:29,612 --> 00:05:33,199 they would need to produce their first podcast well. And I 90 00:05:33,261 --> 00:05:36,664 thought, okay, if this works well for me, I think other 91 00:05:36,725 --> 00:05:40,623 podcasters would love this too. Take a look at what systems and 92 00:05:40,684 --> 00:05:44,582 tools that you already have in place, and figure out if there's 93 00:05:44,643 --> 00:05:48,231 any way that you can package those up to sell them. I know 94 00:05:48,293 --> 00:05:52,005 that might sound a little bit confusing, but I think about a 95 00:05:52,067 --> 00:05:55,778 client who I'm working with currently that is in the primary 96 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,552 education space, so teaching parents and students about ages 97 00:05:59,613 --> 00:06:03,078 K through fourth grade, so five to 10, there are so many 98 00:06:03,139 --> 00:06:06,789 worksheets and templates and calendars that they could sell 99 00:06:06,851 --> 00:06:10,748 online. And even better, if all of those came with a video or a 100 00:06:10,810 --> 00:06:14,336 podcast episode or a private podcast episode to accompany 101 00:06:14,398 --> 00:06:17,614 them, that would be so incredible for a parent who's 102 00:06:17,676 --> 00:06:21,388 trying to help their student in the classroom, or what about 103 00:06:21,450 --> 00:06:25,285 somebody that's an accountant or a lawyer or a business coach? 104 00:06:25,347 --> 00:06:28,502 There are just so many worksheets and templates and 105 00:06:28,564 --> 00:06:32,461 guidelines that you could make to sell to people is insane. But 106 00:06:32,523 --> 00:06:36,543 again, figuring out what to sell is only half the battle, because 107 00:06:36,605 --> 00:06:40,131 maybe you have a great idea for a template or even a live 108 00:06:40,193 --> 00:06:43,967 coaching seminar. How do you make sure people really want it, 109 00:06:44,028 --> 00:06:47,802 and how do you get it out there for them to purchase? This is 110 00:06:47,864 --> 00:06:51,823 where I think waitlists are such a practical and important tool. 111 00:06:51,885 --> 00:06:55,534 A waitlist can be really easy. I use kit, formerly known as 112 00:06:55,596 --> 00:06:58,627 ConvertKit, as my email management software. They 113 00:06:58,689 --> 00:07:02,463 literally have a free landing page like you don't have to pay 114 00:07:02,524 --> 00:07:06,174 for anything or for any of their services. They have a free 115 00:07:06,236 --> 00:07:09,638 landing page where you can set up a wait list and start 116 00:07:09,700 --> 00:07:13,288 collecting people's emails. Also, I want to clarify when I 117 00:07:13,350 --> 00:07:16,938 say waitlist, I mean that you are just collecting people's 118 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,649 contact information that are interested in an idea that you 119 00:07:20,711 --> 00:07:24,546 have. The you explain is coming out or is in development. That 120 00:07:24,608 --> 00:07:28,629 way, when you finally launch the product, you already have a list 121 00:07:28,691 --> 00:07:32,217 of people that you know are interested in it, and you can 122 00:07:32,279 --> 00:07:36,052 gage the interest of the people signing up on that wait list, 123 00:07:36,114 --> 00:07:39,949 because you would rather make a wait list that doesn't get any 124 00:07:40,011 --> 00:07:43,970 sign ups, then create an entire course that takes you months and 125 00:07:44,032 --> 00:07:47,867 hundreds or 1000s of dollars to make, and then no one buys it. 126 00:07:47,929 --> 00:07:51,826 So think about setting up a wait list to get people excited for 127 00:07:51,888 --> 00:07:55,909 any kind of products that you're even thinking about making, that 128 00:07:55,971 --> 00:07:59,683 way you can gage, okay, are people actually as interested in 129 00:07:59,744 --> 00:08:03,704 this as I am making it. The next thing is ask the people who are 130 00:08:03,765 --> 00:08:07,601 already working with you. Just say, hey, I really value you as 131 00:08:07,663 --> 00:08:11,250 a client. I value you as a listener. I want to know what I 132 00:08:11,312 --> 00:08:14,776 could do to make your life easier. What problems are you 133 00:08:14,838 --> 00:08:18,612 having right now? Then go from there. You don't have to guess 134 00:08:18,674 --> 00:08:22,385 what people need or what they want. Ask them what they need. 135 00:08:22,447 --> 00:08:26,282 And think about what people ask you the most. Like, literally, 136 00:08:26,344 --> 00:08:29,870 what are the questions that people ask you the most? What 137 00:08:29,932 --> 00:08:33,767 are people paying you to do the most often? What are your most 138 00:08:33,829 --> 00:08:37,479 listened to episodes? Think beyond your podcast again, what 139 00:08:37,541 --> 00:08:41,376 are you hired most frequently to do, what's the information or 140 00:08:41,438 --> 00:08:44,778 tools that you're giving to people that they value the 141 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,552 most?Again? And if you're having any questions about this or 142 00:08:48,613 --> 00:08:52,511 thinking, oh my gosh, I have no idea what people ask me. I want 143 00:08:52,573 --> 00:08:56,284 to plug again, the tool that I made for you. It is linked in 144 00:08:56,346 --> 00:09:00,119 the episode description, and it takes account of all of these 145 00:09:00,181 --> 00:09:03,831 questions. All right, so let's say that you have an idea of 146 00:09:03,893 --> 00:09:07,604 what you want to do. Let's say that you're a cake decorator, 147 00:09:07,666 --> 00:09:10,883 and you help other cake decorators to book out their 148 00:09:10,945 --> 00:09:14,533 entire calendar year. You're selling a digital calendar, a 149 00:09:14,594 --> 00:09:17,935 profit and loss sheet, and a Canva template set that's 150 00:09:17,997 --> 00:09:21,894 customizable social media posts for their business. You already 151 00:09:21,956 --> 00:09:25,729 have a podcast about the same topic, helping cake makers make 152 00:09:25,791 --> 00:09:29,193 money and book their full calendar year. So now what we 153 00:09:29,255 --> 00:09:33,090 need to think about is, how are you going to take this idea to 154 00:09:33,152 --> 00:09:36,988 reality? The first things first, I would make a wait list and. 155 00:09:37,049 --> 00:09:40,699 There that's on your website or through your email. Hosting 156 00:09:40,761 --> 00:09:44,658 doesn't really matter. Start a wait list page and mention it in 157 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,122 every episode. So say, Hey, I'm launching these digital 158 00:09:48,184 --> 00:09:51,958 products. Here's what they are going to be loosely here's who 159 00:09:52,019 --> 00:09:55,793 it's going to help sign up for the wait list and be the first 160 00:09:55,855 --> 00:09:59,690 one to know about the launch. And maybe you have a promotional 161 00:09:59,752 --> 00:10:03,525 deal or something, and then put the wait list in every single 162 00:10:03,587 --> 00:10:07,113 episode description, so that people can easily sign up if 163 00:10:07,175 --> 00:10:10,763 they are interested Next, you're gonna figure out what you 164 00:10:10,825 --> 00:10:14,660 already have and what you need to create. So maybe you already 165 00:10:14,722 --> 00:10:18,310 have all of the things and you're using them for yourself. 166 00:10:18,372 --> 00:10:22,269 In that case, it wouldn't really take that much work, but maybe 167 00:10:22,331 --> 00:10:25,980 you haven't. Maybe you have a really rough profit and loss, 168 00:10:26,042 --> 00:10:29,692 maybe that you're trying to design some of these things for 169 00:10:29,754 --> 00:10:33,218 podcasters who are just a one person show. This is where 170 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,682 things like Upwork and Fiverr are going to be your best 171 00:10:36,744 --> 00:10:40,270 friend. Look for people and vendors that will help you to 172 00:10:40,332 --> 00:10:44,229 design these digital templates is there are hundreds of people. 173 00:10:44,291 --> 00:10:47,693 This is all that they do. They help people make digital 174 00:10:47,755 --> 00:10:51,528 products to sell. So type in what you're looking for and take 175 00:10:51,590 --> 00:10:55,240 the time to look at what these different vendors have done. 176 00:10:55,302 --> 00:10:59,075 Read the reviews. This is not something that you just want to 177 00:10:59,137 --> 00:11:03,096 pick the first person that pops up. Make sure that you're hiring 178 00:11:03,158 --> 00:11:07,055 someone, that you know what they are going to be giving you and 179 00:11:07,117 --> 00:11:10,767 that you like what they are giving you, because think about 180 00:11:10,828 --> 00:11:14,787 it. I mean, after that, you are going to take what they give you 181 00:11:14,849 --> 00:11:18,746 and sell it to somebody else. So make sure that the people that 182 00:11:18,808 --> 00:11:22,211 you are working with are creating things that you would 183 00:11:22,272 --> 00:11:25,860 be proud and excited to sell. Then from there, and whether 184 00:11:25,922 --> 00:11:29,572 you're cleaning up your own stuff or you've got your PDF or 185 00:11:29,634 --> 00:11:33,345 Excel or Canva links that you've bought and helped work with 186 00:11:33,407 --> 00:11:37,119 another person to make these files are going to be ready for 187 00:11:37,181 --> 00:11:41,078 you to start selling to buyers. So how does that process really 188 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:44,727 work? This is the part where you can go a lot of different 189 00:11:44,789 --> 00:11:48,501 directions. Personally, I use Shopify. This is not sponsored 190 00:11:48,563 --> 00:11:52,522 by Shopify, but I wish it was if you have a Squarespace website, 191 00:11:52,584 --> 00:11:56,543 I believe that they do have an E commerce capability. Basically, 192 00:11:56,604 --> 00:12:00,502 you just need a place to have a digital storefront to sell this 193 00:12:00,563 --> 00:12:04,337 product. There are hundreds of ways to do this. If you have a 194 00:12:04,399 --> 00:12:07,677 link tree, even in your Instagram description, I know 195 00:12:07,739 --> 00:12:11,265 that they just launched a digital storefront, and most of 196 00:12:11,327 --> 00:12:14,853 the time it is as easy as uploading the document that you 197 00:12:14,915 --> 00:12:18,688 want to sell. You fill out the information about it, and then 198 00:12:18,750 --> 00:12:22,647 you just start selling. There's a lot of different options, but 199 00:12:22,709 --> 00:12:26,483 my best advice is to do some research and see what's going to 200 00:12:26,544 --> 00:12:29,885 serve you the best for the amount of money that you're 201 00:12:29,947 --> 00:12:33,968 putting into it. No one wants to lose money on just hosting their 202 00:12:34,029 --> 00:12:37,679 digital product and not making any sales, because I've seen 203 00:12:37,741 --> 00:12:41,576 that happen too. So if I were you, I would start with a really 204 00:12:41,638 --> 00:12:45,288 low cost option, and especially if you only have one or two 205 00:12:45,350 --> 00:12:48,999 products, so that you're not spending 5060, $70 a month and 206 00:12:49,061 --> 00:12:52,958 then maybe not even making that return. Try to go for something 207 00:12:53,020 --> 00:12:56,670 free or under $20 a month. All right, so now we figured out 208 00:12:56,732 --> 00:13:00,320 what our product will be. We have a place where people can 209 00:13:00,382 --> 00:13:03,969 buy it, and now we are tasked with making sure that people 210 00:13:04,031 --> 00:13:07,186 know why and how to buy it. That's a million dollar 211 00:13:07,248 --> 00:13:10,774 question, right? That's why every marketer has a job. But 212 00:13:10,836 --> 00:13:14,795 let me just say, as a podcaster, you already are so far ahead of 213 00:13:14,857 --> 00:13:18,383 the curve, you already have an audience that is coming to 214 00:13:18,445 --> 00:13:22,280 listen to you. However, this is still a delicate balance. I've 215 00:13:22,342 --> 00:13:25,930 read hundreds, probably 1000s, of one star podcast reviews 216 00:13:25,991 --> 00:13:29,765 complaining about how the host is always selling, and it's so 217 00:13:29,827 --> 00:13:33,538 annoying that this podcast is just one long ad. So again, we 218 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:37,064 have to make sure that we're always putting our listener 219 00:13:37,126 --> 00:13:40,714 first, because if they aren't listening, it doesn't really 220 00:13:40,776 --> 00:13:44,549 matter how amazing the product is or how great of a job we've 221 00:13:44,611 --> 00:13:48,385 done at marketing it on our own podcast. If no one's there to 222 00:13:48,446 --> 00:13:51,911 listen, it really does not matter. Listeners want value, 223 00:13:51,972 --> 00:13:55,931 and I think as podcasters, that we should focus on that a little 224 00:13:55,993 --> 00:13:59,581 bit more when we're trying to sell our own products on our 225 00:13:59,643 --> 00:14:03,169 podcast. How is this product going to bring value to your 226 00:14:03,231 --> 00:14:06,633 listener? How can you explain how it works? How can you 227 00:14:06,695 --> 00:14:10,592 explain how you've used it? How can you explain why you made it 228 00:14:10,654 --> 00:14:14,056 sell the benefits of this product and not the features? 229 00:14:14,118 --> 00:14:17,892 How is it going to improve the listener's life? You know what 230 00:14:17,953 --> 00:14:21,541 to do if you want to sell a digital product, but you still 231 00:14:21,603 --> 00:14:25,438 aren't sure what it could be. Use my free tool. It's linked in 232 00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:29,088 the episode description. It'll take information about your 233 00:14:29,150 --> 00:14:33,047 podcast and your audience and a little bit of magic from me and 234 00:14:33,109 --> 00:14:36,882 email you 10 digital product ideas that are made specifically 235 00:14:36,944 --> 00:14:40,408 for you and your podcast audience. It's the most amazing 236 00:14:40,470 --> 00:14:44,367 tool that I have ever made for podcasters, and I'm so, so proud 237 00:14:44,429 --> 00:14:48,326 of it. I can't wait to hear what you think. Like I said, should 238 00:14:48,388 --> 00:14:52,285 take a little bit less than two minutes to use. So go ahead and 239 00:14:52,347 --> 00:14:56,306 give it a try. If you want some one on one, help from me. On how 240 00:14:56,368 --> 00:15:00,203 to create products to sell on your podcast, or how to sell the 241 00:15:00,265 --> 00:15:03,853 products that you already have on your podcast. My contact 242 00:15:03,915 --> 00:15:07,317 information will be in the episode description. You can 243 00:15:07,379 --> 00:15:11,338 schedule a free exploratory call with me, and as always, I can't 244 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:14,988 wait to listen to your podcast. Hey, thank you so much for 245 00:15:15,050 --> 00:15:18,638 joining me on this episode. If you enjoyed the podcast and 246 00:15:18,699 --> 00:15:22,411 you'd like to hear more episodes like this one, go ahead and 247 00:15:22,473 --> 00:15:25,690 subscribe to the show. New episodes air every Monday 248 00:15:25,751 --> 00:15:29,649 morning. And if you found this episode valuable and you want to 249 00:15:29,710 --> 00:15:33,546 help other business owners and podcasters, will you leave me a 250 00:15:33,608 --> 00:15:37,381 five star review. It helps the show rank higher in the charts 251 00:15:37,443 --> 00:15:41,031 and brings more entrepreneurs the information they need to 252 00:15:41,093 --> 00:15:43,320 start making money on their podcast.