5 Simple Mistakes to Avoid When Creating a Digital Product

Creating a digital product is a great way to add an additional stream of income to your business. 

It’s also hard work. 

You know you have a great idea and want to share it with your audience. But when it comes to creating it? That’s the overwhelming part. 

Trust me, I’ve been there. 

However, there are some simple mistakes you can avoid when creating a digital produc that will help ensure it provides value for your audience and leads to loyal customers. 

In this post, I’m sharing five simple mistakes you can avoid when creating a digital product. 

Mistake #1: Not getting right to the point

There are a ton of ways for people to learn online: videos, podcasts, articles, lengthy courses, and more. The great thing about a digital product like an e-book, template, or PDF guide is that you’re providing a real solution that can get them from point A to point b in a short amount of time.

It’s much quicker to purchase a Canva marketing template than it is to learn Canva, research best practices, and design it yourself. 

When you create your digital product, ask yourself: 

• How can I make this more clear and concise?

• Is there any information in here not directly related to the result I want them to get? 

• How can I make the content easier to read and scan?

Mistake #2: Not spending time mocking up your digital product

It can be so much work creating a digital product that sometimes it’s tempting just to skate right past the product listing itself. Whether you’re selling on Etsy or your own platform, it’s more important than ever to create high-quality mockups and product listing photos to sell your item. 

When you’re selling a digital product, it’s basically just a file. Now I don’t know about you, but the thought of a PDF doesn’t get me slapping my credit card down. Creating high-quality mockups and listing photos help bridge the gap and encourage a customer to imagine themselves using that digital product in their own life. 

I always recommend including mockups that have a human element to them or showing the product in the device it would be used in. Canva has a SmartMockups tool on the free plan that is great for this. In one click you can add a device frame to your cover photo or create a mockup that mimics the home environment of your target audience. 

For a more in-depth tutorial on this, you can check out my post here on creating mockups for digital products. 

Mistake #3: Being too broad with your digital product idea

The goal of creating a digital product is to solve a very specific problem for a specific audience. It’s going to be a lot harder to sell people on something generic when there is so much competition in the digital product space. 

I recommend pairing a general learning subject with your own unique skill or twist for the best result. For example, instead of “Healthy Recipes e-Book” you would do something like “6 Weeks of Healthy Recipes for Busy Moms.”

In addition to allowing you to empathize with that audience specifically when creating the content, it makes marketing it much easier. People are much more likely to buy a product when they know it’s going to solve their specific needs. 

Mistake #4: Pricing your digital product too low

I recently saw a TikTok of someone sharing advice from her dad that said something along the lines of “if the price/salary you’re asking for doesn’t make you feel embarrassed, it’s too low.”

Now to be clear: I’m not saying to price gouge or overprice your items. I’m more saying that in my experience, we tend to underestimate the value we provide and can feel “guilty” about charging a higher price (or is this just something I struggled with?!). 

A big mistake I used to make was when estimating what something should cost, I only figured out the time it took me to create it. This is missing the time it takes for admin, marketing, software and tools, and providing customer support. 

Shopify has a great in-depth article sharing how you can price your products. Remember, selling an item is all about the value it provides to the customer. It doesn’t matter if it took me 1 hour to create if it provides $200 of value to the buyer. This article by Seth Godin shares a funny story about one of his college professors on this very topic.

Mistake #5: Not meeting a need that’s already there

When I first started creating digital products I would get these amazing (or so I thought) ideas for products that I hadn’t seen anywhere. While it’s a good idea to be thinking of new things, if you don’t see them out there, that could mean there isn’t a need for them. 

I don’t want you to get discouraged or think I’m saying not to be original. What I’m trying to say is that people need to be out there searching for the product or service you offer. 

The biggest turning point for me was when I stopped thinking only of what would be fun and instead put the legwork into researching keywords that were the perfect combination of demand + solving a problem within my unique skillset. 

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I hope these mistakes to avoid will help you when it comes to creating or refining your next digital product idea. If you liked this post, save it for later by pinning one of the images below.

What are your questions about creating digital products? Let me know in the comments below!