Get Your Digital Product Questions Answered!
Write your question in your own post, like this one, and I'll answer it.
Things I know.
I've been making digital products for over 30 years so I know a lot of stuff :)
Ask me anything, like:
- What kind of things do people buy?
- Where do people buy x or y products?
- How do I deliver my digital file?
- What kind of technical skills should I learn?
- Should I create a website?
- What marketplace is good for XYZ?
- Will people steal your product?
- How should I price my digital products?
- What file formats work best for different products?
- What marketing strategies actually work for digital creators?
- Should I build an email list or focus on social media followers?
- Should I use a payment processor or marketplace?
- How do I handle refunds?
- How do I handle customer support?
- Should I create bundles or sell individual products?
- What are the best tools and software for creating digital products?
- How do I validate my product idea before building it?
- How can I make passive income?
- How do I know when my product is ready to launch?
- What do I need to know about licensing?
- What can I do about competitors?
- I just found out my product already exists! What can I do?
hi.Do you have any social media where I could message you?
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Hi Alexandr, you can email me at info@trythisnext.com but if it's a question about digital products it's best to ask it here.
I’m planning to enter digital products through social media content — not marketplaces first, but audience-first.
You’ve been creating and selling digital products long before trends existed, so I’m not interested in “what’s hot this month”. I’m more interested in what actually survives.
I’d really value your perspective on a few things:
- What types of digital products are still worth building today if the entry point is short-form or long-form content?
- Which product formats do you see growing over the next 2–3 years, not declining?
- If you were starting from zero today, with skills + curiosity but no audience, what category would you avoid completely — and why?
- Do you believe single-focus products still win, or are ecosystems (tools + content + community) now the only defensible model?
I’m not looking for a shortcut. I’m looking for a direction that isn’t already dead.
Thanks for your time,
Alexandr
AlexandrÂ
Great, thoughtful questions Alexandr.
1. The products worth building today are the same ones that were worth building 100 years ago and will be in 100 years from now.
Humans always want the same things and that shows no sign of changing; to be loved by our families and friends, to be respected at work, to be admired by our peers, to be healthy, to save time and always…to make or save money.
Any product that we believe can achieve any of those things has sold, is selling, and will always sell whether we promote them with short form or long form content.
2. Can you clarify what you mean by formats? I don’t think you mean file formats, but correct me if I’m wrong there.
3. I don’t avoid any particular category. I don’t have to because I almost always only make products for things I know a lot about.
For example, I would never make a legal advice product as I know nothing about law and I’d worry about doing a lot of damage, but for that exact reason, if I was a lawyer, that’s exactly what I would do.
That is it's built-in moat that keeps others out.
Being good at social media adds another one, there would be plenty of lawyers who could make the same product, but how many are good at social media? I’m neither of those, so I’d stay away.
My filter isn't the category or type of product, it's my abilities (expertise) and then whether I think I could attract and hold the attention of that specific audience.
Quick note: if your real skill is content/audience-building itself, you don't need to create products at all, in fact, better not to. Affiliate marketing might be the best path. Just sell what is already selling.
Otherwise, read on..
4. The model you describe (tools + content + community) is definitely much more defensible, and it’s a great way to go if you have the energy, time and resources to devote to it but I wouldn’t start with all that, you can grow into it later.
Unless your whole product is a community itself, start with a super simple single-focus product and once you get traction, you can add tools and community. In fact, I advise starting with even less than the actual product, to see if your idea has any traction.
Without a strong core product the defensive moat is just a waste of energy and will be self defeating.
Remember that all those addons create a defensible moat for a reason; they require time, effort and resources and until you have a proven, well selling product, those things will just drain you and take away from your ability to sell your product.
It’s not an either or, it’s a progression.
It may seem like I’m avoiding your question by not mentioning specific products or types, and I’m happy to discuss any specific product you’re interested in. I have studied hundreds of them, so feel free to ask.
However, as you suggest in your question, focusing on specific product types often leads to misleading attempts at a shortcut that wastes time later. Instead, let’s look at a framework that does work.
Rather than starting by looking for a product type that will grow, I would strongly encourage you to approach this by doing an inventory of your knowledge and skills.
What do you know well that you can help others with?
All products that sell well help people do something they want done:
Get more done, become healthier, get to work on time, get a raise, impress friends, reduce stress, save a relationship.
Since you are approaching it from the social media angle, you will need to make endless content about the same topic, from hundreds of different angles. You will need to sustain this for months, hopefully years.
Most of us can think of 5 great videos or posts for almost any product, that’s often how people come up with an idea for a product, but what about week 2, 3, or 36? Can you really make 500 videos or posts that people will want to watch or read?
How will those attract people to the product? The answer to these questions will be easy for something you know well, and almost impossible for a product you pick for any other reason.
It will be crucial that you are an expert (self-proclaimed is fine) in whatever help you are selling and you are unlikely to do that if you pick a product because you think the market will grow.
That is a great way to eliminate one of two equally good ideas, go for the one that is already selling, but to find a product to make from scratch, go with what you know.
If you know something well and can truly help people with it, there is no end to the content you can create, it will flow effortlessly and your enthusiasm will be genuine and you will naturally attract customers.