My first digital product

I've created my first digital product and that's what I've learned...

‍

‍

I'll start with something that's quick to implement...

... or so I thought. I have a web design offering that I've developed over the years and that works really well. I had originally created it in InDesign — and it always annoyed me having to open the program just to make changes. I had been secretly considering transferring my offer to Figma for a long time.

But I convinced myself that my offer worked perfectly as it is, and that I don't really have time to “just” reset it in Figma — the tool I work with all day anyway (in addition to Webflow, of course).

That's when I came up with the idea: To justify the effort, I could also make my offer available to other web designers. The idea was born, the project made sense, and I started.

So I set my alarm for 5 o'clock in the morning every day — the only time I could free up for my own project with two children and numerous customer projects. At first I was sure I would be done quickly...

‍

From sticks to sticks

While creating it, I quickly realized that it's not that easy to design a template that not only works for me, but is also understandable and easy to customize for others. There was also the challenge of developing a design that is modern, timeless and tidy — and ideally meets the taste of most people.

Fortunately, my target group is familiar with Figma and can visually adjust the offer as they please. However, after I had structured all the components in such a way that the offer was easy to maintain, I realized that a good offer alone was not enough.

The perfect offer is just one part of a larger process — the process of acquiring customers and turning them into satisfied, long-term customers.

‍

I had to start earlier

Since I've already done a lot of preliminary work in my process — which is one of the reasons why my offer works so well — I realized that I needed to start even further.

“The perfect offer is just one part of a larger process — the process of acquiring customers and turning them into satisfied, long-term customers.”

So I created additional modules that cover the steps before the actual offer preparation, for example:

👕 How do I get customers?

🤗 The first call — a guide

🙋 ‍ ♂️ Calculate web design projects correctly

All these steps are essential not only to convince potential customers, but also to really win them over as clients.

‍

A new name was needed

As the project continued to evolve, it was much more than just a simple Figma proposal template. So I decided to give it a new name — the Web designer kit was born.

For a short time, I toyed with the idea of moving the whole thing to a course platform. But I finally found the idea of keeping the entire digital product in a compact Figma file more exciting. This keeps everything flexible, expandable and in an environment that web designers already know and love.

‍

Videos should not be missing

Explanatory videos bring enormous added value and were a must for me to make the web designer KIT easier to understand. Unfortunately, Figma does not automatically offer the option of playing videos directly in design mode.

While there are plugins that make this possible, I didn't want to force anyone to install additional tools first just to watch the videos.

Luckily, there's a little hack:

Upload the videos to a platform of your choice — in my case Vimeo.
Open FigJam and paste the video link there.
As soon as the video appears as a preview in FigJam, copy and paste it into your Figma file.

Tadaa — problem solved! 🎉

‍

Real projects

The implementation of the real, actually accepted projects was completed relatively quickly, as these offers were already successful and I only had to transfer the content.

Nevertheless, I think this section is particularly exciting for many. Here you can get valuable inspiration and definitely take away one or the other idea for your own offer.

‍

9 modules — and counting

The originally planned 2 modules have now become 9 — and more are being planned. Because there are a few things to consider not only before preparing an offer, but many important steps also play a role afterwards.

Questions such as:

→ How do I export the offer as a PDF or share it via a link?

→ How do I present the offer to the customer in the best possible way?

→ How can I compress the PDF file efficiently?

→ Which tools are suitable for implementation?

These and many other topics have now found their place in the web designer KIT — and there is more to come!

‍

‍

40 hours +

Implement a digital product “just now”? It is not quite as simple as that. But I have to say — I really enjoyed working on it, even though new challenges have always arisen.

What I've learned in the process: You have to commit yourself to investing time without knowing the exact output. It includes mentally preparing yourself for the fact that no one might want to buy the product — even if you have thoroughly checked your needs beforehand.

This way of working is a completely different challenge, especially if you're used to working on client projects that generate immediate income.

‍

Don't lose in perfectionism

When is a product really ready? The honest answer: Never

That's why I had to consciously focus on creating the web designer KIT as well as possible without losing myself in perfectionism. My goal was to bring a first version to the market — at an introductory price. This allows me to test requirements and then further improve, optimize and make the product more accessible.

If you invest too much time and effort without being sure if you're even interested, it won't help anyone. Many even go the route of only creating a product when there is enough demand — they often sell it to their community in advance. If there is no interest, buyers get their money back and the product is never implemented.

However, I made a conscious decision to complete the product despite uncertainties — and to learn from it.

‍

“When is a product really ready? The honest answer: Never. That's why I had to consciously focus on creating the web designer KIT as well as possible without losing myself in perfectionism.”

The launch

Early in the morning I said to my wife: “I think it's time. The web designer KIT can go into the first round of sales. ” She was visibly relieved — probably also because she was hoping that my 5 o'clock morning sessions would now come to an end (or so she thought 😉).

It's a strange feeling to publish something that you've worked on in private for so long. On the one hand, there is this uncertainty — will it happen? On the other hand, a real moment of pride.

When was the last time I invested over 40 hours in something that was created entirely out of my own motivation?

‍

marketing? — Nothing from Kütt Kütt!

As the Cologne resident says: “Nothing from Kütt Kütt. ” And since my reach on social media is limited, the question quickly arose: How do you actually sell such a product?

The first step was, of course, to present the web designer KIT to my community. But it quickly became clear that it makes sense to “borrow” reach — in other words, to place paid advertising.

Google Ads seemed the most obvious to me, as the target group is already actively searching there and experience has shown that they are more willing to pay than on social media, where advertising is often perceived as annoying. Nevertheless, I initially decided on Meta advertising (Facebook & Instagram).

Why Because Meta offers excellent targeting options and is comparatively cheap to get started. This allows ads to be effectively tested in order to later display similar campaigns on other platforms or to scale the budget in a targeted manner.

‍

‍

The first sale

A short time later — While I was reading a book with my children, the notification of the first sale popped up. That feeling of spending time with family and making money “passively” was simply amazing. Although “passive” doesn't quite apply at this point.

Of course, I'll have to sell the web designer KIT a few more times to recoup the investments. But the entire process — from the idea to the first sale — was not only incredibly fun for me, but also gave me valuable insights into marketing.

“The feeling of spending time with family and making money “passively” was simply amazing. Although “passive” doesn't quite apply at this point.”

Let's go on

The second and third sale followed shortly after — and it seems as though the ads are slowly picking up steam. I'm excited to see where the journey will lead, because as I write these lines, it's only been 1.5 days since the launch.

I will definitely continue this article and share my experiences with my first digital product transparently with you. Is it worth it? Would I recommend it? Stay tuned — I'll keep you up to date!

‍

feedback

Now I'm incredibly excited about the initial feedback from buyers and about further optimizing the web designer KIT. Each feedback offers the opportunity to make the product even better and to respond precisely to the needs of users.

It shows that there is definitely a need — a great opportunity to develop further modules and to continuously expand KIT.

For me, the launch is already a personal success and I'm really looking forward to driving this project forward. More to come!

‍