I've experimented with digital products for a decade. Here's what worked, what didn't, and what I learned.

This is a look back at my personal history creating and selling online:

✔️ Ebooks
✔️ Courses
✔️ Newsletters

Including successes and failures, starting in 2011.

I share how much I earned from each, plus what I learned.

And what's the same vs. different in today's Creator Economy 👇

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2011 (I was 30)

⭐ Launched my first ebook, How to Build a Part-Time Social Media Business

It sold for $24.

Lifetime earnings: $33,316

What I learned: This way of making a living is fun and lucrative.

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2011

⭐ Ebook 2: How to Take a Career Break to Travel, sold for $29.

I left my job to travel Africa & wanted to help others take a similar adventure.

But... the ebook flopped.

Lifetime earnings: $1,124

What I learned: Topic was too niche to sell big.

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2012

⭐ My first paid newsletter, Solopreneur Secrets. $5/mo.

Didn't earn much.

What I learned: I was stretched too thin to give this enough attention. But I fell in love with the paid newsletter concept.

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2012

⭐ Ebook 3: How to Create a Social Media Strategy

I experimented with a higher price point, $59. It worked.

Lifetime earnings: $59,320

What I learned: People will pay for resources that help them make money.

And creating an upsell funnel WORKS.

My two social media ebooks complemented each other. People bought the $24 one, then returned for the other. Or they'd buy both as a package, at a discounted rate.

Lifetime earnings for the package was in the 10s of thousands (don't have numbers).

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2012

⭐ My first course, How to Become a Twitter Power User.

It was a simple email autoresponder series, one tip each day.

Sold for $99.

I didn't earn much (don't have exact numbers). Still, people on Twitter still remind me they took the course back in the day!

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2014

⭐ Ebook 4: Turn Your Side Hustle Into a Full-Time Business

Sold for $47.

Lifetime earnings: $6,339

What I learned: I think this could've done better if I'd reframed it with a better title. Title is everything.

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2014

⭐ First bundle of other creators' products, sold on The Write Life, a website for writers

Price: $79.

3-day earnings: $34,000

What we learned: People loved this concept and would pay more. We increased price to $99 the next year and doubled our revenue.

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2020

⭐ Ebook 5: The Money Guide for Freelance Writers

Co-authored with my accountant dad.

Earnings so far: $6,125

While I haven't marketed it much, this is the only ebook I still offer for sale: https://themoneyguideforfreelancewriters.com/

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What's different about selling "info products" now vs. then?

💡 Communities are essential. Back then you could get away without them

💡 The space is more crowded. It's harder to sell

💡 More, better creator tools to choose from; you don't have to MacGyver solutions

But overall, so much is the same.

💡 It's possible to package your knowledge into a product others want

💡 Margins are huge, because the only real costs are your time + tools

💡 Experimenting is key to success

Got questions?