Are you a digital creator looking to sell your products online? You have come to the right place. Digital planners have gained traction quite recently and can be a strong product for people looking to leverage that trend. However, with more competitors in the field, it becomes key to strategize creating a digital planner that is unique in its own way and appeals to the target audience. In this blog, we’ll explain the different digital planners and their features, how to make digital planners with ease, how to sell them, and how to market them effectively. Let’s begin.
Table of contents:
What is a digital planner?
A digital planner does the same function as a traditional paper planner rather it’s the virtual variant of it, but it’s different as it only runs on devices including computers, tablets and other smartphones. It has a number of templates that allows for information to be logged like notes, schedules, and other tasks. Digital planners are better, as most digital planners come with calendars for organization and productivity as well as other features like goal tracking and to-do lists.
Why should you create and sell digital planners?
Here are some compelling reasons why you should create and sell digital planners:
- Reduced Cost: Compared to traditional planners, creating a digital planner has a lower cost. There are no expenses for printing, mailing, or storing inventory. You can sell the digital planner for an unlimited number of times once created, allowing you to gain a large audience.
- Use across a range of devices: These planners are digital thus can be used on phones, tablets and computers. This means users do not have to worry about where they need to use their planners as they can be updated everywhere.
- Customization and Personalization: With digital planners users can customize and personalize it, enabling them to modify the planner based on their needs. Offering multiple choices in designs, layouts and features will help you serve more customers and build a more tailored planning process for them.
- Sustainability and Eco-Friendliness: In this day and age where sustainability is of greatest importance, digital planners are good alternatives to paper planners as they are more eco-friendly. Users are reducing the use of papers by going for the digital format which in turn makes the digital planners one that is enviroment friendly. This appeals the consumers who focus on eco-friendly products and is in line with the needs of the world to go green.
- Global Reach and Scalability: The physical and logistical boundaries do not restrain the digital products. Therefore, there is no restriction in selling your digital planners worldwide. Also, once you design your digital planner templates, it is easier for you to expand your business which allows you to meet the demand at ease without inventory and manufacture issues.
- Passive Income Potential: After creating and listing your digital planners templates, you can earn passive income as these templates can be purchased by users. Since customers are able to buy and download your digital products instantly, there is no need for you to keep fulfilling such orders.
Now that we’ve explored the benefits of creating and selling digital planners, let’s look at success stories from creators who have achieved great results by selling digital planners.
Inspiring Success Stories of Digital Planner Creators:
1. Alice Lima
Alice Lima, an architect by profession and a mother of two started using digital planners in her day to day life. Realising that she could now reach out to more people, Lima opened her own store on etsy. Alice’s digital planners quickly gained popularity and now allow her to support herself and her family. Alice makes $6000 passively by selling her digital planners.
2. Kayla
Having started out by selling digital planners through her Etsy shop, Kayla, who is the owner of Amma Rose Designs, ended up being one of the highest sellers for the digital planners on Etsy. In the year 2020, her Etsy shop’s total sales amounted to $93,534.21 which proved her success.
It is important to note that her previous experiences and passion, as well as her creativity all contributed to Kayla’s hard earned success in the digital planners’ industry. She opened her shop on Etsy to start selling planner templates back in August/September 2018, during which she only made $45 in the first month. However, less than four months into selling planners and after sticking to a shop improvement tactic, she started making reasonable sales. Her capability of sustaining and increasing her sales ultimately led her to become the number one seller in the planner category on Etsy.
Kayla urges using available resources and recommends going the extra mile as one must invest in their business. Also making sure that the brand image remains the same while keeping up with the trends is very crucial if you want to sell your services and products. In short, the motivational case of Kayla shows that with enough zeal and hard work, selling of digital planners can result in a great deal of earnings.
5 Steps to create and sell digital planners:
Step 1: Market Research and Planning
The most critical components to an effective digital planner business are thorough market research and careful planning hence this follows the first one among the five steps. Let’s break it down into further details:
1. Carrying Out Market Research To Determine The Target Audience
Doing proper research is what gives you insight into the decisions and choices of the consumers along with trends that are on the rise and at the moment. One of the good research tools is Google Trends which is effective in providing information about search interests and search related topics. Listening tools on social media such as Hootsuite or Sprout Social can also be of great help as they keep track of interactions and feedback from your target audience.
2. Evaluating Your Competitor and Identifying Unique Selling Points
The next thing to do would be to try to determine who your competitors are and evaluate them along with determining what your unique selling propositions would be. There are various aspects that need to be researched including other planners that other people are selling in the planners market to know what is effective, what can be improved and what is unique about your planner. SemRush or SpyFu are some SEO tools that help analyze what a competitor’s target is and what strategy they might be using.
3. Setting Goals for the Digital Planner Creation Process
You need to set clear goals before the creation of the digital planner. For example consider what sales and revenue would be generated or how many new customers to target. It is important to define specific and realistic goals as this will encourage you to work hard and remain committed to the goal. As a visual project management tool, you can refer to Trello or Asana to set, visualize and track targets.
By investing time and resources into market analysis and setting goals will give you a good start in your digital planner business. Figure out who your potential clients are, what your competitors are doing, and what you want to achieve with your creation. In the next step let’s look at how you can go about designing a Digital planner.
Step 2: Designing the digital Planner:
After conducting a market analysis and creating a business plan, the next stage in the process of creation and selling your planner is design stage. This stage includes outlining how the planner will appear, the theme or type to be used, and what materials are to be used for the design. Let’s go through each step of the process.
1. Determining the Structure and Format of the Planner
Begin by determining how you want your digital planner to be structured and formatted. Would you prefer targeting a specific day, week, or month, or a blend of the three? Consider the requirements and the likes of your target market. There are those who would want a comprehensive planner for every day while others would use it on a slightly wider scope such as a month. Try different combinations until you find the best fit for your audience.
2. Pick Up a Suitable Theme or Style that Connects with your Audience
When designing a digital planner, choosing some nice appealing theme or style is essential since it ties in how you expect to sell the planner to your audience. Try to analyze the possible customers’ characteristics and hobbies. For example, with this audience in mind, do you think they’d go for a simple design style with very few decorator items, an artistic and colorful design with more details incorporated or a design style fitted for a particular audience? This will enable you to have an understanding of the many visual designing styles your target customers love.
3. Selecting the Right Tools and Software for Design
Using the right tools and software applications will definitely make the designing process easier. The type of tools you use will also depend on how well versed you are with design and how intricate your digital planner is. For starters, without previous design experience, can choose a basic graphic design tool such as Canva, which has various editable templates and features. Or for more advanced alternative users, The Adobe Creative Suite (which includes Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe InDesign) offers advanced design options.
4. Adding Functional Elements to Your Digital Planner
Incorporating functional elements in your digital planner increases the user experience and makes the planner more engaging. Consider adding hyperlinks, or tabs, or buttons to ease navigation within the planner.
Other ways of making the more exciting is to include dropdown menus, check boxes, and video embeds, and other multimedia useful in guiding the user and enhancing their experience. There are programs like GoodNotes, Notability and Noteshelf that integrate features that are suited for interactive digital planning.
Also consider offering solutions for common user requirements like goal setting, note taking and habit forming by adding relevant parts in the digital planner. Adding features for setting goals and monitoring them motivates the users to accomplish more. Habit building and breaking for example could be catered for in habit tracking sections.
Last but not least, enough space for notes is essential for users to express their thoughts, reflections or any relevant information they see fit. Each section should be designed with a purpose in mind so that the digital planner will be truly an organizational tool.
Step 3: Testing your digital planner:
The next step after designing a digital planner is putting it to the test. Testing allows you to make changes in a product before it is launched. Here are some key points to consider:
1. Performing Usability Tests
Put simply, usability testing entails watching how users go through your digital planner and identifying the UI issues and other areas that can be improved. It helps you gauge how easy it is to use the planner, how effective the planner is, and whether end users are satisfied with it. There are many platforms for remote testing such as UserTesting, UsabilityHub, or Userlytics where users can conduct remote research. Or, you can set up a testing day with users in your area. That interaction will help you better understand your potential customers and the way they will use your planner.
2. Collecting Feedback From Focus Groups or Beta Testers
One of the other reliable methods of testing your digital planner is availing feedback from a focus group or beta testers. This group can be made up of family members, friends, colleagues, and people within the market segment that you intend to target. Distribute amongst them a prototype of your planner and request them to apply it and give critique about it. Making general observations about the usability of the planner, pointing out any features that are difficult to comprehend, or recommending possible new features may be part of this feedback. It would be wise to employ the use of online feedback forms such as Google Forms, Survey Monkey, Typeform to collect the information. Such feedbacks can help in knowing what should be changed and improving the planner so that it suits the target audience.
3. Revising the Design and Usability in Response to the Feedback
It is important to revisit the design and usability aspects of your digital planner after incorporating feedbacks of the usability tests and focus groups. Resolve issues raised or suggestions made for improvement of the experience of the users. Try out different designs, layouts as well as the functionality of the planner till you arrive at the middle ground of effectiveness alongside satisfaction. The chances of your digital planner succeeding will be greatly increased with repeat iterations of modifications to its design and functionality in accordance with the feedback received.
Step 4: Pricing and Marketing Your Digital Planner
When it comes to selling your digital planner, pricing and marketing are two of the most important factors. In as much as you have to come up with a pricing strategy that will be competitive, you also have to come up with a promotion strategy that will be able to target the audience. Some of the strategies worth considering in this area include the following:
1. Establish a Pricing Strategy that Remains Profitable while being Universally Accepted
When determining your pricing strategy, consider the value your digital planner provides compared to other similar products in the market. Check what their prices are and gauge the price range the potential customers would be willing to spend on your product. One thing to ensure is that the pricing is reasonable enough to be able to cover expenses, and still affect the bottom line positively. You could also look into lowering or raising the prices in order to appeal to more people.
2. Develop a Marketing Plan to promote your Digital Planner
To promote your digital planner, include a mix of online and offline marketing strategy. Focus on your target audience’s interests and behaviors and consider the following:
- Social Media: Leverage social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to reach your target audience. Share updates, sneak peeks, and engaging content that highlights the benefits of using your planner.
- Email Marketing: Build an email list and create engaging email newsletters that promote your digital planner. These newsletters can include discount codes, freebies, exclusive content, and updates on upcoming releases.
Step 5: Selling your Digital planner through an Online Store
When it comes to selling your digital planner, there are two primary ways to market, that is via marketplaces like Etsy or platforms like CheckYa. Lets look at each one of them:
1. Selling on Marketplaces like Etsy
One of the marketplace that deals in digital planners along with some other handmade arts is Etsy. Etsy offers sellers the following advantages:
- A large existing customer base: Etsy has over 82 million active buyers, making it an attractive option for sellers who want to reach a vast audience.
- Minimal setup required: Setting up an Etsy store is relatively straightforward and doesn’t require extensive customization. This simplifies the process of creating an online store, which can be useful for first-time sellers.
- A pre-existing infrastructure: Etsy has an existing infrastructure for payment processing, shipping, and customer support, which can save sellers time and money.
2. Selling on CheckYa
CheckYa is a platform that allows creators to sell their digital products easily. The CheckYa page is not only a store but also a link in bio/profile page that can be shared on social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to market directly to the followers. CheckYa offers the following benefits to its sellers:
- With CheckYa, creators can sell directly to their followers wherever they are on social media, making the sales cycle simple and efficient.
- CheckYa supports a variety of payment methods, including credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, making it easy for followers to make purchases.
- CheckYa doesn’t charge any listing fees or monthly fees, which can be beneficial for sellers who want to keep their overhead costs low.
Conclusion:
In this blog, we’ve covered the key steps in creating and selling a digital planner, including pricing, marketing strategy, and setting up an online store. We hope this guide has provided the inspiration and information you need to get started on your digital planner business.Now that you have a better understanding of the process, we encourage you to start your digital planner business today!
