How to Create Your First Digital Product (Even with a Small Audience)

When most people think about how to create their first digital product, their mind goes straight to a course, a membership or a 47-module programme built to sell to thousands. In my book, that is totally backwards.

I walk you through the approach I actually used to start my own business: sell to one person first, understand exactly what they need, and get paid while you learn. It works even if you have a small audience, or no audience at all.

Key Takeaways

• The fastest way to make your first online sale is to sell to one person, not thousands.
• 1:1 coaching is the best first digital product because it needs minimal tech, commands a higher price and doesn't need a big audience.
• Do what doesn't scale at the start: follow up personally with every lead and offer them a call.

Why Your First Digital Product Shouldn't Be a Course

I see it all too often. Someone goes into a bit of a vacuum and builds out the programme they think people want. Then they offer it to the world and get no responses, not even a single sale.

People regularly come to me and say, "I've built this programme, can you help me sell it?" My next question is always, "Do you have an audience to sell it to?" Inevitably, the answer is no.

The problem isn't the product. It's that it was built before anyone was asked what they actually needed.

Start With 1:1 Coaching

This is exactly how I started my own personal brand. I began as a service provider and had calls with hundreds of people to fully understand what they wanted before I built any online programmes.

The best bit is that clients pay you while you do your research on them, and they get results along the way. It's a win-win.

Why I recommend 1:1 coaching as your first digital product:

• Minimal tech setup: you don't need a full course platform built out before you can start.
• You learn exactly what people need: every call teaches you more about your audience's real problems.
• Higher price point: a personal, live service is worth more than a self-study product.
• No big audience required: you only need a handful of clients, not thousands of buyers.

If you want the bigger picture behind this, I cover how to turn your knowledge into an online business in a separate post.

How to Find Your First Coaching Clients With a Small Audience

You don't need a huge following. You need a simple way for the right people to find you and raise their hand.

Create Content People Are Searching For

I start every video with keyword research. For example, before making a video about YouTube brand accounts versus personal accounts, I checked the search volume and found around 9,900 monthly searches for "YouTube brand account". If I've done my job well, my video shows up when someone searches that term.

Search-based content means the right people find you, rather than you chasing them.

Capture Leads With a Free Opt-In

At the end of each video I offer a next step. If someone gets value from the content, they click a link to a landing page and give me their email address in exchange for something useful.

That form lives in Kajabi, which is my CRM, payment processor and course hosting platform all in one. I walk through how to set this up in my post on capturing your first leads with Kajabi.

Do What Doesn't Scale

Yes, you can automate a welcome email. Any CRM lets you set up tags, triggers and automations once a form is submitted.

But when you're just starting out, I'd follow up with every new subscriber personally. Ask them, "What's your biggest challenge? How can I help?" Then offer them a free call.

These people have already given you their email address. They're interested in what you have to offer, so use that call to dig deeper into their biggest challenge.

How to Run the Discovery Call

Don't overthink this part. Send them a link to a free Google Meet or Zoom call, then:

1. Ask questions about where they are and what they're stuck on.
2. Let them do most of the talking.
3. Take notes.
4. Afterwards, follow up by email with how you could help.

Only offer to work together if you genuinely think you can help them and they're a good fit for you. That honesty matters more than the sale.

How to Package Your Coaching Programme in Kajabi

Once someone wants to work with you, you need somewhere professional to deliver the coaching. I use Kajabi's coaching product because everything sits under one roof.

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Go to Products and choose Coaching, then click Get started.
2. Give the programme a title, add the coach's name and a short description. I called mine "VIP Coaching" with the description "Intensive online business coaching with Tim".
3. Add a thumbnail that shows what the package includes (worth spending a little time on the design).
4. Choose one-to-one rather than group coaching. I always start with 1:1.
5. Set the number of sessions. I decide this after the scoping call: someone who needs a lot of help might need 8 to 10 calls, someone who needs less might need 4 to 6.
6. Set the session length. I'd schedule 60 minutes but leave around 75 as a buffer.
7. Add your brand colours and check the preview on the right-hand side.
8. Set your price and click Save and finish.

Kajabi has its own scheduler and live video, so you don't need to pay for Zoom separately. For a deeper walkthrough of the design side, see my guide to the Kajabi coaching product.

How to Price Your First Coaching Programme

Think about the transformation you're giving your client. What would they actually pay for that result? That's the best starting point for your price.

Kajabi gives you a few payment options:

• One-time payment: the client pays the full amount upfront.
• Subscription: a recurring monthly fee.
• Payment plan: the full price split over several instalments.
• Free: useful for testing the setup yourself.

Preview It as a Client

A tip: add yourself as a student to your own programme so you see exactly what clients see. In my client portal, each person can schedule their sessions and find their call replays, notes and resources all in one place.

When you offer it to someone, it looks professional and everything is contained.

Complete the Customer Journey

To finish things off, build a simple landing page for your coaching offer with an Apply now button. That way, anyone who lands on your website and wants to go straight into coaching can apply.

I'd still offer a free call as part of the application, to check you're the right fit for them and they're the right fit for you.

When to Move From 1:1 to Group Coaching

After you've worked with a few people this way, you'll start to see trends: the same questions, the same challenges, the same sticking points.

If you get to the point where you're overloaded with applications, that's when it makes sense to start a group coaching programme. You'll know exactly what to put in it, because your clients will already have told you.

Conclusion

Creating your first digital product doesn't start with building a course. It starts with one person, one conversation and one paid coaching client.

Create content people are searching for, follow up personally with everyone who opts in, and offer a simple 1:1 coaching package. Once you've seen the patterns across a handful of clients, you'll have everything you need to build your next product with confidence.