Coaches offer a lot of themselves to clients. From 1:1 coaching to group programs, the responsibilities of a coaching business can spread one person too thin. Over time this can become taxing on a solo coach.
Some will say “just hire” or “contract out a few tasks.” These are valid solutions. But, they fail to consider coaches who are just getting started or who can’t afford it.
One option is creating and selling digital products that align with your coaching niche. Let’s dive into how you can use digital products to save time and offer more value to your clients while increasing passive income for your business.
Choosing the Best Digital Product for Your Coaching Business
Digital products are goods created, sold, and consumed entirely online. They range from educational content, like online courses and e-books, to practical tools like software, apps, and templates.
Digital products are appealing to coaching businesses because they are high-margin. This means they have low costs for making and selling them which boosts the potential for passive income. Another benefit of digital products is they can serve as a low cost segue into your higher ticket services.
Types of Digital Products
Before creating a digital product, you need to understand your current clients and your prospective clients. Think about your current clients first and ask yourself:
- What value do your current clients receive from you in a session?
- Is this something repetitive that you can recreate without you being present?
- Are you willing to share this element with a larger audience?
For prospective clients, it’s best to consider whether they are looking for quick, actionable tools or in-depth guidance. This will determine if you can set your digital product up on an autopilot format, which will require less effort, or if you have the capacity to provide more value through content creation.
Here are a few of the most common digital products for coaches.
1. Ebooks
If you are a coach who wants to educate your audience on a specific topic, ebooks allow you to lay out your thought processes, methodologies, and detailed information for your clients to refer to at their own pace. It will give them the opportunity to get a feel for what it’s like to work with you, without you being present.
This is a great option if you enjoy writing or already have a wealth of content that can be repurposed into a book format.
2. Online Courses or Programs
Online courses combine video, text, and assignments to create an immersive learning environment. This is best for coaches who would like to create a group session experience where you can teach and interact with your clients on their own time.
Courses and online coaching programs work best for coaches who serve clients that benefit from step-by-step instruction and visual aids.
3. Membership Services
This digital product creates a continuous engagement loop with your clients over a longer period of time. A membership service provides clients with access to content archives, community support, and other exclusive benefits.
Memberships also create a steady income stream. This highly depends on your ability to keep up with the content demand.
4. Templates & Printables
If you’re a coach who uses a structured format, templates and printables are an easy-to-digital product choice. These tools help your clients implement your strategies directly. They are relatively simple to create and can be sold repeatedly with little additional effort after the initial design.
Where To Sell Your Digital Products
After you’ve created a digital product for your coaching business, choosing the right platform to sell it is just as important as the product itself. Your choice can affect your product’s visibility, the customer experience, and even your profits.
Your Website vs. Online Selling Platforms
Selling digital products on your own website offers the most control over your brand, customer experience, and profits. Two of the biggest benefits of selling your digital products on your own website are:
- Having the ability to implement your SEO strategy to drive organic traffic directly to your site without competition from other sellers.
- Access and retention of your customer’s data which supports future marketing efforts.
The main challenge with using your own website is the initial setup and ongoing maintenance that it requires. You’ll need to manage your own hosting, security, and payment processing. This may require a higher level of technical expertise or the need to hire professionals.
Most online selling platforms handle much of the heavy lifting, including payment processing, security, and sometimes even marketing. This is ideal for new coaches or those who want to minimize upfront costs. These platforms also provide a level of credibility and trust to potential customers who feel more comfortable buying from established sites.
Selling fees and competition from other sellers are two of the biggest setbacks that come with using an online selling platform.
With that as background, let’s take a look at four of the most popular platforms for selling digital products.
4 Online Platforms for Selling Your Digital Products
The best platform for your digital products is one that:
- Aligns with your business strategy
- Makes the selling process efficient
- Provides your customers with a seamless buying experience
1. Shopify
Shopify is best for coaches who want features like customizable storefronts. It allows you to design a professional-looking site without needing deep technical skills. The platform supports digital downloads directly through third-party apps that are available in the Shopify App Store.
Shopify is perfect if you want full control over the branding and customer journey but it does come with a monthly subscription fee and transaction fees. On the brightside, as of April 2024, Shopify offers a 14-day free trial and a three-month subscription for only $1 per month.
Cost: $39-$2,300/month
2. Click Funnels
Click Funnels is designed to help you build an effective sales funnel for your products and services. It helps coaches who want to focus on converting new audiences into paying clients.
This platform is particularly useful for high-ticket digital products, such as exclusive coaching packages or highly structured online courses. Its integrated email marketing and segmentation tools make it a great choice for those who want to build and maintain a relationship with their clientele.
Cost: $127-$208/month
3. Teachable
This platform is specifically tailored for coaches who focus heavily on educating. One of Teachable’s greatest strengths is its user-friendly course builder, which supports video, text, quizzes. When a client completes the course, the platform will allow you to create and issue completion certificates.
Teachable handles everything from web hosting and payment processing to customer support and affiliate marketing. They also offer membership service features.
Cost: $0-$665/month
4. Gumroad
For coaches who want the simplest setup, Gumroad is an excellent platform to get started with. It’s far less complex than Shopify but still offers a range of features that are ideal for smaller coaches who want to get up and running quickly.
Gumroad handles payments, file delivery, and even basic marketing tools like discount codes. Although it lacks some of the customization and branding power of platforms like Shopify, it’s a cost-effective option that still includes essential features.
Cost: 10% of all sales
Expand Your Coaching Domain with Digital Products
Digital products help you extend your expertise, experiences, and brand without overwhelming yourself or burning out. By offering digital products you gain the opportunity to supplement your existing services while also introducing new revenue streams and providing value to more clients.
And offering digital products alongside your services can be a game-changer for your business. By leveraging the power of platforms like Shopify, ClickFunnels, Teachable, and Gumroad, you can create and sell online courses, ebooks, worksheets, and other valuable resources that complement your coaching expertise. These digital products not only provide an additional revenue stream but also allow you to reach a wider audience and make a lasting impact on your clients’ lives.
So why not experiment with a small digitial product and see how it complements your coaching business. By harnessing the potential of these platforms, you can diversify your offerings, increase your impact, and unlock new levels of success in your coaching career.
