#131 - Digital Product Blueprint: Step 2 – Design an Asset That Lasts

Most entrepreneurs don't struggle because they lack ideas.

They struggle because they start creating before they've decided what the product is actually meant to accomplish.

In Step 2 of the Digital Product Blueprint, we're slowing down to design your digital product with intention—so it creates a meaningful transformation for your customer and becomes a long-term business asset that supports the bigger vision for your business. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

•  Why every successful digital product creates two transformations
•  How to avoid the "shiny object" trap 
•  The difference between building projects and building business assets 
•  Simple ways to research what your audience actually needs 
•  How to write a transformation statement that speaks to the outcome—not just the content 
•  This week's workbook exercises to help you design your own digital product 

📖 Download your free Digital Product Blueprint Workbook and follow along as we build your digital product—one intentional step at a time.

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Grab your spot here: Digital Product Blueprint VIP

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Mindset to Market is produced by Deborah C. Smith and designed to inspire and support big-hearted creatives in finding their own unique path, building a sustainable business, and creating financial, spiritual, mental wellness and abundance.

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Transcript

Welcome back to the Digital Product Blueprint podcast series. So if this is your first time ever listening to the Mindset to Market podcast, I'm Deborah Smith, I'm your host, and this is a special series. So over the course of six weeks, I'm rolling out a step-by-step process that I use to help service providers create digital products that don't just get finished, don't just get shoved out onto the internet, but that become actual long-term business assets that continue attracting clients for years to come. So last week, we tackled step one, which was about choosing the right digital product or digital asset for your business. Because before you build anything, you need confidence that you're building the right thing. We don't want you to waste time. So if you haven't yet listened to that episode, I do recommend that you go back and listen to episode 130 of this podcast, which is called The Digital Product Blueprint, Step One: Choose. And then today, we're moving on to step two, which is design. And so this is where I see a lot of entrepreneurs waste time. Uh, not because you don't have great ideas, but because you start creating something before you've actually thought about the bigger picture. So by the end of today's episode, you're gonna know how to design a digital product that fits into your business ecosystem, not just for today, but months and even years from now. It's gonna keep working for you. So we're gonna talk about designing the transformation that your customer is actually looking for, how to make sure your product naturally supports your signature offer or the service that you sell, right, your paid products, and why thinking long-term is one of the biggest contributors to creating more time freedom in your business. But first, I've gotta tell you about the Netflix special that apparently half of Facebook thinks I'm filming. Hey there, welcome to the Mindset to Market podcast, your go-to space for practical tools and solutions to the everyday challenges of being a creative and soulful entrepreneur living in a material world. I'm your host, Deborah Smith, a holistic business coach and marketing strategist with 17 years of experience. I help my clients bust through mindset blocks and learn daily marketing practices that balance personal wellness with financial growth and impact. I'm here to offer you support with creativity, mindset, practical how-tos, and getting into imperfect, messy action so you can experience daily breakthroughs as you grow. If you're a purpose-driven entrepreneur building an online business, you're in the right place. Let's dive in. Okay, I'm so glad you're back for step two of the Digital Product Blueprint series. I've been getting great emails from people. Thank you for reaching out to me. I love hearing about your projects, and it's the easiest way for me to support you, so do reach out to me and let me know what you're working on. And I wanna remind everybody to download your copy of the Digital Product Blueprint. There is a link in the show notes. It's just a Google Doc, and it will help you follow along step by step and not miss anything, 'cause there's a lot of important intention-setting steps in this process that are typically overlooked, and that's why people create a product that then doesn't convert, because they skip the part where it's intentionally aligned with both your customers' needs and also your long-term business process. So we're gonna cover that today. But last week I had a funny experience I wanted to share, and it does tie into today's episode. So I posted one of those Instagram trends where people pretend they're preparing for their Netflix special. Mine was called All Business Skills Can Be Taught, by Using Gardening Analogies. I thought it was hilarious. I went out to my garden i- early in the morning. Put a stool down, and made a serious looking face, and, like, that was literally the, the extent of it. And I put it up on Instagram as a trial reel, but I mistakenly also didn't deselect where it pushes it onto to Facebook. And so suddenly, I'm getting congratulations texts emails from people that I haven't talked to in years, not because they got the joke whatsoever, but because they actually thought I was filming a Netflix special. Um, and so for about five minutes I was just, like, bewildered. I'm like, "How could anyone think that this wasn't just an internet trend?" But then I realized that they're not entirely wrong, that this is possible because I constantly create videos from my garden where I'm talking about, planting the seeds to cultivate and harvest six or seven months down the road, and how, when you first set out to, to build a garden you need to think strategically. And the more you plan and the more intention you put into it, the more likely you're gonna get the result you're looking for, right? So gardening teaches, some of the most important business principles that I know. , One of the most important being that you don't design a garden based on what you're planting today. You design it around the harvest that you want many months from now. And so that's exactly how I think about digital products. So while the Netflix special trend that was kind of a mismatch on the internet for me actually is rooted in very real teaching, and I'm excited to actually get into that today. So design is what we're talking about. And when I work with entrepreneurs and I audit their digital products and how they fit into their overall ecosystem, one of the biggest mistakes that I see over and over and over again is that people start by creating the content without thinking about- the most important positioning aspect of the product that they're gonna make. So they think about what should I teach? What do I know enough about? What platform should I use? You know, what should be module one? And those are all really important questions, like content design matters, but those are not the first questions that we should be asking when we are thinking about a long-term digital asset. So the first question is: what do I want this product to accomplish? And it's not just about what, what transformation do I want for my customer, but also what job do I want this product to do for my business, right? So every successful digital product creates two transformations. One is for your customer. What is gonna get them a quick win, an obvious support to the problem they're trying to solve? And then the other transformation is for your business. So for example Imagine you're a financial planner. You could create a retirement readiness checklist, right? Something to get ready. What are the things that you need to be thinking about to prepare for retirement? So for your client, it reduces overwhelm about, thinking about a big transition in their life, and it helps them to understand where they might stand financially as they're preparing to think about, retiring from their job. But for your business, this will identify people who are actively thinking about retirement, and it naturally opens the door for a product that you can sell, which could be a retirement planning consultation, which would be like a, a, a quick step for them to take. You know, it's not a full coaching package or them hiring you on as their financial advisor, but they can do a consultation with you. It's an obvious next step after they've gotten your very handy digital product that sets them up with, basic information they need to get started. Another example, imagine you are a therapist and you've created, let's say, a five-day journal for-- to help people understand the source of their anxiety, and your client gains awareness and practical tools from that journal. Your business builds trust with people who may later decide that they're ready for deeper support. They're gonna think of you. So it's positioning you as the go-to person for when they wanna have a conversation with a therapist. So the product serves both the client and the business. That's intentional design. So when we're talking about design, step two in this process, I do not mean picking out the technical platforms. I do not mean choosing the graphics or the colors And I don't mean filming and editing. It's none of that. We're talking about just getting really clear on the transformation that your digital asset is gonna provide for both the client and your business. It needs both for it to work. And if you're anything like me, you've probably already tried to design a digital product, and maybe you've had digital products that you thought were amazing but were sort of a flop and didn't really accomplish your goal. And so let me just be transparent for a moment. -- I didn't always think this way about digital products. In fact, for many years, I created projects sort of y- following what I thought would be successful based on other people's success, chasing shiny objects. I designed, you know, webinars and challenges and workbooks and courses, and some of them were very, very wildly successful, and we'll talk about that a little bit later on, but many of them were flops. Many of them didn't work out. And when I analyze what was wrong with those, they were not intentionally aligned with my bigger picture goals, or they didn't really solve the problem that my client needed help with. So there was always something off with the design aspect of it, which is why we're talking about it in detail today So like I said, some of them worked really well, but some barely got off the ground. And again, the problem wasn't the idea that I had. It was that they were not connected. So every launch felt like I was starting over. Eventually, I realized that I wasn't building assets the right way. I was basically completing projects. And so I have completely halted on that. I do not allow myself to chase the shiny object off the cliff anymore. Instead, I slow down when I have an idea for a digital product, or if I'm working with a client and they're pitching a digital product to me, then I ask the question: How will this support the larger business that I am trying to build? Is this just a trend? Is it a shiny object? Is it something that I think will work quickly but might not be long-term? If it's not something that I think is gonna have legs six months to a year from now, then I pretty much go back to the drawing board. And the, it's very important that you understand how something that you create can support your larger business goals for months or years to come, otherwise you're wasting time. And this podcast series that you're listening to right now is actually a good example of being more intentional about designing an asset, because I could have just created a quick summer digital product series, which is what I started out to do, and that would've been perfectly fine. But then I started thinking about this, and I asked a different question, right? I asked myself, "What if somebody discovers this podcast series next March? Or what if they discover it two years from now? Will it be as impactful to them if I'm referring to all these details about, the year that we're in right now?" If the answer was no, then I needed to redesign it, right? So instead of creating, , something seasonal, I went back to the drawing board and I thought about the concrete information that would be relevant to a listener in literally years to come. So everything you're gonna hear in this podcast series is not only something that has been time-tested over the course of many years and has worked for me, but I believe it is time-tested to the point that it will still be relevant in years to come. So I want you to think about your digital asset with that exact same lens. Are you creating something that will still be impactful to an audience member of yours in two years from now? And this is just one of the ways in which having a digital product or a digital asset that's, that is aligned can really buy you back some of your precious time and energy, right? Because when you have a high-converting digital asset, a lead magnet or a mechanism by which you can, you know, filter people into your programs, this can really help build an audience, keep people in close contact and proximity to you with something that you create once and then can serve many, many, many times without you having to redo the work over and over and over again. So we're, we're strategic and intentional on purpose 'cause we want our lives back. Okay, so I know you're with me on that, so let's move on to a very important phase of your design process, which is becoming a curious researcher. And if you've been listening to this podcast for any amount of time, you probably know that I rely heavily on data to make decisions about my business, and I love to do research, real-time research with real human beings. So there's a couple of different ways that you can research what is the right thing for your audience, uh, and, and know that your digital product is actually going to serve them. And I want you to think about this this week and take action on this this week if you can. So obviously, if you have an email list, you can just email your list and ask them one simple question. Say, "What's the biggest challenge that you're facing right now as it relates to..." And then fill in the blanks with your niche, or technically it would be with the problem that you want to help them solve. So, what's the biggest challenge that you're facing right now when it comes to this problem? And let them reply. And if you're not getting a lot of replies, you can send a second email and say, "I'd love to conduct a, a short conversation with five to 10 people. I'm offering to buy you a coffee or give you a free, audit or something because this is valuable information." You know, any time you can have a direct conversation with your audience and they will give you insights about how they feel about your product, it's worth gold. So buy 'em a coffee, give them an audit, whatever you have that you can exchange that will make it worth it for them. All right. Another way to do this is you can go on Instagram and you can, in your stories, create a sticker that's like a poll and just poll your audience. If someone could help you solve one problem this month, what would it be? Like, what is the burning problem that they are facing? Or as it relates to your marketing, what's the biggest problem that you're facing right now? Or what is the biggest problem that you're facing when you think about, financial planning for retirement? And then just put an open question box that they can fill in the question, and that will go into your DMs, and then you can DM them back and say, "Thank you so much for answering. I'm working on a product. I'll let you know when it's finished," so that way you're also in a conversation with these people Uh, you would be surprised. You'll get tons of replies in these social apps. These are not sales calls, though. Very importantly, you have to frame this and position this as audience research. And I would offer some type of value in exchange for their valuable time, their energy, and their insights. Okay, and then another way to do this type of research is just to simply look through your own inbox or try to recall recent conversations with people in your audience who have the problem that you want to solve, right? Who are ideal clients. And what questions do they ask you over and over and over again? So if you have a community, look through the chat. What are people asking about? Those questions are clues to where you might be able to create a digital asset that can solve that question for them, so that when you notice lots and lots and lots of people have the same problem or ask the same question or are confused about this step, that's a place that you can build a solution for them, a digital product that solves that gap for them, that answers that question. So you're looking for patterns. Where are there lots and lots of people having-- getting stuck in the same place? And the best digital products are not built based on assumptions, so this is why I'm urging you to have real conversations, because these products, the best ones, the ones that convert the most, are based on understanding not just the problem that your ideal client is having, but how they feel about it. And so when you have real conversations with real human beings, they don't talk in industry jargon. They're not like, "You know, I'm having trouble locating the URL link that connects my, whatever to my whatever." They're like, "I don't understand how my marketing platforms connect." You know, they say it in feelings-based words and then you can go to market and say, "Having trouble understanding how your marketing things connect?" Right? It's not fancy language, it's emotional, and they're gonna get it right away. Um, okay, last way to do this type of research. This is an exercise that I love, and this is just for you to do. Write down on a piece of paper or type it up. I want you to finish this sentence five different ways, and the sentence is, "My ideal client wishes they could..." Dot dot dot. My ideal client wishes they could what? And it's not vague. It's not learn, not understand, but finally what? My ideal client wishes they could finally stop blank. My ideal client wishes they could finally start blank. My ideal client wishes they could feel blank. My ideal client wishes they could become blank Right? Those are feelings-based words. They wanna stop struggling with something that you fix. They wanna start getting the result that you offer. They wanna feel... How do they wanna feel? They wanna become. Who are they becoming, right? Do you notice these are aspirational, feelings-based sentences? I'm not using technical jargon from my industry because that's not how our ideal client is thinking about the solution to their problem. In fact, they often don't relate at all to some of the keyword searches that are typically aligned with the actual thing that you sell, right? So we need to think and talk like our client, and that's why researching is so important. You're gonna find out what they need and also how they feel about it. Okay, so this is a very important part of your design process, is becoming a curious researcher. So let's look at the workbook. Again, if you haven't downloaded it, you wanna go grab that. Um, open up your workbook, look at section two. It's step two, which is design. And you're gonna notice every exercise starts with clarity because that's always how we move forward. Not technology, not software, not filming. But first I want you to write one sentence that describes the transformation that they're gonna have. And I want you to focus on the transformation and the result they're gonna get, not on the lessons or the steps. So let's stick with our retirement planner as an example here. So if I ask them to write their transformation statement, they might be tempted to write something like, "A five-part video course that teaches retirement planning basics," or, "A workbook that helps people calculate their retirement savings." But those sentences describe the product. They do not describe the transformation. So what I'm looking for and what I would guide you to create is something more like, "This product helps people nearing retirement understand where they stand financially, identify gaps in their plan, and feel confident taking the next steps towards a secure retirement." So now we're talking about the outcome, right? The results that the digital product is gonna get them. Or even more simply, "This product helps people replace uncertainty about retirement with clarity and a personalized action plan." So do you see the difference? The first examples tell me what I'm getting, but the second examples tell me how my life is gonna change and be different after I finish their digital product. And just to check yourself on this, uh, before you move on to the next step, ask the question: If somebody completes my digital product or, you know, interacts with my digital product or asset What will they be able to do, believe, or feel that they couldn't before they got your digital product or interacted with your digital asset? Um, and an even simpler litmus test, if you want to break this down, is just if your sentence can be swapped out with almost anybody else's in your industry, then it's probably describing the format and the steps and the deliverables, not the feeling and not the transformation. So it really needs to make your clients think, "Oh, man, that's exactly what I want." That's when you're describing transformation because nobody is out there shopping for five modules with three calls. They're out there shopping for a, a solution to a problem that's probably keeping them up at night. So that's how I want you to think about this. Okay, let's move on. After you've done that, we're gonna choose a name, and I want you to aim for clarity above cleverness here. The best names of, of digital products actually have the results in the title. And what I mean by that is that if your ideal client is searching for something on the internet, they're gonna go to a Google search bar or maybe AI, and they're gonna type in the question that they're looking for an answer for. Or they're gonna type in a few keywords that are gonna help them find a solution to the thing they're seeking. So for example, if I wanted to start a podcast and I had never done it before, I might type "how to start a podcast" into the search bar. Now, if you have a beginner guide for how to start a podcast or a YouTube series that's called, you know, How to Start a Podcast, you're probably gonna come up in that search because your title is exactly what I'm asking for, right? So you kinda wanna name your digital product something that aligns directly with what they might be searching for. Make it easy for people to find your quick, quick win. Okay, then you're gonna outline the core content that's going into your digital product. So for this step, you're just gonna ask yourself, "What does somebody need to experience in order to create that transformation that I'm promising?" And here's where I will caution you that less is more. People do not want your 37-page PDF guide. They want the quickest solution to their problem, right? People don't think of more work as more value. In fact, it's the opposite. The least amount of work they have to do to get to the solution they're after is more valuable. So how quickly can you get them to the solution? You just wanna keep this to the bare necessities of what is necessary for your ideal client to really get that aha win transformation moment. And then I want you to decide what version one includes. Now, this is part of my do it messy philosophy. You are gonna do something once, and you're gonna throw it out there into the world, and you are going to get feedback. You are going to get questions. So it's always better to ship it with a version one and not worry about the fact that it's probably gonna evolve to version two, version three. Version one is really important because it doesn't need everything. It just needs just enough for it to work. And then you're gonna list the assets. So once you have your outline and decided like, "Okay, for version one, I'm just gonna get this done on paper, and then later on down the road I'll make a video." So then what are the assets that you need to get this done? Is it a workbook? Do you need a template? Do you have to have a video, to introduce it maybe? Whatever supports the transformation, what is the best way for somebody to get that bare bones result that you want them to get? And finally, once you've done all of that, you're gonna write a short description of your digital product. So imagine that someone is reading it for the very first time. Would they immediately understand how their life or their business or whatever is gonna be different after they finish it? If not, I want you to go back and refine it because it needs to be very simple. The best digital products and the ones that convert the highest are, are simple. They offer a quick win that solves a right now problem that your client is experiencing, but they are intentionally aligned with the next step and next step and next step that people might take with you in order to wind up hiring you at your high ticket, service or product level. And this is where I think the intention setting and designing the transformation is so valuable because if you do this right, it will just automatically lead to the next baby step that you want them to take with you and eventually they're gonna wind up at that point where they can hire you for the full service that you provide Okay, so to recap, the design phase of your digital product is important because it's really laying the foundation for how this is gonna serve you for years to come. Just like if you plot your garden maybe in the fall, the year before, right? We literally make our fall plot for how our spring garden is gonna get planted, and then we start thinking about it in February, and we start, little seedlings in planter trays in the basement so that we'll have developed starter plants to put into the ground by the time it gets warm enough. So we're planting seeds way in advance that are gonna lead to the big-ass vegetables that we're hauling out of our garden right now, which are amazing. So the big takeaway is to think strategically about your digital product and use a lot of intention, right? We wanna make sure that it's creating a transformation both for the client and for the business. We wanna talk about it in terms of that transformation, of the result they're gonna get. We wanna outline it to include only the necessities that they need to get that transformation, and from there, you're gonna make the list of what you need to create that's actually gonna support that transformation. And before we wrap up, I just wanna leave you with one simple question, and that is, what do you want this product to still be doing for your business two full years from now? That's really important. If you can answer that question, you're not just creating content, you're building an actual asset. So next week we're gonna take everything that you have designed and actually start building it. So your homework for this week is to do research with your audience. Post it on Instagram. Tag me. It's @debra_smith_coaching. And for anyone listening to the series who's thinking, " I really wish I had hands-on help with this," I have a couple of spots available for the VIP version of the Digital Product Blueprint. That includes strategy sessions and an open WhatsApp channel between us as you're designing your long-term asset. Again, the link is in the show notes for all this stuff. I hope you are getting a ton of value out of this series, and I can't wait to see you next week. Keep the emails coming. Show me what you're working with. I love supporting you and cheering you on. People are building some really cool stuff. And so I will see you in the next podcast episode, and until then, my friend, may you be vibrant.