What should your first digital product be?

Your first digital product does not need to contain everything you know. It needs to help one kind of person make one useful piece of progress.

That constraint is helpful. It makes the product easier to explain, quicker to create, and simpler for someone to decide whether it is right for them.

Start with the question you hear repeatedly

Look through comments, direct messages, WhatsApp conversations, and the questions people ask after you publish. Write down the questions that appear more than once.

Repeated questions are useful because they show three things at the same time:

• Someone already recognizes the problem.
• They believe you may be able to help.
• You already have language for explaining the answer.

Do not ask, “What could I put in an ebook?” Ask, “What result are people already asking me to help them reach?” The format should follow the result.

Choose the smallest useful result

A broad promise creates a broad product. “Get fit” could become hundreds of pages. “Complete three home workouts each week for four weeks” can become a clear plan.

The smallest useful result is not the smallest amount of content. It is the narrowest outcome that still feels worth paying for.

For example:

• A food creator could sell seven weekday dinner recipes with one consolidated shopping list.
• A photographer could sell a preset pack with a short guide showing when to use each look.
• A fitness trainer could sell a four-week home programme for people with no equipment.
• A consultant could sell a workbook that prepares clients for a strategy session.

Each example has a clear user, use case, and finish line.

Match the format to the job

Use a guide when the buyer needs an explanation. Use a template when they need to produce something. Use a plan when the work happens over time. Use a private link or session when access is the main value.

You can combine formats, but every addition should make the result easier to achieve. A video bonus that repeats the PDF is more work for you without adding much value for the buyer.

Test the sentence before building the product

Write a simple offer sentence:

A practical four-week home workout plan for busy beginners who want a routine they can follow without equipment.

Share the sentence with a few people who match the intended buyer. Ask what they would expect to receive, what feels unclear, and what would make the product genuinely useful.

You are not asking them to approve your creativity. You are checking whether the offer makes sense without a long explanation.

Build version one around the promise

Create only what the promise requires. Give the product a beginning, a useful middle, and a clear next action. Check every link, file, instruction, and example as if you had just paid for it on your phone.

Version one should be complete, not enormous. Once people use it, their questions will show you what to clarify, expand, or turn into the next product.

For the full guide on selling digital products with M-Pesa from a link-in-bio storefront, read Make money selling digital products with M-Pesa: a guide for Kenyan creators.