Exploring the wheel of emotions on your journey to your first digital product

[00:00:00] Rene: Hey everyone. Welcome to Your First Digital Product, a show that helps maxed-out service providers create their first digital product so they can gain an additional income stream, grow their impact without increasing one-on-one work and experience more time freedom. On the show, I talk to business owners who have launched digital products and dig deep into how you can create, launch, and market your first digital product. I'm your host, Rene Morozowich. Let's go. 

[00:00:28] Hey everyone. It's Rene. Last time I talked about disappointment and the disappointment that you may experience in the process of creating or launching or marketing your digital product. But there are so many other emotions that you might feel too. And I want to talk about a few of those today. 

[00:00:44] So just a really quick story. When I first broke my ankle, I very quickly realized that the providers and even family and friends were really focused on the practical. So like how much time during the day I needed to keep my leg elevated. And even to what degree I needed to elevate it. What medications I could take and when, and very specific things of surgery and recovery and physical therapy and all the related things. But with my ankle, nobody was really talking about the emotional impact that it had. The frustration and the anxiety and the sadness. And honestly like the utter despair that I was feeling so much during that time. 

[00:01:24] I had sent out an email to my other email list about this. Just a little bit about my ankle. And I remember one person wrote back and said that you must be feeling very isolated. And I just started crying because I thought, oh my goodness, you understand. Somebody sees me, somebody is helping me to identify what I am feeling during this time. So I was very grateful for that. So if you get any emails that resonate with you, write back to the person who was sending them, because it will mean a lot to them. 

[00:01:54] So anyway, likewise, with your digital product, you may find a ton of advice on the how to. [00:02:00] So how to create it, how to market it, how to launch it, the very specific things, but not so much content on what you might be feeling during the process. 

[00:02:09] And a lot of times I think what we're feeling can either help or hurt us again in creating our digital product. 

[00:02:16] Really quick before we dive in, I am looking to learn more about the problems that you're having with your digital product. So that could be creating or launching or marketing. And I'm doing some free 15 minute calls, no strings attached, no pitches, no sales, no email list, nothing like that. And if I can offer any thoughts or resources I will, but really my goal is to learn more about you so that I can understand and create the best possible content for you. I'm looking to do 25 calls by the end of 2023. So if you'd help me out, I'd be forever grateful. You can go to yfdp.show/convo to learn more and to sign up and find the time. So thanks so much for that. 

[00:02:54] The first thing I want to share is if you have not heard of this, I want you to look it up and I'll actually have a link in the show notes as well is the Wheel of Emotions. So the wheel of emotions is a wheel. It's a graphic, a wheel. With a lot of different emotions identified in it. So it's a really great to take a look at once in a while to try to help you name what you're feeling so that you can work through that. 

[00:03:18] Last time we talked about disappointment, but there are definitely other emotions that you may feel during your journey to your first or subsequent digital products. Now these emotions aren't bad. None of this is bad. Even the ones that don't feel great. And they're all totally normal. And you may find that you feel some of these, and you don't feel other ones or the next person may feel some other ones that I don't even mention. And that is totally fine. So I just want to kind of normalize that this isn't just a big, how to. Like, here's how to create your product. Here's how to launch it. Here's how to market it. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes, because this is different from what you're normally doing. This is [00:04:00] different than providing a service. 

[00:04:01] Like you have been for a long time. You're putting yourself out there in a different way. And that can bring up a lot of emotions. 

[00:04:09] There are some that we'll talk about that feel good and others that maybe don't feel as good. I wasn't really sure which to start with because I thought like, well, if people drop off. They might not listen to one or the other list, but I'm just going to start with the ones that don't feel so great. And then I'll move on to a couple that do feel pretty good. 

[00:04:28] The first thing that you might feel is stressed or overwhelmed. And this is very common with a digital product, because even with the smallest product, it is going to be more work than you think it's going to be. There are a lot of moving parts. Now, again, it doesn't have to be all done at once. I have talked about this before. You do not have to have every single piece of everything, of every funnel in place from the get go. You can add on as you go. 

[00:04:54] So I would think about what is essential. What's the MVP. How can you simplify so that it is not so overwhelming. And I'd encourage you to get support on your journey if you are having problems in a specific area. So, again, this could be very stressful. It could be very overwhelming, but you can definitely get through it by reducing the scope, lowering the bar and getting support if needed. 

[00:05:22] The next thing you might feel is inadequate or inferior or insecure. A few solo episodes ago, I talked about imposter syndrome and I've also had a couple of guests on the show, Gill Andrews and Kay Peacey who have talked about this specifically. The mental barriers in their way to actually publishing something. They both had products that were, people were asking for them. 

[00:05:46] They knew that those products were going to do well. And actually just hitting that publish button was so difficult. Now, I don't know if it was because they felt inadequate or inferior or insecure, but there was definitely [00:06:00] something getting in the way and they needed help moving past those barriers. 

[00:06:04] Now it's tough, but try to remember that there are clients who love you. You are an established service provider. You've been doing this for a while. They love you. They love your work and you do good work. It can be hard, but maybe think of that. And maybe you won't feel as inadequate or inferior or insecure. 

[00:06:23] And also I would say, don't worry about what other people are doing. I fall into this trap, myself, where I look around for other people who are offering services, helping people launch digital products. And immediately I feel, oh, no, like this is not good. But I have to think that there are tons and tons and tons and tons of people out there in the world. A lot of people need help and there's more than enough to go around for everyone. 

[00:06:48] So that could be another thing that you think about. 

[00:06:50] Now something else that you might feel is confused or uncertain. Now, if you have not heard about rubber duck debugging, I want to tell you about this. So there is, and I'll link this in the show notes as well. There's a concept called rubber duck debugging whenever you're coding and you're having a problem. If you have a rubber duck on your desk, you just tell the rubber duck what is happening. And as you are talking it out, you will come across the solution on your own. So you can definitely try that. It does not just have to be about coding. It can be about anything. But really try to talk it out. If you can talk it out with a friend or by yourself or write it out, whatever it is, you may find that it becomes clear, whatever you're confused or uncertain about becomes clear.

[00:07:36] And again, getting help. I had another guest on the show, Emily Ryan, and she talked about the platform. I can't remember right now, but the platform that she used also offered some help and assistance. So she was actually confused about the platform. And she was able to work with them to get her questions answered, but you may be confused on your messaging. You may be uncertain on the problem that you solve. So [00:08:00] if you try talking it out, again with a rubber duck or with someone else, hopefully you will come to some certainty so that you can move forward with your product. 

[00:08:08] The last thing I want to talk about that may not feel good is that you may feel vulnerable. Now, again, this is very different to sell a product than to sell your services. 

[00:08:18] When you're selling services and one-on-one work there are less people to work with. And you have more time to kind of woo them one-on-one. I'm not sure about you, but when I work with web clients, we typically have like a pre-sales call where I gather all of the information and I can give them some information back and tell them how I work. And be as charming as I can possibly be if I think it's going to be a good fit. 

[00:08:43] But with a product you don't have that. The price point is such that you can't be jumping on a call with every prospective customer to tell them all about the product. So you have to let them marketing speak for you because you can't be there to do it. And it can be difficult to put yourself out there like that. I would say again, getting that feedback from people I think will help you. And this also does help in your service business. When you get that feedback and get those testimonials and things like that. You can see in people's own words. And then sometimes that's a little bit easier to share as well. 

[00:09:19] I would say lastly, about feeling vulnerable. How do you feel when others are vulnerable? I tend to feel more of a connection. So when someone shares something that life is not perfect or rosy or all peaches and cream, I tend to feel a little bit more of a connection with them because it's not that way for me. And I am happy to know that there is someone out there who experiences the same thing. I want to connect with people who have real life experiences. So I think being vulnerable is okay and letting people know that is okay as well. 

[00:09:54] Now there are a couple of things that will make you feel good with your digital product. Now [00:10:00] you may feel excited. One reason that I got into this is when I was doing web development clients would pay you know, a decent amount of money and I would be very excited to launch their site. I would send out great email, your site is launched. Yay. Fantastic. And sometimes people would not write back. Like crickets, like nothing. And I would think you just spent all this money. Why are you not more excited about this? 

[00:10:23] But when I have worked with people who have launched products themselves, even lower ticket products, small products, their first product. They have done a ton of work to get there and they are very excited to launch and that excitement is contagious. I love being a part of someone's experience that they have done something for themselves and they're launching and I can be there to cheer them on. 

[00:10:47] A lot of hard work and time goes into a good digital product. This is also something new and it's something for themselves and it's something that can help other people. So it's all very exciting. And it may make you some money and it may not be tied directly to your time. So you may feel very excited. I will feel very excited for you. And that is definitely something that you may come across when you're creating marketing or launching your digital product. 

[00:11:13] You may feel creative whenever you are going through this process. Now I read somewhere before, that it is good to create more than you consume. And I know a lot of times we are going through social media and we are reading blog posts and articles and watching videos and we're consuming a lot. But creating feels really good. Now you have probably been creating for others, right? So if you're a service provider you have been creating for other people's businesses. You have not maybe necessarily been creating for your own business. So creating something for your own on your own by yourself of your own feels really good. You can feel very creative and hopefully you've created [00:12:00] something that fits you, that you love, that you're very proud of. Video, audio templates, whatever it is, spreadsheets, if you will. And hopefully you're really happy with the result at the end and you feel very creative. 

[00:12:11] And I would just actually think about when is the last time you created something just for you. So just kinda like let that float around in the back of your mind. 

[00:12:20] And I already spoiled this one, but another thing you might feel will be proud. So you will be very proud of this. One to do it. Two probably to finally get it done. This may have been on your mind for a long time and to finally get it done. And I would say, get it done, meaning to launch it because it's never really done. Because you'll need to continue to market it. But I bet you'll feel very proud of yourself. In the times that I've created things for myself I am also very proud especially looking at it as a whole. I think whenever we are in it and we are I'm doing this and doing this and doing this maybe you don't feel as proud but when it is complete. When you have the entire package and you look at it and you look back and you say wow I am proud of all of the time and all of the work and all the energy and all of myself that I brought to this product. This feels really good here.

[00:13:12] I will encourage you to look through the wheel of emotions. And if you encounter any of these while on your journey or some other emotions I'd love to hear about them. Send me a voice message at yfdp.show/share and I look forward to hearing from you. 

[00:13:28] Hey, thanks for listening. I'd love to continue the conversation in your inbox. Email SUBSCRIBE to hey at yfdp.show or sign up in the show notes to get bimonthly emails about how you can create, launch, and market your first digital product. Can't wait to see you there.