Ongoing marketing for your 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 friends. Today we're going to talk about ways to continue to market your product after launch. Specific things that you can do whenever you're launching a product, and those are great to do, right? Letting the world know, letting your colleagues know that you have a new product. However, after that time, I really advise continuing to market your product somehow, that way you continue to get sales. 

[00:00:53] So today I will share a few tips with you. We'll talk about different audiences. And static ways and just a bunch of things that you can do to try to market your product ongoing. The first thing we'll talk about are some static places. So some places that are basically things that you really just don't change over time. 

[00:01:12] So things like your email signature, you don't change your email signature every day or every week. So your email signature is a great place to put a link to your product. Both in your regular emails. So if you use Google or Microsoft or whatever email platform you use, plus your email marketing platform, so your Convert Kit, your Active Campaign. Your MailerLite your Mailchimp. Having that in your signature or your footer area, something that is static across all of your emails is really great for people to be able to find really quickly. 

[00:01:41] The next thing I would recommend is looking at your link in bio. So not necessarily putting your product as the link, although you could do that, but putting a link to a page with just a couple links, something about you. A link to your product, a way to sign up for your newsletter, maybe your lead magnet. Just having a place where [00:02:00] there are a few links that people can learn more about you and kind of investigate. 

[00:02:03] So that is another place that I would consider putting a link to your product is the link in bio. Now think about your profiles. So any profile that you have maybe in an online group or any platforms where you have a profile consider putting a link to your product there. So again, these are things that really don't change over time. 

[00:02:24] However, it is good to have them there, so that any time again, you're in a new group. People can look at your profile very quickly and see, oh, you have this product. 

[00:02:33] I would also think about pinned social posts. So in a lot of platforms, you can pin a social post. And having something near the top there, right at the top of the list. Some platforms will allow you to pin more than one thing, but even if you're only allowed to pin one thing, I would consider having a link for your product there. 

[00:02:51] And I think different platforms call this different things. But I think in LinkedIn, these might be your featured items. So just look at the social platform that you are on and see if there is a way to link to your product, that would be higher up in your profile on that social platform. 

[00:03:08] And again, your website. 

[00:03:09] I just did a previous episode on your website and ways to market your product on your website and optimizing your website. So go back and check that out, but consider having a link to your product in your menu. Maybe a shop page on the website. Everybody knows what a shop page is. Maybe in a banner. Don't make it difficult for people to find your product on your website. 

[00:03:32] So put that in a very prominent place so that people know. So these are all things that you aren't really changing over time, right? If you have a shop page on your website, anytime you add a new product, it just shows there, but that's not something that you really have to worry about showcasing. 

[00:03:46] It's already showcased on your website, your link in bio, any profiles that you have online, in your email signature. So I would set these all up from the beginning. Maybe during launch and then just let them ride, just let them [00:04:00] there. And hopefully you'll get clicks. You can track some of these things sometimes. And you don't have to worry about these anymore. 

[00:04:06] Let's talk about a couple of ways to market to your audience with your content. 

[00:04:13] After we go through these, we will then talk about leveraging other people's audiences and their content. And how you can kind of make some matches there, but for now let's talk about the things that you have control over, which are your audience and your content. So the first thing, are blog posts. I know some people don't like blog posts, but I feel like they're coming back into fashion now. 

[00:04:35] I think for awhile, it wasn't really something that people were doing. However, blog posts are fantastic. And with all of these things, it's not so much that you'll be like, buy my product, buy my product, but more so speaking to the problems that people are having and the problems that your product solves for them. 

[00:04:56] So consider any blog posts, any related blog posts, written content. That juicy SEO, those nice headings. You know, nice bulleted lists, an easy way for people to kind of skim and go through those blog posts. They're easily found when people are searching. So consider blog posts as one way to reach people. 

[00:05:16] And the call to action at the end could be to buy your product, or it could be to get a lead magnet and then you'll nurture them to buy the product. So blog posts are not gone. I would definitely recommend using them to promote your product. Also videos, workshops, webinars, presentations. I'm putting all of these kinds of under one blanket because they are all having some sort of video component to them. 

[00:05:42] Right? So whether it's just a YouTube video or, you know, half an hour, one hour, two hour workshop that you're having. Any kind of webinars. Some people use these terms interchangeably. I think about webinars in that there will be a sales pitch at the end. When I hear the word webinar, I expect [00:06:00] that. Whereas like with a workshop or a presentation, I don't necessarily expect that. I may expect to get on the person's email list at the end so that I can get any resources and maybe they'll try to sell me on something later. 

[00:06:12] I totally get that. But consider any kind of videos, workshops, webinars, presentations. Anything that you can do on your own in your own time. That really will address the pain points and the problems that people are having. And you can offer maybe one or two small, quick wins, small, quick solutions, and then your product could be positioned to solve the rest of those problems or the remainder of the problem. So I would use video. 

[00:06:40] If you are comfortable doing video. Also audio or a podcast. Now a podcast is a lot of work, right? So don't let me steer you in the direction to where you're like, oh, I just need to start a podcast to promote my product. It's not that easy. Podcasts are really a long game. However, you can easily record the audio of a blog post. And add that to your blog post. And that will allow you to reach more people. 

[00:07:06] So for the people who prefer to read, they can definitely read that blog post, but people who prefer to listen can easily listen to it. And it's very low investment for you. So writing a blog post and then recording it is way easier than creating a podcast. And promoting it and recording episodes all the time and doing interviews or whatever it is. 

[00:07:26] Consider that audio can be easy and can be a way to again, address your audience, talk to their pain points and provide some solutions both free and paid. Lead magnets. Lead magnets are a great way to do this. So any sort of, you know, free small template or, you know, a couple day email mini course or something like that. 

[00:07:50] So anything really that people are giving you their email address and then you are sending them some automated emails. You write this once. And people are getting those emails [00:08:00] and near the end of the sequence, you can sell your product. So these are great. These are probably the most passive of the passive things that you can do. 

[00:08:08] But I do recommend looking at these again, don't just kind of set it and then never look at it again. So renewing these regularly maybe every six months or every year. And just making sure that your messaging is correct. And everything is still in line with what you are offering now. Emails. Now, again, more than just any email that you send out, like one-off emails, like email newsletters. But also your sequences. 

[00:08:32] Anything that goes back to those automated things, whenever somebody clicks on this or signs up for that, they're getting that automated sequence. Don't forget about any one-off email newsletters that you're sending weekly or bimonthly or monthly or quarterly. So you can definitely mention your products in there. 

[00:08:51] And again, in a non salesy way. Not just like, Hey, buy my product. Although you can send some of those too. But again, addressing specific problems that people are having and positioning yourself and your product to solve those problems. Social posts. So wherever you are on social media, if you are on social media, creating social posts that address the problems and solutions that you are offering. 

[00:09:14] So I would combine these and mix and match. Not just Instagram posts, but also stories and LinkedIn posts and wherever you are kind of, taking advantage of all that those social platforms have to offer. And then posting regularly. Now again, I mentioned combining these to be able to reach more people. 

[00:09:33] So if you have a blog post. Also having that audio available. If you do a video, getting that transcription done so that you have that available as well. That's good for accessibility. And when things are good for people, they are good for search engines. And Google and other search engines are happy with that. So I would consider any ways that you can combine these items. And also repurposing them between places. 

[00:09:59] So [00:10:00] it doesn't just have to be one blog post, one audio, five social posts. These can all be related to each other, and that makes it easier for you to produce anyway. If you start with one thing, maybe start with the blog posts, see how many social posts you can get out of that one blog post, because the ideas are still good. 

[00:10:18] It's not just that it can only live as a blog post. You want to be able to share that same valuable content in all of the places. And make sure to keep that content updated. So reviewing that regularly and not just always creating new content. Actually going back and making sure, okay, is this still good? 

[00:10:37] Can I improve upon this in any way? Is there anything I need to change or remove? So it makes sure that you're keeping an eye on that content and updating it regularly. Also a lot of times it's just easier to update something than it is to create something totally new. So that is all about your content and your audience. But also you want to think about other audiences. Other people and their audiences. 

[00:11:01] So how can you get in front of more people than just with the things that you are doing personally? So guests blog posts now, again, I don't know how popular these are these days. However, I still see them now and again. So if there is an opportunity for guest posting, I think that is fantastic to take advantage of. And the same thing with video. Guesting on videos. Running a workshop with someone else or having someone invite you on to their workshop to teach something. Any sort of lives, right? 

[00:11:32] LinkedIn live. Facebook live. YouTube lives. Summits or meetups, basically, any place that you are getting in front of people to teach them how to do something, to share some story with them, to share problems and pain points and solutions. Is a great place to get in front of other people's audiences. 

[00:11:51] Podcast guesting is fantastic. If you find a podcast that really resonates with you, that you serve the same audience that you think would be a good fit. Reaching [00:12:00] out to them to see if they are accepting guests. Now, none of this really is super easy. We'll talk about a couple of other things as well, but none of this is like super, super easy, right? 

[00:12:09] It takes time to develop those relationships. It takes time to create that content. However, you have already invested all of this time into creating that product. If it doesn't sell and it's just sitting there, you don't want that to be time wasted. So you do want to try to get in front of other audiences so that you can promote that product. Newsletter sponsorships or swaps. 

[00:12:35] So a lot of newsletters, especially, you know, as the newsletter grows, they will have an opportunity for you to purchase a slot in their newsletter. It could be a one-off or ongoing for some time and you can advertise your product or yourself in their newsletter. Or a newsletter swap where you promote their item themselves, their product, whatever it is in your newsletter. 

[00:12:59] And they do the same in theirs. So think about, and basically this is the same list that I gave you for your content and your audiences. You're just going to think about all of those ways. How can you use all those same ways to get in front of other audiences? Social posts again, you can swap with people. 

[00:13:16] Some people will do the post together. Like on Instagram, you can see there's, there's two names that cross posts, but you can also ask other people to post something on your behalf and you can return the favor. So how can you look at social media and get in front of other audiences? Now there are a couple of ways unique to other audiences that I didn't mention when I talked about your audience. So one example would be bundles. 

[00:13:43] Now I have talked about bundles before here and there in some of the podcasts episodes. But bundles are basically a collection of digital products where you submit your product or a product, and you participate in the bundle. And when people purchase that bundle [00:14:00] they will get access to your product. 

[00:14:03] So this is a great way to get in front of other audiences and there are tons and tons and tons of bundles out there available. Now I would recommend trying it at least once just to see your experience. I would also recommend making sure that the bundle is related to your product. So you want to make sure it's an actual, like a really good fit. 

[00:14:23] That way people who purchase the bundle are getting something that they actually signed up for. So make sure that your product is related really well. But there are a lot of opportunities to get in front of other audiences and to build your email list and have more people to promote your product to through bundles. And the same thing through affiliates. Now affiliates not super easy to set up really quickly or right away. 

[00:14:48] However, affiliates, I think are a great opportunity to let other people promote your product. For a small fee, right? So they go out and promote your a hundred dollar product and they get maybe $20 for every sale. So there are definitely ways that you can set up affiliates in your sales software. 

[00:15:09] ThriveCart or whatever you're using to sell your product. There may be an affiliate area. Now you do want to have some great relationships with people because you do want to have people who want to promote your product. And this can be really good whenever they're complimentary products. So if someone else has a product. And they become an affiliate for you to sell your product. 

[00:15:30] And it is very closely related, that works out for everyone. So that works out for them. That works out for their audience. And it works out for you too. So I would think about affiliates and look into that as well. And I just did an episode with Angela Markham on affiliates. So if you want to learn some more about that, you can check that out. Also just think about any groups that you're in. 

[00:15:50] I'm in several slack groups and other groups, meetup groups, and things like that. Where again, you don't want to come right out and say like, Hey, here, buy my [00:16:00] product. However, if you become known as a person who is helpful and a person who knows the answers to problems that people are having. 

[00:16:09] People will find you and they'll go to your profile. Like we talked about and see that you have a product there. They'll get on your email list. So you have made it easy for them to find your product. After you've engaged with them a little bit and shown that you are someone who is knowledgeable and can solve the problems that they have. Now I would also just think about timing. Now it's not just launch product. Market forever. And market the same way forever. 

[00:16:39] So there are a couple of things that you can do to kind of reinvigorate or repromote your product over time. Some people will run sales. I am recording this in November. This will air right after Black Friday. But depending on your product, you may be in a category where Black Friday is a really big deal. 

[00:16:56] So that could be a time to have a sale on your product. Or other specific times of the year. So I had my very first episode with Liz. She talked about how people are really interested in food and meal planning and things like that after the first of the year. People are ready to kind of buckle back down again and so she does really well with paid ads after the first of the year. 

[00:17:19] And that's actually one thing that I didn't mention that I meant to mention are paid ads. So that is another opportunity for you to get in front of other audiences. But I would recommend doing these things first and then investigating paid ads. I don't know that I would go necessarily right to paid ads, but totally up to you. Paid ads are a way to get in front of other people. Another thing that you can do is relaunch the product. 

[00:17:41] So you have a product. It's been living for a while. You, you make changes to it, you add to it, and you do a relaunch. Kind of like a re grand opening if you will. Or you could take that product and run it live with you. Maybe there are six modules and you meet once a week for six weeks. This is [00:18:00] another way that you can kind of take something that you already have and present it to people in a different way. 

[00:18:05] Maybe people are excited to get the opportunity to work with you and to go through it. Maybe people need that accountability. So there are a lot of ways that you can consider the timing and kind of just taking that core product and adjusting it a little bit so that you can appeal to more people. So, what do you think? 

[00:18:24] Of everything that I've said here is there anything that really resonates? Anything that you think might work really well for you? I would write out a clear plan. 

[00:18:32] So for the next 90 days, I'm going to do X once a week, once a month, every other week. So that could be social posts. That could be blog posts, whatever it is. That could be looking into newsletter sponsorships. Anything that you can think of that really resonates with you. I would add that to your plan. 

[00:18:50] Work on that plan for 90 days and then at the end, reassess. Okay. How did this work? Did I get any return on this time investment or any any better return on, on any specific channel? Was there anything I really enjoy doing or anything I really did not enjoy doing? So I would write out a clear plan. 

[00:19:09] I would try it for at least 90 days and then think about at the end. Okay. What went well, what didn't go well, what am I going to do then going forward? Also, are there any other things that I missed? Any other marketing techniques that you use, or you have heard of that I missed here, please let me know. 

[00:19:25] I'd love to add to this list. You can send me a voice message at yfdp.show/share. I'd love to hear from you. 

[00:19:32] 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.