6 questions you should ask before creating a digital product

The #1 question I get from digital business owners (especially those running agencies) isn't even close. I swear, 90% of the people who reach out to me these days are asking the same thing:

"How do I create my first digital product?"

Everyone's caught the bug. They want to turn their knowledge into products, and for good reason. You package your experience and know-how into something you can sell over and over. That's a pretty compelling pitch.

To make it easier for the people asking, I've put together six questions you should work through before building anything. They'll help you validate the idea and make sure there's actually a market for it.

What do I know?
Why am I qualified?
What makes my product unique?
Who is my target audience?
What problem does my product solve?
Why would people buy my product?

1. What do I know?

This looks like the easiest question, but it trips people up more than you'd think. I've talked to a lot of digital business owners and agency operators who consider themselves "jacks of all trades, masters of none." They genuinely struggle to pin down where their expert-level knowledge sits.

My advice: don't overthink it.

Ask yourself two things: "What do I do better than anyone I know?" and "What have people paid me to do in the last 6-12 months?"

It sounds simple, but the answers are solid indicators of your actual skillset.

One thing to keep in mind: this is the foundation for everything that follows. The next five questions all build on whatever you land on here, so spend enough time with it.

2. Why am I qualified?

Now you know what you know. Super meta, right? The next step is figuring out why you're the right person to build this product.

There are two reasons this matters. First, it reinforces that you're the best person to bring this thing to market because of your specific experience and abilities. Second, qualifications build credibility. Potential customers want to know you're a credible source for whatever you're selling.

Here's something I've noticed though: if you really dig into this step, it tends to surface a lot of objections, both yours and the ones your customers might have. That's actually a good thing.

Take note of every objection you come across. Save them to a swipe file. Then use them on your sales emails, landing page, or FAQ section to address the concerns your potential customers are going to have anyway.

3. What makes my product unique?

You don't need a brand-new, never-been-thought-of-before idea to have a successful product. You just need to know how your solution differs from the competition. That's your USP (unique selling position).

There are a lot of angles you can take here, especially in the digital product space. Your product might be priced differently than the competition, either lower or higher. Your mission might align more closely with what your target market actually cares about. Or you could position your offering as a premium product, which signals higher perceived value right out of the gate.

Those are just a few examples, and the list goes on. But find your unique selling position and you'll always have a way to stand out.

4. Who is my target audience?

Before you put a product into the world, you need to ask yourself, "Who's going to buy this?"

I won't go deep here because I've already written 1,400+ words about finding your ideal customer avatar.

But for digital business owners who want to hone in on their perfect customers quickly, I have a product for exactly that. It's called The Ideal Customer Blueprint, and it'll walk you through the whole process. If you want a head start, I'd grab it.

5. What problem does my product solve?

Think about the product you're qualified to make and the audience you want to sell it to. You need a clear understanding of the problem your product actually solves.

Does it simplify something complex? Does it save the user time? Does it help them be more creative?

If you've already done the work to figure out your target audience, you probably have a pretty clear picture of their specific needs and pain points. This question is just about connecting those dots to your product.

6. Why would people buy my product?

This one's different from the last question. It's not about solving problems, and it's not about whether your product is prettier or faster or better than something else on the market.

It's more straightforward than that. You need to answer two things: Is the TAM (Total Addressable Market) large enough for your product? And can you actually keep the promises you and your product make to the people who buy?

If you can't get a solid answer on either of those, you might still need to find the right product.

Get these right first

Those are the six questions I tell people to work through before building anything. Figure out what you know, why you're qualified, what makes your product different, who you're selling to, what problem it solves, and why people would actually buy it. Get those right and you're in a much better position to build something people want.