How to Start Creating Digital Products as a Beginner (At Any Age)

What if you could turn your lifelong passion into a thriving new endeavor after retirement?

In this episode of the Creative Juggle Joy Podcast, I share my own personal story of how I shifted careers in my 40s and embraced digital art. After 30 years of teaching high school, I was ready to pivot into something new—and I’m so glad I did.

But it wasn’t always easy. There were moments of uncertainty, frustration, and mistakes. But with every setback, I found new lessons that brought me closer to building a successful business.

 

If you’re in a transitional phase of life—whether you’re retiring, changing careers, or simply looking to generate additional income—digital products might be the perfect solution.

In this episode, I walk you through how to begin creating and selling digital downloads, from printable art and ebooks to digital templates and online courses.

 

Step 1: Identify Your Strengths and Passions

The first step in creating digital products is to focus on what you’re good at and love to do. Is it painting, photography, crafting, or even teaching?

For me, it was digital art, and this is where it all started. Start with what you already know and love. I loved creating Procreate Brush sets, and over the years I have sold many. Here are my stats for Creative Market alone:

 

Step 2: Know Your Audience

Who would benefit from the work you’re creating?

Understanding your audience’s needs and desires is crucial.

Whether you’re creating educational products, digital planners, or art prints, this helps guide the type of products you develop.

 

Step 3: Create with Intention

Take your time to create with purpose.

Sketch out the product, think about its value, and ensure it’s something that resonates with your target market. And don’t rush—crafting digital products takes time, but it’s worth it in the long run.

 

Step 4: Set a Fair Price

Pricing your products can be tricky, but it’s important not to undervalue your work.

Consider the effort you’ve put in, the market rates for similar products, and the value your product offers.

 

Step 5: Embrace the Journey and Seek Support

Building a digital product business doesn’t happen overnight. But with each step you take, you’re learning and growing.

It’s okay to ask for feedback, seek guidance from others, and share ideas along the way. That’s how you build a thriving business.

If you're still not sure where to start, I encourage you to join my Tuesday Night Thrive meetings—a space where I meet with like-minded individuals to discuss ideas, challenges, and strategies for success. The community is invaluable!

 

Take Action Today!

The journey to creating your digital product business starts with one small step.

Start by identifying what you love, your strengths, and how you can turn that into a product that your audience will love.

Don’t worry about having everything figured out right away. Remember, you can take it one step at a time.

 

TRANSCRIPT:

Delores Naskrent (00:05)

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Creative Juggle Joy podcast. I'm so happy you're joining me today. If this is your first time, I'm Delores Naskrent and I have a passion for helping artists and creatives find ways to thrive in their artistic journeys. I know that sounds so cliche.

 

but that is literally what I do. Today we're focusing on a topic that resonates with many of you, I'm sure, especially those of you who are, let's say, stepping into a new phase of life, creating digital downloads, might be a way to do that and help you make a little bit of extra income on the side.

 

So just a little bit about me. I changed direction in my 40s, 47 to be precise. That's the year that I retired from teaching high school. And it took me a while to work out what my new direction was. It wasn't like it was an easy or straightforward decision. Honestly, I made mistakes. I did cry a few tears of frustration at times and...

 

We've talked about this before, but I did fall into the trap of buying a ton of courses, taking a ton of courses in general, and hoping to find what would be the magic formula. Now, I know many of you listening today are perhaps older creatives who have recently retired or are in a transitional phase. Some of you may be.

 

trying to make a little bit of extra money as you do your main job, you might be wondering, what can I do with my skills? How can I turn my passions into something profitable? We come from all different directions, don't we? And I completely understand. After 30 years in the classroom, teaching just kind of a range of digital art, fine art and theatrical design,

 

I kind of was faced with similar questions when I transitioned into this next chapter of my life. I really wasn't sure what I was going to do, but I was really loving digital art on my iPad.

 

So let me tell you this, it is never too late to start. Now that I've started, I would say over, at least two or three times since 2017, I can tell you that for a fact. I first started, it took time to find my footing.

 

I had been selling at craft shows during the time I was working, so the entire time I was teaching, I was also selling at craft shows, craft fairs, and I had also built up a bit of a wholesale line of I was also selling. But I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do next. I knew that I just didn't have it in me to continue doing the craft sales.

 

I made mistakes, you know, and I felt quite lost. I tried this and then I tried that, but I didn't let those setbacks actually stop me.

 

I kept asking questions and staying curious and reaching out to others for support and watching others. I literally was just keeping an eye on what other people who had my skills were doing. It was kind of during that period of time that I started to follow certain people in the industry. So I took a lot of classes on Skillshare and I learned about

 

possibility of using teaching as one of the things that I could do to make additional money. After all, I had been teaching and I thought, well, I mean, that's a digital product, right?

 

I think that's something that you have to take some time to figure out because I had no idea. If you had asked me while I was nearing my retirement whether I would continue to teach, I probably would have laughed.

 

So let's segue a little bit here. I want to talk about digital downloads. So digital downloads in general are products that you can create once and then sell online over and over again. me just repeat that. You create it once and then you sell it online over and over again. You know, that did not sink in for me at the beginning.

 

So think of things like printable art or ebooks, digital templates, brush sets for Procreate, asset packs for Affinity Designer or for laser cutting machines.

 

think about that little teaching bit that I was talking about. All of these are great ways to share your talents while generating some income without the overhead costs of physical products. So if I had thought of this earlier on, I might not have done the whole craft sale and product kind of a journey that I did.

 

I'm just saying, I just want you to think about that.

 

In the end, we definitely overlapped with a lot of this. So let's talk about starting your journey with digital downloads. So if you're thinking about creating digital downloads, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you're not used to sort of navigating the digital landscape. So I think you might be asking things like

 

What could I create that reflects my experience? What tools would I need to get started? Will anyone want to buy what I make? And all of those questions are really valid, really, really valid for sure, because it's a lot to sort through, especially if you're also figuring out how to dive into this new venture. Many of you may have not even created a space for selling product.

 

think websites, you know, there's not everyone who has a website or has it in them to create a website.

 

I find that many older creatives that I work with have wonderful ideas, but that they may struggle with the tech or feel unsure where to begin. I'm going to tell you, there's, this is the honest truth. You don't need to have it all figured out right away. You don't need to have the website. You don't need to have even chosen where you want to sell your digital product.

 

The beauty of this particular journey is that you can take it one step at a time.

 

Because I've done this for a little while, I'm going to outline some of the steps to create a digital product.

 

It's actually a really simple list that helps you wrap your head around everything here. I want you to just sit down and first of all, identify your strengths. Think about what you love doing and what you're good at. Maybe for you it's painting or maybe it's photography or maybe you're crafting a product. Start with those things.

 

the ones that you know and the ones that you love. Next, I want you to think about your audience. Think about who would benefit from that work that you are dreaming of creating. What kind of people are you trying to reach? What are their needs and desires? This kind of helps you guide your creation of your product.

 

Now I want you to also sit and outline your product. So spend some time envisioning what your digital product will look like. it be a printable calendar? I've been hearing a lot about that lately. Will it be a tea towel? Again, something I've heard a lot about lately. Would you consider a collection of art prints? Would you consider instructional guides?

 

outline the contents and what value it brings.

 

Next, you want to definitely set a fair price. And I think that takes a little bit of investigating. You also want to consider the effort you've put into what you've made and the value your product offers. So look at similar products in your niche to gauge pricing, but don't undervalue your work. Remember how much time you put into it and...

 

Think about that, but also think about the fact that repeated sales of that product are going to give you additional income, even if it's spread over a longer period of time.

 

Now is when you start to create with intention. So plan out the creation of your product step by step. Write everything down, like don't rush it. Write it down and take it at a pace that feels comfortable for you.

 

Lastly, I want to remind you that you're not alone. So many of us are navigating these similar paths and it's perfectly okay to seek guidance from others, to share ideas or simply ask for feedback along the way. I am lucky at this point in my life to be surrounded by people in the same kind of journey.

 

hate to use that word, but I can't think of another one at the moment. But I'm surrounded by people who are on this same journey and we meet regularly every week to talk about everything under the sun. So our Tuesday night thrive meeting is specifically event that many of us come to to do this exact thing. We ask each other questions. We ask what if

 

We share ideas, we ask for feedback. It's actually valuable experience to be able to talk to other people who are doing exactly what you're doing. You're just trying to find out how to do things, how to plan things, what things are working, what things aren't working. These people that meet

 

with you on a regular basis like that, get to know you and get to know your challenges. A lot of them have lived your challenges. So I really think that's a great place to start. Try to find groups that you can meet with on a regular basis and then just talk through all of your ideas.

 

Now for a few of you, the move to digital products might seem daunting, especially if you're used to more traditional forms of income, but just stop and think for a minute of the advantages. Once your digital product is created, it can generate income minimal ongoing effort.

 

Yes, you can work on your own schedule and you can work from the comfort of your own home. So these three things are the ultimate goal for any of you. It takes a long time, like it took me quite a few years to really amass a large catalog of products.

 

like this. So for me, I was focusing on those add-ons for software programs. I started with creating assets for Adobe Illustrator, but it was when I started to create assets for Procreate and for Affinity Designer that that part of my business really took off. And now that I have over 100 of these products going, you just think about it.

 

every single day you could be selling one of those products. So for me, yes, I remember struggling to create those products and spending a week or more of my time not only creating the product, but then also uploading it to the sales website that I was dealing with. And then...

 

making everything look really good so I would have a whole bunch of screenshots that would support whatever it was that I was talking about with my product. That is a monumental thing to do, especially when you're first starting out. And I listed every single step so that I could make it faster each time. And now I can usually get that done in one day. I have sort of templates

 

setups that will allow me to, for example, make the cover that will be the first picture that people see when they're, let's say, on creative market or design cuts. So those templates I've now started to reuse and I know basically the different items that I need to illustrate for people to buy my product.

 

number one is that sort of main shot of what the product is and what it can do. And then the second screenshot would be the actual index of the brushes I've created. Then I usually do as many as 10 other slides or screenshots that show products I've created using those assets or brushes.

 

I know for some of you, you're listening to this and thinking, that sounds like so much work. And of course it is the first time, but you do get faster and you do get more efficient and you start seeing a return and that makes all the difference in the world.

 

I know you might be worried about things like the tech involved or your ability to market your products. And I know technology can be intimidating, but remember, you don't have to master everything at once. There are plenty of user friendly tools, that are available. And you probably have already a ton of digital illustration or

 

brushes or assets that you've created or maybe you have ideas for other things like instruction books or coloring books or anything that you've been dreaming of doing.

 

So you've got what it takes. You just need to figure out how to get it to market. And then when it comes to marketing, you want to think about how you can connect with your community. So that would be maybe through social media or crafting blogs or local groups. I think the more you're out there sharing your story and letting people know what you're creating is probably your first

 

most important thing to do. Why not take the time to create a newsletter and start getting the word out, but also networking so that you get some people on that list. So you want people on that list that might eventually become buyers.

 

Now, one thing I do want to caution you about, I know it's a common temptation because I see this happening a lot in the marketplace, and that's people buying the resale rights or templated products and they sell them as their own. I think that the market is getting saturated with these products, so I want you to be just really careful about that and...

 

As much as possible, avoid using AI technology to create these assets. Embrace the fact that what you are trying to do is sell something that you make. So you want it to express you. You don't need to be perfect to start. You just need to start.

 

Your creativity deserves to be shared and there are people out there who want to support your growth.

 

Believe in your ability to craft and to create. We have a wealth of experience to offer and the world is waiting to see what you have out there. What can you do with it?

 

If you have questions about this or you want to chat more about your ideas, don't hesitate to reach out.

 

Keep creating and I can't wait to see what you bring to life. I would love to have you show up at the Tuesday Night Thrive meetings just to talk about it and for you to just listen to what other people who are in the same position as you doing, I wouldn't say struggling to do, but I would say are figuring out.

 

Now before we wrap up, I want you to remember that putting all of this together

 

Will take some time.

 

Remember to concentrate getting that product as...

 

shelf ready as it can be.

 

but remember too that it can take time.

 

As you are in this stage and getting ready to get your product out there in the world, remember to build relationships as well and connect with your audience.

 

Each step that you take at this point is a step in the right direction and always a lesson learned.

 

Thanks for tuning in everyone and remember to keep creating, keep juggling, and most importantly, keep finding joy in the process.