As you know, creating a solid digital product is something that we’re crazy passionate about. And when you get down to the nitty-gritty, you can easily find resources online that can give you insight and guidance about great digital product ideas to create.
This post will help you find your digital product idea easily. These tips will work for ebooks, workshops, printables, courses, and more and is one of our favorite things to do!
And since we want you to succeed, we decided what better way to help propel you towards success than by letting you in our little secret?
It’s so important to find solid ideas to know what type of content to create. SO IMPORTANT. Because if you’re just guessing on what your audience wants, you’re never going to connect with them in a meaningful way.
You have to know who to serve first before even getting a product idea and your research is what will help you accomplish just that.
Once you figure out exactly what people want, you’ll have actionable ideas and content that you can launch, sell, and scale.
Sounds pretty awesome, right? We certainly think so. And these places that we’re going to talk about below are where WE go online to find out what people want.
When you sit back and hear what people are voicing, you’ll find golden nuggets to help them!
- Listen to the complaints of people because those are going to tell you what they don’t want.
- Listen to the praise because that will further cement exactly what they do love.
And read in between the lines at times to figure out what other courses, products, and printables are missing so that you can capitalize and become a leader in your niche.
Here is our latest video where you can hear us talk all about the points that we’re discussing below.
5 Ways To Find The Perfect Digital Product Idea
Here are our 5 different places to go look for free customer research that can ultimately be a huge game-changer in your product creation and launch.
Quora
This platform is a real asset for market research. The ultimate purpose of Quora is to be a huge Q&A forum where thousands of questions are asked daily, seeking answers from people who have skills or can bring educational value.
Play around with this site a bit and get the hang of it. The search bar at the top will let you ask any question that you want.
Type in a question that you want to know the answer for and peruse through all the responses. Very rarely you might not get what you’re seeking but more times than not, it’s a massive wealth of information.
Dive deeper into the questions by clicking on them and reading the comments and content. You’ll get some amazing feedback and ideas for digital products that can create just from this.
We love Quora because it’s there to help answer questions and solve problems…and isn’t that what we’re all after when we’re trying to create a digital product for our own audiences?
Facebook Groups
You knew that Facebook was going to make this list somehow because it’s just too massive of a social media platform to ignore. Facebook groups have a wealth of information all in one place.
PLUS, these groups make it super simple to use because it’s all people that are interested in that specific topic that is already in that group. It’s like getting a sneak peek at your audience without them even realizing it.
The downside of using Facebook Groups is that they aren’t as clean and clear-cut as using Quora and you’ll have to do a bit of digging. But if you like to research and dive into things like that, it’s actually a lot of fun.
Give yourself permission to be on Facebook for another purpose besides scrolling and seeing all the baby and puppy pictures and use it for market research instead. When something as useful as this is just sitting out there for free, you HAVE to actively do your due diligence.
You can search for a word in the main search bar of Facebook and it will pull up related Facebook Groups. Some you’ll have to request to join, others will let you in automatically.
Choose ones that you KNOW your audience is and start digging into all the comments and questions as soon as possible.
This is perfect for niches like homeschooling, travel, camping, etc. and you’ll find that most of the groups are actually pretty active because people join for a reason – to get support and ask questions.
And since there are literally hundreds of thousands of Facebook groups, you’ll never have to worry about running out of ideas.
Once you’re in a Facebook group, there is a sidebar on the left-hand side that you can plug in a search query. Create a spreadsheet and copy and paste answers that you can revert back to later. (and this is for your own personal research – never use anyone’s name, etc and try to play it off as your own)
The words to type into the search bar could be:
- I want
- I need
- I wish
- I struggle with
Because all those are what you’re seeking to get answers for so you can help fill the gaps.
The best part about Facebook groups is that they even tell you the verbiage of how your audience speaks. You’ll get great hobbies, foods, movie ideas; all valuable information that you can possibly use later down the road. Using their words as your sales copy can be a huge game-changer because you’ll be speaking and relating directly to them.
There’s also the thought process of starting your own Facebook group as well and posing questions in the group to get answers and ideas directly from your audience. This would then give you a ton of great information that you KNOW they want with minimal effort on your part. Open forums and questions in Facebook groups can provide such a detailed need that there’s a real possibility that you’ll get a bunch of new product ideas quickly!
Amazon Reviews
There’s no better way to get direct customer feedback from people who already purchased products similar to what you want to create.
Being able to use Amazon as a resource will save you so much time because it’s as if they’ve already done all the hard work for you. They’ve launched the product and have given you the keys to the kingdom to read directly under the reviews what people loved and hated and it.
Pretty awesome, right?
When you’re using Amazon for research, click on the reviews, and read what the customers have written. Read the 2-4 star reviews because those are people that are on the fence and will be most likely to offer usable feedback. (1 and 5-star comments might be worth perusing but take them with a grain of salt. 1-star reviews are typically people who are just angry and 5-star reviews are typically all about why the product is already perfect.)
All you then have to do is take that feedback and find a way to make your product better to fill that void. It’s literally free research that can be a total win for your launch.
This is actually a process that you can easily do monthly or at least quarterly. Because Amazon is always adding new products, books, etc. every single day that you can get more and more information from. Filter the results to get the Best Sellers as well as the newest and to find helpful information for your future digital product.
YouTube Comments
YouTube is great for so many different platforms and products but is especially useful if you’re creating a workout, mini-course, live training, 30-day challenge, or anything that you’re going to be teaching that has a need for a video component.
Once you’re on the YouTube site, you can narrow down your search and seek out videos that are related to your niche or audience. We highly recommend checking out any courses in your niche that are already published on YouTube as well.
One video probably isn’t going to be enough for your research to be complete so take some time and be diligent here. Go into the comments and read what the people are saying about the training or the course. Do they like it? What do they wish was added? Did anyone leave any questions, hoping for a response from the creator?
All of those things are what you need to put on your spreadsheet and make certain to solve with your own digital launch.
It might take a bit more time on YouTube since it isn’t set up to be as “searchable” as other platforms and options, but grab a drink, some snacks, and settle down for an afternoon of digging.
There really is a wealth of information that you’ll be able to uncover, all without costing you a dime.
Speaking of launching, you can use the Little Product Launchkit to launch your own digital product! It’s a small mini-course filled with templates, guidelines, checklists, and tips on how to start with nothing to get your product ready to launch, sell, and scale. (and it’s literally just $27!)
Google Search
We’ve all heard the phrase “Google It” time and time again, right? It’s time to take that advice and make it really work for you.
Google is a great free resource that you can use to google businesses that are in your niche and find out what they’re lacking.
Once you enter a business into the Google search bar, there will be plenty of local businesses to choose from. Click on one and it should bring up some extra information in the sidebar. This is where you’re going to get your real-world ideas.
People who have used this business will leave reviews based on their experience. Again, read the reviews that are the 2-4 stars to get ideas that you can use to make your product better.
But the great thing about utilizing Google this way is that it shows you what this business has done well and also shows you where the gaps lie, too. It’s then up to you to put your spin and special sauce on it and make it be a highlight of your offerings to your audience.
Make certain to do this for several companies and put your findings down on your spreadsheet or a notepad. This is one of the easiest ways to do market research because it’s coming straight from the mouths of people who used that service.
Final Thoughts About Free Digital Product Research
If you need ideas on what type of digital product to create, checkout these small digital products you can create in an afternoon – or use these tools to sell them! The more that you can create products that your audience actually needs, the more trust that you’re going to create with your audience as well.
And when you create trust, you create a customer base for life. They’ll continue to keep coming back for your products because it’s “as if you know exactly what they need”. In a way, you do.
This is because you’re willing to put in a little bit of time and effort now to get the information that is important to them. Once you have that information, it’s then time to use it in the best way possible to help solve problems or give solutions to your audience.