Summary

Christina Piccoli plans to create and sell a digital product on Gumroad to fund new basement flooring, documenting the process on Medium for readers to learn from.

Abstract

Christina Piccoli, a writer and content creator, has embarked on an experiment to design a digital product aimed at helping others navigate Medium effectively. Her goal is to use the proceeds from this venture to purchase new flooring for her basement, which has been soiled by her son's mountain biking activities and her cats. She intends to share her journey and the lessons learned through articles on Medium, providing a transparent view of her product development and marketing strategy. The product will focus on addressing common questions about using Medium, such as content ideation, AI utilization, and earning potential. Priced at $11, the product is designed to be an affordable resource for those looking to improve their Medium experience. Christina's initiative is part of her broader challenge to increase her monthly income to$ 5,000.

Opinions

Christina believes that creating a digital product can be both a fun challenge and a practical way to earn money for a specific goal.
She emphasizes the importance of simplicity and quick execution in product development to ensure a timely launch.
Christina is not positioning herself as a Medium expert but rather as someone who has valuable insights to share with those at a similar or earlier stage in their Medium journey.
The decision to price the product at $11 is strategic, intended to make the purchase an easy decision for potential buyers, similar to her own experience with a$ 10 ebook.
She acknowledges the potential for slow earnings but is open to expanding the product or creating additional products to meet her financial goal.
Christina is leveraging the power of writing down goals and making them public to increase her chances of success, a principle she believes in strongly.
She views this experiment as a learning opportunity not just for herself but also for her readers, who can apply her strategies to their own digital product endeavors.
Christina invites feedback and tips from her audience, fostering a collaborative environment for growth and improvement.

My “I Want to Buy Basement Flooring So I’ll Create a Digital Product” Experiment

Come along for the ride, and see how my experiment can help you too.

Image created by the author in Midjourney.

We have a nice basement, but our carpeting is terrible.

My son is a mountain biker, and he’s turned our basement into a bike garage.

There are mud and grease stains all over, plus let’s not talk about what my three cats have done down there. (I love my cats, I love my cats, I love my cats…)

So, I had a crazy idea this morning, and I want to bring you along for the ride.

My idea is to experiment with creating a digital product, throwing it up on Gumroad, and using whatever sales I make from it to go toward new flooring for my basement.

Note: Here’s my Gumroad page for when it goes live.

This product will be a win for everyone because:

It will be helpful to whoever buys it.
You get to see the process and track my progress via Medium articles.
If all goes well, you can copy my strategy to use for your own products. (And if not, you know what not to do.)
I get to experiment with making a digital product(s).
If it goes well, I’ll get to make money and buy new flooring for my basement.
The money I make will go toward my Road to $5,000 Per Month Challenge, too!

I love the idea of having a desire to buy something, and then finding a way to earn the money for it. It makes it a (fun!) challenge.

Step 1 — Product Goals & Guidelines

First, here are my goals with creating a product:

It has to be fairly quick to create. I don’t want to spend weeks on it. I want to get it up as soon as possible.
It has to be simple. This means it has to be simple for me to complete, and it has to have simple instructions and ideas for the user.
It has to be something you — the reader—could take and easily implement your own version of.
It has to be able to make enough money to make it worthwhile to create.
It has to solve a problem.

Step 2 — Think of a Product

I know the product needs to solve a problem.

I have a couple of people who have responded to my newsletter with questions about the best way to utilize Medium.

So I’m thinking of using their questions (and other questions I’ve seen) to create a product about Medium.

Here are some things I can focus on:

What should I write about on Medium?
How do I find new ideas?
Can I use AI (and how)?
How long do you have to write to start earning?
What are the most popular topics?

I don’t consider myself an expert on Medium, so this will be created for people who are a little behind me.

I can also include some bonus items to make the product more worthwhile to buy.

Step 3 — Think of a Price

This will be a fairly simple write-up, so my idea is to charge $11 for it. Why $11 and not $10?

11 is my lucky number!

I recently purchased an ebook about Medium for $10, and I noticed a few things about that price:

I didn’t hesitate to buy it. It was an easy decision that I didn’t have to think about.
The book was about 15 pages long, and I thought it was the right amount for the price.
I learned a couple of tips from that book that I didn’t learn anywhere else, and it was worth the cost for that knowledge.

I realize $11 isn’t much, and it might take me a while to earn enough for new flooring. The person I mentioned above has made over $3,000 with her simple product, so I know it can be done.

A few thoughts:

I’m not in a huge rush, and don’t mind if it takes a little time.
I can always add to the product and increase the price.
I can create additional products to earn more money.
If I create more than one product, I can bundle them together to create a different pricing strategy.

There are plenty of options!

Step 4 — Get to Work

The hardest part of doing anything is starting.

So I will begin creating my new digital product tomorrow.

Note: It’s Tuesday, January 23, 2024 for reference.

I will aim to get it up on Gumroad before next week. The only way to get something done is to just get it done. (Profound, I know.)

Final Thoughts

I’m slightly nervous about putting this challenge out there because I don’t want to fail in front of you.

On the other hand:

This is just an experiment, so we’re just going to see how it goes.
If I put it out there in writing for all to see, I’m more likely to succeed. (hint, hint. This is a secret of the Universe for you too. Write it down, put it out there, and watch what happens.)

If this goes well, I have some other ideas for things I want to earn money for. (Slot machines, here I come! 🎰 ) And I’ll need to come up with more digital product ideas.

Stay tuned…!

If you have any tips for me, I’d love to hear them. Let me know in the comments!

About the Author

Hey! I’m Christina, an introverted book nerd on the outside, and a raging metalhead on the inside. 🤘 I’m a married mom to two teenagers (and 3 cats and a dog). I love Vegas 🎰, the band Chevelle 🎸, and murder mysteries 📖.

I also love creating short, daily lists of resources and ideas to help you boost your online income. 👈 Click that astonishingly long link to sign up for free.