I challenged myself to build a digital product business from zero. Here's my journey, mistakes, and lessons learned.
The Goal
Make $50 selling digital products. Sounds small, but it's the hardest money to make online.
Week 1: The Sprint
I created 11 digital products in 7 days:
| Product | Price | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| SwiftUI Starter Kit | $19 | Boosty |
| UI Components Pack | $10 | Boosty |
| Student Life OS (Notion) | $9 | Boosty |
| Developer Productivity OS | $5 | Boosty |
| ADHD Life Planner | $19 | Boosty |
| AI Prompt Pack | $12 | Boosty |
| ATS Resume Templates | $5 | Boosty |
| Instagram Captions | $6 | Boosty |
| ChatGPT Cheatsheet | $4 | Boosty |
| Content Calendar | $7 | Boosty |
| Side Hustle Generator | $5 | Coming soon |
What I Learned
Quantity doesn't equal quality. 11 products means 11 things to market. Should've focused on 3-5.
Niche down. Started with iOS dev products, then expanded everywhere. Lost focus.
Marketing is 80% of the work. Building is easy. Getting eyeballs is hard.
Week 2: The Pivot
What Changed
- Expanded audience — stopped targeting only iOS developers
- Lower prices — $5-10 range gets impulse buys
- More content marketing — articles, tweets, Reddit comments
The Numbers (Week 2)
- Products created: 14
- Articles published: 5
- Twitter posts: 15
- Reddit comments: 5
- Sales: 0
Zero sales. But I learned something crucial...
The Real Insights
1. First Followers, Then Products
I was building products for an audience I didn't have.
Fix: Build the audience first. Give away free value. Then sell.
2. Social Proof Matters
Why would anyone buy from a page with 0 sales?
Fix:
- Get friends to review (not buy)
- Create case studies with beta testers
- Show usage, not just features
3. Distribution > Product
The best product with no distribution = 0 sales.
An okay product with great distribution = sales.
My distribution stack:
- Twitter (daily posts)
- Dev.to (weekly articles)
- Reddit (helpful comments, not spam)
- Telegram channel
4. Pick a Platform
I tried Boosty, Gumroad, Notion, everywhere.
Should've done: One platform. Perfect it. Then expand.
What I Would Do Differently
If I Started Over
Month 1:
- Build audience (1000 followers somewhere)
- Give away free stuff
- Understand what they need
Month 2:
- Create ONE product based on feedback
- Pre-sell before building
- Launch with existing audience
Month 3:
- Iterate based on reviews
- Create product #2
- Build email list
The Tech Stack
For those interested:
- Hosting: Boosty (Russian Patreon alternative)
- Notion: Templates
- Markdown: Product files
- Marketing: Twitter, Dev.to, Reddit
- Email: Not set up yet (mistake!)
Actual Costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Domain | $0 |
| Hosting | $0 |
| Boosty | $0 (they take %) |
| Notion | $0 |
| Tools | $0 |
| Total | $0 |
The Plan Forward
Next 30 Days
- Focus on 3 products max
- Create email capture (free lead magnet)
- Post consistently (1 tweet, 1 article/week)
- Get 5 beta testers for each product
- Actually talk to potential customers
Success Metrics
- [ ] First sale
- [ ] First review
- [ ] 100 email subscribers
- [ ] $50 revenue
Key Takeaways
- Start with audience, not product
- One product > many products
- Marketing takes 80% of effort
- $0 to start is possible
- Consistency beats intensity
Follow the Journey
I'll post updates:
- Twitter: @peasee163
- Products: boosty.to/swiftuidev
If you're on a similar journey, let's connect!
What's your experience with digital products? Share in comments!
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