5 Secrets to Create Digital Products People Will Buy, Love & Share By Sam Parrett Sam Parrett on May 2, 2016 in Shop Center Tweet This Share This We’ve had plenty of great advice here on the Creative Market blog about how to boost your product sales through effective descriptions, screenshots, and sales strategies; but what about the actual product itself? Like myself, I’m sure other shop owners often ask themselves “What the hel-vetica shall I design for my next product?” It’s an exciting question but can also be quite daunting, creating a digital product from scratch can take a long time and you want to make sure that time is invested wisely. I’d like to share some points worth considering before you’ve even started the design process of your next digital product, which will help to maximise your chances of hitting those popular pages. 1. What's trending? A bit of market research can go a long way in this case, and there are some quick & easy ways you can not only figure out what’s currently in high demand, but also pick up a little inspiration on the way. One very handy tool and a great starting point is the Top 100 Search Terms on Creative Market spreadsheet, which will give you an insight into some general design categories that are likely to generate traffic. For a more direct approach, sites like Designspiration, Dribbble and Behance will give you a large dose of popular creative work and current design trends, perfect for getting those creative juices flowing. 2. Use your strengths to your advantage In a nutshell, do what you’re good at doing! (Thank you captain obvious, your work here is done). But more specifically, what skills do you have that are most likely to stand out amongst the crowd? Following on from the last point, it’s easy to get carried away with an idea just because it’s hot on the popular list. Being a jack-of-all-trades can certainly have it’s benefits, but focussing your products on your most honed skills will allow your individual style to shine through; something that we regularly see in top selling products. Skybox Creative often specializes in products with an abstract, cosmic style with a real eye-catching quality. Sacred Geometry Vector Bundle by Skybox Creative in Graphics 3. Uniqueness is key This can often be the most difficult part when it comes to planning your next product, and sometimes ideas are unique for a reason; “T-shirt mockups… on a cat? Eureka!” But one easier way to approach this is by looking at the current trends and finding a new angle to work from, rather than trying to think of something completely unique. Finding a gap in the market can have a drastic effect on your products success, and this is where the extra planning & research can really pay off. Faith & Glory follows the current trend in hand lettering, but by combining 2 different font styles it offers a unique selling point. Faith & Glory by Sam Parrett in Fonts 4. Make sure it’s a good investment for your customers Before starting on your next product it’s worth asking yourself, “will this save my customers time & money?” We’re all too familiar with budget constraints and looming deadlines set by our clients, and anything which can help ease these pressures is sure to be an attractive quality. One-click effects, reusability and bonus extras are all areas to consider when it comes to designing a highly investible product. Pit Stop is not only a great time-saver, but it’s also a product that could be used for years to come without using the same texture twice. PitStop - Subtle Texture Effects by Ian Barnard in Add-Ons 5. Appeal to a wider audience So you’ve done the hard bit and nailed down a concept for your next product, woo-hoo! But remember that designers come in all shapes and sizes, and if possible try to avoid limiting your products appeal to one particular group. This general idea can be applied across a range of product categories, for example: Extra language support for fonts can massively widen your potential customer base.Multiple software support, e.g. Illustrator and Photoshop versions of your product will keep both the vector & raster fans happy.Highly customisable web & graphic templates can appeal to users in a variety of industries. Simply by adding some alternative colour schemes Booker – Business Presentation appeals to corporate clients as well as students and creative types. Booker - Business Presentation by Tugcu Design Co. in Templates Now all you need to do is create it! Ultimately it’s down to you to go that extra mile with your next product, and I’m a firm believe that ‘cream rises to the top’, i.e. those of the highest quality will generally be the most popular. But the purpose of this post is to act as a helpful framework for your next project, and highlight the fact that a little bit of planning can go a long way in terms of your products success and legacy. How do you plan your digital products? Please do comment below if you have any other tips or advice, I’d love to hear your suggestions! Products Seen In This Post: Have Heart by Sam Parrett in Fonts Squid Ink Flat Icon Pack by Web Icon Set in Graphics Free lettering worksheets Download now! Download now! Getting started with hand lettering? Download these worksheets and start practicing with simple instructions and tracing exercises.
Sam Parrett Following Follow setsailstudios.com Sam's Shop → Hello! I'm Sam and I design unique & eye-catching fonts at Set Sail Studios. Please don't hesitate to drop me a message if there's anything you need. Oh, and be sure to check out my website for freebies and font deals! :) 5 Secrets to Create Digital Products People Will Buy, Love & Share • Oct 9, 2015 34 Comments All Posts by Sam →
Presentation Deck Great post! The "Top 100 Search Terms" link is not working. File not found. Oct 9, 2015
Sam Parrett Thanks @Presentation Deck! I've just checked that and it seems to be working now! Oct 9, 2015
Anas Alshanti Please feel free to check our new Social Shopping and Curation platform shoplyst.com, it allows users to add products for later from any website via a chrome extension and also create collections of your favorites to inspire others, would love to know what you think of it @shoplyst Oct 13, 2015
Ian Barnard Great article @Sam Parrett and thanks for the feature. Definitely something I try to do with most of my products. Oct 13, 2015
Sam Parrett Many thanks @Ian Barnard :) - I can definitely see that in your awesome products! Oct 14, 2015
MovedTo OldAccount @Sam Parrett Thanks for writing this article. As someone, who is new on the market, I have kind of lost clue of what to create. So this gives me more insights on what to look for. Oct 14, 2015
Sam Parrett That's great to hear @MovedTo OldAccount as that was the exact aim of the blog post. Thanks for your comment and good luck with your next products :) Oct 14, 2015
Amber Smith Is the update to the top 100 search terms dynamic - it only shows up through January. Mar 28, 2016
Jesi Kelly Would love to see the 2016 search terms to date on the Top 100 search terms spreadsheet:) What a great tool. Thank you for this article: very helpful:) Mar 30, 2016
Sam Parrett Thanks for your comments @Lups & @Jesi Kelly - I'm glad you found it useful! :) Jun 30, 2016
Sam Parrett Hi @Amber Smith! I think it's updated manually at the moment, but that might be worth putting forward to the CM team and seeing what they suggest :) Jun 30, 2016
Charissa Wilson @Sam Parrett I was surprised font was not higher on the list. Really useful info! btw, typo..."but focussing your products" Aug 11, 2016
Sam Parrett Thanks @Charissa Wilson I'm glad you found it useful! You can blame the spelling on my Britishness ;) Aug 12, 2016
S M Nazmul Alam Awesome @Sam Parrett I've got one question though, who updates the Top 100 Search Terms Lists? I've got some really great information which will help me planning my next great product. Thanks for the heads up. :) Aug 31, 2016
Sam Parrett Hey @S M Nazmul Alam, I'm glad you found it helpful! :) The Creative Market staff currently update the spreadsheet manually I believe! Aug 31, 2016