Are you debating on launching a small digital product vs a live masterclass?
If you keep asking yourself if you should focus on creating a tiny, Easy Yes Offer for $27, or should do a live class that you can charge a little more for, there are a few things to consider.
As you know, I’ve been preaching for years about Easy Yes Offers and how huge they can be for your bottom line. Easy Yes Offers are usually small, tiny digital products around the $27 range. You can pepper in Easy Yes Offers on your Thank You pages, in your Welcome Series emails, as an “order bump” or “One Time Offer” (OTO as the gurus like to call it)… Pretty much anywhere. Your Easy Yes Offer is like that snickers bar at the grocery checkout. If you want it, you get it. It’s no big deal.
On the other hand, when you’re contemplating a small digital product vs a live masterclass, you realize how popular live masterclasses are right now and think mayyyyybe that’s what I should be focusing on.
So which one is right for you?
The Small Digital Product Vs Live Masterclass
One of the things I focused on to make consistent 10k in sales every month from digital courses is having a higher-priced offer. A higher ticket product is going to get more money in your bank account faster so it just makes sense to focus on that, right?
Not necessarily.
A lot of people are a little sales averse when it comes to selling their products and having a small digital product (aka Easy Yes Offer) can help strengthen those sales muscles. As a bonus, it will also give you the confidence and courage to hit publish on that high-ticket flagship course or offering later on.
What about money? Does a small digital product mean less income?
You can make huge profits from either of these methods and if you do it right, this can parlay into bigger products or offerings down the line. It all boils down to what makes sense for you right now.
The Two Modalities of a Small Digital Product vs. Live Masterclass
Both of these modalities have been extremely popular lately when it comes to selling online products, programs, and services.
Again, the small digital product is usually priced around $27 and is very similar to the Easy Yes Offer I talk about so much. The difference is that instead of hiding on a Thank You Page these small digital products are out there, loud and proud. You’ve probably seen tons of Facebook ads for these types of offers.
They usually feature
- Trello board
- Templates
- Short Videos
- Swipe files
The small digital product conquers one tiny problem and does it well.
Because it’s a low-ticket item, the key to making this strategy work is to have tons of sales volume. Another aspect of the small digital product that is hiding behind the checkout is there are other offers tacked on during the purchase process.
The way that works is like this:
- You get excited about the low-ticket offer (anywhere from $7-$47)
- On the checkout page, there’s a really cool thing that will help you solve the problem faster for like $9
- Then there is another really amazing product that takes it all to the next level for $97
That’s how a lot of people are making tons of money with a tiny small digital product. It isn’t necessarily on the tiny product, it’s taking into account that a small percentage of people are going to buy the extra goodies (known as upsells or order bumps) and an even smaller percentage are going to go ahead and get the $97 offer (OTO). You’re going to depend on the order bumps and one time offers to cover the costs of Facebook ads.
There’s definitely some sales psychology baked into this modality and while it looks simple on the surface with a small digital product out front, there’s more than meets the eye and that means a lot more work on your end.
I teach this whole strategy in One Click Funnels and Love Your List and it def has its merits but sometimes that can be a lot to take on, especially if you haven’t launched anything before. The reason I like to preach Easy Yes Offers is because if you are new to selling and are a bit nervous about it, selling anything under $50 makes it a bit easier to launch your first product, program, or service. It’s like ripping the “I’m scared of selling” band-aid off.
Another benefit of selling a small digital product vs a live masterclass is that it helps create that know-like-trust factor with your audience.
For my business, I have Trello Magic that sells for $24. Even though it has nothing to do with email marketing or copywriting, I get a ton of sales from it. It’s amazing how many people start out buying Trello Magic or The Email Marketing Fairy (another small digital product) that end up joining Love Your List.
This strategy only works if you are going to knock their socks off with your small digital product. If it’s mediocre, it won’t work. But if you have put thought and effort into your offer, then people always want to buy the next thing.
If you have put thought and effort into your offer, then people always want to buy the next thing.
Things to consider if you’re going with the small digital product model:
- You are going to need a lot of sales
- Small-dollar sales can lead to sales of your higher-ticket offers or products
- You’re going to need a larger audience to sell to in order to get the volume of sales you need
- You can use the number of people in your small digital product as a selling point for your offer as well as other offers you have “Over 500 people have signed up”
The other model that’s popular right now is selling a live masterclass or workshop
While these offers are usually around the $97 price point, I’ve seen them for as little as $27 and as high as $147 but typically it’s right under $100. The live masterclass is usually about an hour of teaching, like a standard webinar. At the end, there’s usually a short pitch for a higher-ticket item.
If you’re starting out or have a new idea that you want to beta test, a live masterclass is a great way to test things out and gauge interest from your audience.
One of the great things about a live masterclass is you get to charge a higher price because your audience gets to interact with you live. This can also be a huge stumbling block for some people. If you struggle with being comfortable on live video and have some mindset blocks when it comes to confidence on camera, this isn’t going to work for you. You’re not going to email your list about it often enough because you won’t have the confidence and energy behind it.
On the other hand, if you’ve been wanting to create a course forever but you never get around to it or get stuck in all the details that come with course creation, a live masterclass is a great way to get some momentum going as well as a nice cash injection.
With a live masterclass, you have to show up when you say you’re going to show up. There’s no room for redoing your slide deck (again) and spending 4 hours looking for the perfect stock photo to go along with your presentation. This gives you a hard deadline of when you have to get it done and show up. You can also add the replay of the live masterclass as a bonus when your course does launch.
So should you create a $29 digital product or should you host a $97 live class?
What they have in common:
With both of these models, the initial product isn’t the only thing for sale. Each one has at least one offer on the backend, whether it’s upsells, order bumps, or pitching your signature program. Also, with both methodologies, you’re not giving away the whole kitchen sink, you’re only solving ONE problem.
Small Digital Product:
If you already have templates, workflows, and that sort of thing and you know you can add some other products later for your order bumps or one-time offers, a $27 product might be the right thing for you.
If you’re going the small digital product route, don’t be afraid to promote other products. If you’ve got something that is going to help your audience even more you would be doing them a disservice by hiding it from them.
Live Masterclass:
If you are wanting to test the waters for a new course and want to potentially have a higher income right off the bat, a $97 live masterclass might be the answer.
Right now, people are craving a lot of live connectivity. You can always sell the replay later, add it as a bonus to other products, or use it as an order bump for a smaller ticket item.
The long and short of it, if you tend to get stuck in the weeds and you have a million half-done things in your computer that never get out there, the live class just might be the kick in the pants that you need to get your products out to the world.
All you need is a short sales page, your payment processor, and Zoom or whatever video conferencing app you prefer. It’s super-simple and its something you can go from idea to product in less than two weeks.
If you’ve been thinking about a one-on-one or group coaching program, a live class is a great way to get yourself out there.
But if you know that a live video is never going to happen for you because your kids are not going to leave you alone or your house is too loud… or you just do not want to be on camera, a $27 product is the smart move. You can build your whole business around it. I know this for a fact because I’ve done it myself.
Ultimately it’s up to you and your current situation. I just want to make sure that you’re getting out there and you’re helping your people. Don’t let deciding on a small digital product vs live masterclass keep you from getting your product out in the world.
Remember, when you put a price tag on something, you are actually ensuring that people will take it seriously which means that they will ultimately get better results.
If you’re really struggling with putting a price tag on anything at all and don’t know what to put on a sales page, check out Ditch The Ish. It’s a pay-what-you-want audio training where you’ll how to put together an offer that virtually sells itself, regardless of which modality you go with.
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