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✏️ ON MY MIND

How I launched my first digital product in 2023

Continuing on from my last newsletter, which encouraged you to take the plunge and put yourself out there in order to grow, I wanted to share my experience of launching my first digital product.

This year, I set a goal to create an additional stream of income by creating and selling digital products. After I burned out last year, I realized that I do not have the energy to hustle hard like I did when I was younger. So digital products will allow me to put some effort into creating, but nowhere the same amount of energy to maintain it.

I am so proud to say that I launched my first product this month, and I’m here to share the timeline of events with you. I’ll also share some actionable takeaways that you can use if you’ve got some ideas for projects you want to pursue this year. (Oh and if you have some fears coming up for you, I’m here to help).

Here’s how I did it:

Around Xmas time I started writing articles about the AI tools I was experimenting with, and shared my experiments on social media. I found and followed people talking about ChatGPT on Twitter and joined the AI for small business owners Facebook groupJan 15: I saw someone share a Google doc with a Loom video and a list of ChatGPT prompts that they had been playing with, and that went viral on Twitter. Feeling inspired, I spent 6 hours creating my own version.Jan 18: asked my Facebook friends who wanted my free ChatGPT Guide, and got over 100 responses in 24 hours! It blew up. Shared the guide in two groups that I’m active with and got mentions in their newsletters.One of the people who responded to my post suggested that I host a mini-workshop to show people how to do some of the things that I wrote about in my free guide. So I set the date for February 9th.One person who I sent my guide to asked if I wanted to write a guest blog for their website. Another person asked if I wanted to appear on their podcast to share what I’d learned.Feb 2: recorded my first LinkedIn Live video, and for 30 minutes showed viewers how to use ChatGPT as their marketing coach. Nobody watched live, which could have been demoralizing, but I did zero promotion in the lead-up so I wasn’t surprised.Feb 3: shared on Facebook that I had recorded a 30-minute video training and asked who wanted it. Over the next few days, over 100 people responded.Feb 9: hosted my ChatGPT mini-workshop over Zoom, with three participants attending. Made $148 USD (minus stripe and hosting fees) and got a 4.7/5 rating and positive feedback from the awesome attendees.Feb 10: started offering the Zoom recording plus other resources as a low-cost digital training product for folks who couldn’t attend live. I used Convertkit’s commerce feature to do this. It took less than 20 mins to set this up.

What I’m most happy about is the wonderful feedback that I’ve been receiving from both friends and strangers. 

Improvements I can make next time:

I could promote the workshop more heavily to reach a wider audience and increase attendance.I could partner with relevant influencers or organizations to co-promote the workshop. That’s worth a shot too.

Key Takeaways:

You don’t need to be an expert. You just need to start teaching what you know, and think about one problem you’d like to help others solve.Over time this can turn into an additional income stream for you. Content marketing works. Even if you’re not clear on what your product or service will be, just get started by posting content about your thoughts, projects, and a problem that you see that you can help others solve.

While I haven’t sold any of my new product as yet, that’s OK. At least now I have a digital product that I can direct people to if they’re beginners at ChatGPT and want help getting started with using it for their marketing.

I hope these tips help you take action on your ideas this year.

Remember, it’s okay to start small and test the waters. You never know where it might lead you.

And if you’re feeling some fears or doubts, know that it’s normal. I had fears too!

What if nobody shows up? What if I fail? But I pushed through those fears and took action anyways. And the results have helped me build confidence, gain valuable insights and feedback, and feel good about my newfound skills.

“If you change nothing, nothing will change” — Unknown

So take action today and see what you can create. Good luck! 💪🏽

PS. Want help doing this? Hit reply and tell me about your project/idea and where you’re stuck. I’m working on a new offering that will help you move faster, and have ongoing support, to launch your product or service.

🔨🧰 MARKETING TIP

Crafting Your Podcast Pitch: A Step-by-Step Guide for Small Business Owners Wanting to Guest on Podcasts.

Appearing as a guest on a relevant podcast can help you showcase your expertise, gain brand exposure, and connect with potential customers. For small businesses, it can also serve to be an effective lead generator.

But how do you go about getting booked onto podcasts in the first place? Well, it all begins with a compelling pitch. 

My latest article provides a comprehensive guide to crafting a pitch that stands out, with detailed steps and tips to help you increase your chances of being featured on a podcast. 

Read the article now.

👍 3 THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION 

1/ Read: The Myth of the “Right” Choice

Great blog post by my awesome friend Coach Jennie. Here’s a sneak peek:

2/ Read: What is toxic productivity? And 5 tips to overcome it

3/ Watch: How To Open Your 7 Chakras As Explained In a Children’s Show

Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of my fave animated series of all time. So much wisdom packed into a children’s animation! 

Random fact: I dressed up as Aang and my wife (who doesn’t like me posting pics of her online) was Katara at an entrepreneur dress-up party that we attended in Bali in 2018. Did we pull it off? 😂 

💸 WEALTH BUILDING TIP

🐦 COOL TWEETS OF THE WEEK

My thoughts on AI GENERATED ART

— Jason Silva (@JasonSilva)
Dec 28, 2022

Too many people are worried about creating *multiple* revenue streams who haven’t even got one thing working yet

This leads to chasing shiny objects rather than building momentum

Here’s what my journey to multiple revenue streams looked like:

— Katelyn Bourgoin (@KateBour)
Feb 16, 2023

How can we be ambitious without burning out?

Develop pragmatic ambition.

That means setting goals you can achieve within a year or shorter, and that have a clear long-term benefit.

Sketch notes from Cal Newport’s podcast👇

— Joyce Chou 周維思 (@joycewchou)
Feb 16, 2023

🔧 TOOL OF THE WEEK

Sunsama

Are you struggling to manage your workload effectively and regularly feeling overwhelmed by having too many things on your plate?

Well, this was exactly how I was feeling a few days ago. 

I was struggling with managing my workload efficiently and kept double-booking myself, leading to feeling overwhelmed and overworked (not to mention embarrassed by having to email clients to move meetings around). I needed a simple tool that could sync with Google Calendar and show me my availability for projects.

That’s when I discovered Sunsama, a productivity app that integrates with various tools and uses proven methods like timeboxing to help you achieve your goals. Unlike traditional to-do apps, Sunsama helps you create a daily system for success by pulling in emails and calendar events as tasks.

This tool makes it super easy to bring all the tasks from various tools together (Gmail, Slack, multiple calendars, ClickUp, and others) into a simple daily view. I’m feeling focused and on top of things already!

It’s an excellent tool for decluttering your brain and costs less than $1 a day. Runs on Chrome, desktop app, and mobile app. 

As an Authentic Marketer reader, you can enjoy a 14-day no-card-needed free trial! Many users swear by Sunsama, calling it “the last productivity app you’ll ever need.”

PS. Shout out to my man George Samuels for putting me onto this awesome tool! 

🤔 PARTING THOUGHTS

“The syntactical nature of reality, the real secret of magic, is that the world is made of words. And if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish.” ― Terence McKenna

Choose your words wisely. 

Anfernee Chansamooth

PS. – Did you get value from this newsletter? If yes, then please:

Forward it to someone else who might find it useful too.Consider supporting my work and becoming a paid subscriber.Reply and tell me what you liked about today’s newsletter, and/or ask a question that I can answer in a future newsletter (I’m always looking for ways to help my readers and topics to explore).