Running an online service business is tough.

Running an online service business while being a full-time stay-at-home-mom to 3 young kids is tough AF.

Between being there for my family and being on top of client work, for a long time it felt like I’d never get the chance to scale my business beyond a certain point.

I needed to create digital products for my shop so I could build a reliable funnel that can help me generate income passively.

But, with my time being spent on client projects and marketing, it never felt like there was enough time in the day (or year!) to create a product suite up front. Especially if there was no guarantee that I’d be getting paid for the time I spent creating these offers. 

This is why I LOVE pre-sales.

It is a low-risk, low-effort way to add another branch of income to your online business that can see you reaping the rewards long after you created the offer.

The 3 things you need to run a pre-sale:

1) A warm audience ready to buy your offer

Here’s the truth – no matter how good, how innovative and transformational your digital product is… It won’t sell if you have no one to sell it to. Sharing valuable content around your offer will show your audience your unique perspective and ideas which helps build connection and trust.

If you haven’t been as consistent with your marketing as you’d like (we’ve all been there, please don’t feel bad about it) then get out there and post some content around your offer.

  • Write a blog post
  • Record a video
  • Send an email
  • Post on social media

Spending some time to educate and intrigue your audience BEFORE you run the pre-sale will increase the chances of people actually buying when you announce your pre-sale.

2) An outline of your offer idea + clear messaging for who it was created (ie. a clear value proposition)

Before launching a pre-sale, you need to have a clear understanding of what your digital product offers and how it solves a problem or meets a need for your target audience. This is your value proposition, and it should be communicated clearly and effectively in all your marketing materials.

Your value proposition should answer questions like:

      • What is your digital product and what does it do?
      • How does it benefit your target audience?
      • Why is it better than other solutions on the market?

By having a strong value proposition, you can create excitement around your pre-sale while also making your audience aware of why they should hop in on your offer right away. It also makes it easier to share content around the offer that speaks to where your potential customers are at in their buyer’s journey.

3) A reliable e-commerce payment system

Finally, to run a successful pre-sale, you need a reliable payment system that can handle transactions securely and efficiently. This may involve setting up a simple landing page for your pre-sale, and integrating a payment gateway like PayPal or Stripe. You want your checkout process to be as user-friendly and easy to navigate as possible.

It’s also important to have a plan in place for handling customer support inquiries and refunds, as well as communicating with customers throughout the pre-sale period to keep them informed and engaged.

I highly recommend Gumroad, especially if you’re not ready to commit to a monthly subscription. Gumroad is a complete e-commerce platform that not only allows you to create sales and checkout pages, but also accepts payments, delivers the offer, and allows you to keep in touch with your customers!

Running a pre-sale for a digital product doesn’t have to be overwhelming or confusing. Simple can be fun and profitable, as long as you have a plan in place that guides you through the steps.

By focusing on your audience, your value proposition and payment system, you can create a successful pre-sale that generates buzz, revenue, and excitement for your upcoming launch.

To keep you on track so you can stop overthinking and start taking small steps toward creating your digital product suite, grab the pre-selling checklist…