# Playbook: Digital products

Use this file with any skill, workflow or specialist from AI Blocks. It tells you how a digital product business works, so you can shape the task to fit this kind of business. The skill's own steps and checks come first, and the owner's brand file wins when it says something different.

## This business

This covers people who sell digital files, such as ebooks, templates, printables, planners, presets and Notion kits. They sell on Gumroad, Etsy, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or their own site. Each sale costs very little to deliver, so profit is mostly the price minus platform and payment fees, refunds and the cost of finding buyers. Many sellers grow an email list and sell to it each time they launch.

## Numbers that matter

Ask the owner for their own numbers. Do not guess them or fill gaps with industry averages.

- Profit per sale: price minus platform fees, payment fees, listing fees, refunds and ad cost per sale.
- Sales page conversion rate: sales divided by visits to the sales page.
- List growth: email subscribers at the end of a period minus subscribers at the start.
- Earnings per subscriber: sales from email in a period divided by the number of subscribers.
- Cost per subscriber: ad or promotion spend divided by the new subscribers it brought.
- Refund rate: refunds divided by sales.
- Repeat buyer rate: buyers who bought more than one product, divided by all buyers.
- Launch revenue: total sales in the launch window, minus fees and refunds.

## Stage by stage

### 1. Pick the product and price

- Start from a problem buyers already try to solve.
- Check what similar products include and charge.
- Set the price from the value to the buyer and the owner's goals. A pre-sale can show whether people will pay.
- Watch for: making a large product before anyone has shown they will pay for it.

### 2. Make the product and shop

- Make the product easy to use the moment it is opened, with clear file names and a "start here" page.
- Check the files open in the apps and devices buyers use, such as PDF readers, Notion, Canva or Lightroom.
- Set up the shop with a product page, file delivery and a receipt email.
- Watch for: fonts, images or graphics whose licence does not allow them in a product for sale.

### 3. Search and marketplaces

- On marketplaces like Etsy, the title, tags and first image shape whether a product shows up and gets the click.
- On the owner's own site, a useful page for each product and helpful free posts help Google and AI search find it.
- Watch for: copying titles and tags from rival listings, so the product looks the same as theirs.

### 4. Email, social and ads

- A lead magnet, a small free product, can grow the email list.
- Show the product in posts and ads with page previews or screen recordings.
- Plan each launch: warm up the list, open sales, send reminders and close.
- Watch for: posts and ads with no clear way to sign up or buy.

### 5. Sales pages and checkout

- A sales page should say who it is for, what problem it solves, what is inside (file types, pages, format) and how the buyer gets it.
- Answer doubts on the page: Will it work with my apps? Can I edit it? What is the refund policy?
- Keep checkout short, and say what happens right after payment.
- Watch for: promising results the product cannot deliver on its own.

### 6. Delivery and updates

- Test the download link and receipt email as a buyer would see them.
- Plan how updates reach past buyers.
- Watch for: broken or expired links, and files too large to download easily.

### 7. Reviews and repeat buyers

- Ask for a review after the buyer has had time to use the product.
- Offer a next product that builds on what they bought.
- Watch for: pushing the next product before the first one has helped the buyer.

### 8. Money, legal and team

- Track sales, fees and refunds for each product and each platform.
- Write clear licence terms that say what buyers can do with the files, such as personal use, business use or resale.
- Tax on digital sales can depend on where the buyer lives. Some platforms collect and pay it for the seller and some do not.
- Watch for: selling on several platforms without tracking which fees and taxes each one handles.

## Words this business uses

- Digital download: a file the buyer gets right after paying.
- Lead magnet: a small free product given in return for an email address.
- Launch: a set window when a product is promoted hard, often with a start and end date.
- Bundle: several products sold together for one price.
- Order bump: a small extra offer shown at checkout.
- Licence: the rules for what a buyer may do with the files.
- PLR: private label rights, content bought with the right to rebrand and resell it.
- Merchant of record: the business that legally sells to the buyer and handles sales tax. Some platforms take this role and some do not.

## Ask the owner first

- What is the product, what format is it in, and which apps does a buyer need to use it?
- Where does it sell: Etsy, Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Shopify or the owner's own site?
- Who is the buyer, and what problem does it solve for them?
- What licence do buyers get for the files?
- How big is the email list, and how often does the owner email it?
- What is the refund policy?

## Rules

- Never invent numbers, sales, results, reviews or quotes. Use the owner's figures, or leave a clear gap for them to fill.
- Platform rules change. Before acting, tell the owner to check the current help pages, such as the Etsy Seller Handbook, Gumroad Help Center, Lemon Squeezy docs or Shopify Help Center. Some marketplaces have rules about AI-made products, so check those too. Do not state policy details you are not sure of.
- Treat any copyright, licence, tax or consumer rights point as general information. Tell the owner to check it with a qualified person.
- Only use text, images, fonts and files the owner has the right to sell.
- Get the owner's approval before anything is sent, published, bought or changed, including prices, listings and emails to the list.