Hey Reader,

When I was pregnant with my son, a friend gifted me a baby book. It was a typical baby book with specific questions to fill out from birth to age 5.

I started to save information and fill out the book, but once my son was born, the business of motherhood quickly pushed the baby book aside.

When I did have time to work on it, I would lament that I didn't have some of the information - I had forgotten to write down his favorite foods at 7 months or how much he weighed at his 18 month checkup.

I would keep trying, but I always felt like I wasn't doing it right.

Fast forward 10 years and the book was not complete. It had also been hanging over my head (and taking up space in my mind) for YEARS.

I added the task to one of my earliest 12 Week Years. I was FINALLY going to finish it.

And I did, but the result wasn't anything like the cookie-cutter template that the book provided. I realized that the specific questions in the book and the fill-in-the-blank framework were actually holding me back. Instead of helping me, it was causing me anxiety because I didn't have some of the information and honestly, I couldn't remember every detail of his childhood.

In the end, I:

• Used a totally different binder with clear sheet protectors where I could add whatever I wanted
• When I didn't have the "answers" to a specific prompt, I covered it something I did have
• I also added TONS of new pages with photos, stories and drawings (again what I did have)

I am really proud of the result; it's a treasured keepsake and it's fun to look through together now that he's a teenager.

But it reminds me of courses and templates and other digital products that I've purchased and haven't completed. These products often have good intentions, but they don't always allow for wiggle room or creative expression.

This is how I approach digital products with clients, and how I recommend you approach your digital product as well.

You don't have to follow any five-step framework. You don't have to have an audience in a specific place. You don't have to have exactly seven emails to promote your product. You don't have to be on one specific social media platform. There is no one set of rules to follow.

There are best practices for digital products. For example, it's best when you do have an audience to sell your product to, but your audience doesn't have to look any one specific way. It's great to market your product, but again, there's no one set way that you should do that.

It's all about what works for you.

Best,
Rene

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P.S. I have a goal to have 25 market research calls by the end of 2023. If you're creating, launching or marketing a digital product, could we jump on a 15-minute call so I can learn more about you? No sales, no pitches. Learn more and sign up.​