How Do I Know What Digital Product to Create as a Therapist?
This is the question.
Not:
How do I make a digital product?
Not:
Should I make a course or a workbook?
Not:
What are other therapists selling?
The question I want you asking is:
How the fuck do I know what people will actually buy BEFORE I spend three months creating it?
Because therapists are exceptionally good at coming up with ideas.
We're creative. We're problem-solvers. We know a lot of shit.
Which means you can probably come up with 20 things you could create by the end of this article.
I don't care.
😂
I want to know which one has data behind it.
Because the goal isn't to create a digital product.
The goal is to create a digital product people actually fucking buy.
Stop Starting With the Product
Let's say you decide:
I want to make a workbook.
Okay.
About what?
For whom?
What problem does it solve?
Why does that problem matter?
How do you know people want help solving it?
Why is a workbook the right format?
Would they pay for it?
Suddenly:
"I want to make a workbook!"
isn't much of an idea.
😂
Workbook is a format.
Course is a format.
Template is a format.
Recorded training is a format.
Your idea is the problem you're going to help a specific person solve.
That's where I want you to start.
What Problem Are You Actually Good at Solving?
Before we even look at your audience, let's look at you.
What do you know a lot about?
What have you spent years learning?
What have you developed systems around?
What do colleagues constantly ask you?
What feels weirdly easy to you?
What could you explain for an hour without preparing?
What have you solved in your own work?
What do you repeatedly help other people understand?
Therapists have a tendency to wildly underestimate their expertise because we've been living inside our own brains for too long.
Something feels obvious to you, so you assume:
Everyone knows that.
They don't.
😂
The things that feel obvious might actually be some of your strongest opportunities.
But Your Expertise Is Only Half of the Equation
This is where a lot of therapists go wrong.
They identify something they're good at and immediately decide:
I SHOULD MAKE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS.
Maybe.
But we need another piece:
Does anyone fucking want it?
You can be the world's foremost expert in a problem nobody is particularly motivated to solve.
That's not necessarily going to make a great digital product.
We need overlap between:
What you know
and
what people actually care about.
And this is where data becomes incredibly important.
Start With What People Are Already Asking You
One of the easiest places to find potential digital-product ideas is repeated questions.
What do people keep asking?
Maybe it's happening:
In your comments.
In conversations with colleagues.
During consultations.
At trainings.
In professional groups.
In your real-life work.
If you find yourself answering the same fucking question over and over again?
Interesting.
That does NOT automatically mean:
MAKE THE COURSE.
😂
But it's a data point.
Write it down.
Look at What People Save
If you're using social media to build visibility, saves can be incredibly useful data.
Because a like can mean:
"Cute!"
"Funny!"
"I agree!"
"I know this person and feel socially obligated!"
😂
A save can indicate:
"I want to come back to this."
Maybe you create content about five different topics.
One topic consistently gets substantially more saves.
That's interesting.
Why?
What is useful about that topic?
What problem does it address?
What does the person saving it want to remember or implement?
Start looking beneath the metric.
Look at What People Share
Shares can be even more interesting.
Because now someone isn't just saying:
This was useful to me.
They're saying:
Someone else needs this too.
That's information.
If a particular problem repeatedly generates shares, you may be looking at something that is:
Common.
Relatable.
Important.
Or valuable enough that people want others to know about it.
Again:
Not automatic permission to make the fucking workbook.
But we're building the case.
Look at Patterns Across Your Content
This is why I don't want you basing your entire strategy on one viral post.
Let's say you post about a topic.
700,000 views.
HOLY SHIT.
Obviously that's your product.
Maybe.
But what happens next?
You post about it again.
3,000 views.
Again.
2,000.
Nobody asks questions.
Nobody saves it.
Nobody shares it.
Nobody clicks anything.
That first video may simply have been entertaining.
Now compare that with another topic.
Maybe those videos consistently get:
20,000 views.
Lots of saves.
Lots of shares.
Repeated questions.
People asking for more.
People clicking your links.
People mentioning the same problem in real life.
THAT pattern may be substantially more valuable than the one enormous number.
Views Tell You Something. They Don't Tell You Everything.
Views are visibility data.
Useful.
But:
Attention ≠ demand.
Someone can find something fascinating without having any desire to spend money solving the problem.
Think about how much shit you personally watch online that you will absolutely never purchase anything about.
😂
Exactly.
That's why I want multiple signals.
Views.
Saves.
Shares.
Questions.
Clicks.
Real-life conversations.
And eventually:
Purchases.
The closer the behavior gets to someone actually spending money, the stronger the data becomes.
Your Real-Life Work Is Data Too
This is particularly important if you don't have a large social media audience yet.
You still have data.
What do clients repeatedly struggle with?
What do colleagues ask you?
What comes up in consultation?
What problems do professionals around you complain about constantly?
What tools have you created because something was unnecessarily difficult?
What process have you figured out that saves you a ridiculous amount of time?
You do not need 50,000 Instagram followers before you're allowed to recognize a pattern.
Your actual professional experience counts.
What If Nobody Is Asking Me Questions?
This is a concern I hear from therapists building visibility.
"Nobody is asking me questions, so how am I supposed to know what they want?"
Questions are only one form of data.
Look at:
Saves.
Shares.
Watch time.
Clicks.
Repeated content performance.
Real-life conversations.
Patterns in your professional work.
What people struggle with.
What people consistently respond to.
You are essentially collecting clues.
The more clues pointing toward the same problem, the more interesting that problem becomes.
One Person Asking for Something Is Not Enough
I need to protect therapists from themselves here.
Someone comments:
"OMG PLEASE MAKE A COURSE ABOUT THIS."
And suddenly you're in Canva choosing fonts.
GET OUT.
😂
One person asking for something tells us:
One person wants it.
Maybe.
They haven't actually paid yet.
Write it down.
Then keep watching.
Does someone else ask?
Does related content perform?
Are people saving it?
Sharing it?
Does the same problem appear elsewhere?
We're looking for patterns, not permission from Jessica in your comments.
Don't Ignore What People Are Already Paying For
Another useful question:
Are people already spending money trying to solve this problem?
Competition does not automatically mean your idea is bad.
Sometimes competition is evidence that there is a market.
If people are already paying for:
Trainings.
Tools.
Resources.
Services.
Education.
Other solutions related to the problem you're considering?
Interesting.
You don't need to invent a problem nobody has ever solved before.
You need a valuable way to help a specific person solve a problem they actually care about.
But Don't Just Copy What Is Already Selling
On the other hand:
"Someone else made $100,000 selling this, so I'll make one too!"
is also not a strategy.
😂
Why should someone buy yours?
What expertise do you bring?
What perspective is different?
What problem do you understand particularly well?
What is missing from the existing options?
You don't necessarily need a completely original topic.
But there needs to be a reason you are creating your version.
Ask Whether the Problem Is Worth Paying to Solve
This is a big one.
People have lots of problems.
They do not pay to solve all of them.
Some problems are:
Annoying.
Interesting.
Inconvenient.
But not important enough that someone reaches for their credit card.
Other problems are connected to:
Money.
Time.
Stress.
Risk.
Career advancement.
Professional competence.
A deeply desired outcome.
A significant emotional pain point.
Those can create stronger buying motivation.
So don't only ask:
Do people have this problem?
Ask:
How badly do they want it solved?
Look for Urgency
There is also a difference between:
"I would like to know this eventually."
and:
"I need to figure this shit out immediately."
😂
Urgency matters.
Maybe the problem has a deadline.
A financial consequence.
A professional consequence.
An immediate frustration.
A major desired outcome.
The more motivated someone is to solve the problem, the stronger the potential opportunity.
Make Sure YOU Actually Want to Solve the Problem
Now we've gathered all this beautiful audience data.
And maybe you've identified a very obvious opportunity.
Before we proceed:
Do you want to fucking do it?
Because I refuse to help you escape burnout by building another thing you hate.
Maybe your audience desperately wants weekly live coaching.
And you desperately never want another scheduled Zoom call in your life.
Then I don't care how good the demand looks.
We need another solution.
Your ideal product sits at the intersection of:
Audience demand + your expertise + your enjoyment.
Not just demand.
Then Choose the Product Format
Only NOW do I want you asking:
What should I make?
Look at the problem.
What does someone actually need to solve it?
Do they need something done for them?
Probably not a digital product.
Do they need a repeatable tool?
Maybe a template.
Do they need a structured process?
Maybe a workbook.
Do they need education?
Maybe a training.
Do they need substantial education over time?
Maybe a course eventually makes sense.
Do they need quick access to organized information?
Maybe a guide.
The format follows the problem.
Not the other way around.
Test the Smallest Possible Version
This is where you finally get my permission to create something.
But I'm still not giving you permission to disappear for six months.
😂
Create the Minimum Viable Offer.
Let's say your ultimate idea is a giant course.
Could you test it with:
One live training?
One recorded workshop?
One small resource?
One piece of the framework?
Sell THAT.
Now we're moving from engagement data into something much more powerful:
Purchasing data.
Purchases Are the Best Validation
Someone liking your post tells you something.
Someone saving it tells you more.
Someone asking about it tells you more.
Someone saying:
"I would absolutely buy that!"
tells you something.
Someone actually entering their card information and giving you $125?
THAT tells me some shit.
😂
This is why I want therapists validating ideas before creating the giant version.
Your first offer is an experiment.
Did people buy?
Who bought?
Why?
What messaging worked?
What questions came up?
What did buyers want next?
Now you have real information to build from.
What If Nobody Buys?
Do not immediately conclude:
Nobody wants this and I am a failure.
Also do not immediately create something else.
We need to figure out what happened.
Maybe:
The problem isn't compelling enough.
The audience is wrong.
The positioning is unclear.
The price doesn't make sense.
People don't understand the value.
You haven't built enough trust.
Your sales page isn't converting.
Your marketing isn't connecting the offer to the problem.
You don't have enough visibility yet.
There are a lot of variables.
Use the data before making the next decision.
This Is Why VIB Happens in This Order
My framework is:
Visibility → Idea → Business Plan.
Not:
Idea → Product → Hope.
😂
Visibility gives you an audience and data.
That data helps you identify an idea people may actually want.
Then your business plan turns that visibility and idea into revenue.
Each step gives you information for the next one.
That's what makes this a strategy instead of a guessing game.
You Will Never Have Perfect Data
This is important.
At some point, you have to test something.
You cannot analyze your Instagram analytics until you receive a message from the universe that says:
YES, SARAH. MAKE THE ADHD WORKBOOK.
😂
The goal isn't certainty.
The goal is enough evidence to make a smart experiment.
Then the experiment gives you more evidence.
That's how this works.
Visibility creates data.
Data informs the idea.
The offer creates purchasing data.
Purchasing data improves the offer and business plan.
And you keep fucking learning.
So, How Do You Know What Digital Product to Create as a Therapist?
Don't start with the product.
Start with the problem.
Look at what you're uniquely good at helping people solve.
Then gather evidence that people actually care about solving it.
Look at:
Saves.
Shares.
Questions.
Clicks.
Repeated content patterns.
Real-life conversations.
Professional experience.
Existing purchasing behavior.
Then ask whether the problem is important enough that people are motivated to pay for help.
Make sure solving it fits your expertise and is something you actually want to do.
Choose the simplest format that solves the problem.
Then test the smallest useful version.
Because you do not need to know with absolute certainty that your idea will work.
You need enough data to justify testing it.
And then?
Let people actually fucking buying it tell you whether you're onto something.
Ready to Figure Out What the Fuck You Should Create?
This is exactly what I teach.
I help therapists build diversified income through visibility, choosing ideas based on actual data, creating offers people want, and building the strategy that turns those offers into revenue.
I've created resources for therapists at different stages of that process, whether you have absolutely no fucking clue what you could create or you already have something sitting on your website wondering why nobody is buying it.
Check out all of my resources for therapists who want to diversify their income here!