As a career coach and busy business owner, your time is your most valuable resource. Yet, with countless things to do to keep your business up and running, it easy to feel like there's a limit to how much you can work. And the limit to your working hours equals the limit to your earnings.
That's a fundamental rule in business: As long as you keep trading your time for money to support your career coaching clients, hitting the income ceiling is inevitable. But here's good news — you can overcome it.
Wondering how? Simple: By shifting away from selling your hours and turning your career coaching expertise into digital products, like templates, eBooks, or courses.
Having tried both—trading hours for dollars and selling digital products—I can vouch for the latter being a game-changer. In 2018, I decided to channel my HR and recruiting expertise into a set of digital products, specifically resume templates. Since then, over 8,000 job seekers worldwide have powered their careers with my products, while I've grown and scaled my business WITHOUT clocking in more meetings and coaching calls.
The decision I made in 2018? Life-changing. And all the time and effort I put into creating digital products? Absolutely worth it.
Intrigued how you can add digital products to your career coaching business? If so, you're exactly where you need to be. Get ready to free up more time and boost your income, as I'm laying out the best digital product ideas for career coaches and all the details you need to know to start selling digital products.
Disclaimer: This article includes relevant affiliate links to services, resources, and tools I wholeheartedly recommend. If you buy something through these links, I get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Your purchase helps me share more helpful content. Thanks if you choose to support me this way!
Digital Products for Career Coaches: What Should You Know?
Let's start with the basics and go over what digital products are and how they can help you attract and serve more clients while growing your business and income.
What Are Digital Products
Wondering what are digital products? The definition is simple: digital products are all goods delivered digitally. No physical inventory, shipping, or stocks. These products exist in the digital world. (And you already use them on a daily basis!)
Examples of digital products include e-books, online courses, webinars, templates, workbooks, and audio or video recordings. They are designed to be downloaded, accessed, or consumed online without physical delivery.
One of the most significant advantages of digital products is that you create them once and sell them multiple times, making them a cost-effective way to generate revenue.
Why You Should Start Selling Digital Products
As a career coach, the chances are that your income is tied to your working hours, through 1:1 support you provide to your clients. But there's an alternative way to support your clients and help them achieve desired results without adding more meetings to your calendar and things to-do on your already busy plate. Solution: digital products.
Here are some of the biggest advantages selling digital products brings to your career coaching business:
Scalability: Digital products allow you to reach unlimited clients without additional time or effort.
Passive Income: Generating passive income for your coaching business is simple with digital products, as you can create them once and sell them repeatedly. Granted, you'll still have to work on promoting them, but you can do that while keeping your calendar free.
Customization: You can easily customize digital products to fit your clients' specific needs and goals.
Flexibility: Prospective clients can access your digital products anywhere, anytime, making them a flexible and convenient option.
Expertise Showcase: Offering high-quality digital products positions you as an expert in your industry, helping you establish and elevate your brand.
Top 5 Digital Products to Sell as a Career Coach
Looking for best digital product ideas for career coaches? Here are the top five digital products you can add to your career coaching business:
#1 Resume Templates
As a career coach, you can leverage your resume writing expertise and transform it into valuable resources. Offer customizable resume templates that cater to different professions and industries, coupled with expert guidance on optimizing them for specific job postings.
Here are 5 key steps to get started.
And here's a little secret: you don't have to start from scratch. Instead, you could have a collection of professionally crafted resume templates ready to roll. Just re- brand them, upload them to your site, and voilà —your resume shop is open for business.
Want to start ASAP? Launch your resume shop in 5 days with Resume Shop Starter Kit.
#2 Coaching Templates and Worksheets
Coaching templates and worksheets are excellent digital products for helping clients set and achieve their career goals. These tools and materials can include goal-setting templates, job search trackers, and performance evaluation worksheets.
Here are simple career-related digital products you can create today:
Career Clarity Workbook
SMART Goal-Setting Template
Job Search Tracker
Career Change Decision Matrix
Elevator Pitch Perfection Worksheet
Interview Prep Q&A Matrix
#3 E-books and Workbooks
E-books and workbooks are great ways to provide in-depth knowledge and guidance on various career-related topics. You can create and sell e-books on topics such as job interview preparation, salary negotiation, or career advancement strategies.
Want to create your first eBook or workbook? Steal one of these simple yet highly in-demand digital product ideas:
Resume Revamp: The Ultimate Resume Makeover Workbook
Negotiating Your Worth: A Career Professional's Guide to Salary Talks
Job Search Strategy Guide for Building a 6-Figure Career
Personal Brand Mastery: Roadmap to Recognizable Brand
Career Wellness: Guide on Balancing Ambition and Satisfaction
#4 Webinars
Hosting and selling interactive webinars can help you build a motivated community of individuals eager to achieve their professional goals. For example, on your webinars, you can provide valuable insights on resume writing, effective job search strategies, or networking techniques.
Here are 6 webinar ideas you can deliver to your career coaching clients this week:
LinkedIn Optimization Workshop: Boosting Your Profile for Job Searches
Strategic Networking for Job Seekers: Building Connections that Matter
Interview Preparation Intensive: Strategies for Success in Job Interviews
Navigating Online Job Platforms: Maximizing Your Search Efficiency
Salary Negotiation Tactics: Ensuring You Get the Compensation You Deserve
Industry-Specific Job Search Strategies: Tailoring Your Approach
#5 Online Courses
Online courses are a comprehensive way to offer professional development opportunities to your clients. Done right, online courses as the equivalent of cloning yourself - you can provide nearly the same level of support to your online course clients as to your coaching clients. You can create courses on leadership development, career building, job searching, or any other topic that best fits your niche.
Here are 8 online course ideas for career coaches to get you inspired:
Foundations of Career Development: Building a Successful Path
Mastering Professional Networking in the Digital Age
Strategic Job Search Mastery: From Application to Offer
Effective Resume Writing and CV Optimization
Interview Success Blueprint: Strategies for Confident Conversations
Negotiation Skills for Career Advancement
Personal Branding 101: Crafting Your Professional Identity
Leadership Essentials: Skills for Career Growth
How to Create and Sell Digital Products as a Career Coach: 5 Key Steps to Follow
As mentioned earlier, getting your digital products up and running takes some effort. Here's the breakdown of the key steps you have to take as a career coach to create and sell digital products successfully.
1. Identify Your Niche
The first step in creating digital products is to identify your niche. What specific area of career coaching are you most knowledgeable and passionate about? Are you an expert in helping people create resumes, prepare for interviews, negotiate salaries, or something else? Getting clear on your niche makes it way easier to craft digital products that precisely meet the needs of your audience.
2. Research Your Target Audience
Once you have identified your niche, the next step is to research your target audience. Who are they? What do they struggle with? What are their pain points? Here, the primary goal is to understand your audience's exact problems and challenges, allowing you to create a digital product that speaks directly to those needs.
3. Develop Your Product
With your niche and target audience in mind, it's time to build your product. This could be an e-book, online course, video series, or any other type of digital product. When developing your solution, ensure it provides clear and actionable advice that your target audience can use to achieve their career goals. For instance, avoid generic tips and offer personalized strategies, equipping your clients with real value.
4. Price Your Digital Products
Pricing your digital products can be tricky. You want to make sure they are affordable for your target audience but also profitable for you. Research what other career coaches charge for similar products, weigh your value and don't shy away from testing different pricing models. Experimentation is key to finding the sweet spot that works best for you.
5. Promote and Sell Your Digital Products
Finally, you need to promote and sell your digital products. This could include showcasing them on your website and social media channels or offering them through email marketing. Ensure your marketing efforts clearly communicate the benefits of your product and how it can help your target audience achieve their career goals.
Disclaimer: This article includes affiliate links. If you shop through these links, I might earn a commission, making this site fully reader-supported. Big thanks for your support!
Key Takeaways
Selling digital products as a career coach is a lucrative way to boost your business and help more people. From eBooks to online courses, there are many different types of digital products that you can create and sell to your audience—on repeat.
Here are key things to remember:
Digital products are excellent, scalable sources of passive income. Once created, they open doors to an unlimited client base, guaranteeing a steady flow of earnings for your business and freeing up your time.
To successfully create and sell digital products, carefully identify your niche and target audience and tailor your products to their specific needs and challenges.
Some of the most popular digital products for career coaches include resume templates, resume writing guides, e-books, webinars and online courses.
Whether you're considering a full shift to selling resume products or just adding them to your services—with the right approach, possibilities are limitless. The best part? You can kickstart selling pre-made, success-proven digital products within days. Explore how.
What's next?
Get inspired with digital product ideas for resume writers.
Curious about my journey with digital products? I've shared everything that has happened since 2018 until today. Read my story here.
Want to launch your initial digital product or figure out how to bring in sales on autopilot? Secure your spot for a power-packed 60-minute strategy call to get the know-how you need for success. Book now!
Ana Colak-Fustin
Hi—I'm Ana! A recruiter, HR consultant, and founder of ByRecruiters.com. My career advice and job search tools have been featured in Yahoo News, The Muse, Jobscan, A Better HR Business, and other global media. Over 8,000 professionals have used my resume templates to land new jobs and power up their careers. Ready to join them? Your success story starts here.