Been thinking of learning how to monetise your skills? If so you're going to love this article because it wasn't that long ago I was where so many of you are right now. When I was in the consulting world, I’d look at marketers in my industry who had made the move to digital products and I just didn’t think I had the skills / credibility / following to do it.

I thought that no one would buy my stuff because, in the whole scheme of things, I’m only a few years into my business journey. Despite having been in the marketing world for 10 years, I still didn’t think I was good enough to turn my skills into products.

But let me tell you this – nothing could have been a bigger B.S story I was telling myself.

I also assumed that you needed a gazillion followers online, but after tripling my corporate salary with just a list of 600, I realised that wasn’t true either.

There was one thing that really changed my perspective. I decided to give the coaching thing a go, to let my results speak louder than the negative voices in my head. And the moment I put out my first digital product I realised the error in my ways. Because to my audience I was “the expert”. It didn’t, and still doesn’t matter, that I’m not the Number 1 marketer in the world.

In the court of law, an expert witness is someone who knows more on the subject than anyone else in the room. It doesn’t mean they know more than anyone in the world, ever.

What matters is that you deliver value and that's how you create profitable digital products – your audience couldn’t care less if you’re not the best in the world, you’re the best to them.

It also doesn't matter that I teach some things I’ve only been doing a short while – so you don’t even need 10 years experience.

So yes you can do it.

No you don’t need to be what YOU deem to be an “expert”.

Yes you can make killer profits even if you have small email list and customer base.

Anyone can create a digital product, because everything can be learned.

So now we’ve got all that B.S out the way let's talk about the how.

How to get started turning your skills into profitable digital products…

You can probably monetise far more than you think you can, and so I’d recommend as a first action to start brainstorm ideas of what skills you have. Do this when you have a spare couple of hours, away from your desk – you'll be far more creative!

What are you good at?

When it comes to the work you do for your clients, what are you constantly getting praise for? Is it your direct service, or is it another way that you add value to them? Our skills in business are often not what we think they are! A great strategy for this is to actually ask your clients what they think you’re best at! It might be completely different to what you think. Ask your friends, family, industry peers and team! You’re going to get a far more rounded and honest view if you ask others.

Can you splinter off a portion of what you do?

One of the ways I used to generate leads for my web agency was to sell a domain search and web hosting course. This is often the first port of call when my customers were looking for a web design company to work with, and by getting them to buy and do this course in advance it not only saved me time on a part of a project that I didn’t enjoy – but allowed leads to get a flavour of who I am without committing to a big project!

It was a simple splinter service of my main offering, but worked so well and was incredibly easy to create – and it was highly profitable.

List out everything that you do within your service to your clients. Are there any services you’d love to turn into self-service products for your cleints? Or things you’d love to get off your plate because you don’t enjoy them?

If you’re planning to use products to feed leads into your business, are there any areas you could turn into a product to generate leads? They have to make sense though and lead in naturally to the next step of your service.

Can you teach others how to do what you do?

Becoming the coach to the consultants puts you into the créme de la créme of your industry. This one can often feel quite scary and so cue those imposter syndrome feelings! But if you’re feeling unconfident it doesn’t need to be that you’re coaching people at your level, what about the newbies in your industry? People who want to get into what you’re doing would love to learn from someone that’s been there before.

Can you teach people the skills you have? It could be just one core skill!

What’s your passion?

Teaching your passion is a sure-fire way to spend the rest of your working days in bliss. And it doesn’t have to be related to what you do now! My own passions change all the time as I learn and grow, and I enjoy sharing those with others. Don’t put yourself into a box if you want to explore other areas.

What have you achieved that can inspire others?

Nothing is more powerful than a story, and you can use that story to inspire others to achieve. Have you overcome something huge that you’d like to teach others in that situation to do? If you have a great story and haven’t yet done anything with it, now might be the time. Be brave!

What processes and systems have you created for your business / life?

We all have our own techniques, tips and tricks or systems we’ve built into our business and life. Sometimes these might be complex processes you have implemented to improve the efficiencies of your business and could teach others. Don’t write off the simple things you’ve implemented with success. You’ll be amazed at what niche products are out there!

Have you launched a project?

Have you launched a product / service / project that you could teach someone else to do? It doesn’t even have to be something of huge significance as long as it solves a need. And chances are if you’ve created it for someone else, then others will need it and will want to learn it for themselves.

Do you have some experience in a particular niche?

If you’ve been working in a particular industry or niche, what skills / specialist experience do you have that would interest others?