Unknown (6:37)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (6:37)

They kept asking me, how do we get started as a UGC creator? Like, the more content I created, the more I got that question. And I very quickly realized that there was no entry level guide on this at the time, only like online courses that were like 300 to $500. And so many of the people following me didn't have that kind of money to invest. So I decided I needed to create an entry level, low ticket digital product to meet that need. Then I did what I still do to this day when I create a new digital product. I started Writing down everything I wanted to teach inside of the digital product on sticky notes. And then I just stick it onto my wall. Or sometimes I'll buy like a, like a poster board or something to stick it onto there so it doesn't get messy. And then I can take it with me wherever I want to do this. And then after about two weeks of doing that, right, you're kind of just like brain dumping ideas and things that you want to add. I sit down and I organized it all into like the order of my digital product or the guide.

Unknown (7:35)

Right.

Abigail Pugh (7:36)

So this one there was like a small introduction. I should also say this first digital product was like a PDF guide. So think in terms of a PDF. So there was a small introduction with me. You know, there was like a title page introduction with a picture of me, a little bio on me, my story, a table of contents, which is really important to make it easy to find stuff. And then it was like a 60 page, almost like 60 pages of information kind of in the order that they needed it. I feel like this one was definitely more, I should have made it like a day by day thing, but I kind of did it more of like an encyclopedia style. So my next digital product after this one, I went more into like a day by day thing to like break it up into daily chunks. But this one was definitely more encyclopedia style on how to become a UGC creator. And then the second I had this idea for what I was going to create and it was kind of like solidified based on the feedback I'd gotten from, you know, the people that were commenting, my TikTok videos, my community that I was building. I started talking about it in my content, you know, like taking them behind the scenes, sharing what I was excited about and asking them for feedback on things. So they really, really felt part of the process, right? Like I took them along the ride for the entire time that I created it. I didn't just think of the idea and then stay silent for 30 days and then say, okay, it's here, right? Like I took them along for the ride. I also created my first freebie a few weeks before I had launched my digital product, which was a UGC toolkit. And it was basically, it broke down all the tools that I used to run a successful business as a UGC creator. And to this day, this is my most downloaded freebie like of all time with I think it had over 59,000 people total having downloaded it, which is just insane to me. I feel like I'm so glad I got that up in the early days of TikTok, because before I had a product available, right? A digital product like that was the only way people could essentially learn more from me. And it really helped me build my email list. So I just kept posting every day, growing my community, growing my email list. And I actually, I have just checked, I wrote it down on the sticky note. And the day that I launched my first digital product, the $35 digital product I'm talking about, I had 1,139 people on my email list and just under 12,000 followers on TikTok. I want to say I can't find that screenshot, but I remember it being around that number and I remember being like over the moon when I made that first 35 sale. Because to me, that one sale was the only proof that I needed that I could do this. And I think I want to say I ended up making 23 sales that first day total. And my mind was blown. I had no idea that I could do this.

Unknown (10:23)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (10:23)

And that first day, again, was proof that I could do this. But honestly, even if I hadn't made another sale that day, that one sale was all it took for my brain to believe in myself and know that I could build a business this way, where I could build a business my way. An online business with a focus on selling digital products that gave me flexibility and freedom to decide when and where I wanted to work.

Unknown (10:46)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (10:47)

I think that's a huge misconception that people have around digital products is that they're passive income and only require two hours a day and wi fi and you'll be a millionaire. And that's just, that's not the case, you guys. I love digital products so much, but that is not the case. The thing with digital products is that, yes, they still require effort, work, trial and error, like all the things. There's no guarantee it's going to work for you, but they have the potential to continue making sales even when you're not actively working. And I think that's what a lot of people kind of confuse that with. Oh, passive income. Digital products are not passive income. For example, sometimes I make sales when I'm sleeping or when I'm at the store with my kid, but I put the work in for those sales the day before and the day before that and the day before that.

Unknown (11:33)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (11:33)

They don't just magically pass happen.

Unknown (11:36)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (11:36)

You're still actively selling and working, but you can do it from home or basically wherever you want. As cliche as that sounds, usually I'm Just working from my bed in my sweatpants. Not gonna lie. But my point here is that selling digital products doesn't mean you never work or that you'll start making bajillions of dollars in your sleep. Right? That's just how some people like to portray it on Instagram right now. But that feels like such a disservice to you. And overall, just. Just very misleading.

Unknown (12:04)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (12:04)

I always want to be honest with you with the work and the effort that this requires. Like, I work my ass off for this online business and my digital products, and honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. I absolutely love what I do. But digital products are not. They're not passive income.

Unknown (12:21)

Okay?

Abigail Pugh (12:22)

So the other thing I love, love about digital products is that you can push when you want to and kind of slow down when you want to as well, which wasn't ever really an option with any of my past jobs. Like, when you're working for somebody else, you are, you know, set to their timeline if they need something done. Like, you got to do it on their timeline. And something about owning. This goes for owning your own business in general, not just digital products, but, like, you're in charge of your time.

Unknown (12:49)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (12:50)

And before, for me, it was always just go, go, go. And yes, of course, my business still has phases of, you know, growth or slower phases, but it's my choice, and I. I love that. I love having the choice. And this was something that was super important to me as a mom and someone who has actively been dealing with chronic pain and mold detoxing for over a year now.

Unknown (13:13)

Right.

Abigail Pugh (13:13)

Like, no other job would allow me to work from bed during my migraine days or push tasks off when my kid needs me a little bit extra that day. Like, no other job would allow that. So I think that's something, I don't know, that's made me fall in love with digital products and having my own online business. So all that to say creating, launching, and selling your own digital product. It isn't hard. It's just new. And sometimes new things feel really, really hard. And even as I'm, like, thinking back to when I first launched this one two years ago, my. My first $35 sale, it felt really hard at the time. And so much of what I did back then wasn't necessarily strategy.

Unknown (13:53)

Right?

Abigail Pugh (13:53)

Like, I was just trying new things and trial and erring and learning from things and then taking what I learned from that thing and applying it to the next thing. And I think we've lost that art. We. We want to go into something and immediately be really good at it. And even for me, like, for example, when I started this podcast at the end of April of this year, I was so hard on myself for not being good at it at the beginning. I was extremely hard on myself and, like, really talking down on myself, like, why are you not good at this? Why is it taking you so much time? And my husband kept reminding me, like, this is very new for you, and it's okay to feel like it's hard. Like, in the beginning, you don't know what you're doing. You haven't practiced. Like, you haven't put the reps in and tried. So put those reps in. Try things with this idea that even if it fails, it's not truly a failure because you're learning. And the next time you do it, you won't be starting from scratch, you'll be starting from experience. Because creating a digital product and launching it into the world and building a personal brand or building an online business, this might be a new thing for you. And it's going to feel uncomfortable at the beginning. But like I always say, nothing changes if nothing changes.

Abigail Pugh (15:03)

Thank you so much for hanging out with me today.

Abigail Pugh (15:05)

If you learned anything from this episode.

Abigail Pugh (15:07)

I would love it if you could share it over on your Instagram stories and tag me Abigail Pugh until next time.

Abigail Pugh (15:12)

Love you, mean it.