Diversify Your Income with Digital Planners: A Step-by-Step Guide
The evolution of technology is progressing faster than ever, with a study from ECAL showing that 70% of their annual survey participants now rely on a digital calendar to manage their life. On top of that, iPads have come back in style and there’s been an increase in sales within the last 3-4 years. This points to a lucrative opportunity for business owners: adding a digital planner to your business.
If you’re an online business owner looking for new revenue streams, creating and selling digital planners can lead to higher profits and more income streams. Today we’ll go through how to increase and diversify your earning with digital planners. We’ll be covering the relevance of digital planners, the appeal, the opportunities that they provide, and much more- so stay tuned!
The Relevance of Planners in Our Lives
Planners play an important role in keeping our lives organized and on track. Whether for work schedules or personal to-do lists, planners help provide the structure we need to get things done. Personal life and work management is now easier than ever!
As our lives have become increasingly digital, it’s no surprise that planners have evolved right alongside us. Paper planners are still great, but digital planners offer major advantages such as the accessibility they provide. They can hold an unlimited number of pages while syncing across devices so your schedule is always at your fingertips.
This reflects an ever increasing digital lifestyle that society is adopting. The demand for useful digital tools has skyrocketed. Digital planners, in particular, have become tremendously popular, proving they fill an important need. The market for stylish and functional digital planners is growing fast.
As an established online business owner, you’re in a perfect position to tap into this demand. Creating and selling your own digital planner is a great way to diversify your income stream. You already have an audience, expertise, and digital products or services; a planner is a natural addition that provides real value to your customers.
Our Digital Planner Academy® students show the rewards are definitely worth the effort. “I turned my passion into a side business that I enjoy everyday,” says Alanna from Life with Lannie. Alice from Inmotion Planner says “I made $6,000 in one month and I’m now traveling the world full-time.” These are amazing feats, but it’s what selling digital planners can offer!
For busy professionals and entrepreneurs looking to streamline their productivity, digital planners are the ideal solution. Ditch the paper planner and go high-tech. Your schedule and your business will thank you!
The Appeal of Digital Planners
Digital planners have an appeal that paper planners just can’t offer. From the portability to the customizability, the digital version makes it easy to keep track of a busy schedule or long to-do list. And for those who still like the set-up of paper planners, iPad planners are the happy medium with paper-like dynamic. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that digital planners provide.
Benefits of Digital Planners
Portability
Digital Planners offer the flexibility to access your schedules and to-do lists wherever you are. Whether you have a meeting across town or are traveling for work, your planner comes with you on your mobile device or laptop. No more lugging around a heavy binder or worrying about losing important pages!
Customizability
The beauty of digital planners is that you can customize them to suit your needs. Add or remove sections, choose layouts and templates that work for you, and pick your favorite colors and fonts. If it needs change from week to week or month to month, simply adjust your planner to match. Digital planners give you more flexibility to make it work for you rather than you working for it.
Syncs Across Devices
A major benefit of digital planners is that they sync automatically across your devices. This includes updating tasks on your phone, adding events on your tablet, or checking off to-dos on your laptop. You don’t have to worry about which planner has the latest information or how to consolidate multiple versions.
Environmentally-Friendly
By going digital with your planner, you’re also reducing paper waste and helping the environment. Digital planners don’t require printing out pages of planner inserts each year and you also have the option to print out only what you need. Doing your part for the planet can be as simple as changing from a paper planner to a digital one.
Who Uses Digital Planners?
Anyone- that’s the beauty of it! Users range from professionals and entrepreneurs to students and even stay-at-home parents. Simply put, if you have technology, you can benefit from a digital planner. We find that individuals who use planners the most are people who have full schedules or want to stay productive in daily life.
For entrepreneurs looking to expand their business and diversify their income streams, adding a digital planner is perfect for reaching an expansive audience. Cara from Float Activity Digital Planner says “I monetized my systems and created a one-of-a-kind planner that changes lives.” People are looking for organizational solutions like digital planners- it’s up to entrepreneurs like you to take that opportunity and run with it.
The Market Opportunity for Digital Planners
The opportunity to develop your own line of digital planners has never been greater. According to research by Grand View Research, “the global digital content creation market size is anticipated to reach USD 69.8 billion by 2030”. This is an expansion of 13.5% from 2023 to 2030. For a relatively small upfront investment, digital planners can provide a reliable stream of income for your business. In our eyes, the rewards of diversifying into this niche far outweigh any risks. Here’s what the market opportunity currently looks like.
A Lucrative Niche Market
Digital planners have become a lucrative niche market, especially for small businesses and solopreneurs. Brands like Passion Planner, which started as a Kickstarter project, now offers well-loved digital and physical planners and maintains a loyal customer base. For established businesses, creating a digital planner product line allows you to diversify your income streams and tap into an existing audience base.
Low Costs, High Returns
The costs to develop a digital planner are relatively low compared to other digital products. You can design your planner using software such as Affinity Publisher and Keynote, which we cover in the Digital Planner Academy®, and then sell planner bundles on your own website or sites like Etsy. Price points for niche digital planners typically range from $20 to $70 depending on the number of templates and features included.
Evergreen and Highly Customizable
Digital planners are evergreen products, which means they don’t expire and can generate sales year-round, no matter the season. They are also highly customizable for different niches and styles. You can create planners for budgeting, fitness and nutrition, daily schedules, project management, and more- it’s up to you and your interests! Try offering different layouts, color palettes, and design elements to match your brand and appeal to your target customers.
What You Need to Create a Planner
To design your own digital planner, you’ll need to invest in a few necessary things before getting started. We recommend putting the time and money into your business upfront to guarantee you’ll end up with a high-quality result. Here’s what you’ll need to create a planner:
Reputable Design Software
The first step is finding a reputable design program such as Keynote or Affinity Publisher. Affinity in particular is a great place to start and you can explore why through our blog Why Affinity Publisher is the Ultimate Tool for Digital Planner Design. To learn more about how to use Affinity Publisher, we cover tips and tricks within our free Affinity Publisher Design Program.
Necessary Technology
While you’ll need the software to actually design your planner, in which we recommend Affinity Publisher as the best design program, you’ll also need the physical technology to download the software onto. Use a laptop or desktop computer for the design process, and use an iPad and stylus to test your planner. It’s also a good idea to get a note-taking app like Goodnotes.
Step-By-Step Digital Planner Course
Investing in a digital design course is the best way to build your skills, set obtainable goals, stay on track, and learn from professionals. We guide you through the design process step-by-step in our Digital Design Mastery Course. We’ll walk you through everything from narrowing down planner ideas to document measurements to types of planners.
You can also download our free guide for a peek into what we go through in our courses.
Personalizing and Packaging Your Knowledge into a Digital Planner
Once you’ve identified how your knowledge and expertise can translate into a digital planner, it’s time to start creating! This involves personalizing your content and packaging it in an easy-to-use planner format. Once you have your program set up and ready to go, be sure to follow these strategies in creating a high-quality digital planner:
Incorporate Your Personal Experience
As you design your planner, think about how your professional or personal expertise can translate into a planner. For example, a virtual assistant can create a digital planner focusing on time management, task tracking, and meeting schedules. You can include professional ebooks, workbooks, or other resources as bonus add-ons for your planner buyers.
Repurpose Your Content
Look through your existing content like blog posts, video tutorials, webinars or online courses and see what you can incorporate into your planner. Turn a series of blog posts on productivity tips into a checklist or bundle video tutorials on yoga poses into a 30-day yoga challenge. This makes creating your planner more efficient and provides value for your customers.
How to Get Started with The Pink Ink® Products and Courses
If you’re ready to get started with designing your planner, you’re in the right place! At The Pink Ink®, we offer comprehensive video courses, PLR kits, and services that will teach you the ins and outs of digital design and propel your business forward. We offer both ready-made solutions for those searching for pre-made templates or planners, but we also guide entrepreneurs through the process of producing their own.
Benefits of Using The Pink Ink®
Joining a course is the perfect way to gain knowledge from experts who have already achieved what you’re looking to do. By working with professionals and joining a community of like-minded individuals, the process becomes smooth and enjoyable, likely with better results. You’ll also have access to resources and tools that will add extra value to your planner.
Success Stories
We have many students from our courses that have worked hard and found success in the digital design niche. Alice Lima joined the Digital Planner Academy® and had her first sale within only 2 days! Yuval Hacohen went from a struggling employee to a successful planner business owner and made $3,000 in her first month. With hard work, you can be like them!
Addressing Potential Challenges
Creating and selling a digital planner can be very fruitful, but it can also come with its fair share of obstacles. With good preparation, hard work, and persistence, you can overcome these hurdles and diversify your income through this growing product line. Here are a few possible challenges that you may face.
Market Saturation
The digital planner market is growing quickly, so you’ll face lots of competition. To stand out:
Focus on a niche audience. Create planners for teachers, health coaches, or project managers. Their specific needs will set you apart.
Build your expertise. Publish blog posts, videos, and a free mini-course on your planner topic. This establishes you as the go-to resource in your niche.
Focus on quality. Use an attractive design, durable materials, and thoughtful features. Charge a premium price and your planners will be perceived as more valuable.
Content Protection
Some worry that PDF planners could be easily shared, cutting into sales. Here are a few tips to protect your planner:
Use a digital rights management service. Use a protection service to prevent copying. They offer encryption and monitoring to detect piracy.
Build a loyal customer base. When you provide exceptional value and service, customers want to support you by purchasing each year.
Diversify your products. Offer physical planners, online courses, and coaching in addition to digital downloads. This makes you less reliant on any single product.
Technical Requirements
Creating an electronic planner requires some technical skills and investments. Here’s what we recommend:
Use planner templates. At The Pink Ink®, we offer templates you can customize. We can handle the technical aspects so you can focus on content.
Outsource certain tasks. Hire a graphic designer to create your planner layout or work with a developer to set up your sales page. Outsourcing parts of the process allows you to get started without being an expert in everything.
Learn new skills. With some time and practice, you can pick up the necessary technical abilities. Invest in one of our courses to get started with the basics and add to your knowledge over time. Get started here!
Final Thoughts!
There's no doubt that the digital product market is growing rapidly, especially for productivity tools like planners. By leveraging your existing knowledge and skills, you can create valuable digital planners that provide solutions for your audience. These types of passive income products are perfect for small business owners looking to diversify their income streams.
With the right mindset and strategy, creating a valuable digital planner that resonates with your audience can be achieved. The key is providing a solution to a problem and ensuring an amazing user experience. If you follow the tips in this guide, stay consistent, and continue improving your planners over time, your new passive income stream can grow and thrive.
Take the First Step in Designing Your Planner
It’s time to put your knowledge into practice and start diversifying your income! The opportunities in the digital product market are abundant, so don't let the idea of creating a digital planner overwhelm you. Start with a simple planner focused on one goal or habit, build from there, and you'll be earning more money in no time.
If you’d like to share your ideas or personal experience with digital planners, we’d love to hear! Subscribe to The Pink Ink for more content on digital planner creation and get involved with our Digital Planner Academy® to take the first step. Now go out there, diversify your income, and create planners that change lives!
