This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
If you're selling a digital product, isn't your inventory unlimited? Right, you never run out. You don't run out of digital downloads. You know, it almost sounds like a trick question. You know, how could it not be?
Because a file can be downloaded over and over. You downloading the file doesn't affect my ability to download it and so on. You know, if it's a song, for example, like an MP3 or a WAV file or, you know, some other format. Nevertheless, our caller today has a question about digital inventory. And it's a smart one, actually, because they're wondering if there might be a downside to continuing to add more and more digital products to their online store.
How much do you keep building out your store versus supporting the products that are selling the best? I like this thinking, okay? So it's not so much about a technical issue. It's about a branding issue. Let's talk it out.
Detailed question coming up in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hi, Side Hustle team. This is Amy from Charleston. Here's my question. I'm thinking of following the model of selling downloadable reports.
And I wonder if it's better to just focus on a few best sellers or go all in and try to build out dozens of them over time. What do you think is better? I realize this might sound silly since digital products are unlimited, but I thought I'd ask just in case, is there a disadvantage to continuing to add more and more products, especially if some aren't selling? - All right, so there are two approaches here, you know, each with pros and cons. So, you know, first of all, yes, the digital inventory really is unlimited.
You know, the shopping cart that you're using for whatever platform you're working on, they might limit you to a certain number of items, but it's usually a pretty big limit. So if it seems like you're encountering some constraints or something that feels confining, you might need a different app or platform. You should be able to add hundreds, usually thousands of different items. So the question isn't about logistics as much as it is about branding, as I said, and really actually it's more about conversion. I think that's a better word.
You know, what are you trying to sell? Like what are you selling? If you have a hundred different digital items, most likely there's a small minority of those items that sell much more than all the others. It is the 80/20 rule in operation, you know, where like a small minority of inputs generate the majority of outputs. So approach number one here is to say, well, you know, the 80 other items, whatever the number is, they don't sell very much, but you know, it's digital.
It's like, I have no costs to keeping those items there and they do sell some and the work for them is done. So let's just let it ride, you know, and whenever those sales come in, it's like, great, nice, free money. The approach number two though, is to say, wow, you know, five of these products, let's say five out of the 100, you know, they're really high performers. And then maybe there's another, you know, 10 to 15 that are solid sellers. So out of all these products, like we've really got 20, you know, five that are the best and then another, you know, as I said, 15, 10, 15, whatever the number is, you know, everything else needs to go.
I need to focus on these products that are selling the most. It's clearly what people want. Everything else might actually be a distraction. And I don't want my customers to be distracted or overwhelmed by choice. So that therefore is the dilemma.
And both approaches are valid. You know, it kind of depends on what you're selling. So I mentioned songs earlier, you know, Spotify has got, I have no idea what the number is. Like an enormous number, you know, of tracks and artists and albums and such, you know, they're not just showing, you know, the top, you know, five to 10, although if you look at certain playlists, they do, but that's different. But for like a small business that's just selling digital guides or reports or something where you're trying to get people not to just sample a whole bunch of stuff, but actually like purchase it, unlike streaming, then it might be much better to say, I'm going to focus on what works and what actually sells.
So the answer for you depends on what you are selling. That's the best answer there. But as I said, good question. Good thing to be thinking about. And listeners, if you've got a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions, let me know what you're working on.
We'll continue to feature them each week, along with updates from listeners as they launch their projects. Thank you for tuning in today. I'm so glad you're out there. My name's Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School.
[Music]
From the Onward Project.
