The Stepping Stone Strategy: How to Create Your First Digital Product
Your Next Steps if you're feeling absolutely stuck (but want passive income)
I recently saw this question from a practitioner in my Nutritional Therapist community:
This is actually a very valid question in the nutrition space. I mean — nutrition and health takes TIME (usually years and years!) as we all know.
So how can you create a quick win in an industry that isn’t quick without overpromising?
If you’ve ever felt this tension—wanting to create a digital product for passive income but feeling stuck because real health transformation takes time—you’re not alone.
Let me break down my advice and what I wish more practitioners understood about creating digital products that actually work.
First, Let’s Talk About “Passive Income”
Here’s the truth that the online marketing gurus often gloss over: passive income isn’t a myth, but you still need to work at it.
I think that’s the biggest misconception floating around. You’ll still need to:
Learn how to sell your digital product (whatever it is)
Market it consistently
Build trust with your audience
Refine your messaging
Provide value through your digital product
But here’s the benefit that makes it all worthwhile: once it’s done, you always have it to sell. You can focus more energy on the marketing side rather than recreating your offer from scratch every single time. You can focus on sharing about your digital product instead of being on client calls (if this is your goal).
That’s the real power of a digital product—not that it requires zero effort, but that your effort compounds over time.
Rethinking the “Quick Win”
Now, back to that question about quick wins in nutrition. You’re absolutely right—real, lasting health transformation isn’t quick. And trying to promise overnight results would not be good.
But here’s the reframe: Use a “quick win” as a stepping stone to your larger products or 1:1 clients.
Your digital product doesn’t need to solve all their problems. It needs to:
Give them a tangible starting point
Build trust in your approach
Make them want more of what you offer
Think of it as the entry point to your ecosystem, not a standalone miracle solution.
How to unlock your digital product idea:
Instead of asking “How can I create quick results in nutrition?” ask yourself these questions:
What do you repeat constantly to your clients?
If you find yourself saying the same things in nearly every initial consultation or follow-up call, that’s gold. Those repeated conversations are showing you what people need to hear first, what foundational concepts they’re missing, or what mindset shifts they need to make before anything else can work.
What are the basics they could get started with in a week?
Not the basics that will transform their entire health in a week—but the foundational steps they could begin implementing. Maybe it’s:
Setting up their kitchen for success
Understanding how to read their body’s hunger cues
Creating a simple meal rhythm that supports their energy
Learning the basics of blood sugar balance
Creating a sleep routine that actually improves their energy
These aren’t complete solutions, but they’re powerful starting points.
What are a few simple hacks that seem obvious to you (but maybe not others)?
This is where your expertise really shines. After working with dozens of clients, certain patterns become obvious to you—but they’re revelations to your clients.
Maybe you’ve noticed that most of your clients:
Skip breakfast and crash by 2pm (over caffeinating and undereating — classic!)
Don’t realize how dehydrated they are (maybe they dont understand electrolyte balance or are chugging sodas).
Think they need to eat “perfectly” to see results (Maybe their idea of a perfect plate is even wrong — only raw veggies!)
Overlook the connection between stress and their digestion (Don’t realize how stressed they actually are).
These “obvious” insights are only obvious because of your training and experience. To your ideal client, they could be wake up calls!
What’s a mini version of what you already teach?
Look at your signature program, your 1:1 process, or your most popular service. What’s the first module? What’s the foundation everything else builds on?
That might be your digital product.
The Stepping Stone Strategy
Here’s how I like to think about digital products for health practitioners:
Your digital product isn’t a “one-off” product. It’s a way to sell your larger ticket items.
Let me explain what I mean:
The Traditional Approach:
Create a cheap digital product
Hope people buy it
List it on your website & never mention it
Maybe some of them buy something else later
Low conversions, constant hustle to find new customers
A better Stepping Stone Approach:
Create a foundational digital product that solves a specific starting point
Use it to build trust and demonstrate your expertise
Position your higher-ticket offers as the natural next step
Convert product customers into program clients or 1:1 customers
Your $97 mini-course on “The Foundation of Balanced Blood Sugar” (although I’d use a better more catchy and results oriented name!) becomes the gateway to your $497 group program on diabetic health, which becomes the gateway to your $2,000 1:1 packages.
See the difference? You’re not just creating random products hoping they sell. You’re creating an intentional pathway that guides people deeper into working with you.
Plus - this approach will give you more confidence & clarity:
Here’s something that might surprise you: when your digital product is strategically designed as a stepping stone to your services, you can (and should) talk about it constantly and confidently.
Why? Because you KNOW it will lead to more clients and conversions with your higher-ticket offers.
This is completely different from creating a random digital product and hoping it sells. When you understand that your $97 mini-course is actually your most powerful marketing tool for your $2,000 packages, everything changes.
You’re not being “salesy” when you mention it in every newsletter, share about it on Stories, or bring it up in conversations. You’re genuinely helping people get started with you at a lower barrier to entry. You’re giving them a chance to experience your teaching style, trust your approach, and see results before they invest more.
And here’s the beautiful part: you can promote it without the usual sleazy marketing tactics because you’re not relying on it to be your main revenue stream. You know that some people will buy it and be thrilled with just that product. Others will buy it and immediately want more. Either way, it’s a win.
Plus you can help people NOW before they can afford your higher ticket items.
This shift in mindset—from “I hope people buy this thing” to “I know this is the gateway to working together”—makes marketing feel completely different. Less desperate, more confident. Less pushy, more helpful.
So talk about your digital product everywhere. Share client wins from it. Post behind-the-scenes of you creating it. Mention it when people ask how to work with you. Do it with the confidence of someone who knows exactly what it leads to.
Diving Deep Into the Basics
People will pay for you to teach them the basics really, really well.
You don’t need to create an advanced, comprehensive program that covers everything. In fact, that often overwhelms people and prevents them from taking action.
I always say: people don’t want a PhD in your topic!
Instead, take those foundational concepts you identified earlier and dive deep:
If you teach meal prep, create a course specifically on how to prep in under 2 hours on Sunday for the whole week
If you focus on gut health, create a guide on the 5 most common gut disruptors and how to eliminate them
If you work with hormone balance, create a mini-course on understanding your menstrual cycle phases and eating accordingly
Give people clear, actionable steps they can implement immediately. Not because it will solve everything, but because it will create momentum and show them what’s possible when they work with you.
What This Actually Looks Like
Let’s say you’re a practitioner who helps women with hormone balance. Here’s how you might structure your ecosystem:
Entry Point (Digital Product - $97-$147): “The 7-Day Hormone Reset Kit” - A simple guide to eliminating common hormone disruptors, with meal plans, shopping lists, and daily practices.
Mid-Tier (Group Program - $497-$797): “The Hormone Balance Blueprint” - A 6-week program diving deeper into cycle syncing, stress management, and personalized nutrition strategies.
High-Tier (1:1 Packages - $1,500-$3,000): Personalized hormone testing, custom protocols, and ongoing support.
Each level naturally leads to the next. The digital product isn’t meant to replace your higher offerings—it’s meant to introduce people to your approach and build trust so they want to go deeper with you.
The Real “Quick Win”
Here’s what I want you to understand: the “quick win” isn’t about promising rapid transformation. It’s about giving people a clear action step that helps them feel less overwhelmed and more empowered.
The win isn’t “lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks.” The win is:
“I finally understand why I’ve been so tired”
“I know exactly what to eat for breakfast now”
“I have a simple plan I can actually follow”
“I feel like someone finally gets what I’m going through”
Those psychological wins—the clarity, the hope, the understanding, the relief—those are quick. And they’re what make people want to continue working with you.
Your Next Steps
If you’re ready to create your digital product, start here:
Brain dump everything you repeat to clients - Spend 20 minutes writing down every concept, tip, or framework you find yourself explaining regularly.
Identify the foundation - What’s the one thing people need to understand or implement before anything else works? That’s probably your product idea.
Define the transformation - Not the ultimate transformation, but the specific shift your product creates. Get clear on the before and after.
Map the stepping stones - How does this product lead to your other offers? What’s the natural progression?
Start messy - Don’t wait for it to be perfect. Create a simple version, sell it to a few people, get feedback, and improve upon it. You can always raise your prices later. Pick a price you feel confident promoting.
Remember: you don’t need to create a massive, comprehensive program. You need to create a focused, valuable stepping stone that helps people get started and makes them want to go deeper with you.
Need help figuring out what your digital product should be? I’d love to hear what you’re working on. DM me on Instagram @tohealthwithit or drop a comment below with your biggest question about creating digital products.
Need More Help?
Check out my course The Passive Creator Method (where I break down even more tools and software programs and how to launch and build your course).
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Want me to build your course and do the tech work for you? Need a 1:1 consultation? I work 1:1 with businesses in Kartra, Squarespace, and Circle. Check out my services here or email emily@tohealthwithit.com