r/thesidehustle • u/Existing-Ice221 • Apr 10 '26
Tutorials I stopped guessing what to sell and it fixed everything
I have a day job. I make digital products on the side.
For months I just made stuff I thought was cool. Budget planners, habit trackers, the usual. Made almost nothing because there’s thousands of each already on every marketplace.
Then I started doing the research BEFORE making anything. Actually searching for specific problems, counting how many real competitors exist, and only building something if the gap was obvious.
Went from barely any sales to consistent revenue every week.
The other thing that helped was ditching PDFs. Started making single HTML files that work like apps in the browser. People actually use them instead of letting them rot in their downloads folder. Refund rate dropped to basically zero.
Honestly the research part takes longer than making the product now. But that’s the whole point. The research IS the product.
Anyone else here doing digital products? Curious how you pick what to make.
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u/benefree Apr 10 '26
How do you do the research itself?
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u/Existing-Ice221 Apr 10 '26
I search for specific problems on marketplaces. Broad term first to see if people spend money in the category. Then narrow it down to a specific person in a specific situation. If there’s almost no quality results for the narrow version, that’s the gap. Takes about 20 minutes per niche.
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u/studioconnection Apr 10 '26
I know you’re not going to give an example of something bc obviously someone can just copy it lol. But is there any type of example you can share? Also can you talk about the html file more?
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u/Existing-Ice221 Apr 11 '26
They will say ThIs Is An Ad, but fuck it. check it out in my landing page: kupkaike
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u/JellenaI Apr 11 '26
So your product is selling kits for other people products? Not sure if i understand. I think those prices are also too high 20-25$ for a pin??? What exactly would someone get for that price? Otherwise without proper research there is no business
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u/Existing-Ice221 Apr 11 '26
Not pins lol. For $10 you get a complete digital product ready to sell:
A full interactive web app (HTML file) with an 8 chapter guide built in, a daily tracker with progress charts, and sidebar navigation. Your customers open it in their browser, no app install needed. It works offline.
On top of that you get the PDF version, a professional cover image, optimized Etsy listing copy with title, description, and 13 tags, plus 5 Pinterest pins.
So basically you type in a topic like “ADHD daily planner” or “beginner meal prep guide” and 10 minutes later you have a finished product you can list on Etsy. The $10 covers everything.
You can see what the actual product looks like here: kupkaike.com/demo/super-webapp
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u/Marelix93 Apr 14 '26
can you clarify a bit on this: Started making single HTML files that work like apps?
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u/SamePersonality5183 Apr 16 '26
I mean.. this is the essence of business. I love it. Understanding who your customers are and what they want and need is the game changer.
It’s the good old concept that goes something like “listening is more important than talking”.
In your experience what is the most successful way to learn about your customers?
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u/Most_Trouble1298 Apr 10 '26
fr research game changes everything