What Is The Best Option?

Is Creating Small Digital Offers a Good Idea or Should You Focus on a Large Signature Program?

In the world of digital products, there's often a recommendation to create a signature program—a high-ticket offer priced at $1,000 or more.

The belief is that the higher the price, the easier it is to hit your revenue goals. While creating a signature offer can be a game-changer for your business, is it really the best strategy for everyone? Especially for those just starting out, the answer might surprise you.

Let’s explore why creating smaller digital offers can be a smarter approach for your business, particularly in the early stages, and how this strategy can lead to greater success in the long run.

The Allure of the Signature Program

High-ticket programs have undeniable appeal. After all, if you’re charging $2,000 per person, you only need five sales to hit a $10,000 goal. Compare that to selling a $50 product—you’d need 200 sales to hit the same number. Mathematically, it makes sense why many are drawn to creating larger, signature offers.

However, while a high-ticket offer can significantly boost your revenue, it doesn’t mean it’s the best place to start, especially if you’re new to creating digital products. And if you’ve never sold online before or are just stepping into this world of online education, diving into a large program right away can come with its own set of challenges and risks.

The Pitfalls of Large Programs

Creating a large signature program takes time—often a lot of it. People can spend months, even years, building a large program, polishing every video, designing the perfect worksheets, and crafting a “masterpiece” without getting feedback from their audience. It can be heartbreaking to pour all that time and effort into something only to find that it doesn’t sell, or that people aren’t as interested as you thought they’d be.

This isn’t just theory—I’ve been there. I once spent months building a massive platform that I thought was packed with valuable information, only to realise that I had completely missed the mark.

Why?

I hadn’t taken the time to really understand my audience and what they needed. It’s not that the content wasn’t good, but it wasn’t aligned with what my audience was actually looking for.

The good news? I was able to reposition that content, tweak the messaging, and eventually make it work. But the lesson I learned was invaluable: if I had started with smaller offers and tested the waters first, I could have avoided that initial misstep.

Why Smaller Digital Offers Make Sense

Here’s the thing many people who push for signature programs often leave out: your first online course is probably not going to be perfect.

No matter how much you plan or how great your idea is, creating a successful digital product requires practice, experience, and feedback from your audience.

Think of it like following a recipe for the first time.

Even if you have the most detailed, well-written recipe, if you’ve never cooked before, your first attempt is likely not going to be restaurant quality.

Creating online courses and digital products is the same.

You get better at it by doing it, by creating, learning, adjusting, and improving with each round.

Smaller offers give you that chance to practice without the pressure. You can experiment with creating content, get feedback from your audience, and refine your approach. Plus, smaller products can be pulled together quickly—in weeks rather than months—allowing you to test your ideas, pivot when needed, and reduce the overall risk.

The Flexibility of Smaller Offers

Creating smaller offers also allows you to be more nimble in your business. When you’re creating something on a smaller scale, tweaking or updating the content is much easier.

You can quickly adjust based on feedback without having to overhaul an entire course. This is especially important in the early stages when you’re still figuring out what resonates with your audience.

On the flip side, if you’ve invested months into creating a large program and then realise something is off—whether it’s the content, the delivery, or the messaging—it can be much harder to make those changes. You’ve already put in so much time and energy, and the idea of redoing large parts of it can feel overwhelming.

One of the most interesting things I’ve observed in the digital product space since I started in 2019 is how often people pivot.

People rarely end up doing exactly what they started with in the first year.

You may start out thinking, “I’m going to teach this skill,” but over time, you realise your passion or your audience’s needs lie elsewhere. If you’ve spent months or years creating something only to discover you no longer want to sell it, that’s a lot of time and effort potentially wasted.

Smaller offers give you the flexibility to pivot. You can change directions, adjust your focus, and test new ideas without having to commit to a long, drawn-out process.

Leveraging Smaller Offers Strategically

Another misconception is that smaller offers don’t have the potential to make as much money as signature programs. But that’s not necessarily true. Small offers can be incredibly strategic for your business.

For one, they can help you grow your email list. Offering something at a lower price point can attract new people to your world. And even if you’re running ads to drive traffic, a small offer can help recoup those costs, making list-building a more affordable and sustainable process.

Small offers can also serve as upsells, order bumps, or bonuses for your larger programs.

You might create a series of smaller offers that complement your bigger programs and use them as part of your sales funnel. You could even bundle them together for special promotions—buy two, get one free, or something similar.

Plus, smaller offers give potential customers a low-risk way to get to know you and your teaching style. It’s like offering them a sample before they commit to the full meal. Once they’ve experienced a smaller offer, they’re much more likely to invest in a bigger program down the line.

Small Offers, Big Impact

By creating a library of smaller offers, you’re not only giving yourself multiple income streams, but you’re also building a body of work that can be repurposed and used in a variety of ways.

Whether it’s as bonuses, part of a larger course, or standalone products, there’s a lot you can do with a collection of small digital products.

And let’s not forget—this is how you build expertise. Each smaller product you create gives you valuable experience, both in creating and in understanding what your audience wants. That insight is priceless when it comes time to build your signature program because you’ll know exactly what resonates and what doesn’t.

When a Signature Program Does Make Sense

Now, I’m not saying you should avoid creating a signature program altogether. In fact, it’s something I believe all digital product businesses should eventually aim for.

A signature offer can be an incredible asset in your business, but it’s something to work toward rather than the first thing you tackle.

If you’re already an experienced educator, especially if you’ve taught offline and are transitioning your work online, then creating a large program might make sense. You already have the experience of teaching, and you’ve probably honed your content over time. But for most people, especially those just starting out in the digital product world, smaller offers provide a more sustainable and practical path to success.

Final Thoughts

Creating small digital offers allows you to build experience, gather feedback, and adjust your strategy as you go—all with less risk than jumping straight into a large, signature program.

By starting small, you can refine your teaching style, learn what your audience really wants, and set yourself up for greater success when you’re ready to launch that big program down the road.

So, if you’re wondering whether to start with a big program or a smaller offer, my advice is simple: start small. Use those smaller offers as stepping stones, build your expertise, and grow your audience. The signature program can come later—once you’ve laid a solid foundation and have built up your course creation chops.

Sue x