1. Quiz
  2. Your result
  3. Your plan
  4. Your guide

Step-by-step guide

Digital templates and practical tools: from your first idea to your first sale

Make and sell practical digital products such as budget spreadsheets, planners, CV templates and small-business forms. This guide covers real South African prices, platform fees in rands, a 14-day plan to your first sale, scripts, and how to get paid safely.

  • 23 lessons
  • 5 modules
  • about 2 hours in total

Is this guide for you?

Good fit if

  • You are good with Excel, Google Sheets, Canva or Word, and you like making things neat and useful.
  • You notice everyday problems people solve badly, like budgets, rosters or quotes.
  • You can wait a few weeks for sales to build.

Think twice if

  • You need money this week: digital products usually take weeks to find buyers.
  • You plan to copy or resell other people's templates. That breaks copyright and platform rules.

Honest expectations

  • Most new products sell slowly at first. Expect your first sale to take a few weeks of showing the product to people.
  • Published South African examples sell for about R39 to R90 for a single template, and around R249 to R299 for a bundle.
  • Once a product works, each extra sale costs you almost nothing to deliver, so a few good products can add up over time.

What is inside

  1. Module 1

    Is this right for you?

    What it involves, who pays, and honest expectations.

    1. How selling digital templates worksFree · 5 min
    2. Honest expectations4 min (in the full guide)
  2. Module 2

    Set up and price

    What you need and what to charge.

    1. Your startup kit, costs and skills5 min (in the full guide)
    2. Set up step by step: ready to sell6 min (in the full guide)
    3. Pricing and getting paid: real South African examples5 min (in the full guide)
    4. Your numbers: a worked example in rands5 min (in the full guide)
  3. Module 3

    Your first week

    The first steps, in order.

    1. Your first week, step by step6 min (in the full guide)
    2. Week one, step 2: Check existing products and their reviews3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Week one, step 3: Make a one-page pre-sale or waitlist3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Finding your first buyers: where to look5 min (in the full guide)
    5. Your 14-day first-sale playbook6 min (in the full guide)
    6. Messages to copy: your first customers5 min (in the full guide)
  4. Module 4

    Your first month

    A routine that brings in customers.

    1. Your first 30 days: build a routine4 min (in the full guide)
    2. Month one, task 1: Sell version 1 to your first five buyers3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Month one, task 2: Collect feedback and reviews3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Common mistakes with digital products4 min (in the full guide)
  5. Module 5

    Months two and three

    Repeat what works, grow and stay safe.

    1. Days 31 to 90: repeat what works and grow4 min (in the full guide)
    2. Months two and three, task 1: Make a second product or a bundle3 min (in the full guide)
    3. Months two and three, task 2: Find one reliable place buyers come from3 min (in the full guide)
    4. Free courses to fill your skill gaps4 min (in the full guide)
    5. Getting paid safely and spotting scams4 min (in the full guide)
    6. Tax: what to put aside, with worked examples6 min (in the full guide)
    7. Risks, rules, tax and staying safe5 min (in the full guide)

What it costs to start

R0 to get started, from our research

What you will use:

  • Computer or laptop with Excel, Google Sheets or Canva
  • A selling platform

Prices change and differ by area, so check two places near you before you buy.

Try it before you buy

Lesson one is free. If it helps, the whole guide is R149 once-off.

Start the free lesson

Reviewed 26 October 2026 by the Earn Path team. Next review due 26 April 2027.