What Exactly Is a Product?
When somebody mentions the word "product", what comes to mind? Perhaps you imagine something sitting on a supermarket shelf, a new electronic gadget, a piece of furniture or something arriving at your front door in a cardboard box. And you wouldn't be wrong. But products come in a remarkable variety of shapes, sizes and forms. Some you can hold in your hand, some exist entirely on a computer, and others aren't physical objects at all. In fact, once you start exploring the possibilities, you might discover that you've already created something that could be considered a product. You just haven't thought of it that way. And that's where things start to get interesting.
A Product Doesn't Have to Come in a Box
Let's begin with a simple definition. A product is something created to provide value to somebody. It might solve a problem, fulfil a need, provide enjoyment, make life easier or help someone achieve something. That's a fairly broad definition, I know. But there's a reason for that. Imagine a person who makes wooden birdhouses in their garden shed. The finished birdhouse is clearly a product. It's a physical object that somebody could buy and use. Now imagine another person who writes a detailed guide explaining how to build those birdhouses. That guide is also a product. And what about somebody who records a series of videos demonstrating the building process? Yes, that's another one.
All three creators are working with the same subject, but they're producing very different things. The birdhouse provides somewhere for birds to nest. The guide and videos help people learn how to build one. Different products. Different purposes. Different customers. And potentially very different ways of creating and selling them.
Physical Products: The Things We Can Touch
Physical products are probably the easiest to recognise. They include handmade crafts, clothing, artwork, furniture, jewellery, toys, household accessories and thousands of other things. Some require specialist tools and considerable experience. Others can be created with fairly basic equipment and a willingness to learn. Think about somebody who enjoys knitting. They might begin by making scarves and hats for friends and family. Eventually, someone asks whether they could make something similar for a birthday present. Before long, the knitter starts wondering whether other people might be interested. Of course, making something for sale introduces questions that don't arise when you're simply enjoying a hobby. How much will the materials cost? How long does each item take to make? What price would somebody be prepared to pay? How will the finished products reach their customers? These are important considerations, but they don't change the fundamental point. Something that begins as a personal interest can sometimes develop into a product that other people value. And you don't necessarily need a factory, a warehouse or a large business to get started.
Digital Products: Creating Without Manufacturing
Now we come to an area that has opened up an enormous range of possibilities for individual creators.
Digital products.
These are products that can be created, stored and delivered electronically. An eBook is an obvious example. But there are many others. A photographer might sell collections of digital photographs. A musician could create downloadable background music. A designer might produce templates for invitations, presentations or social media posts. Someone who enjoys organising information could create spreadsheets, planners, checklists or printable worksheets. A keen gardener might develop a seasonal planting calendar. A language enthusiast could produce vocabulary cards. A parent might create educational activities for young children. The possibilities are remarkably varied. One attractive feature of digital products is that, once you've created the original, you can often provide additional copies without having to manufacture each one individually. But don't confuse that convenience with guaranteed success. A digital product still needs to be useful, interesting or desirable to the people it's intended for. And if you want to sell it, you'll need to find ways of reaching those people. Creating a file is relatively easy. Creating something people genuinely want is a rather more interesting challenge.
Educational Products: Sharing What You Know
Have you ever explained something to a friend and been told, "You should teach people how to do that"? Perhaps you dismissed the suggestion because you didn't consider yourself an expert. But educational products don't always require university qualifications or years of professional teaching experience. They do require a reasonable understanding of the subject, accurate information and the ability to explain things clearly. Imagine someone who has spent years growing vegetables in a small garden. They might develop a beginner's guide, a short video course or a collection of practical worksheets. Another person might teach basic photography, furniture restoration, creative writing or how to use a particular piece of software. Educational products can take many forms, including books, tutorials, recorded lessons, workshops and structured courses. And sometimes the most helpful teacher isn't the person who knows absolutely everything about a subject. It's the person who remembers what it felt like to be a beginner and can explain the first steps without making them unnecessarily complicated. There's a difference between knowing something and being able to help someone else understand it. That difference is worth remembering if you're considering creating educational material.
Creative Products: Entertainment Has Value Too
Not every product needs to solve a practical problem. Sometimes people simply want to be entertained, inspired, amused or moved. A novel doesn't necessarily make your washing machine work better. A piece of music won't usually organise your household accounts. But that doesn't mean either is without value. People read stories because they enjoy them. They listen to music because it makes them feel something. They buy artwork because they appreciate its beauty, originality or emotional connection. Creative products can include fiction, poetry, illustrations, music, photography, games, animations and many other forms of artistic expression. And there's no reason why a creative project has to fit neatly into one category. A writer might combine stories with illustrations. A photographer could create a book of local history. A musician might produce audio for video creators. Once you begin combining interests and abilities, entirely new possibilities can emerge. Which brings us to another interesting point.
One Idea Can Become Several Different Products
Suppose you enjoy researching local history. You spend your weekends visiting historic buildings, reading old newspaper reports and discovering fascinating stories about the area where you live. Initially, it's simply something you enjoy. But what could you create from that interest? You might write a short, illustrated guide to local landmarks. You could develop a collection of walking routes that take people past those landmarks. Perhaps you could record audio stories that visitors listen to as they explore. Or create a series of printable activity sheets for families who want to learn more about their town. You might even combine several of these into a larger collection. Notice what's happening here. We haven't changed the original interest. We're simply exploring different ways of presenting it. And each format could appeal to a different audience. Someone who enjoys reading might prefer the guide. A family looking for a weekend activity might choose the walking routes. Another person might enjoy the audio stories. The same knowledge and enthusiasm can become the foundation for several very different products. That doesn't mean you should try to create all of them at once, of course. One manageable project is usually a much better starting point than six unfinished ones.
What About Services?
This is where the distinction becomes a little less obvious. Suppose you're good at designing websites. You could offer to design a website for a customer. That's a service because you're performing work specifically for that person. Alternatively, you could create a collection of ready-made website templates that customers can purchase and adapt themselves. Those templates are products. Or perhaps you could produce a course showing beginners how to build their own websites. That's another product. A service generally involves doing something for somebody, while a product is something they receive or use. There are exceptions and overlaps, particularly when services are packaged and sold in a standardised way, but the distinction is useful when you're exploring your options. And one doesn't have to exclude the other. Some creators sell products alongside their services. Others use the experience they've gained providing services to identify ideas for new products.
Does Everything You Create Have to Be Sold?
Absolutely not. I think this is an important point, particularly for an Academy that welcomes people with different interests and ambitions. Some people arrive with the specific intention of building a business or generating additional income. Others simply want to explore their creativity. They might want to write a family history, produce a collection of photographs, make something for a charity or develop a resource for a local community group. These are worthwhile projects, even if nobody ever pays for them. The satisfaction of making something useful or enjoyable can be a perfectly good reason to create it. Of course, if you eventually decide you'd like to sell your work, there are additional things to consider. You'll need to think about who might want it, what makes it valuable to them, how much it costs to produce and how you might reach potential customers. Those are subjects we'll explore in other Creatives Corner articles. For now, the important thing is to recognise how many possibilities exist.
Choosing a Product That Suits You
With so many options available, how do you decide what to create? I would begin by asking a slightly different question. Rather than "What product should I make?", try asking, "What kind of creating would I actually enjoy?" There's not much point deciding to produce a hundred-page illustrated guide if you dislike writing and have no interest in working with images. Likewise, somebody who loves making things with their hands might find greater satisfaction creating physical objects than spending hours producing digital documents. Think about your interests, abilities, available time and the resources you already have. You don't have to be good at everything. In fact, one of the advantages of modern technology, including AI, is that it can help us with parts of a project that might otherwise be difficult or time-consuming. But the project should still be something you want to create. Otherwise, what began as an exciting possibility can quickly become another chore. And most of us have enough of those already.
A Little Exercise: One Interest, Three Possibilities
Here's a simple exercise you might enjoy. Choose one subject that interests you. It could be gardening, photography, cooking, travel, music, history, pets, crafts, technology or almost anything else. Now think of three different things you could create around that subject. For example, if your interest is cooking:
- A collection of simple recipes for people who live alone.
- A printable weekly meal planner and shopping list.
- A short video series demonstrating basic cooking techniques.
Or perhaps your interest is photography:
- A collection of photographs featuring your local area.
- A beginner's guide to taking better pictures with a mobile phone.
- A set of printable photography challenges.
Don't worry about whether anybody would buy these products just yet. We're not conducting market research. We're exploring creative possibilities. You might find that one idea immediately appeals to you more than the others. Or you might discover that a particular format, such as writing guides, making videos or designing templates, is something you'd like to learn more about. Either way, you've made a useful discovery.
The Product Is Only Part of the Story
By now, I hope the word "product" feels rather less restrictive than it did when we started. A product can be something you make, something you write, something you design, something you record or something you develop to help other people. It can be physical or digital, practical or entertaining, simple or sophisticated. It might be created for sale, given away freely or made purely for personal satisfaction. And sometimes, an idea that begins in one form eventually develops into something quite different. That's part of the enjoyment of creating. But there's another distinction worth understanding. Having an idea for a product isn't the same as having a finished product. Between those two points lies a journey of exploration, decisions, experimentation, occasional frustration and, hopefully, the satisfaction of seeing something take shape. And that's exactly what we'll be looking at in our next Creatives Corner article.
The Difference Between Having an Idea and Having a Product.
Because ideas are wonderful things. But it's what we do with them that makes the difference.
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