Looking for ways to add residual income for your professional service or SaaS firm? Are you an expert in your field? Do you have a flair for breaking complex ideas down into simpler contexts? Do you have a unique business model or process others can benefit from? Or do you have a talent, hobby, or practice that can help others feel better personally or professionally?

Service Companies and SaaS Companies can expand their offerings and enhance revenue by developing some of the following digital assets. These can complement in-person consultations and offerings or be introductions to more in-depth digital services.

Online learning is not just for k-12 students and gone is the day where everything is free to download. We pay for apps, we pay for online news articles, we pay for local tv! If you have a following or if you have expertise in an area or topic that others want or need, you can create an entire business or add an additional revenue stream for your existing company.  You determine if the assets you choose to create will require regular attention. Determine which fits best for you and your customers or think of some other opportunities not covered below. Some of these ideas can attract passive income for your business for years to come. Most digital items will require a few updates or refreshes on occasion.

Start with determining the best option for you, plan it out on paper or a Google doc. Next, build it out or hire a website design firm to help design all the elements and create the e-commerce component. Next, all your need to do is decide what you’re going to do with the passive income and how frequently you want to update or add to it.

Ideas for Increased Revenue for Professional Services and SaaS Companies:

1. Digital Courses

• introductory training – start with a pdf workbook where you share your knowledge and tips about your service or a topic of interest to your prospects and customers. These can be pre-recorded webinars or live streams.
• formal courses using UDemy, LearnDash  – Go beyond the pdf workbook and offer full-blown courses. Depending on your expertise and industry you could get approval to offer continuing education credits for your courses.
• reward – Students may receive industry-approved CE credits, a unique certification, or may attend for personal interest and education with no need for credentials at the end.

Some courses can be nested right on your website with a plug-in or on popular course apps like UDemy, etc. These can be individual or multiple class courses. Allot time for course creation. If you will be charging for your course you want to make sure you are offering enough content to match the value received.

Some industries utilizing digital courses include:

Attorneys, Accountants, Coaches, Human Resources, Graphic Design, Marketing, Arts & Crafts, Construction, Skilled Trades Authors, Professional Speakers, Physical Fitness,   etc.

2. Digital Programs

• webinars – this can be an individual sharing information, a group of experts, or someone in your business walking guests through an instructional presentation via Zoom or other virtual meeting platform
• digital meetings – similar to above however you can also have audience participation if desired
• paid access to live streaming events, etc. – These programs can be one pre-recorded webinars, a single course, or a series of classes or live and attendees can join in. These can be hosted on a members only channel on YouTube or another platform. Plan to record the presentations and you can offer attendees access to the recordings afterward. You can sell  prerecorded trainings to those who were not able to join in.

Some industries utilizing digital programs include:

Pretty much all professional services; Attorneys, Accountants, Coaches, Human Resources, Consultants, educators, Graphic Design, Marketing, Arts & Crafts, Authors, DIYers, as well as Construction, Skilled Trades, Physical Fitness, Physical Therapy, and so many more.

3. Paid Digital Memberships

• niche memberships that offer exclusive support and content for specific groups – Exclusive content may include live webinars by the host or guests, pre-recorded webinars, downloads such as ebooks, graphics, photos, etc.
• consulting / therapy and coaching memberships – Exclusive access to information, membership may include allocated time throughout the month for one-on-one calls, chats, etc.
• group forums – This platform includes member-based forums for member discussions, members can upload photos, videos, etc. Content may be structured the same as the others and include webinars, group coaching calls, or digital meetings for group training or discussions, etc.

Some industries using paid digital memberships include:

Coaches, Counselors, Niche skill-based education and training, Marketing, Book Clubs, Industry Associations

Ready to Build Residual Income for Your Professional Service Company or SaaS Firm? Reach out if we can help!

Do one or two of those ideas fit with your business model and sales goals? Do you already have some content or some prerecorded training or webinars that can be uploaded? If so maybe you can fit in a holiday promotion this year. and get some orders started. Make sure everything looks professional and when the customer receives access they know what the next steps are.

If You Already Have an Idea and Content:

• Is your course, or download already created?
• Do you have all of the content complete and need a professional graphic designer to make it legible and attractive?
• Do you have e-commerce capabilities set up on your website?
• Have you made it easy for customers to check out?
• Have you tested your product or course?
• Have you thought about how you will market it? Who you will market it to?

If you’re not as far along as you would like, or if this is the first time you have thought of these options for your business, don’t rush in. Taking time to plan at this stage will help everything go more smoothly. If you truly think one of these ideas is an opportunity for business growth, take some time with it. Build time into your schedule to write an outline of your course, membership vision, or download. Although these ideas can be implemented eaily if you have the cotnetn, there are a lot of aspects to consider to make this a successful venture.

Questions to Ask If You’re Considering Offering Digital Products:

• What is your expertise?
• Who is your customer?
• What format is best? (Workbook, Love webinar, pre-recorded, a full course with grading, etc.)
• Is your training applicable for continuing education credits in your industry?
• Do you have knowledge of workbook, e-book design, and creation?
• Do you have copywriting skills?
• How should the materials look? Lively, traditional, artistic, etc.
• Do you have knowledge of web page formatting?
• How much will you charge?
• How will customers pay and how will they get all the content?
• How will you reach your customer?
• Can you enlist a few people to test it?
• Where and how will you market?

There are many pieces to consider to have a successful launch. If you don’t have content at this stage I recommend building this into your planning calendar for next year. Maybe you can pull it together and begin bringing in residual income for your professional service firm in the first quarter. If you need help with any of the stages call us or email today. We have developed 1000s of digital downloads, e-books, workbooks, etc. We also have experience building courses with LearnDash and have worked with UDemy courses as well.

Start with one additional revenue stream and you may be surprised by the new ones that come to you! We would love it if you shared other ideas with our readers. Please post below if you offer any of the options above. Or if you have another passive income stream idea, please share it below.

Why not share your knowledge and add residual income for your professional service business along the way?

Stay connected!