A lot of first products start with the question “what am I good at?” It feels sensible, but it starts with you: your skills, your supply. The digital products people pay for start somewhere else, with a problem they are already frustrated enough to fix.
This guide walks through the method from The Digital Product Playbook for finding that problem before you build anything. You need an afternoon, a browser and a notepad.
1. Pick one group you can reach
Choose a group of people you understand and can find online: wedding photographers, new landlords, primary school teachers, Etsy sellers. “Small business owners” is too wide, because a cleaner and a web designer have different problems. You can narrow it further later.
2. Go where they complain
Read the places where that group talks when something annoys them:
- Subreddits and Facebook groups for that job or hobby
- Three-star reviews of the books, templates and apps they already buy. These are useful because the buyer wanted the product to work.
- Comments under popular videos on the topic
- Searches such as “is there a template for”, “how do I”, “I hate doing” or “tired of”, plus the topic
3. Collect 20 complaints, word for word
Copy each complaint exactly as it was written into a simple table: the words, where you found them and the date. Don’t tidy the wording. The exact phrases matter later, because they become your headline and your search terms.
| Complaint, in their words | Where you found it | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Paste the exact words here | Thread, review or comment link | When it was posted |
4. Find the one that repeats
Read the 20 together and group them. You are looking for the same frustration said three different ways by people who don’t know each other. One loud post isn’t a pattern. Three strangers describing the same problem is.
5. Check the three signals
Before you get attached, check the repeating complaint against three signals:
- Specific suffering: the pain has a number on it, such as “I lose four hours a week to this”.
- Failed alternatives: they have already tried fixes, and the fixes still don’t work.
- Search intent: people are typing “how do I…” about it today.
All three present? The idea is worth testing. Two out of three isn’t a failure; the missing signal tells you what to check next.
6. Write it as one sentence
Turn the gap into one sentence you can test:
[Who] struggles to [do what] because [why], and [current fixes] don’t solve it because [the gap].
An illustrative example: “Etsy sellers of digital downloads struggle to see what each product really earns after fees because Etsy’s reports mix fees together, and the spreadsheets they find online are built for physical products.” If you can’t fill every part from what you collected, go back to step 2.
Then test it before you build
A sentence isn’t proof yet. The next step is a small paid test: describe the outcome in one paragraph, offer an early version to a few people at a small price, and count who pays rather than who says it sounds great.
Three common mistakes
- Choosing a group so broad that no complaint repeats
- Counting likes and upvotes instead of repeated problems
- Rewriting complaints in your own words, which loses the phrases buyers actually use
Do it in one sitting
The Micro-Gap Finder is a one-page fillable worksheet that walks you through these six steps, with three Quick-Reference Cards from the book. It’s free, just your email.
From The Digital Product Playbook by A.F.L.I. Results depend on your product, your market and the work you put in.
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