Recommended resources
The freely available resources this lesson will direct you to.
- How to Build a Stan Store & Sell Digital Products Online in 2025www.youtube.com
- How To Sell Digital Products With Beacons.ai (Step-By-Step)www.youtube.com
- How to Build & Launch Your Stan Store in 30 Minuteshelp.stan.store
- Beacons AI Explained: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons for Creatorsdigitalsoftwarelabs.com
Introduction
Welcome back! In the previous lesson, you created a fantastic and valuable digital freebie—your monthly budget checklist. You now have a professional PDF ready to share, which is a huge step in establishing your expertise in the "cheap and cheerful lifestyle" niche.
But how do you get that freebie into the hands of your audience while also collecting their email addresses? That's exactly what we'll cover today. We're going to build the "front door" to your new online business.
This lesson's outcome is to set up a simple link-in-bio storefront to offer your digital freebie. This storefront acts as a central hub where you can direct followers from all your social media platforms to access your content, links, and, most importantly, your new freebie.
1. What is a Link-in-Bio Storefront?
You've probably seen creators on Instagram or TikTok say "link in bio!" This directs followers to a single, clickable link in their profile. That link usually leads to a special webpage that houses all of their important links: their YouTube channel, latest blog post, affiliate links, and digital products.
This page is your digital storefront. For you, its most important job right now is to deliver your budget checklist and build your email list. We'll look at two popular, user-friendly tools for this: Stan Store and Beacons.ai.
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2. Choosing Your Platform: Beacons.ai vs. Stan Store
Both platforms are excellent, but they have different pricing models. Your choice depends on your budget and long-term goals.
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Beacons.ai:
- Pricing: Offers a free plan. This plan is fully capable of hosting and delivering your freebie. If you decide to sell paid products later, Beacons takes a 9% transaction fee on the free plan.
- Pros: The free entry point is perfect for new creators, aligning perfectly with your "frugal lifestyle" niche. You can start building your email list with zero financial investment.
- Cons: The 9% transaction fee on future sales is higher than other platforms.
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Stan Store:
- Pricing: Starts at $29/month after a 14-day free trial.
- Pros: It's known for being incredibly simple and optimized for creators. It charges 0% transaction fees, so you keep everything you earn from sales.
- Cons: It requires a monthly subscription, which is a financial commitment from day one.
Recommendation:
For a creator just starting out, especially in the budget-friendly niche, Beacons.ai is the recommended starting point. You can set up your entire system for free and upgrade later if you wish. We will provide instructions for both, but we will begin with Beacons.
3. Action Step: Set Up Your Beacons.ai Storefront
Let's build your storefront using Beacons.ai. These steps will guide you through creating your account and customizing your page.
How To Sell Digital Products With Beacons.ai (Step-By-Step)
First, let's watch the beginning of the video 'How To Sell Digital Products With Beacons.ai' from Boss Tools Studio to get your account set up.
Watch from the beginning to 02:46. This section will walk you through: Going to beacons.ai to sign up. Claiming your username (try to use the one you chose in Module 1). Connecting your social media accounts. \nFollow along and create your account.
Now that your account is created, it's time to make the page look like your brand.
How To Sell Digital Products With Beacons.ai (Step-By-Step)
Next, let's customize the design. This same video has a great section on adjusting the appearance of your page.
Jump to the section from 14:57 to 16:45. The creator shows you how to: Choose a layout (Classic, Portrait, etc.). Adjust your profile picture shape. Change your color palette and fonts. Your task: Apply your brand's primary and secondary colors and fonts that you chose in the first module. This ensures your link-in-bio page is consistent with your future social media profiles.
4. Action Step: Add Your Freebie to Your Store
With your page designed, the final step is to add your digital freebie so you can start collecting emails.
How To Sell Digital Products With Beacons.ai (Step-By-Step)
This is the most important part. We'll use the video from Boss Tools Studio again to see how to add a digital product and set it up as a freebie.
Follow these clips in order: Add the Store Block (06:51 - 07:18): On your main page editor, you need to add the 'Store' block if it isn't there already. This is where your products will live. Create the Product (07:18 - 08:26): Click into your store and select 'Create a digital product.' On the product page, give your freebie a title (e.g., 'The Simple Monthly Budget Checklist'). When you get to the price, click on it and select the 'Mark as free' option. Upload the File (14:07 - 14:37): This is where you upload the interactive PDF of your budget checklist that you created in the last lesson. \nDon't worry about connecting a Stripe account for now, as that's only needed for paid products.
Once you've followed these steps and published your product, you will have a live link-in-bio page with a freebie ready to be shared!
Alternative Option: Using Stan Store
If you prefer to use Stan Store and are comfortable with the monthly fee after the trial, here are the resources to get you set up. The process is very similar.
How to Build a Stan Store & Sell Digital Products Online in 2025
This video, 'How to Build a Stan Store,' by Baddie In Business provides a complete walkthrough.
Follow these sections to set up your Stan Store: Sign Up (02:05 - 02:43): This shows how to sign up for the 14-day free trial and set up your initial profile and payment info. Customize Your Design (06:57 - 07:43): Learn how to choose a theme that fits your 'cheap and cheerful' brand. Use your brand colors and fonts. Add Your Freebie (08:08 - 10:22): This is the most crucial part. Stan has a specific product type called 'Collect Emails.' The video shows you exactly how to select this, customize the button, and upload your PDF freebie.
For a quick-reference text guide, you can also review Stan's official instructions.
How to Build & Launch Your Stan Store in 30 Minutes
The article 'How to Build & Launch Your Stan Store in 30 Minutes' from Stan's help center provides a concise checklist for this process.
Quickly read the sections 'Customize Your Store' and 'Free Product – Collect Emails or Applications.' This reinforces the steps shown in the video and confirms you're using the right product type to build your email list.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have officially built a critical piece of your creator business infrastructure. You now have a branded, central hub and a system to deliver your valuable freebie while growing your email list. This is a massive step from being just a content creator to becoming a business owner.
Key Takeaways:
- A link-in-bio storefront (like Beacons or Stan Store) is your digital business hub.
- Beacons.ai offers a free plan, making it an ideal starting point for a budget-conscious niche.
- Stan Store is a powerful, simple alternative with a monthly fee but no transaction fees.
- You can set up your freebie as a "digital product" priced at $0 (on Beacons) or using the "Collect Emails" feature (on Stan) to automatically build your audience.
Preview of the Next Lesson:
Your system is built and ready to go. Now, it's time to get people to use it! In the next lesson, we will focus on the final piece of this puzzle: writing a social media post to promote your digital freebie and direct followers to your new link-in-bio storefront.