MRT / Field guide 03 — Digital products
Turn what you know into something useful.
A useful playbook helps a specific person do a specific thing. It doesn’t need to contain everything you know. The work is deciding what to leave out so the reader can actually move forward.
Name the finish line.
Choose a result the reader can recognize: a first draft of a product listing, a tested workflow, or a plan for one customer conversation. Be careful with promises you can’t control, especially income, traffic, or business results.
Start where the reader actually is.
List the knowledge, accounts, tools, and materials they need before step one. Explain any costs and prerequisites. A guide that assumes the reader already has everything set up can lose them before the useful part begins.
Build around decisions and examples.
For each step, explain what to do, show an original example, and say how to know when it’s done. Include a checklist or small template where it genuinely saves effort. Distinguish what you’ve tested from an idea you’re still exploring.
Watch someone use the draft.
Give a small section to someone in the intended audience. Ask them to work through it without your narration. Notice where they stop, misunderstand, or need a missing detail. Those moments are more useful than a general request for feedback.
Make the offer as clear as the guide.
Say who it’s for, what’s included, the format, what it doesn’t cover, and whether support or updates are included. Only distribute material you have the rights to use. A free starter guide can stand on its own; a paid offer should add a distinct, clearly described benefit.