Why you should offer services before launching a product (+ 100 online service business ideas)

Many online business owners feel like they need to have a product ready to sell when they first start their business. In reality, you should start with selling services.

Selling services online means you can get started quickly using your current skill set, passions, and interests rather than spending time ideating and building a product first, which helps earn revenue faster.

In this article, we break down why you should start offering services first and share over 100 online service business ideas to help creators earn a living. Then, we’ll show you how Kit makes it easy to launch and promote your new professional services business.

Why every creator should start with services

According to our 2024 State of the Creator Economy Report, most creators earn their first dollar by offering professional services, and it’s easy to see why.

Selling a service tends to be more profitable since there tend to be fewer expenses. For example, most creators selling services can work from home, eliminating the cost of an office.

When you offer a service, you can still enjoy flexibility, so it’s possible to start as a side hustle and transition into a full-time work schedule.

Here are four more reasons why it’s so valuable to start with services.

1. Get paid to understand your audience

The best product ideas often come straight from your audience. They’re in the best position to tell you their most pressing problems, which helps you figure out how you can get paid to help them solve those issues.

Selling services to help your audience allows you to tailor your offerings to match their needs since services can usually be more customized to your audience’s needs than a fixed product.

2. Services are the ultimate minimum viable product

A minimum viable product (MVP) is one that has just enough features to allow you to ship to your early adopters. This low-key version helps you work out the kinks and see how your customers interact with your product.

Services are the best MVP because they require far less prep work and hired labor, especially in the beginning. All you need to do is create a landing page where you can invite customers to hire you or send cold emails to potential customers.

Meanwhile, with a product, you might need at least a month’s worth of work to put together an MVP (e.g., a course, ebook, or new blog).

3. Gain customer testimonials

By working closely with your customers, you will gain a more in-depth understanding of their needs and how you can create a valuable product to help them. This kind of close relationship is priceless because it sets you up to create a product that undeniably appeals to your audience.

As you serve your early clients, these happy customers will become your social proof through testimonials and case studies about how your service helped them level up. You can then use these same testimonials to help you sell your future product.

4. Build a digital product hypothesis

After spending some time with your customers and figuring out their wants and needs, you can use the trends you’ve found to form a product hypothesis (i.e., brainstorm digital product ideas) about a product your customers might need and want.

There’s no better way to form a product hypothesis than by selling services.

Think about the common pain points your services solve for your customers and craft a product that addresses them.

You can then pre-sell the product to gauge your audience’s interest in it. Pre-sale launches show you how sellable your product will be when it officially launches and whether it’s worth creating.

Digital service-based business ideas for 10+ different niches

Now, it’s time to find the right service business ideas for your skill set! Most creators prefer to offer services to other creators within their niches, while others offer them to a wider audience.

For this list of online service business ideas, we’ve grouped opportunities by creator type/industry so you can find the ideas that best match your needs.

If you’re curious about a particular creator niche, peruse our Creator Stories section to read the experiences of creators in each industry.

Artists and creatives

Many artists and creatives (designers, illustrators, etc.) collaborate with freelancers, offering the following services and more.

If you’re a budding artist looking to go full-time eventually, you might be able to grow a more sustainable business supporting other artists in one of the following ways:

• online art gallery setup
• artwork digitization services
• art print sales and fulfillment
• art licensing and merchandising ( → assist artists in licensing their artwork for use on various products such as apparel, home decor, stationery, and accessories, and manage the merchandising process.)
• artistic branding and portfolio development
• portfolio website design and development
• creative coaching and mentorship
• online art classes and workshops setup and management
• art promotion and marketing consulting
• creative retreat planning
• event management

Authors

There are now countless ways for authors to make money besides writing books. Whether you’re an author or not, here are some services you could offer to authors needing support:

• editing services
• book cover design
• book formatting and layout
• self-publishing assistance
• author website design
• book marketing services
• author branding consulting
• author coaching and mentoring
• book publicity and PR services
• book launch event planning
• author platform building

Bloggers

Writing online is a consistent source of revenue for many creators. Insights from our State of the Creator Economy Report show that more than half of creators write and publish newsletters and blog content regularly—even more than they do short-form videos.

Here’s how your skills can support bloggers:

• content writing services
• SEO consulting
• blog management services
• content repurposing services
• graphic design services
• analytics and performance tracking
• social media management
• affiliate marketing management
• blog and content monetization strategy consulting
• blog audit and optimization
• blog promotion and outreach

Coaches and consultants

If you’d like to work with coaches and consultants, here are some skills worth brushing up on:

• virtual assistant services
• website design and development
• online course creation
• social media management
• email marketing services
• bookkeeping and accounting
• digital product development
• online event management
• SEO consulting
• content writing and blogging
• podcast production

Course creators

Course creators could also use a lot of support in their business. Here are some services you could offer them:

• course content creation (e.g. video production, slide design, and interactive elements development)
• course platform setup
• course design and curriculum development
• course production and editing
• course launch strategy
• student engagement and community building
• course marketing and promotion
• course analytics and performance tracking
• course accessibility and localization
• course maintenance and updates
• course evaluation and improvement

Marketers

If you have any of these skill sets, consider pitching your services to professional marketers:

• content marketing services
• social media management
• email marketing automation
• search engine optimization (SEO) services
• pay-per-click (PPC) advertising management
• marketing analytics and reporting
• content writing and blogging
• marketing automation implementation
• influencer marketing campaign management
• marketing strategy consulting
• market research and analysis

Musicians

Musicians often need plenty of assistance with running their businesses. Here are some services you could offer them:

• music production services
• music promotion and marketing
• artist branding and identity design
• website design and development
• setup online music lessons and workshops
• music distribution services ( → assist musicians in distributing their music to online streaming platforms, digital music stores, and
• social media platforms to reach a wider audience and increase visibility.)
• merchandise design and sales through online stores and e-commerce platforms
• live streaming and virtual concert production
• music video production, including development, filming, editing, and post-production
• crowdfunding campaign management
• fan engagement and community building
• tour and event planning
• digital music library management

Newsletter creators

If you’re a newsletter creator, it might be worth it to offer your services to other creators in this niche. The following skills could come in handy:

• custom newsletter design and layout services
• newsletter content creation
• email marketing automation setup and management
• copywriting and editing
• consulting for subscriber growth strategies
• newsletter analytics and reporting
• newsletter monetization strategies
• newsletter platform setup
• subscriber engagement and retention tactics
• newsletter promotion and distribution
• newsletter template customization

Podcasters

Podcasting is an ever-growing industry, so if you’re an expert in any of the following areas, consider selling these services:

• podcast editing services
• podcast production and management
• podcast cover art design
• podcast marketing and promotion
• podcast hosting and distribution assistance
• guest booking and coordination
• podcast analytics and reporting
• podcast equipment and setup assistance
• podcast launch strategy services
• podcast editing software training
• podcast sponsorship and advertising sales

YouTubers

As YouTube gains more creators, the opportunities to support YouTubers also increase. Here are some services worth offering:

• video editing services
• thumbnail design
• YouTube SEO consulting
• video production and filming
• video distribution and promotion
• YouTube channel management
• YouTube analytics and reporting
• channel growth strategy consulting
• YouTube monetization strategy consulting
• YouTube live streaming setup
• community management

More profitable service business ideas

As you’re starting out, you might be unclear exactly which niche to work in. It’s worth experimenting to find the best fit. Here are additional options outside of the industries we’ve already mentioned:

• online business manager
• online project manager
• bookkeeping and accounting
• legal consulting
• remote IT support services
• app development services
• virtual reality (VR) experience design
• health and wellness consultation
• personal finance management
• grant writing and fundraising consulting
• speech and public speaking coaching
• cybersecurity training and consulting
• meditation and mindfulness coaching

Quick start guide on how to launch and market your virtual service business

Once you’ve landed on the best online service business idea for you, it’s time to launch and start marketing your business. Kit makes it a breeze to get set up online—even before you build a website! Here’s what to do:

1. Set up a Creator Profile with Kit

Log into your Kit account (or sign up for a free Kit account here).

Click on Grow > Creator Profile.

First, we recommend uploading a photo of yourself and filling out the sections for “Your name or byline” and your About section.

In the About section, write a bit about what you do and the audience you serve.

Next, you can personalize your profile by changing the button color to match your branding or choosing from several profile templates to stand out.

If you have social media accounts or a podcast you’d like to link to, you can do that easily on your profile.

You can also create multiple Custom Pages on your Kit profile. For example, I created a “Book a Consultation” page here. All I’ll need to do is add some copy and a button with a link to book a call with me.

Kit also allows you to optimize your profile page for SEO, and you can monitor its analytics to see how many visits your page is getting over time.

2. Add your services

Kit Commerce allows creators to set up service offerings as products. Here’s how to do that.

Once your service products are in Kit, you can connect them to your Creator Profile by clicking on Products in the sidebar.

Then, toggle the Show Commerce Products button on, and your products will appear in the menu bar on your profile.

Content Strategist Angelina of Marketing Fairy displays her main service on her Kit Creator page so visitors can learn more about her offerings right away.

3. Create a great lead magnet related to your services

Next, it’s time to create an incentive for potential clients to sign up for your newsletter or simply get an idea of your expertise.

• Choose and create your lead magnet: A lead magnet is a digital download you offer your audience in exchange for signing up for your mailing list. It could be a template, printable, checklist, or even an audio download.
• Build a landing page to deliver your incentive: Your newsletter landing page is a dedicated webpage where visitors can sign up to receive your lead magnet and be added to your mailing list.
• Connect your landing page to your creator profile: Add your lead magnet to your Creator Profile sign up form so when visitors sign up from that form, they’ll also receive the incentive.

Here’s how to connect your landing page and creator profile:

• Click Sign Up Form in the right sidebar
  
  
• Choose between sending subscribers to a URL to download the incentive or starting the file download immediately
  
  
• Add the URL or upload the incentive (wait until the loader is complete before publishing if using Download)
  
  
• Click Edit email contents in the right sidebar to update your confirmation email (and tell subscribers what you’re sending them)
  
  
• Update your creator profile bio, if necessary, to tell visitors what they’ll receive when they sign up
• Hit Publish to make your changes live

4. Send traffic to your landing page and creator profile

Now you can start sharing your landing page and creator profile with your audience. Here are some platforms you can use:

• Social media: Use social media to grow your email list by telling your followers what you’re sharing with newsletter subscribers and which freebies they can receive when they sign up.
• Get active on forums: Learn how to use forums like Reddit and Quora to find people who need your services. Sharing your creator profile on such platforms is a great way to increase your reach.
• Optimize the landing page: Use keywords that identify your business in your landing page and follow our top landing page SEO practices to help your page rank higher in search engine results.
• Publish posts on your creator profile: When visitors do land on your creator profile, it’s easier to convince them to subscribe or buy products if they can see samples of your work. Having published posts on your profile is the best way to accomplish this.

Posts are published content/newsletters available to the public. To publish a post on your profile, click Newsletter Posts in the sidebar.

Then click Write new post. You’ll be redirected to create a new broadcast.

Alternatively, you can click Send and select Broadcasts from your Kit Dashboard.

After writing your content, click Continue in the bottom right corner and select Publish to web only. This will create a post on your profile alone, not an email newsletter.

5. Start writing newsletters (+ promote your services)

As subscribers start trickling in, it’s time to begin writing newsletters to talk directly with your audience. Creating a regular newsletter allows you to build trust with your subscribers, showcase your expertise, and get a better idea of what their needs are and how you fill them.

Then, using email marketing tools like automation and segmentation, you can start nurturing segments of your audience and offering them services that match their pain points.

6. Diversify and add digital products to your portfolio in time

Over time (and sometimes this means years after!), as you gain a clearer idea of what your audience needs and provide services for them, you might be able to generate valuable product ideas to assist them.

Even as you build products, having a newsletter allows you to get constant feedback from your subscribers through surveys, beta testing, and pre-sale launches.

Create a great product by starting with services first

Creating a great product starts long before its actual creation. Some of the most successful online entrepreneurs know this because they started with services and used their learnings to build a product they knew they could sell.

Now, you, too, know where to start! Avoid wasted time and the heartbreak of failed products by getting started with services first. Use Kit to launch and market your services with ease—and when you decide to launch your first product, we’ll be here to cheer you on too.

Get your free Kit account today.