Frequently Asked Questions

DraftMill is an AI-powered content creation tool that takes you from zero to a finished, download-ready ebook or blog post in minutes. It handles the hardest parts of content creation:

1. Keyword research — finds what your audience is actively searching for right now
2. Competition analysis — shows you what's already ranking on Etsy, the keyword difficulty score, typical price range, and where the gap opportunity is
3. Title generation — creates compelling, benefit-driven headline options
4. Writing — produces professional, well-structured content you can publish or sell immediately

Ebooks download as both a formatted .docx and a print-ready PDF. Blog posts download as .docx ready to paste into any CMS. Every ebook also includes a custom Canva cover design brief so you can create a professional cover without a designer.

You need a free account to access the app. With a free account you can:

• Research keyword opportunities in any niche (3 searches lifetime)
• View competition analysis + live Etsy data for any keyword
• Browse AI-generated title ideas
• Save keywords for future sessions

Generating and downloading content (ebooks and articles) requires a paid plan. Each paid plan includes a monthly credit allowance — one credit per generation, regardless of format or length.

Sign up free at draftmill.co/register — no credit card required.

Each generation (one complete ebook or one complete blog post) uses 1 credit. Your credit balance resets at the start of each billing period. Unused credits do not roll over.

Plan credit allowances:

• Starter 15 credits / month — $19/mo
• Pro 50 credits / month — $49/mo
• Agency 150 credits / month — $99/mo

A credit is only deducted when generation completes successfully. If a generation fails or you cancel mid-way, no credit is used.

1. Click "Write an Ebook" on the home screen to enter the ebook workflow.
2. Choose a niche — pick from popular categories or type your own, then click Research Keywords →
3. Pick a keyword — DraftMill surfaces the top 10 high-opportunity keywords in your niche. Click any card to instantly see the keyword difficulty score, live Etsy competition data, price range, and gap opportunity. Select the one you want, then click Generate Title Ideas →
4. Choose a title — select from 8 AI-generated options or type your own, then click Choose Format →
5. Choose your format — Starter, Core, or Complete sets the length and depth (see below).
6. Review your chapter outline — DraftMill generates a full chapter-by-chapter outline first. Review it, then click Looks Good — Generate! to approve and start writing.
7. Watch it write in real time — chapters stream live to your screen. When finished, download your .docx and PDF files and use the Canva Cover Design Brief to build a professional cover.

When you click any keyword card during research, a competition panel appears instantly below the grid. It shows:

• Keyword difficulty score — 1 to 100, colour-coded from Easy (green) to Very Hard (red), so you know at a glance how crowded the market is
• Top Etsy listings — the actual best-selling digital downloads for that keyword, with title, price, and favourite count pulled live from Etsy
• Price range — what top sellers are actually charging, so you can price competitively from day one
• Recommended price — a suggested price point based on the market data
• What's winning — a short summary of the format, angle, and style that top sellers are using
• Gap opportunity — a specific underserved angle you could fill that the current top sellers aren't covering

This works on every plan including free. It doesn't use a credit — it's a pure research tool to help you pick the right keyword before you commit to generating.

Yes. After you choose your ebook format, DraftMill generates a full chapter-by-chapter outline and shows it to you before writing begins. Each chapter card shows the chapter title and a one-sentence focus description.

If you like what you see, click Looks Good — Generate! and writing starts immediately. If you want a different structure, click ← Change Format to go back and adjust your tier or title.

The outline preview is also efficient — the same outline is reused during generation, so there's no extra wait time caused by the preview step.

These are ebook depth formats — all use 1 credit and all produce both .docx and PDF downloads:

• Starter Guide (12–18 pages, 5 chapters) — tight, focused read. Great for lead magnets or entry-level products priced $5–$15.
• Core Guide (25–35 pages, 8 chapters) — the conversion sweet spot. Enough depth to justify $17–$27, readable in one sitting.
• Complete Playbook (40–55 pages, 11 chapters + bonus) — comprehensive, premium product. Supports $27–$47+ price points. Includes a bonus resources section.

Choose based on how much your topic naturally needs. For most niches, Core Guide is the best starting point.

After your ebook is written, DraftMill generates a detailed cover design brief tailored specifically to your title and niche. It includes:

• Color palette — 3 specific hex codes with explanations of what emotion each conveys
• Typography — font pairings with size ranges (available free in Canva)
• Layout structure — exact placement guidance for title, subtitle, and visual elements
• Visual element search terms — specific Canva photo/element keywords for your cover
• Common mistakes to avoid — 3 beginner design errors specific to your cover type

Take this brief into Canva (free) and you can build a professional-looking ebook cover in 15–20 minutes with no design experience.

Total time from clicking "Generate" to downloading your files:

• Starter Guide — typically 2–4 minutes
• Core Guide — typically 4–7 minutes
• Complete Playbook — typically 7–12 minutes

The outline preview adds about 10–20 seconds before writing starts, but that time is recovered during generation (the outline isn't recalculated — it's reused). Content streams live chapter by chapter so you can read along as it's written.

1. Click "Write a Blog Post" on the home screen.
2. Choose a niche — pick a category or type your own, then click Research Keywords →
3. Pick a keyword — click any keyword card to see its difficulty score, what's ranking, and where the gap is. Select the one that fits, then click Generate Title Ideas →
4. Choose a headline — select from 8 AI-generated options or write your own, then click Choose Article Length →
5. Choose your article length — 800, 1,500, or 2,500 words based on how competitive the keyword is.
6. Generate — your article streams live, section by section. Download the .docx when done and paste it into your blog or CMS.

• ~800 words (Quick Post) — tight and punchy. Best for low-competition keywords, news-style topics, or consistent weekly publishing.
• ~1,500 words (Standard Article) — the sweet spot for engagement and organic search rankings. Good for most blog keywords.
• ~2,500 words (Pillar Post) — in-depth authority content. Best for competitive keywords where Google rewards comprehensive coverage. These tend to outrank shorter content over time.

When in doubt, start with 1,500 words. You can always expand a topic into a pillar post later.

Yes — all content generated by DraftMill is yours to use however you like. You can:

• Publish directly to your blog (WordPress, Ghost, Squarespace, Webflow, etc.)
• Use as email newsletter content
• Sell or repurpose as part of a content package
• Adapt into social media posts, scripts, or podcast outlines

We recommend reviewing and lightly editing before publishing to add your personal voice and any specific examples relevant to your audience.

Ebooks produce two download files automatically:

• .docx — Microsoft Word format, fully editable in Word, Google Docs, Pages, or LibreOffice. Use this to make edits or refinements before publishing.
• PDF — clean, print-ready PDF with a title page, formatted table of contents, and all chapters. Ready to sell immediately on Gumroad, Etsy, Stan Store, or your own site without any extra steps.

Blog posts produce a .docx file formatted and ready to paste into your CMS.

All downloads come with the cover design brief as a text file you take into Canva.

The PDF is generated automatically alongside your .docx and includes:

• Title page — your ebook title, format label, and DraftMill credit
• Table of contents — numbered chapter list with Introduction and Bonus section (if applicable)
• All chapters — formatted with styled headings and a purple accent line under each chapter title for a clean, professional look

The PDF uses clean Helvetica typography with generous margins — suitable for selling as-is. If you want custom fonts or branding, use the .docx to make edits and export your own PDF from Word or Google Docs.

Yes. Every generated ebook or article is automatically saved to My Projects (the Projects button in the top navigation). From there you can re-download your .docx, PDF (ebooks), and cover guide at any time.

You can also save keyword ideas during research by clicking the star (☆) on any keyword card — saved keywords appear in the Saved Keywords drawer for future sessions so you never lose a good idea.

If the progress bar stops for more than 2–3 minutes with no new content appearing:

1. Refresh the page and open My Projects — your content may have finished in the background and the file will be there.
2. If the project isn't listed, try generating again — failed generations do not use a credit. Credits are only deducted when a generation completes successfully.

If the issue persists, check your internet connection or try a different browser. You can also reach us at support@draftmill.co.

All billing is managed through your account page. From there you can:

• Upgrade — takes effect immediately. Your credit balance updates to the new plan's limit right away.
• Downgrade — applies at your next renewal date. You keep your current plan's credits until the end of your billing period.
• Cancel — your subscription ends at renewal. Your account moves to the free tier, and you keep access to any downloaded files.

No long-term contracts. Cancel anytime.

No — credits reset on your monthly renewal date. This keeps pricing simple and predictable. There's no "banked" credit balance carrying forward month to month.

If you find you're consistently not using all your credits, consider downgrading to the next tier down on your next renewal.

Yes. Every project in your Projects library has a Regenerate button. Click it to produce a fresh version of the same guide using the same title, keyword, niche, content type, and format — the AI writes new content each time, so you'll get a different result even though the structure stays the same.

Regenerating costs 1 credit, the same as a new generation. The newly generated file replaces the previous one in your project.

If your original generation failed, was cut off, or produced unusable output through no fault of your own, email support@draftmill.co and we'll restore the credit so you can regenerate for free.

We offer a 7-day refund guarantee on all new subscriptions. If DraftMill isn't the right fit within the first 7 days of your first paid month, email support@draftmill.co and we'll issue a full refund — no questions asked.

Renewals after the first month are non-refundable, but you can cancel before your next renewal date to avoid future charges.

All major credit and debit cards. Payments are processed securely — your card details are never stored on DraftMill's servers.