Gumroad Review (2024): How I Make Money Selling Ebooks
a simple guide on how I make four figure sales on Gumroad
Create simple products. Keep maximum profits.
I am pretty sure you must have heard about Gumroad by now. Medium and Twitter are filled with small creators making a full-time income from it.
When I started out, I only knew Amazon KDP. Only Amazon KDP was the platform where writers could make a full-time income. If you sell templates then I am sure you have heard about Etsy too. Good marketplaces but it has their pros and cons.
Being on Amazon KDP for almost 8 years now. But never felt like an independent author, where I had full control over my business.
Writing is an art. I agree.
But writing is a business as well. And we’ll make a full-time income only when we think this way.
I love to be creative but never want all of my income to come from one marketplace.
But it’s 2024, right? Time has changed.
Do you need an agent? Nope.
Do you need the approval of your ebooks before publishing? Absolutely no.
Do you need tons of money to get your book out into the market? No!
Now I have gone one step ahead. Being a writer, I have to wear multiple hats. Sometimes I am a writer, sometimes I am a marketer as well.
I needed to go beyond self-publishing platforms. And that’s only by selling books directly to my readers.
No middleman. No 30% fee. Simple.
Whenever I start any business, I always start with creativity. I think from a creative point of view. And then slowly take things more in control. I did this with the ebook business. And currently doing the same with my Music store as well.
No middleman.
I heard about Gumroad on Twitter for the first time. I never thought it was possible to do so. I mean we have Amazon KDP. Then why would readers buy directly from writers?
I never heard that before. Seriously.
But now I have been on Gumroad for 2 years now. I started my second Gumroad store when I crossed the $1k mark on my first one. I have a third store as well but it’s still new. Nothing special to share for now.
2 years. Three Gumroad stores.
I try my best to give the best review for all those who are still in doubt. Many are still thinking about whether to use Gumroad or not. I am pretty sure my Gumroad review will help you with that.
Pros and cons of using Gumroad to sell digital products
In case you don’t have time to read this lengthy Gumroad review, I have given my feedback and observations all in one place. You’ll find quick pros and cons related to Gumroad. Hope you’ll find this useful.
PROS -
1) Sell anything — courses, ebooks, audios, templates, physical products, memberships, subscriptions, etc
2) You get your customer’s information — On Amazon KDP or Etsy, you won’t be able to do so. But on Gumroad, you’ll get their email which is necessary for future launches.
3) Stats are awesome — I like their analytics board. I get to see where the same is coming from. I can also filter my sales record by product, period, and even location!
4) Active team — There’s an active (and enthusiastic) development team behind this product. Support is always fast, and they are very active on Twitter. Customer service is fast. I get a reply within a few hours.
5) Weekly payouts — Marketplace won’t give that, right? But Gumroad does!
6) Widgets — Some people don’t like to send traffic to the platforms. No problem! they have widgets. Just use the code and paste it on your website. Your customers will buy on your website.
7) Phone notification — I get emails whenever sales come in. I tried the phone as well. love it when I see sales notifications on my phone early morning. But sadly I switched off. I have three Gumroad stores.
8) Payout options — Paypal, Stripe, and Bank transfer
9) Gumroad Discover — I make a few sales from Gumroad marketplaces. Not much. But helps a lot as a small creator.
10) Discounts and Upsells — I love this feature. Helps a lot to increase my sales.
CONS -
I have only one problem with Gurmoad.
Fee — 10% flat.
This is the screenshot of my sales from my THIRD Blog (Brand new!)
What is Gumroad?
In simple terms, Gumroad is a self-publishing online digital marketplace where anyone can buy and sell products or services.
The idea of the Gumroad came when Sahil Lavingia wanted to sell his photorealistic icons directly to his audience. A former Pinterest designer and now the Gumroad founder wanted a solution to all the problems that anyone who ever wanted to sell a digital product on their website had. It offers an incredibly simple and easy way of turning any website or blog into a safe and secure e-commerce store, and it does it in a way that no other service can do so efficiently.
The truth.
The best part I liked was that Sahil Lavingia created the Gumroad website in a single weekend in 2011. Since then, it has grown to over 46,000 creators and earned $142 million in 2020, 94% up from 2019.
Unfortunately, I didn’t discover it until 2022 (a Python Developer recommended on Twitter).
At first, I was very much skeptical of it. It was working so well I felt as if it was promising an awful lot.
There were a few things I was worried about like -
1) Safe and secure file hosting and delivery
2) Simple purchase flow for my customers
3) Payment processing. This can give major headaches but thankfully I never had any.
I first added my one book only — My Mistakes in self-publishing. I didn’t want to go all in. There were so many good things about this platform. My mind always rejects new fancy products that promise too much.
Won’t bore you much. Long story short. It didn’t take me longer than one week to become convinced that Gumroad was in fact all-in-one solution for not only writers but for digital entrepreneurs as well.
In my first week, I got around 8 sales. The price was low. $2.99. But as a small creator that means a lot to me. After all, readers bought the product directly from me. And I was getting paid within a week! Slowly by slowly, I improved my previous ebooks and kept on adding them. Now it has 11 products on sale. You can check them out here.
How Gumroad works
The first time I visited their website, the slogan caught my eye.
“Go from 0 to $1.”
This was attractive though.
Wherever all platforms were promising millions of sales, this simple platform’s main goal was to help make your first sale.
This shows that Gumroad is not only for experienced people but also for starters.
1) You don’t have to be an expert.
2) You don’t have to be a grammar expert
3) No prior skills.
Here is how the platform works.
1. Set up a profile on Gumroad
It took me 3 minutes to create my account on Gumroad. They require you to fill in your details for payment.
You need to fill -
- Your name
- Username
- Bio
- Upload photo
- Connect to social media (Not necssary though)
Some more settings in case you need to change. I have kept them as it is.
Simple setup. No hustle. No waiting for approval.
And after filling all this is what your audience will see —
I sell on Gumroad. I have bought a few products from Gumroad as well.
All I can say is that it’s pretty much safe for sellers as well as creators.
2. Fill out the “Local” settings
A little more settings you need to adjust. Gumroad needs this information to accurately display time, language, and currency.
To this date, Gumroad supports 18 currencies, including GBP, EUR, Yen, and Rupees. If you want you can change your preferred payment method. I keep USD which actually is the default.
3. Time for payment information
When I made my account in 2022, there were only two options for me — Paypal and Direct Bank transfer.
Recently they added Stripe as well.
- For PayPal: All sales will incur a 10% Gumroad fee + 2.9% + 30¢ PayPal fee.
- For Stripe: All sales will incur a 10% Gumroad fee.
Top Creators On Gumroad -
Before we go further I need you to know about some of the top creators on Gumroad. giving just one here.
I have still a long way to go…
One Gumroad feature I love the most
I have talked about this feature a lot of times in the previous article. But I want to make this a complete guide so will add this again.
I want you to use your money wisely.
Let me ask you a question. What’s the average amount of price you have to pay for using email marketing services?
Minimum $50 per month, right? And that too within the limitation of subscribers.
If you want unlimited subscribers then? You have to pay atleast $500 per year.
How much time and energy do you require to make that amount?
If you get the same all-in-one email marketing tool with no extra cost then?
That’s where Gumroad comes in.
Gumroad gives you the capability to collect emails from your customers, followers, and subscribers. And you know what that means… more money.
Want to share any updates? Email.
Want to prelaunch your ebook? Email.
This month you need extra money? Send an email promoting one product from your store.
Share updates. Build relationship. That’s what email is for.
And when someone buys a product from you?
You’ll get an email. Also, a message on your phone in case you have activated the push notification.
for that simple toggle the button.
Mine is off. I have three Gumroad stores!
How I sell my ebooks on Gumroad
Selling books on Gumroad is pretty similar to selling on various marketplaces like Amazon KDP, Etsy, Apple iBooks, and so on.
I have to mention that sell on other marketplaces as well. But drive traffic to your Gumroad store only. Keep maximum profit. That is what I do.
So selling ebooks is extremely simple. Follow this simple tutorial and you’ll have your product live within a few minutes (in case your book is ready!) -
1) Create an account with a unique name — Make sure that your username matches your social media profile. Keep the same name everywhere.
2) Upload the same photo everywhere. Not to change this. same on Gumroad. Same on social media accounts as well.
3) Download your ebook in PDF format and upload it to your store. Now in Gumroad, you can directly create chapters for each book. But I prefer PDF. I want my readers to read my ebooks wherever they want. So PDFs are just perfect for that.
4) I use Canva for thumbnails and product images.
5) Make sure you price it right. if you are confused then do not forget that you have the Pay as You Want option as well. let readers decide their worth. And then change it later as per your convince. Now I don’t use this feature anymore. but if you are a newbie then I would recommend using this feature.
6) Traffic — Gumroad won’t drive traffic for you. YOU have to drive traffic to your Gumroad profile. Use any of your social media accounts for this. Gumroad audience is everywhere!
If you are interested in Gumroad Business then you can check out my ebook — Build Once, Sell Forever — How I Create & Sell Digital Products With Gumroad
Gumroad FAQ
I wanted to end this tutorial here but I guess you must be having few more questions as well. This I have picked from Google FAQ on Gumroad. I’ll try my best to answer your queries.
Gumroad pricing: how much does Gumroad take?
Simple. 10%flat.
If your product is $100. Then Gumroad will take $10 from you. Conversion rates also apply. A small download fee is also there — $0.33.
Gumroad is definitely free to use. You dont have to pay any monthly fee as well. No hidden charges I have seen so far.
So that’s only it.
What is Gumroad Discover?
I ask you a very simple question. What comes into your mind when I say marketplace?
A place where you can buy products, right?
Gumroad Discover is a marketplace where customers can search for products from creators. I don’t think other platforms offer this feature.
Unique thinking…
I use Gumroad Discover a lot. I am a regular buyer of Gumroad products. Helps me to pay my favourite creators directly.
There are categories as well. You can search category-wise or top best-selling products as well. Their staff list handpicked best products. That keeps changing.
You can also search by using their category feature.
There are 18 categories now — Writing, Business & Money, Design, Software development, Photography, Comic & Graphic Novels, Audio, Films, Gaming, Recorded Music, fiction books, education, Self-improvement and so on.
What products can I sell on Gumroad?
There is no limit on what you can sell on Gumroad. You can sell both physical and digital products. I am not sure how will you track Physical products. I sell digital products on Gumroad and I will highly recommend you to go through the list and pick one of your choice.
Why sell Digital products? — Risk-free. Low cost. Sells fast!
1. Digital Art — Artists, photographers, and illustrators can provide digital versions of their illustrations, artwork, and photographs for purchase to companies or other buyers.
2. Printables — Worksheets, projects, artwork, calendars, stickers, and more can all be sold digitally.
3. E-books — Poets and writers have the option to self-publish, create their book, and offer it for sale as an e-book on Gumroad to readers who might be interested.
4. Music — Additionally, musicians can release and market their singles and albums online.
5. Online Courses and Videos — If you create online courses, you can charge people for access to your webinars, video lessons, tutorials, and online classes.
6. Templates — You may make templates for reports, PowerPoint presentations, SOPs, resumes, and more, and you can sell them online. Poster design templates are another product you may sell.
7. Monthly subscriptions — As a creator, you have the ability to charge for memberships and provide your audience with access to exclusive material.
What is a Gumroad Affiliate?
Gumroad Affiliate is similar to any affiliate marketing program out there.
You promote someone else’s work.
I am a creator as well as an affiliate of a few products. There are some creators on Gumroad that I follow and love their products. So I promote their tech-related products on my accounts.
Every product you see in the marketplace or Gumroad Discover is part of this program. So if you love being an affiliate of any creator you can do so. The default commission is 10%.
My affiliate signup form is here in case you wanna promote my products.
https://hazelparadise.gumroad.com/affiliates
Is Gumroad safe?
Gumroad is a safe platform for selling digital products
I buy from Gumroad. I sell on Gumroad.
I have three Gumroad stores till this date.
And this I have been doing for 2 years now.
Need more proof?
Conclusion
No matter what your specific wants and needs are for selling digital products, I hope this brutally honest Gumroad review was helpful.
If you want to read more of my thoughts about Gumroad, do be sure to read this article — Medium & Gumroad Means Money.
I better end here for now. I would like to hear from your side now. What are your thoughts on Gumroad? I’ve already given my opinions, and now I’d love to hear yours in the comment section.
See you soon!
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