Everything You Need to Know about Gumroad University
Wealth generation lies in your ability to create and sell. But selling has evolved from showcasing physical goods to online. But then, enlisting on freelance websites to sell your products is not going to be sufficient in this competitive world. Building a website of your own and showcasing as many products as possible will be the better route to take. And this is where Gumroad comes in.
The platform, which was founded by Sahil Lavingia allows creators like comedians, authors, software developers, musicians, and graphic designers to sell their products directly to customers.
But as a creator, the big question on your mind is whether Gumroad is worth it? In this article, we will review the features and pricing model of Gumroad, so creators can decide if the platform is worth showcasing their products on.
Photo by @gumroad
What is Gumroad?
First off, Gumroad is not exactly an online marketplace like most people refer to it. It is an online platform that allows creators to build their websites and create landing pages to display their craft.
After creating an account with Gumroad, you will be given a link, which you can send directly to clients. You can also post your link on social media platforms to attract clients. The client can purchase your digital products such as songs or graphic designs by simply clicking the link. The order will be delivered, and payment will be made through Gumroad.
Unlike an online marketplace where a customer has to choose among hundreds of sellers, you are the focus of a client with Gumroad. Think of Gumroad as a platform that allows sellers to send clients their online brochures.
How Does Gumroad Work?
After setting up an account, the next step is to set up your payment details. This section is about how you will pay your subscription fee and how you will receive your earnings.
After that, you will need to create a portfolio to show clients what you are capable of. You can upload several samples of your best work and write a brief bio about yourself and what you offer. While it is optional, it would be in your best interest to upload a photo on your profile, so clients can have an idea of who they are doing business with. If potential clients get in touch with you, it is this profile that they will see when you send them your Gumroad link.
You can share your Gumroad link anywhere you think your target audience is clustered. People can follow you on Gumroad just like a social media account. If a client decides to buy your product, they need to input their credit or debit card details to get the order or project started.
After payment, the client will get a link allowing them to download the product. The coming Friday, after a product has been bought, Gumroad will transfer the fund to the account of the seller. Bear in mind that Gumroad deducts a tiny fraction of your earnings before transferring it to your bank account. So, it would be wise to factor that into your pricing.
Gumroad University
Gumroad University is Gumroad’s latest feature designed to showcase the best works of creators. The platform put together the best work of creators on Gumroad in one place. At Gumroad University, creators can find a collection of guides, documentations, workshops, interviews, podcasts, and challenges to get inspired to create content.
The contents on Gumroad University are divided into three categories:
Inspiration
Creators can gain insights from tons of successful creators on Gumroad. You can go to the Creator Spotlight Archive section of Gumroad University to learn more about what inspires your favorites creators.
Creation
The aspect of Gumroad University teaches creators how to ship products to any location. There is a 14-day guide and lots of tutorial videos to help you get started.
Expansion
After getting inspired to create, you should think of how to expand the digital business. There are tons of articles, email list guides, and videos to teach you about the Gumroad affiliate program, on-demand streaming, analytics, and lots more.
Gumroad University regularly updates its services to include more resources that will inspire you to create and sell what you love.
Features of Gumroad
The following features on Gumroad will help you get the best use out of the platform:
Payment Checkout
After verifying your account details, Gumroad will create a shopping cart for you. This allows customers to check out their purchase and be led to a payment gateway where they can pay with their debit card or via Paypal. The money will be deposited in the seller’s bank account or Paypal account. But note that the bank account option is only available if you are in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
On-demand streaming
If you are selling instantly accessible digital products like music, instructional videos, and articles, this feature comes in handy. For instance, as a writer, you can put your how-to articles on the streaming service, so readers can read them immediately after paying, instead of waiting for you to send them a copy or a download link.
Another great thing about the streaming service is that users do not need to create an account with Gumroad before they can access the feature.
Send Files
Since you can mostly find digital products on Gumroad, it goes without saying that you need to be able to transfer files to different customers around the world. This platform allows sellers to easily send files to customers via Kindle or Dropbox. Since it is an automated process, your customers simply have to click the link to initiate the file transfer.
From a customer’s point of view, the ability to receive and open files without having to download an app is a big deal since they get to save their data and time.
Sell Anything
It is no tongue-in-cheek statement when Gumroad says it is a platform for creators and by creators because the platform allows you to sell anything you created. And this is not limited to digital products. A painter or woodworker can put up the items they made for sale on Gumroad.
If you sell digital products, you can create coupons or codes to offer your products at a discount to customers. In addition, you can sell in different currencies, ranging from US Dollar to Canadian and Australian Dollar.
Gumroad allows sellers to create a plethora of cover pages for their products. So, if you feel customers will prefer a video illustration instead of an image, you can go with that in creating your cover page. Gumroad even allows videographers and filmmakers to rent out their works for 72 hours, just like YouTube and Amazon.
When it comes to selling physical products on Gumroad, it is the responsibility of the seller to package and ship the products.
Analytics
It is important to measure the performance of your business over time. With the analytics tool of Gumroad, you can monitor the growth of your business and what resonates with your customers.
The analytics feature on Gumroad allows you to see the number of followers you have and how many of them have done business with you in the past. For instance, if you sell your songs on Gumroad, the analytics tool will tell you how many persons have downloaded or streamed a particular song.
With the information you get from the analytics tool, you will be able to tweak your marketing strategy to improve your bottom line. While the Android app is to be released soon, the iOS version allows users to have a real-time update on their sales performance.
Widgets
A widget is a small button on a website that customers can click to make a purchase. In the digital marketing world, it is known as call-to-action.
Gumroad allows sellers to add the widgets to their websites. This allows customers to be redirected from those websites to a shopping cart in Gumroad without leaving the website. You can also embed your digital products on your Gumroad page to your website.
Affiliate Marketing
To make more money on Gumroad, you can enlist for the affiliate program. This allows other sellers to re-sell your products and get a commission. This program is already included in a seller’s monthly subscription, so you do not need to look for another service.
Affiliate marketing needs to be managed and monitored with software, and that is where Gumroad comes in. With this feature on Gumroad, you can track the sales performance of all your affiliate marketers and give them their due commission.
Customer Library
With Gumroad, it is not just the sellers that are provided resources to make sales easier. The interest of the customers is looked out for. A great way Gumroad looks out for the best interest of customers is by providing the customer library.
With this feature, customers can store their digital purchases on Gumroad’s database and access them from anywhere, anytime. For instance, as an author, if a customer buys your book, they can keep it in the library and have unrestricted access to it anytime in the future. The same thing applies to online courses, songs, and videos.
The flexibility that the customer library feature offers, makes this platform stand out from other similar platforms.
Conclusion
With Gumroad, monetizing your skills and talent has gotten a whole lot easier. To get started, you just have to set up a free or premium account. While the free account gives you unlimited access to the above-mentioned features, you cannot send more than four updates to your customers in a month. You will also be charged a fee of 8.5% + $0.30 on every sale.
However, for the premium account, you will be charged 3.5% + $0.30 on every sale. Also, you have unlimited access to all features, updates, workflows, as well as a customized profile. You also have the freedom to use third-party analytics.
