I’ve Been Selling eBooks on Gumroad for 6 Months — Here’s What Works

I’ve made $2,000+ from selling one ebook without active promotion.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I sell digital products on the Gumroad marketplace.

I registered on Gumroad in April 2022 and uploaded my first ebook for sale.

I did not know how the platform worked because I did not read tutorials.

Furthermore, I did not know whether I’d make at least one sale because I’d never sold anything online.

My adventure with Gumroad was a pure experiment that turned into a success story.

I started with one ebook on “How to write blog posts that hit the Google front page.” By now, I’ve sold 70+ copies and made $2,000+ without being an influencer.

Exciting?

Maybe.

It’s always pleasant to get rewarded for your intellectual products.

However, this was not the most surprising thing that happened to me.

I moved my free ebook on “How to make money writing” from Convertkit to Gumroad and noticed the following.

People pay for an ebook that’s available for free.

Seriously!

The landing page indicates that anyone can download the ebook for free. Yet, some people choose to pay money for it.

Since July 2022, over 175 people have downloaded my ebook and paid $35.99 for a free digital product.

Here is the proof:

I agree that $35.99 is not much.

You can’t pay your bills and buy almost anything with this amount.

However, I never expected this money to land in my pocket.

I am still wondering why people choose to pay for a free product.

Perhaps, they are shy to download something for free, or it’s gratitude for the time and effort I invested in writing this ebook.

Nevertheless, I would have never learned about it if I did not try.

Inspired by these outcomes, I wrote my third ebook, that’s available on Gumroad since September 2022.

It’s called “How to sell ebooks on Gumroad without being an influencer.”

This is the newest digital product I offer on Gumroad. I used a different approach to market it for my tiny audience of fans and followers. This ebook has made seven sales and $200+ by now.

I don’t tell you this to brag.

To be honest, there is nothing to brag about.

There are so many content creators that are more successful than me.

Besides, managing three digital products is often challenging and tiring. As much as I wanted to automate all processes, I could only take some tasks off my shoulders.

People continuously email me payment questions, “how to download the ebook” questions, and more.

Nevertheless, I like what I do. That’s why I try to reply as quickly as possible.

In this story, I collected a few strategies that helped me sell my ebooks without being an influencer. These tips are for beginners who don’t have an established social media presence, an army of followers, and email subscribers.

We all have to start from somewhere.

So, this is how you can start and make it big on Gumroad.

Write success stories

Success stories sell. Period.

People are excited (and will always be) to learn from someone who challenged a status quo, learned something new, and became better, wiser, and wealthier.

Let’s recall what you’ve recently read, let’s say, on Medium.

Have you opened any stories on “I did X and achieved Y?” I bet you did.

I did too.

And many people who are your potential readers did the same thing.

If you want to sell ebooks, checklists, guides, or any other educational materials, position them as a success story that grabs readers’ hands and walks them from point A to point B until they reach their desired outcome.

For instance, my first ebook shows how I effectively leverage SEO writing to create content that quickly hits the Google front page.

I back up my words with data and provide screenshots to prove my step-by-step SEO writing process works.

Someone who fails to create high-ranking content gets hooked and eagerly buys my ebook to solve their challenges.

Focus on one problem-solution at a time

Depending on the ebook type, the purchase intent is different.

We buy fiction to read something pleasant and relaxing in the evening or during holidays.

We buy non-fiction to get inspired and learn something new.

We buy guides and checklists to get actionable recommendations and step-by-step proven-to-work processes that we believe will help us achieve particular results.

Understanding these differences is essential if you write content for people, not yourself, and want to make money from it.

If you focus on non-fiction, your ebook should communicate the value it brings.

Otherwise, why would anyone buy it among so many other options?

Mind ebook titles

Ask yourself this question when you create titles for your ebook:

“Would I pick this ebook if there were many similar options on the selling page?”

This is the decision-making process of anyone browsing through and comparing different options.

I have to review 4,000+ SEO books on Amazon to handpick one to read. If you take a closer look, these ebook titles look pretty similar. That’s why it’s incredibly challenging to choose one option.

Even though we are rational, we often make impulsive buying decisions.

I can’t even count how many times I’ve purchased hard copy books just because the title resonated with me.

Your ebook title should resonate with the target audience, remind them about their pains, and offer a proven-to-work solution they can implement themselves.

Here is the full title of my SEO writing ebook:

“How to write blog posts that hit the Google front page: A beginner guide with step-by-step SEO writing process, proven strategies, and tools created by an SEO expert.”

How does it sound?

I can tell you it’s super specific.

It tells what this ebook is about, what readers can find inside it, and who wrote it.

I don’t use vague formulations like “SEO guide,” “SEO workbook,” “For 2022,” etc.

My ebook won’t stand out if I use popular titles. Neither should you do it.

Working promo strategies

I intentionally put this paragraph at the end of the article because many people skip basics and want to hear actionable tips immediately.

I often do it too.

We all lack time and want prompt solutions.

However, none of these strategies will work if you don’t implement the tips mentioned above.

You don’t have to be an influencer, post daily on social and have an army of followers to make these things work.

If you follow everything from this guide, you’ll achieve similar (or even better results). It’s just a matter of your motivation and consistency.

So, here is what works for me.

1. Writing success stories for ebook promotion on Medium. (5 published stories in September, 32k+ views, 15 sales)
2. If you run a website — create optimized content related to your ebook topic. (My website, Self Made Millennials, drives around 50 visitors to the ebook selling page, which results in 1–2 ebook sales)
3. Offer a freebie, collect email addresses and create automated selling campaigns. (Automations help sell your offers without active promotion from your side. I’ve made four ebook sales in one hour after sending a promo email to roughly 40 subscribers after the third ebook launch)
4. Share your articles on Quora in themed spaces. (A few minutes of work equal 20k+ monthly views and a few ebook sales)

In conclusion

The Internet allows selling your experience in different forms, on various platforms, and using diverse strategies.

This story is one of many that reveals what works.

I am sure an email list of thousands of subscribers and an army of fans will help to make more sales, but we are not there yet.

You can choose to plan your journey this way and become an influencer. But this story is not about it.

I wrote it for people who are not influencers and don’t plan to become one, don’t have the time and desire to be active daily on social media, run many projects in parallel, and want to work smarter, not harder.

Grab my guide to learn how you can make your first $1,500+ from selling ebooks on Gumroad.

You can get full access to every story on Medium for just $5/month by signing up through this link.