marketing teardown: 🛣️ gumroad

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howdy, marketer! 

this week I’m taking a peep at another funky brand, but this time, they’re going all in on the neo-brutalism design style.

first off, I have to say that I’m a mega fan of this design style (you can tell by looking at my latest project: funny ads club). 

if you don’t know already, “neo-brutalism is a popular trend in web design that uses sharp contrasts, unpolished design elements, asymmetry, loud typography, and vibrant colors” (according to hubspot).

according to chatgpt though: neo-brutalism is like if a website decided that making your eyes bleed and your brain hurt was the new chic. 😆

brand in the hot seat: 🛣️ gumroad

today's treasure trove

• who is gumroad?

• gumroad’s branding

• product-led marketing

• target audience

who is gumroad?

quick stats:

• youtube – 5 subscribers, 0 videos (!!!, though, they have an old channel with 1.2k followers and a gumroad university channel with nearly 5k subs that primarily hosts their poodcasts)

• instagram – 31.7k followers

• facebook – 23k followers

• x/twitter – 184k followers

• linkedin – 15k followers

• tiktok – 103 followers (yet, millions of posts with #gumroad by other users)

• monthly website traffic – 436k

woah. those stats are stunning – it’s incredible to see how gumroad has virtually completely ignored youtube and tiktok (exactly where a lot of their target market is). but, they’ve focused in on two channels: instagram and x – maybe it’s because that’s just what they like?

if nothing else, gumroad is a brand that bucks trends. 💅

alright, on to who gumroad is – it’s kinda like etsy & stripe had a minimalist baby just for digital creators. it’s a product page where visitors can check out and receive a digital product like a course, ebook, audio sample pack, etc.

so, a designer with 40k instagram followers creates a pack of retro characters as .svg files and wants to sell them. but, they don’t want to set up a whole website, their product isn’t quite right for etsy, and they don’t want to pay ongoing fees to an e-commerce platform.

enter: gumroad.

create an account, create a product, share the link. fast and simple. 

recently though, gumroad has transitioned to more of a marketplace (like etsy). turning their website from a marketing site aimed at getting users on their platform towards a category list of products available that visitors can peruse at their leisure.

gumroad’s branding

yeah, yeah, yeah, so I really harped on about neo-brutalism earlier, but gumroad’s branding is much more than just the visuals.

first of all, yes, they contrast the basic saas design starter pack (basic light greys and blues, rounded corner square buttons, corporate stock photos).

but why?

to differentiate from their competitors. to stand out in the sea of sameness. 

they made the decision to focus on a unique brand identity – which is crucial, considering that most would think an e-commerce platform is a commodity.

the platform was early to adopt the neo-brutalist design style, but now, they are one of the most prominent brands using this style – iconic ✨

product-led marketing

think about a recent online purchase you made – did the seller use shopify? thrivecart? kajabi? or do you even know?

when others made seamless integration and whitelabeling the zig, gumroad zagged.

a gumroad product page is definitely eye-catching. it’s simple and distinct. 

since products are hosted on gumroad subdomains and checkouts happen on the gumroad platform, buyers can’t help but take note of the platform when they checkout. so intentional. very demure.

whereas competitors need to run ads (gumroad does no facebook ads at all), to a landing page, provide social proof, then book a demo, gumroad takes care of all that already because it’s obvious when a seller is using it.

ah, and here are some of my fave subtle touches chef’s kiss 🤌

• on the gumroad homepage, the CTA isn’t “sign up” or “learn more” it’s “start selling” – amazing

• in each product category card, there’s grey text in a row that shows the number of creators, products, and $$$ in sales made. wow. simple social proof 🤯

target audience

it’s digital creators. that’s the target audience. 🎯

not the big ones though, with millions of podcast listeners and youtube followers – the little folks.

gumroad’s value props are speed of product creation, simplicity in the checkout experience, and a % fee instead of monthly fees. all of these make more sense for the small- to medium-time creator with a side hustle.

gumroad makes it clear that users don’t have to be master copywriters with landing pages and sales funnels, or expert digital marketers with lead magnets and email nurture sequences.

go to gumroad.com, hit the start selling button, create a product in minutes, and start sharing your link to your audience.

wrap up

gumroad is doing so much right – beautiful branding, amazing product, and a dialed-in customer persona.

do they need to do more marketing? ads? creator collabs? seo and content marketing on their website? imo, nah. they’re all-in on design and product-led growth and crushing it.

thanks for reading and I’d love to hear what thoughts you have about gumroad and this teardown. (and read the other deep dives here)

✌️,

tom from marketer gems