Gumroad trend hit hard and seems like there’s strong disdain growing for users who are exploiting their offers on Twitter. https://twitter.com/brian_dv1g/status/1247567479976542208

The reason being is not the lack of trust within platform itself as a payment processor, nor is it the absence of a “landing page designer” - any idiot can understand how to embed it anywhere they please.

The problem lies within the deliverability of the type and configuration of digital products being sold on Gumroad.

Gumroad allows for .zip file uploads. This means you can compile videos, audio, images, .pdf’s, anything you want in those files.

But that is not enough when you are selling what is being advertised as a course.

A course is a learning experience.

Learning experiences are interactive, and if digital - should be evergreen.

People who buy Gumroad courses don’t have automated access to updates and expansions, progress tracking, quizzes, etc.

Yes, you can roll out updates and email list of previous buyers but you won’t be able to keep information fresh based on small evolving nuances.

Want to edit a typo or add a crucial paragraph? Nope.

And that’s where the gap in quality product deliverability starts.

The gap grows wider when you consider, unless someone is savvy on an android.

You can’t deliver product through mobile. Only distribute.

This is a shame because I’m willing to bet most buyers on twitter are mobile.

What made Gumroad so popular was its freemium accessibility.

Many of the monkey see monkey do operators on Twitter only use it because they see their competition using it.

It’s easy to understand why too, considering LMS apps have steep subscriptions as far as subscriptions go.

But a lot of these operators are flaunting “Business Opportunity” products which leads to the main disconnect..

Why would you claim to teach people how to make money but be so stingy on your own infrastructure?



This has never added up to make any sense to me.

Surely the costs to run their course on one of the the major LMS like Teachable or Thinkific won’t break their wallet so why won’t they?

Because they are LAZY.

They don’t care about the actual product development.

They don’t want to be held accountable for applying changes and following up with updates.

They don’t want to keep track of student’s progress or review quizzes.

That’s why.

Gumroad never once advertised itself as an LMS so it’s obvious the current course selling trend on there is unsustainable and parts are already beginning to crack.

I have called out this practice from the very beginning.

Instead of calling your Gumroad .zip a course call it a multi-media book + tutorials.

By correctly framing your product you will actually INCREASE your value proposition.

But for the love of god, stop calling your shitty 20-30 page .pdfs an e-course.

Cause it’s not.