First, Etsy. It’s like training wheels for online sales—everything is set up for you. You just need to create your listing, and boom, you’re on a marketplace with immediate traffic. Easy-peasy.
Next, we have Gumroad. Think of it as the next level. It’s slightly more complex, but it’s packed with features to help you build a real, thriving business.
Last but not least, the DIY option—your own website. Now, I won’t sugarcoat it—this is the most difficult path. You’re building everything from scratch. But let me tell you, it’s also the most rewarding.
1. Selling on Etsy – The Easy Entry Point
Etsy is the greatest option if you’re just getting started. Why? First of all, it makes it easier to attract people to notice your items, which is one of the most difficult problems in expanding a firm. Etsy brings the crowd to you on a monthly basis with over 350 million visitors.
That’s not all, though. Etsy has you covered when it comes to payments. They give a built-in shopping cart for your consumers and accept a variety of payment options. At this point, you may be thinking, “Big deal, every site has a cart.” But believe me, not other sites have such a seamless checkout process.
If you only make digital goods once, Etsy is the ideal place to sell them forever. Think PDFs, e-books, templates, graphic designs, or print-on-demand products. You make it once, upload it, and let Etsy’s massive marketplace do the rest.
Now, let’s break down the pros and cons
Pros of Selling on Etsy:
Cons of Selling on Etsy:
Who Should Sell on Etsy?
2. Selling on Gumroad – The Creator’s Business Tool
Gumroad is a digital selling equivalent of a Swiss Army knife; it lets you list products, make a website, set up accounts, make coupons, send out emails, and much more. For the creators, it provides a comprehensive toolkit in one location.
Hunt? a fixed 10% seller fee for each sale, higher than many rivals. On the other hand, you receive all of these equipment for free up front and only have to pay when you sell.
It is a game-changer for novices. Before making a penny, you don’t have to spend hundreds on individual tools. Puggling is a good choice for beginning designers because it allows you to begin selling without having to pay anything up front.
Pros of Selling on Gumroad:
Cons of Selling on Gumroad:
Who Should Sell on Gumroad?
3. Selling on Your Own Website – The Ultimate Control
Given how tough it is to create your own website, I would say this is the last step. It’s similar to a video game in that you gain skills as you go along and need to use all of your prior knowledge to get beyond the last obstacle.
Building my first WordPress website took me roughly two months, and it was a difficult experience. I was in charge of web design, SEO, analytics, and text, video, and picture optimization, among other things. However, after all of that work, nobody came to my website since I had no traffic. Along with numerous other changes, the next hurdle was making the website mobile-friendly and PC-friendly.
Building a website is like constructing a LEGO Hogwarts Castle—there are countless pieces to connect, and many things can go wrong. It takes an enormous amount of time to get everything right, which is why people pay thousands of dollars for a custom-built website.
But the biggest reward of owning your website is complete control. You own your content and audience and can customize everything as you wish. You can improve conversion rates, add valuable content, place images and videos anywhere to boost sales, and fine-tune CTAs, funnels, and customer journeys.
In the long run, creating your own website gives you the highest return on investment. You have the power to shape the entire user experience, install analytics to track performance, and make data-driven improvements for maximum success.
Now, let’s break down the pros and cons
Pros of Selling on Website:
Cons of Selling on Website:
Who Should Sell on Own Website?
Comparison Chart – Etsy vs. Gumroad vs. Your Website
Which Platform Should You Choose?
Choose Etsy if you want an easy start and access to a marketplace with built-in buyers.
Choose Gumroad if you want more control over your branding and customer relationships but don’t mind bringing your own traffic.
Choose Your Own Website if you’re ready to scale, build an audience, and maximize your profits long-term.
Final Recommendation
For most digital product sellers, the best strategy is to start with Etsy and Gumroad together. This way, you can benefit from Etsy’s marketplace traffic while building your brand on Gumroad. Once you have enough customers and marketing experience, transition to your own website for long-term growth and maximum profits.
