2. For years I went through thousands of photoshop brushes,
trying to recreate the beauty of analog materials without
sacrificing the precision and convenience of digital painting.
Since Kyle began releasing his brushes, I only use his.
They have completely changed the way I work. I use them
exclusively every time I open Photoshop, and I recommend
them to every digital artist out there.
Kyle T Webster
@kyletwebster
Background/Product Details
Kyle T Webster
Kyle T Webster is an artist for
Time, The New Yorker, The Wall
Street Journal, Scholastic, ESPN,
The New York Times, and more.
He also creates and sells custom
Photoshop brushes on Gumroad.
~ Celine Loup
Illustrator for The New Yorker and The NY Times
3. The following stats are from a Gumroad campaign by singer-
songwriter Sara Bareilles. Sara gave fans the opportunity to
pre-order her digital album, “The Blessed Unrest” on Gumroad.
The campaign began on April 27th, 2013, and was promoted
on the Brave Enough tour as well as Sara’s social media. The
album’s product page on Gumroad included a video message
thanking fans for their support.
Fans received an instant download of the single “Brave” with
purchase, and two more singles, “Manhattan” and “Root
Down”, on May 14th. “Root Down” was available exclusively
with the Gumroad pre-order. Fans who purchased at a live
concert also received a free lithograph when they showed their
receipt at the merch table. The full album was sent to fans via
Gumroad on the album release date, July 15th.
Background/Product Details
Kyle T Webster
4. For the past two years, I have been seeking out more opportunities to
sell digital products to transform the way I do business. Rather than
rely solely on commission work in my design and illustration practice,
I have been finding passive income streams generated from the sales
of prints, apps, and so on.
I am finally able to sell my custom brush sets and reach the global
audience I have been trying to reach. I can say, with confidence, that
Gumroad has given me a great leap forward towards realizing my
goal of earning 50% of my salary each year from commissions
and 50% from product sales.
- Kyle T Webster
Background/Product Details
Kyle T Webster
5. Kyle focusses his efforts on the social media platforms where his target
audience is the most active. For him this has been Tumblr. Despite
having a similar number of followers on Tumblr and Twitter, he sees four
and a half times more views of his products from Tumblr.
Which social media channels will deliver the most value for you?
1200+ 4400+ 4500+
likes fans followers Facebook Youtube Twitter Tumblr
15%
6%
12%
67%
Background/Product Details
Kyle T Webster
6. Announce
Kyle announces his brush sets at least 2 weeks
in advance with custom teaser images like the
one of the right. The images are created using
the type of brush that will be sold.
Post Content Regularly
Kyle posts a mix of entertaining and informative
content approximately twice a day on Tumblr to
keep his fan base engaged.
Create A Sense of Urgency
Kyle incentivizes buyers to buy his new brush
sets by offering a small discount (usually $1) for
those who pre-order.
Promote
Kyle sends free brush sets to influential digital
artists and designers, many of whom love the
products and mention them on social media.
Some even share artwork they’ve done using
his brushes, which Kyle reposts on his own
social media.
He also frequently does “reblog and win”
campaigns on Tumblr. He asks his followers to
reblog a certain post, and then selects three
random winners to receive a free brush set at
the end of the contest.
Plan Your Launch Strategy
Kyle T Webster
7. case studycase studyPlan Your Launch Strategy
Kyle T Webster
Giveaways on Tumblr have been incredibly successful. I
periodically offer three free sets to random Tumblr users
if they reblog certain posts about my brush sets. When the
timing of the post is right, these posts can lead to thousands
of reblogs in a span of only a few hours.
8. In June, 2013, Kyle released a bundle called the Brush Combo, consisting
of his Ultimate Sets 1 and 2. The price was $10, which was a $2 savings
off buying each individually.
In September he bundled up three of his brush sets (the Ultimate Set 1,
Ultimate Set 2, and the Drawing Set) into a new product: the MegaPack.
He priced it at $13, for a $4 savings.
These two bundles have since become Kyle’s best selling products, but
the MegaPack has far outpaced the rest. While this is partly because of
Tumblr giveaways, offer codes, etc., it is also because his buyers feel it
is the best value.
Bundles are one of the most powerful ways to maximize revenue while
also providing great value for your customers. And in Kyle’s case, he
didn’t even have to create any new content. Bonus!
$41,233
$14,091 $13,456
MegaPack
($13)
Brush Combo
($10)
Real Watercolors
($7)
Background/Product Details
Kyle T Webster
9. Kyle’s social media marketing consists largely of images
createdwith the brush set, demonstrations of the brush
strokes, and videos.
Kyle’s video ads in particular have thousands of retweets and
views because they’re both informative and fun to watch.
Images and videos are not only more engaging than just
text posts, but for Kyle they also served to demonstrate the
product and boost trust in potential buyers.
To the left are some of Kyle’s most popular posts across a
variety of channels. Click through to see the full posts.
31,000+
notes
60+
RTs/favs
12,000+
views
11,000+
views
Use Video and Images
Kyle T Webster
10. Artwork created by Kyle to demonstrate his various brush sets.
Use Video and Images
Kyle T Webster
11. Kyle experimented with 4 “Pay What You Want” products to boost his audience. Each of these customers entered
their email address to receive the product, allowing Kyle to contact them about future product releases, share
offer codes, exclusive products, etc.
Many customers ended up paying him for the products, resulting in over $5600 in revenue.
$5600+Revenue
60,000+Product Views
35%Views to Download
Pay What You Want Product Results
Give Something Away for Free
Kyle T Webster
12. Kyle released his first three products over the span of 6 months.
His most successful launch of 2013 was on June 5th, where he saw
$2,191 in revenue with the release of both his Ultimate Set and the
Brush Combo Set. However, his average daily revenue in June was
only $197 per day.
He then increased the rate at which he releases new products to at
least two per month. This has allowed him to draw more frequent
attention to his brushes as well as cross-promote his older items after
each new release. As a result, in March, he averaged $827 per day,
more than four times his average in June.
April 5
Ultimate Set 1 ($5)
June 2
Ultimate Set 2 ($7)
Brush Combo ($10)
August 1
Drawing Set ($5)
September 4
Sampler Pack ($5)
September 7
Mega Pack ($13)
September 30
Mr. Natural Brush ($0)
October 30
Pastel Palooza: $0
Paintbox: $5
December 29
Wet and Wild
Watercolor ($0+)
January 1
Tilterrific and
Carpenter Pencils ($2)
February 16
Real Watercolors ($7)
March 3
Runny Inkers ($3)
March 16
Copier Brushes ($0
Release Often
Kyle T Webster
13. Using the Gumroad Customer’s Tab, Kyle has been able to follow up with customers
to thank them for their purchases, send updates to older products, announce new
products, and provide special offers. As you can see below, these emails typically
result in large sales spikes.
April 5
Ultimate Set 1 ($5)
June 2
Ultimate Set 2 ($7)
Brush Combo ($10)
August 1
Drawing Set ($5)
September 4
Sampler Pack ($5)
September 7
Mega Pack ($13)
September 30
Mr. Natural Brush ($0)
October 30
Pastel Palooza: $0
Paintbox: $5
December 29
Wet and Wild
Watercolor ($0+)
January 1
Tilterrific and
Carpenter Pencils ($2)
February 16
Real Watercolors ($7)
March 3
Runny Inkers ($3)
March 16
Copier Brushes ($0
Emails Release Dates Revenue
Stay in Touch
Kyle T Webster
14. Two of Kyle’s three most profitable days in 2013 were the result of an offer (discount). This can be a very effective
way to drive purchases, but don’t do it too frequently or it loses its power. Kyle also uses offers in conjunction
with pre-orders to help build buzz prior to a product launch. For instance, he offered $1 off to anyone who pre-
ordered his Real Watercolors set.
Product Launch
Offer
Offer
$3 off the Brush Combo
to celebrate 3000 brush
sets sold. 24 hour offer.
Top Three Revenue Days of 2013
Background/Product Details
Kyle T Webster
15. Overall Stats
Kyle T Webster
$100,000+
Gross Revenue
Views
April 3, 2013 - April 3, 2014
10%
260,000
Sales?
Since Kyle launched his first product on
Gumroad in April, 2013, he has seen huge
growth in his online business. Leveraging
his social networks, images and video, a
well-planned launch strategy, and other
strategies, he’s been able to earn over
$100,000 in revenue on Gumroad in a year.
Conversion
