19 Comments
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Morgan Jungels's avatar

So excited to learn more about how Substack + Gumroad works for you, Mack! I'm in the process of prepping a digital offer I'm going to be sharing on Substack as well and I'm curious (and a little nervous?) to see how it goes. I'm trying to put together an initial strategy, but I feel like what works on other platforms might not work as well on Substack. It's all one giant experiment. 🤷‍♀️😂 Thank you for always being so open and candid about your journey here!

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, Morgan! Good luck with your offering! I’m guessing it will go like Substack has: Growing, but not as quickly as I’d like :) We shall see!

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Frey's avatar

This is, as always, an awesome breakdown, Mack! 👏 I definitely felt the “slow stack” hit during the last week of June and rolling into July too though in my case, it hit my open rates, not my views. Views are still up, oddly enough. That contrast actually gave me the idea (just a few hours ago!) to send a special email to cold subscribers sparked by a great question one of my readers asked. Super helpful moment that might turn into a win!

Also huge congratulations on your new digital product goal! I'm honestly so happy to see you stepping into that space. I just launched mine recently too, so I’m absolutely cheering you on. Count me in for support — your advice has truly pushed me to keep showing up and building. Let’s go, Mack! 🚀

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, Frey! I will be DMing you for advice soon :). And congrats on the HUGE increase in your views! That’s a massive jump and wildly different from the results I saw and many others have 🤔. I’m impressed, you are clearly onto something!

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Christine Mortensen's avatar

Thanks for sharing a peek behind the curtain! And I appreciate your shift in approach from purely social to more business intent. If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious what made you choose Gumroad over other marketplaces/services? I've only bought things from there but haven't looked into it much as a creator vs. consumer.

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Mack Collier's avatar

Hi Christine! It’s funny, I read this comment right after I just wrote a Note asking if anyone knew of better alternatives than Gumroad! The main reason I picked Gumroad is because some of my friends that write here and on Medium suggested it. I hate Gumroad’s UI, so I’m definitely looking for alternatives. Please share if you come across anything!

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Christine Mortensen's avatar

Oh that is funny! Things I see "the kids" using lately (😅 and by that I mean social media folks I follow) are Stan Store and Beacons (I just heard of this one).

I have used MemberVault and ThriveCart (separately and together)

I think MailerLite just launched a store feature too but I haven't been in there much now that I'm here :)

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Mack Collier's avatar

This is great info, thank you Christine, have a happy Fourth :)

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Christine Mortensen's avatar

Happy to help! You too 🎆

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Bette A. Ludwig, PhD 🌱's avatar

Love the transparency, and I can't wait to see what traction your new approach gets and the digital products you're coming out with.

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Scott Ko's avatar

Thanks for sharing Mack! One point in particular stood out: "I realized last month that I was more focused on making friends here than making money." Oh man do I hear you on this one! Like, it's really awesome to have a good community BUT if we're to make this work sustainable on a longer term, we do need to deliver value differently; one that solves a problem of value.

I've got similar experiments I want to start running on SS too. Instead of deep dives each week, I want to play with reducing that down to once a month, putting it behind a paywall, with shorter free posts more regularly so that it's a more sustainable practice.

Still, I'm glad to have gone on the journey. Thanks for sharing and I'm looking forward to what you put together!

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Mack Collier's avatar

Hey Scott! I’m also thinking about the ‘deep dives’, once a month feels like a good frequency, but like you said I also think those should go behind a paywall. Good stuff, appreciate your feedback as it helps shape my decision-making!

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Sam Burgess's avatar

I loved reading this Mack. I too have had a tail off after my rapid growth – most likely the summer slump as people are busy else where. Funny you should have started a Gumroad! I set mine up last week and am currently building my first two products for launch! 🚀

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Mack Collier's avatar

Sam that’s awesome! Good luck, it feels empowering to have another potential source of income, doesn’t it? 😉

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Lisa Cunningham DeLauney's avatar

Really interesting to hear your review as always, Mack. I have been meaning to get some products on Gumroad for a while. Good for you making it happen!

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, Lisa. It was easier than I thought it would be!

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Neela 🌶️'s avatar

The summer slump is real.

My numbers have taken a similar dip, but your approach to diversifying income streams is inspiring. Feels like the right kind of long game to me.

Maybe I will start treating my Substack like a business soon hahahaha

Enjoy the rest of your day bro :)

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Mack Collier's avatar

Thank you, sis! Yes a definite long play. Plus more security in having multiple streams vs just relying on Substack. Enjoy the rest of your week, and especially Friday :)

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Neela 🌶️'s avatar

thanks bro

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