Direct Sales

WooCommerce gives you more control than any hosted platform — and more responsibility. It's the right choice for a specific kind of author. This article explains who that is, what the real costs look like, which plugins make the difference, and how to run a WooCommerce store as a direct sales business rather than a technical project.

BookFunnel does one thing — gets your digital files to readers cleanly, on any device, with reader support you don't have to provide yourself. For authors selling direct, it solves the delivery problem so completely that most authors never look for an alternative. This article covers how it works, how to connect it to your store, how audiobook delivery works, and what the 2026 pricing structure actually costs.

Payhip is the fastest path from zero to a functioning direct sales store. No monthly fee until you're ready to upgrade, EU VAT handled automatically, ebook delivery built in, and a setup time measured in hours rather than days. This article covers everything you need to know to launch on Payhip, grow on Payhip, and know when you've outgrown it.

An affiliate program turns your most enthusiastic readers and genre colleagues into a promotional network — they recommend your books, earn a commission on sales they refer, and you pay only for results. This article covers how to set one up on Payhip and Shopify, what commission structure works for book products, how to recruit and activate affiliates, and the legal disclosure requirements that apply to both you and your affiliates.

Patreon and Ream are direct sales channels in the most literal sense — readers pay you directly for your content, with no retail platform intermediary. But they operate on different economics and serve different purposes than a Shopify or Payhip store. This article covers when to use Patreon and Ream, when to use your own store instead, how they complement each other, and how to connect them so supporters on one platform can become buyers on the other.