How do you evaluate a sum of the form $\sum\limits_{n=0}^\infty nk^n$, for $|k|<1$?
If we take $k=\frac{1}{2}$, the sum is $\frac{1}{2} + \frac{2}{4} + \frac{3}{8} + \frac{4}{16} + \dots$, which isn't like any series I know. Wolfram Alpha evaluates this to $\frac{k}{(k-1)^2}$, but I don't know how it finds that.
The power series $$ \frac{1}{1 - z} = \sum_{n \geq 0} z^n$$ converges absolutely for all $|z| < 1$. Some results about power series also say that it will be well-behaved under differentiation in that region, so differentiate both sides. $$ \frac{1}{(1-z)^2} = \sum_{n \geq 0} n z^{n-1}$$ which is almost, but not quite, the series you want. Multiplying both sides by $z$ fixes this: $$ \frac{z}{(1 - z)^2} = \sum_{n \geq 0} n z^n$$ which is the closed form that Wolfram Alpha gave.