When discussing how to elevate your brand, it is crucial for Twitch streamers to establish a deeper connection with their viewers.
That’s why having your merch store is a great idea. Not only can you generate more profit beyond Twitch streaming, but you can also expand your business globally and attract potential viewers from various countries.
If you are famous enough on Twitch, you can create your unique brand and set up a merch store. Here are the tips on how to start.
How to Make Money on Twitch with Merch Store
- Create your brand with a unique logo, name, symbol, or any other distinctive feature
- Decide what you will sell (clothes are the best option for a start)
- Set up a sales website (you can also use premade solutions like Sellfy, Streamlabs, or Spreadshirt)
- Don’t be too pricy, but keep track of your costs (cost of goods, production costs, shipping costs, marketing costs, etc.)
- Start advertising your store on social media and during your streams
Today, I will provide a step-by-step guide on how to create your Twitch merch store and how to attract potential viewers to purchase your products.
Table of Contents
Planning Is the Key
Before you begin creating your online merch store, you need to clearly define what you will be offering for your viewers to purchase.
The most fundamental items sold in merchandise stores are clothing. While this may seem generic, it is effective. Additionally, you can sell backpacks, hats, patches, mugs, and any other items you believe your audience will appreciate.
However, if you’re just starting with your brand, it’s important to focus on clothing items like shirts, shorts, and hoodies, ensuring that they are all of top quality.
Creating Your Merchandise
It’s essential to understand which products you are offering for sale. This won’t be an easy task, as you need to create a logo that is memorable and recognizable within the community.
As I mentioned earlier, your safest option is to sell clothing, as these items are easy to ship. A hoodie or a shirt can simply be folded and sent to nearly any location.
You can add products, but let’s focus on the basics for now. Once you receive payments from your followers, you can expand your product list. However, before doing that, you need to create a quality logo.
Distinctive Logo
You want to create a logo that represents your Twitch content and is easily searchable or identifiable on a shirt or hoodie for your viewers.
Your logo should be of high quality, so hiring a professional to create it is always the best option if you want to profit from your Twitch merchandise.
Of course, it’s your branding, so you can be creative. However, try to stick with something recognizable, or simply search for logo ideas and determine what you like.
Twitch Hoodie and Shirt Merchandise
The most popular Twitch merchandise is undoubtedly hoodies and t-shirts. This popularity stems not only from their availability in large quantities for printing but also from the consistency in sizing across different clothing brands that produce them.
There is no difference in logo placement for t-shirts, provided that large formats are not used on the back, as the print can make the clothing uncomfortable to wear.
You can also print your Twitch stream channel ID on the inside of the collar, visible only to fans who purchased the shirt or hoodie.
Miscellaneous Merchandise
For this type of merchandise, aim for something that is directly associated with your channel, whether it is gaming-related or something else your content is known for that others can relate to, not just your friends.
Mugs are among the most popular choices because they are easy to print on, allowing for ample space for text and logos, so your creativity won’t be limited. For gamers, hats, cups, and even stickers featuring your branding are all excellent options.
In summary, any last-minute gift you consider purchasing for someone could serve as a potential merchandise item. Therefore, be creative while also observing what others are doing, as you want to ensure profitability.
Creating Your Merch Store
To create your merch store, you need to use a website or set up your own. If you already have a website, you can optimize it to include a store for your products.
However, since there are several sites like Streamlabs, Spreadshop, and others, it is advisable to utilize these platforms as they are user-friendly and provide numerous benefits.
Sellfy
If you want to create an eCommerce website to promote your Twitch merchandise, then Sellfy is a great option to consider. It provides a reliable print-on-demand service, enabling you to fully customize various types of products.
Among the products, you can select from clothing, hats, bags, home decor, and phone cases. You can add your logo, custom artwork, or personalized text to any of these items.
You can try Sellfy for free with a 14-day trial. After that, you can choose from four plans, one of which is free. However, the Free plan has some limitations, so if you are serious about making streaming your career, you may want to consider one of the other three options.
Note that you do not need a website to use Sellfy. You can create your own e-store with Sellfy. Depending on the plan you choose, you will have access to different options and face various limitations.
Streamlabs
On Streamlabs, in addition to tracking your streaming data, you can also establish an online market for your merchandise. If you already have an account on Streamlabs, simply log in, and you’ll find the merch shop button below. If you’re new to Streamlabs, setting up an account takes just a few minutes.
As you can see from the picture, you can easily add a new product and even create a back-to-school bundle.
To add a product, click on settings. Here, you can choose from a wide range of product groups to select what you want to add. You can also set the price, shipping details, number of products in stock, and checkout options.
Once you’re finished, you can edit your logo designs directly on Streamlabs, allowing you to visualize how your merch will appear without having the product in hand.
Overall, Streamlabs is an excellent platform for placing orders, and they also provide reliable customer support on the site in case any issues arise with your order, so you can feel secure.
Spreadshirt
Spreadshirt is a leading online marketplace that many gamers, streamers, and other content creators utilize to sell their merchandise to fans.
What’s great about Spreadshirt is that anyone can create an account and begin selling merchandise. All clothing is printed in the USA, which means you don’t need to stock up on shirts, hoodies, sweats, and so on; instead, everything is printed for you and ready to sell.
Once you create an account, you can upload a logo, image, or any design, and then adjust its placement on the clothing item; that’s essentially all there is to it.
Spreadshirt is excellent because it allows you to easily customize your shirts, search for various designs, and set up payment options for your customers.
All the clothing is of premium quality, and once you place an order, it will be made in approximately 24 hours. Your only responsibility is to promote your products on the site and determine how you want your products to be delivered.
Things to Consider Before Creating Twitch Merchandise
You can learn from your mistakes; we are all human. However, these tips will undoubtedly help your merchandise sales reach satisfying numbers and prepare your customers for checkout.
Pricing
When discussing pricing, you must consider the cost of producing a product and the price of your merchandise to ensure your investment is protected. Typically, you aim to earn at least twice what you have invested.
Shipping Costs
The next tip focuses on shipping costs. Generally, you should begin by shipping products only within your state.
If you reside in the U.S., you will ship across the entire country. However, if you live in Europe, you will want to limit shipping to a select number of countries.
Discover which countries view your Twitch stream the most and begin your analysis from there. Keep in mind that shipping costs differ from country to country, and although the customer covers these expenses, you still want to ensure that the pricing remains reasonable.
Advertisement
To sell a product in the market, you need to advertise it; otherwise, how will people learn about your brand?
You can set up alerts on your Twitch or YouTube stream, inform your followers about a giveaway, check if fellow streamers are willing to provide shoutouts, notify all your friends, and from this point, anything can happen.
You don’t need to hire companies to handle the work, as ads for merchandise are easy to manage, and any alerts can draw your audience’s attention to shop for your products.
Content Creators and Customer Interaction
Interaction is crucial, and many companies strive to engage with each customer to encourage purchases. Twitch streamers have discovered that this approach not only works but also significantly increases product sales compared to simply displaying a sign that says “merch for sale.”
You can offer something in return for the purchased product, such as allowing every 10th customer to receive a mod on your Twitch stream or granting access to additional content that you wouldn’t typically upload. Additionally, you can create a tip page where people can donate, and in exchange, send them free gift items.
Conclusion
I hope this article has been helpful in guiding you on how to set up your Twitch merchandise store, as well as providing information on item purchases and profit.
