If you want to become a full-time Twitch streamer, you'll definitely need to find a way to make money beyond Twitch's ad share, which starts at 50/50 for most streamers (unless you qualify for "Partner Plus," which can boost your share to 60/40 or 70/30 at the highest base level.)
Merchandise is an excellent revenue source for Twitch streamers! Think T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, mouse pads, and more, all emblazoned with your logo or custom art. So now is a great time to learn how to create your own custom merch, and how to sell it without upfront investment.
Let's dig into Twitch merch shops, how Twitch streamers create their merch, the advantages and disadvantages of different platforms, and which companies some of the biggest Twitch streamers use to sell their merchandise.
For both the biggest and up and coming Twitch streamers, launching a merch shop is one of the best ways to make money and support yourself in the live streaming space; and while it can be a solid source of income, selling merch isn't even solely about making money. It's also about extending your brand into the real world, letting your fans in chat "touch grass" while repping a T-shirt, a hoodie, or any other product from your exclusive merch line.
Growing your brand in this way can be beneficial in both the short and long run. For many streamers, merch is one of their top sources of income, and is also a great way to build a sustainable long-term revenue stream.
Creating on demand merch is easy for streamers on ecommerce platforms like Fourthwall. If you're not familiar with print on demand or "POD" manufacturing, it means that:
But before you begin, you should consider:
The Fourthwall product catalog is a great place to get started figuring out what types of products you want to create in your merch store!
Fourthwall's product catalog offers a huge range of items ready for your custom merch designs, including:
If you've got graphic design skills, great! You can create your own logos and merch designs, and then use tools like Fourthwall's mockup generator to see how they'll look on your merch products. If you need some help to get your design ideas going for your online store, you can try these resources:
If you're still not sure where to get started with apparel designs, we recommend reading Fourthwall's "Design Tips & Tricks" article.
Once you've come up with your designs, you'll need to turn them into professional-level mockups. Mockups are an important way to show that you're using the best print quality and printers, since it lets your fans (and potential customers!) see the products before buying; you'll digitally place your design on each item of merch, to make sure it suits the product and is placed correctly. The better the mockup, the more likely you are to get people to buy your merchandise!
Fourthwall's mockup generator is one of the best in the industry. The technology used is similar to the ray tracing software used in Unity's gaming engine, but it's designed for products that you want to sell. The result is beautiful lighting, clear merchandise images, and photorealistic designs, so you can showcase your products to your audience like this:
Once you have your products designed, share them all over your socials! You can use your mockups to make product announcements, letting everyone know about your merch drops so you can build some hype. Another great way to promote your merch on Twitch is with Twitch Gifting.
Twitch Gifting on Fourthwall lets you open up a whole new world of possibilities for your chat. They can now gift any product (your merch, your plushies, your memberships) from your Fourthwall site to other viewers via a random giveaway while you're streaming. Not only does this help with your profit margins and sales, but it also helps your community to feel more involved and engaged.
Check out Twitch streamer Sneegsnag talking about selling with Twitch merch gifting, and how it helps a channel's engagement and profits:
The best ecommerce platform for selling merch can vary, depending on what kind of merch you're looking to create, and what you expect out of the platform. Both Fourthwall and Shopify are popular with creators, since they are both private label (white label). That means that they allow creators to fully customize their website, so it's fully branded to them.
Many of the top streamers like CohhCarnage, AquaFPS, Jenntacles, Ninja, and DougDoug use one of the following two platforms to power their Twitch drops:
Both Fourthwall and Shopify allow you to connect with:
No matter what product makes sense for your audience, these two platforms allow you to offer it! StreamElements has also recently directed their merch to Fourthwall, so you can utilize StreamElements alerts and widgets to further promote your merch line.
There are a number of other merchandise platforms that creators use to sell merchandise online, but many of them have become less popular over time due to either having limited customization options or not having the best print quality. These include:
No single platform is perfect for every creator, but there are reasons that many of the biggest creators have their own fully branded online store. This is why either Fourthwall or Shopify tends to be the best tool for most Twitch streamers that are looking to launch their own apparel, merch, or clothing line, and why creators should take the time to choose the best platform to represent their brand and their Twitch channel.
Merch stores offer creators an exciting opportunity to monetize their branding, engage with fans, and express their creativity while taking their brand out into the "real world." And so many of both the biggest Twitch streamers and Twitch streamers who are just starting their streaming journey are choosing Fourthwall to launch their merch shops!
Fourthwall offers an easy way for creators to upload their designs, launch their merch lines, sell their first hoodie or T-shirt, and give their fans the best print quality. In addition to your own custom merch store, you can also sell memberships and exclusive content through your Fourthwall site, treating your fans to a fully branded experience and growing your audience. Ready to launch this big boost for your merch and your community? Get started on Fourthwall today!
There are no monthly fees, no upfront costs, and no contracts to use Fourthwall. You set your prices and choose your own margins. Here is how our pricing and splits work when you sell:
Additionally, all US-based credit card transactions have an added 2.9% + $0.30 payment processing fee (same as Shopify). Fees vary for PayPal and other providers. Learn more.
Product costs are listed directly in our product catalog.
If a t-shirt is listed in our catalog at a $10 cost, we will automatically deduct that amount from your profits whenever you make a sale. You can sell products for any price you want.
For example, if you sell the shirt for $22, you'll make $12 in profit on each unit sold. If you sell it for $50, then you'll make $40 in profit on each unit sold.
Yes! Fourthwall works with manufacturing & fulfillment partners around the globe in the US, UK, EU, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Japan.
Shipping rates are dynamically determined by the size of package and destination. We work with most major carriers and pass through the true cost of shipping. That means that you can offer low-cost, fast shipping to your fans. Most items have a delivery window of 5-8 days.
Be sure to browse our product catalog to find products that are fulfilled out of your target regions to provide the fastest & cheapest shipping for your community.
Yes! Fourthwall operates as the "Merchant of Record" and automatically supports the following payment methods on checkout:
Fourthwall operates as the "Merchant of Record", which means that we're responsible for handling all sales taxes. This includes nexus registration, collecting sales tax, and remitting this to US states & other countries.
That way you can focus on designing products and promoting your shop, not taxes.
Yes. You can connect a custom domain or subdomain on Fourthwall. Learn More.
If you need help finding an artist or designer, check out our design community.
This is a vetted network of exceptional designers that can help you make great quality designs for your audience. We also recommend tools like Canva or Kittl.
Yes. For any product from our product catalog, we'll handle all customer support for you.
From answering general order questions to making address changes, our team is there to ensure that your buyers are treated with the same level of care that you would personally give them. We have a 12-hour or less average reply time, including nights and weekends.
For any items that you source on your own and ship from home, however, you'll need to do customer support.
Yes! Over 200,000 sellers use Fourthwall to power their storefronts. This includes creators, podcasters, artists, musicians, startups, non-profits, and more.
Get inspired and browse all examples sites.
Fourthwall supports many free integrations, including:
There are no requirements to join Fourthwall! Sign up now.