If you want to become a full-time Twitch streamer, you will need to find a way to make money beyond Twitch's 50/50 ad share.
In this guide, we’ll cover everything from how you can create the merch and how you can sell it without upfront investment. We'll also explore the world of Twitch merch shops, how Twitch streamers make merch, the advantages and disadvantages of different platforms, and which companies the biggest Twitch streamers use to sell merchandise.
For many of both the biggest and up-and-coming Twitch streamers, launching a merch shop is one of the best ways to make money and allow you to support yourself in the live streaming world. Plus for many streamers, merch isn't just about making money — it's about extending their brand into the real world. Your fans in chat can "touch grass" while still repping a shirt, a hoodie, or any other product from your line.
For many of the top streamers, merch is one of their top sources of income, so it's a great way to build a sustainable revenue stream.
Creating on demand merch is easy on 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:
We also recommend involving chat in your design process, so you know it's something that your community will love.
If you're interested in seeing what options are available to you and filtering based on the questions above, we recommend browsing the Fourthwall product catalog:
Fourthwall's product catalog offers a broad range of products, including:
If you're not sure where to get started with apparel designs, we recommend reading our "Design Tips & Tricks" article. As a quick overview, however, you can create a design with the help of one of the following sources for your online store:
Once you've come up with art designs on a tool like 99Designs, you'll need to turn it into a professional mockup. Mockups are an important way to show that you're using the best print quality and printers, since it lets fans see the product before buying. 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 and photorealistic designs, so you can showcase your products to your audience:
Once you have your products designed, one of the best ways to promote your merch is with Twitch Gifting.
Twitch Gifting 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) on your site to other viewers via a random giveaway while you're streaming. Not only does it help with your profit margins and sales, but it also helps your community to feel more engaged.
Sneegsnag talks about selling with merch gifting and how it helps a channel's engagement and profits here:
Many of the top streamers like Pokimane, Disguised Toast, CohhCarnage, and QTCinderella use one of the following two platforms to power their Twitch drops:
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. For example, you can see an example of Disguised Toast's shop, which is powered by Fourthwall's creator commerce platform:
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.
There are a number of other merchandise platforms that creators use to sell merchandise online, but these have become less popular over time due to either having limited customization options or not having the best print quality. These include:
There's a reason 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.
However, no single platform is perfect for every creator. That's why creators should pick the best platform that represents their channel.
Merch stores offer creators an exciting opportunity to monetize their branding, engage with fans, and express their creativity. Both the biggest Twitch streamers and many up-and-coming Twitch streamers are choosing Fourthwall to launch their shops. It's the easiest way for creators to launch their merch lines, sell their first hoodie or shirt, and give fans the best print quality.
Once you're ready to launch your unique brand for your audience, you can get started on Fourthwall.
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.
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.