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Oct 31, 2023
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4
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Selling Merch and Choosing the Right Platform: GMCanty’s Guide for Twitch Streamers

Sustainable Income and Community Engagement: A Twitch Streamer's Road to Merchandising Success with Fourthwall
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Hello everyone! My name is James Canty, and I am a pro chess player and content creator

The Initial Struggles of Selling Merch

Previously, I built a site (took forever and had to learn other skills like building funnels), where I would post exclusive content for my subscribers. The program was a success, but there were so many things to upkeep on the backend.

I was also a big fan of having merch as a streamer. The options available were Teespring, Shopify (which I was very good at), Streamlabs Merch, and StreamElements Merch. I have tried them all, but I NEVER made enough to say this could be a serious part of income. The profit margins were so small I would need to sell 100 items just to say that the profits are ok, not even good! I’ve finally found a way to create and sell merch and offer memberships to my community. Here’s a bit more about my journey, and my top tips for success. 

Pro Tips: Maximizing Your Merch Sales

1. Consistent Engagement with Supporters

TALK ABOUT YOUR MERCH FREQUENTLY. While streaming, I say every hour or so, sometimes every 30 minutes, talk about your merch! I have a command in chat !dripcheck, that links to my store. Your chat is there to support you, so if you are talking about your merch, they will see it more, and eventually buy. The best feeling is when they are buying it and you are not even live on Twitch!

2. A Fresh Catalog

Frequently add new products. This is not a mandatory thing, but I have seen that the more products we add, the more we can rotate in and out for seasons, sales, flash sales, etc. You don’t have to add new products, but if you can put your logo or merch designs on gear from head to toe, you open the window for more product sales and more buyers.

3. Community-Driven Promotion

GMCanty's Premium Tee

When people buy merch, have them post their pictures in a discord channel if you have one, or ask them to email or send directly to you somehow, so that you can update the merch pictures with real time fans and followers! It is magical when your chat sees that people already have your merch, and even better when they are in the chat and see themselves on screen, it entices them to buy even more! Overall, have your chat model the merch for you, and on the backend take those pictures and place them in the respected product listings.

4. The Gifting Phenomenon

If you have the option to, make sure you have the Twitch gifting feature on. This is important because people WILL gift merch. When one person in chat buys some merch to give away to chat, not only does chat get SUPER HYPE, but it helps others get involved as well, and then they want to gift too. This can really add hundreds of dollars to your profits each month.

The Big Change: A New Path in Merchandising

I was approached in early 2022 about creator merch and saw that MKBHD aka Marques Brownlee had created his merch through Fourthwall. I was instantly sold, knowing who MKBHD is in the content world. THE REST IS HISTORY. The very first month of launching my Fourthwall store, I made more in that month than my previous merch sales on all the channels I used before combined!

What Makes A Merch Platform Exceptional?

When choosing what platform works best for you, there are some things that should be non-negotiable. Here’s what I think makes a merch platform special, and why Fourthwall fulfills my needs:

1. Community and Support

Getting quality support and a community vibe are super important. From the VERY ACTIVE Discord community, where all creators and staff come together to help each other, to the blogs they post all the time to help you make more sales and more money, Fourthwall has all the avenues covered, and you never feel alone.

2. Product Quality

You should want to wear your own products. For the last year, my ENTIRE wardrobe, even my socks and shoes, are my own clothing. Their products are TOP NOTCH.

3. Profit Margins

There should be great profit margins. I ALWAYS make anywhere from $5 - $20 in PROFIT each sale.

4. Customization Options

Customization is key to standing out. I love the fact that I can control the theme or the website, colors, pricing, literally everything on my site I have control over.

5. Gifting Feature

Giving is contagious, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THIS FEATURE ON. I have also seen that winners of the giveaways tend to gift something else or the same item to the community, as a thank you and paying it forward. This can really add hundreds of dollars to your profits each month.

The Sky's the Limit

For the first time in my streaming career, I see merch as a real way to increase your income, following, and have high quality swag you can stand by and push to your community. I am so grateful to have found Fourthwall, and now the sky's the limit, they’re just getting better and better!

You can follow me:

Good luck to you on your Fourthwall journey!

Design & sell custom products

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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to use 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:

  • Products from our product catalog. All products in our product catalog have a publicly listed flat fee, which gets deducted from the selling price you set. There are no extra percentages/margins. You keep 100% of profits.
  • Products you ship yourself. No fee (0% fee)
  • Digital products. 3% flat fee
  • Subscription memberships. 5% flat fee

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.

How much money do I make on sales from the Fourthwall catalog?

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.

Does Fourthwall ship worldwide?

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.

Does Fourthwall handle sales tax?

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.

Can I connect a custom domain to Fourthwall?

Yes. You can connect a custom domain or subdomain on Fourthwall. Learn More.

Does Fourthwall offer artwork & design support?

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.

Does Fourthwall provide customer support for my orders?

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.

Can you show me examples of storefronts on Fourthwall?

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.

What integrations does Fourthwall have?

Fourthwall supports many free integrations, including:

  • YouTube Product Shelf (Merch Shelf)
  • TikTok Shop
  • Facebook and Instagram Shopping
  • Twitch Product Gifting
  • StreamElements and Streamlabs stream alerts
  • Zapier
  • Klaviyo
  • Mailchimp
  • And many, many more

See all apps & integrations.

Are there any requirements to join Fourthwall?

There are no requirements to join Fourthwall! Sign up now.