Twitch promo guide

With a community of 15 million fans, Twitch is a powerful social platform for sharing products in real-time on livestream. Spring is one of the only platforms that enables you to create subscriber-exclusive products to sell via Twitch as well—you can require fans to verify their subscriber status to access your exclusive product releases.

Set up merch store extension

The Spring x Twitch merch store panel extension offers a fully integrated shopping experience (check out video). Your community can use the extension to purchase your products without leaving your livestream. Whenever you create new products, they’ll appear in your panel within 15 minutes. Customize products displayed on your panel within your Spring account in the “Integrations” tab. Your products will be visible to international fans, and products can be shipped worldwide. 

 

Activate custom merch alerts

Set up custom Streamlabs OBS alerts within the ‘Integrations’ section of your dashboard (learn how). Once you’ve activated custom alerts, fans can create personalized messages post-purchase that are visible to you and all viewers on your livestream. This real-time notification appears in chat and encourages their fans to purchase your products and get a shout out from you. Live merch alerts are available on every streaming platform integrated with Streamlabs—including YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Facebook Gaming, and more.

Create a merch command

Using a !merch command is a “must” when promoting on Twitch. Creating a command will enable you to easily direct people to your store via chat. Use a chatbot like Nightbot, Mootbod, StreamElements, etc. to create the command. Your merch command should always link to your merch store URL (you can use tracking links like bitly too). You’ll also want to include a call to action like CHECK OUT MY NEW STORE, NEW PRODUCTS JUST ARRIVED, CLICK FOR NEWEST PRODUCTS, etc.  

Also add additional content like a link to a clip of you showing off products too. If you’re releasing a limited-edition product, create a custom command like !shirt to feature in the launch video. You may also want to automate your merch command to post within chat to remind your community to check out your products.  

In this example you can see entering @Pestily’s !merch command in chat produces a link to his merch store with additional text.

Optimize stream title

Whenever you’re announcing new products we recommend mentioning ‘NEW MERCH’ at the beginning of your stream title. You should also regularly add your merch command towards the end of titles. Optimizing titles will make your products more discoverable to people browsing through streams. Plus adding the merch command at the end reminds viewers how they can learn more about your products.

Above, you can see the @FireDragon calls out his limited edition product and features a custom !shirt command he created for it.

Announce product releases live

Try creating hype leading up to a new launch to drive more sales in the first 24 hours. Examples of creating hype include hinting at ‘something big’ coming up while streaming or that you’ve got limited-edition new products launching soon. Loyal viewers will be anxious to know what the big news is, and you can plan to make the announcement on stream the day of your launch.

Spring tip: If you’re running a promotion or have mentioned a new product launch in your stream, provide a link directly to the listing, rather than your store URL. It removes one step for the fan, and has been shown to almost double conversion rates, meaning more completed sales (easy win).

You can schedule an end date on any of your listings to make products available for a limited time. Also consider doing a giveaway of one of your new products or a limited-time discount to increase viewership.

@FireDragon is a great example of on-stream merch promotion. Check out the clip above where he announces his new store—not only does give a complete virtual tour of the store, but he also discusses specific items and designs. His viewers get more and more excited in chat as he talks about each one.

Wear your products

Wearing samples of your products on stream and in promotional content can increase your sales by 50%. It’s a great way to show off your products without specifically calling them out. You can order samples of your products at base cost and have them delivered directly to you. 

Create a store panel

In addition to activating the merch store extension, consider creating a custom panel for your products linking directly to your store. If you need help creating channel panels, here’s an example of a design tutorial plus our top recommended design resources.

Add overlays and BRB screens

Adding a merch overlay is a good way to keep your products top of mind, without creating distraction from your content. Build your overlay with product images and/or a merch command. Overlays are good for letting lurkers know about your products even if they’re not engaged with chat. 

Get into the habit of featuring products in your stream intro, outro and BRB screens. Fans waiting for your stream to start or for you to return from a bathroom break is the perfect time for them to browse your store. 😏  Include mockups of your products (or images of you with them), your store URL, merch command and/or a call to action like “Check out official merch!” too. 

In this example we can see @Patterz has incorporated his !merch command as well as product mockups into his intro screen.

Create crowd-sourced designs

Creating crowd-sourced designs on stream is an effective way to engage viewers and drive sales—you can even create the product on stream. Because viewers are actively involved in the design and creation of the product they’re more likely to purchase it.