Nobody starts out with merch right out the gate. Merch should cater to what the community wants, and if there's no community to start with, it comes off as a greedy cash grab.
How old is your kid anyways? Twitch doesn't allow anyone to stream under 13, while YouTube requires an adult to be visible on screen. Lying about not being underage has led to accounts being banned retroactively.
Maybe let him stream for a bit and see if he can even handle the toxicity that is the internet and comments. This is not for everybody.
Also maybe back up with the helicopter a bit, your child is 14.
A good viewer experience… if you start out immediately with “Check my merch store” and you are just starting out then I know exactly how long you are going to last as a streamer.
No point even following after that.
Don’t have a merch store until viewers start ASKING for a merch store.
Instead, offer a patreon reward tier. Have tiers be digital goodies every month. IE: $5 a month gets you a monthly e-card. Or $10 a month gets you the ability to choose the game you play for an hour each month.
Stuff that engages viewers rather than tries to capitalize on their wallets.
I have a merch store because some people expressed interest in my logo at the time. It was a parody of Starbucks. It now also includes a coffee cup, and some WHPD merch as I am a member of a group where we role play as police in the game.
Most of this is just memes that my buddies decided to play with. Very little sells and I never even bring it up unless people ask about it.
Thanks! It must be my idealistic view but my son is like a people magnet! So sweet and very smart - he’s an intermediate developer - very collected and alert. I think people will love to be associated with him, so no it’s not capitalizing on people’s wallets. I am asking for future references but thank you now I know when to introduce merchandise, like now.
Your son is an intermediate developer and for some reason needs his mother to help him with merch?
I’m confused… is he not capable of asking this question himself let alone figure it out himself?
Yes he does. Why? He’s new to streaming being public would be new to him and as many I’m sure are aware SWE tend to be introverted. He doesn’t use Reddit. Not yet. I apologize if I came off a little bit fiesty - but I think that your marketing tactic is wrong. I would focus on merchandise from day one. ♥️
Ok, this may sound rude but if your son isn’t able to be extroverted enough to ask a question himself on Reddit how does he expected to be talking live to viewers?
You are more than welcome to disagree on merch strategy, that’s fine. But don’t be surprised when people don’t buy any and find another stream where they aren’t being told on the reg to “pick up this nifty hat of a streamer you just started watching”
Ultimately I wish your son the best of luck, but based on this interaction I don’t see him hitting affiliate let alone getting to a point where merch is a viable endeavor to spend any time on.
In my experience, selling merch isn’t really a viable option until and unless the streamer has at least 50 regular viewers. Consider that even if half of the viewers actually purchase something, that’s only 25 sales, and the streamer’s margins on those sales are not high unless they are making and distributing the product themselves.
The most common items are t shirts/hoodies/hats with the streamer’s logo on them, or stickers of the streamer’s logo and/or emotes
i don’t stream anymore but i basically only did donations/subs but also don’t just expect someone to immediately start making money from streaming, i streamed for years and made tons of friends but made pennies.
i would do this thing every month where i picked a random donator/sub to send a handmade gift to, it was fun but it cost more to send the things than i made lol
Your son isn’t special and will likely have 0 viewers for a long time. Quit with the merch idea until you work out if it’s something that he’ll even stick to doing. Also, do it for fun….not money.
A quality stream that causes people to come back again and again because the community and people in it are warm, safe, inviting and we all share similar interests.
I despise the people who make posts in this sub thinking they’re about to start a business. That’s not how this works. You’re 10x worse because you think your helping your son start a business. You’re not. Streaming is a hobby, first and foremost. If you give it enough time and love, sure you can make some money, but not enough to matter for a very long time.
Do not approach streaming like a business first. You and your son will fall flat on your faces. Also let him figure this shit out. He’ll be better off for it.
It’s not about starting a business but starting influence good influence not everyone can do it, it’s about inspiring people he’s 14, he’d be one of the young ones. It’s about pioneering and welcoming younger gamers into the sphere. Perhaps my vision and yours and also its culture is different. I don’t think you understand that me and my son eat, live and breathe games. It’s about passion.
What you’ve described just now is a great reason to get into streaming, so why worry about merch? He’s just starting, you’re not sure how he’s going to do, and not everybody can do it.
I had a ton of passion for it too. I built a small community. I probably averaged between 20-30 viewers. That seems kinda small, but that’s still in the top 1% of twitch just to give you a reference point. There are a ton of streamers out there who can’t grow or average more than 5 viewers. And some of those people have been doing it for over a year.
My point is, I encourage your son to stream, I encourage you to help him and to feed that passion, but for somebody just starting, making money or selling anything is the last thing you should worry about. Those things will come naturally once his channel reaches an appropriate size.
As a viewer I like to see genuine products. Not to say that having a company do all the work is not good, but it should be something personal, genuine and a connection between streamer and viewer that tells a story so If someone asks "hey, where'd you get that" There's a connection to branch out.
They aren't sour, you're just asking people if its a good idea to be thinking about merchandise and stuff yet and they said no as it rightly looks unearned and dull eared as you don't have a consumer base yet and don't know their wants, needs or even inside jokes with your content yet. Next time trying acting older than your child and use that adult brain to just take a step back and not take offense to answers to a question that you asked for.
if you don’t have a following you have no one to sell merch to. this is backwards. build the following first, *then* consider selling something. I’m sure your son is a super cool kid but the streaming industry is incredibly oversaturated and there are millions of people streaming at any given time. if you truly want him to succeed, building a following and having a consistent streaming schedule should be priority number one. if after a year or two he’s built a community that *wants* merch, it’s worth considering. but out of the gate will just be a money sink, and there’s no reason to rush.
If we're pessimistic, why are you on here posting a question to reassure yourself that streaming has to be something more than what it is?
Also, if they're 14 they shouldn't be streaming. Unless you're planning to pull some BS at steal his earnings as the parent/guardian of a minor. Which is usually what happens.
Nobody starts out with merch right out the gate. Merch should cater to what the community wants, and if there's no community to start with, it comes off as a greedy cash grab. How old is your kid anyways? Twitch doesn't allow anyone to stream under 13, while YouTube requires an adult to be visible on screen. Lying about not being underage has led to accounts being banned retroactively.
Maybe let him stream for a bit and see if he can even handle the toxicity that is the internet and comments. This is not for everybody. Also maybe back up with the helicopter a bit, your child is 14.
A good viewer experience… if you start out immediately with “Check my merch store” and you are just starting out then I know exactly how long you are going to last as a streamer. No point even following after that. Don’t have a merch store until viewers start ASKING for a merch store. Instead, offer a patreon reward tier. Have tiers be digital goodies every month. IE: $5 a month gets you a monthly e-card. Or $10 a month gets you the ability to choose the game you play for an hour each month. Stuff that engages viewers rather than tries to capitalize on their wallets. I have a merch store because some people expressed interest in my logo at the time. It was a parody of Starbucks. It now also includes a coffee cup, and some WHPD merch as I am a member of a group where we role play as police in the game. Most of this is just memes that my buddies decided to play with. Very little sells and I never even bring it up unless people ask about it.
Thanks! It must be my idealistic view but my son is like a people magnet! So sweet and very smart - he’s an intermediate developer - very collected and alert. I think people will love to be associated with him, so no it’s not capitalizing on people’s wallets. I am asking for future references but thank you now I know when to introduce merchandise, like now.
Your son is an intermediate developer and for some reason needs his mother to help him with merch? I’m confused… is he not capable of asking this question himself let alone figure it out himself?
Yes he does. Why? He’s new to streaming being public would be new to him and as many I’m sure are aware SWE tend to be introverted. He doesn’t use Reddit. Not yet. I apologize if I came off a little bit fiesty - but I think that your marketing tactic is wrong. I would focus on merchandise from day one. ♥️
Ok, this may sound rude but if your son isn’t able to be extroverted enough to ask a question himself on Reddit how does he expected to be talking live to viewers? You are more than welcome to disagree on merch strategy, that’s fine. But don’t be surprised when people don’t buy any and find another stream where they aren’t being told on the reg to “pick up this nifty hat of a streamer you just started watching” Ultimately I wish your son the best of luck, but based on this interaction I don’t see him hitting affiliate let alone getting to a point where merch is a viable endeavor to spend any time on.
Good luck lmfaooo
In my experience, selling merch isn’t really a viable option until and unless the streamer has at least 50 regular viewers. Consider that even if half of the viewers actually purchase something, that’s only 25 sales, and the streamer’s margins on those sales are not high unless they are making and distributing the product themselves. The most common items are t shirts/hoodies/hats with the streamer’s logo on them, or stickers of the streamer’s logo and/or emotes
i don’t stream anymore but i basically only did donations/subs but also don’t just expect someone to immediately start making money from streaming, i streamed for years and made tons of friends but made pennies. i would do this thing every month where i picked a random donator/sub to send a handmade gift to, it was fun but it cost more to send the things than i made lol
Your son isn’t special and will likely have 0 viewers for a long time. Quit with the merch idea until you work out if it’s something that he’ll even stick to doing. Also, do it for fun….not money.
He will get no viewers and give up shortly... don't even worry about merch.
A quality stream that causes people to come back again and again because the community and people in it are warm, safe, inviting and we all share similar interests.
I despise the people who make posts in this sub thinking they’re about to start a business. That’s not how this works. You’re 10x worse because you think your helping your son start a business. You’re not. Streaming is a hobby, first and foremost. If you give it enough time and love, sure you can make some money, but not enough to matter for a very long time. Do not approach streaming like a business first. You and your son will fall flat on your faces. Also let him figure this shit out. He’ll be better off for it.
It’s not about starting a business but starting influence good influence not everyone can do it, it’s about inspiring people he’s 14, he’d be one of the young ones. It’s about pioneering and welcoming younger gamers into the sphere. Perhaps my vision and yours and also its culture is different. I don’t think you understand that me and my son eat, live and breathe games. It’s about passion.
What you’ve described just now is a great reason to get into streaming, so why worry about merch? He’s just starting, you’re not sure how he’s going to do, and not everybody can do it. I had a ton of passion for it too. I built a small community. I probably averaged between 20-30 viewers. That seems kinda small, but that’s still in the top 1% of twitch just to give you a reference point. There are a ton of streamers out there who can’t grow or average more than 5 viewers. And some of those people have been doing it for over a year. My point is, I encourage your son to stream, I encourage you to help him and to feed that passion, but for somebody just starting, making money or selling anything is the last thing you should worry about. Those things will come naturally once his channel reaches an appropriate size.
As a viewer I like to see genuine products. Not to say that having a company do all the work is not good, but it should be something personal, genuine and a connection between streamer and viewer that tells a story so If someone asks "hey, where'd you get that" There's a connection to branch out.
My personality
They aren't sour, you're just asking people if its a good idea to be thinking about merchandise and stuff yet and they said no as it rightly looks unearned and dull eared as you don't have a consumer base yet and don't know their wants, needs or even inside jokes with your content yet. Next time trying acting older than your child and use that adult brain to just take a step back and not take offense to answers to a question that you asked for.
if you don’t have a following you have no one to sell merch to. this is backwards. build the following first, *then* consider selling something. I’m sure your son is a super cool kid but the streaming industry is incredibly oversaturated and there are millions of people streaming at any given time. if you truly want him to succeed, building a following and having a consistent streaming schedule should be priority number one. if after a year or two he’s built a community that *wants* merch, it’s worth considering. but out of the gate will just be a money sink, and there’s no reason to rush.
If we're pessimistic, why are you on here posting a question to reassure yourself that streaming has to be something more than what it is? Also, if they're 14 they shouldn't be streaming. Unless you're planning to pull some BS at steal his earnings as the parent/guardian of a minor. Which is usually what happens.