Use livestreaming & merch alerts to maximize sales on YouTube in 2020

Livestreaming is quickly becoming one of the most effective ways to increase viewer engagement and merch sales on YouTube. In fact, over 2 million people have purchased digital products like Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Channel Memberships on the platform since March 2020, and many of those purchases occurred during livestreams. YouTube has recently announced another livestreaming feature exclusively available for Teespring users to help increase channel monetization even more: live merch alerts!

 

 

Activating live merch alerts

In order to utilize this new feature, you’ll need to set up the Teespring x YouTube merch shelf integration first. The merch shelf enables you to display and sell merch directly below your YouTube videos and take advantage of powerful features like channel stores, merch end cards, and more. Once your merch shelf is activated, anytime a viewer purchases one of your products during a livestream, a real-time alert will automatically appear in chat. This alert verifies someone has purchased your merch, displays an image of the product, and links to the listing so other viewers can purchase it too. Live merch alerts are visible to viewers in all eligible countries, so not only are customers generating social proof with each purchase, they’re also helping to promote your products during the livestream as well. 

 

How to increase sales while streaming

YouTube reports channels that livestream weekly can increase new subscriptions by up to 40% and channel watch-time by up to 70%—so give streaming a try! If you aren’t eligible for the merch shelf (and live merch alerts) right now, don’t worry; there are still plenty of ways you can increase your sales by livestreaming on YouTube. Check out the top ways YouTube creators are engaging viewers and supercharging merch sales in 2020 below: 

• Samples: Currently Teespring creators are using samples to increase sales by up to 50%. When combined with livestreams, this can be an extremely effective promotional technique. Order samples of your merch ahead of time and wear them while streaming to get viewers excited about your products. 
• Limited time promo codes: Another great way to drive sales and engagement while streaming is to offer promo codes that expire in a short amount of time (like after the livestream ends). You can create promo codes instantly in your Teespring account to share on stream.
• Limited edition merch: Announcing limited edition merch during a livestream is also very effective. Set a scheduled end date to offer the product for a limited amount of time to create FOMO and make the purchasing experience memorable. If you’re planning a merch drop, make sure to update the listing’s visibility setting to ‘public’ three days ahead of time so your products can be featured on your merch shelf.
• Pin merch in chat (merch shelf required): Pinning merch in chat during your livestream enables you to share products in an engaging way by highlighting them for all viewers on the stream. It’s also extremely effective for driving sales when combined with samples, promo codes, and limited edition merch drops.
• Live merch alerts (merch shelf required): Merch alerts appear in real time as you stream. When someone purchases your merch, an alert features a product image and link so other viewers can purchase it too. Live merch alerts are ideal for generating social proof and encouraging even more sales on your stream.

 

Visit your dashboard now to check out available integrations.