Bonfire and YouTube have joined forces to bring you the very best experience for selling custom merch on your YouTube channel! Bonfire is the easiest online platform to design, sell, and order premium custom products, and our YouTube Merch Shelf integration makes it possible for you to promote and sell your Bonfire products on your YouTube channel, instantly. If you’re a verified creator on Bonfire, you can now offer content your followers love and merch they love, too, all in one place.
Helpful tip:
For more information on how to become a verified creator on Bonfire, check out this article!
What is YouTube Merch Shelf?
YouTube’s Merch Shelf allows your subscribers to easily buy your Bonfire merch straight from your YouTube channel. Once enabled, Merch Shelf will showcase your merch underneath your YouTube videos and live streams. Your subscribers can click on these items to learn more, browse, and purchase your custom merch.
With Bonfire and YouTube’s incredible powers combined, you’ll be selling custom merch to your subscribers in no time! Let’s learn how to set up your YouTube Merch Shelf and integrate your Bonfire campaign.
Check If Your YouTube Channel is Eligible for Merch Shelf
Before we discuss how to set up and customize your YouTube Merch Shelf, let’s find out if your channel is eligible. To use the Merch Shelf, your channel has to meet the following requirements:
- Your channel is approved for monetization.
- Your channel is based in a country where the YouTube Partner Program is available.
- If your channel is a music channel, it has to be an Official Artist Channel. If it’s not a music channel, it needs to have more than 1,000 subscribers.
- Your channel’s audience is not set as Made For Kids, and your channel does not have a significant number of videos set as Made For Kids.
- Your channel does not have a significant number of videos that violate YouTube’s Channel Monetization Policies.
- Your channel has not received any Hate Speech Community Guideline Strikes.
If your YouTube channel meets all of these eligibility requirements – YAY! You’re good to move forward with the installation and setup process.
Connect Your YouTube Account to Bonfire
Next, let’s check out how to integrate your YouTube and Bonfire accounts so you can display the merch in your Bonfire campaign on your YouTube Merch Shelf for all your subscribers to check out!
To Integrate Your YouTube Account:
- Sign in to Bonfire and begin from your Dashboard Overview page.
- Expand the “Creator Hub” section in the left sidebar and click on the “Integrations” tab.
- You will see YouTube pop up as an option to connect with. Go ahead and click the “Connect” button next to where you see YouTube listed.
- Next, you will be asked to input your channel ID. Type your channel ID in the answer box and then click the “Connect” button directly underneath. (Please note that integrations may take up to 48 hours to complete and be fully active.)
How to find your YouTube channel ID: Log in to your YouTube account, open your settings by clicking on your profile photo, and copy your channel ID found in your Advanced Settings.
Now that your YouTube and Bonfire accounts are linked, your Merch Shelf request will be sent to YouTube. Once approved, you can finish setting up and customizing your Merch Shelf on your YouTube account!
It’s as easy as:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio.
- In the left Menu, click Monetization.
- Select the Shopping tab. You’ll only see this option if your channel is eligible.
- To turn Merch Shelf on for your channel, you’ll need to link Bonfire. You should see “Bonfire” appear as a linkable option under Shopping once you have done the following:
- Integrated your YouTube and Bonfire accounts
- Launched a Bonfire campaign that has been live for at least 48 hrs
- Once you have linked Bonfire, follow the simple on-screen instructions.
Edit and Customize Your YouTube Merch Shelf
You can make edits to your Merch Shelf from your YouTube account page. On your Merch Shelf, you can display up to 12 products at a time. You have the ability to choose the merch you would like to feature on your shelf as well as the order that they will appear. We recommend featuring your new products or your most popular products in the list first.
You also have the ability to select specific merch you want to be displayed under specific videos if you would like. You can edit your Merch Shelf for individual videos or for your entire channel! Finally, you can choose to turn on, pause, or turn off your Merch Shelf whenever you would like.
As you can see, it’s simple to set up your Merch Shelf with Bonfire! Hopefully, you’re feeling empowered to go ahead and link your accounts and see what you can accomplish by selling your Bonfire merch on your YouTube Merch Shelf!
You can learn even more about YouTube Merch Shelf here.
Written by: Hayden Ireland / Content Specialist
Illustrated by: Madison Summers / Lead Marketing Designer
