Hey there! I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Making and selling stream overlays is a great side-hustle to use your graphic design skills. In this post we’ll cover where to sell stream overlays and tips on marketing them effectively.
If you’re looking to sell stream overlays, consider using a marketplace like Creative Market or GraphicRiver for wider reach. If you already have an existing following, sell overlays directly on your website for higher profit margins. You can also offer custom design services on Fiverr or Upwork for more active income.
Where to sell stream overlays will depend on whether you want to offer design-to-order services to customers or pre-made designs that offer a hands-off sales process.
Selling Stream Overlays on Marketplaces
Selling stream overlays on marketplaces allows you to create and upload designs then, rely on the platform to sell to their customer base. This means that once uploaded, you don’t have to do anything other than wait for the sales to roll in (if you’ve done everything right). Selling on marketplaces is a great idea if you don’t have a following of your own.
Good marketplaces to sell stream overlays include:
Choosing the marketplace route will net you less profit than selling directly as they will take a cut of the profits. However, since their customer base is so large you’ll likely come out on top unless you already have a large following. If that’s the case then invest in selling directly to them via your website or an e-commerce platform.
Selling on marketplaces is a great idea if you don’t have a following of your own.
A downside to selling on marketplaces is that there is a lot of competition so pay attention to quality and trends to stay ahead. Your aim is to be as high on the search results page as possible which will be a combination of how well you’ve written your listing and how popular your product is.
Selling Stream Overlays Directly
Selling stream overlays directly will usually result in more profit than using a marketplace once you sell enough to cover your overheads. These overheads will include somewhere to host your files and sales pages such as a website or e-commerce platform and also marketing costs.
Each sale should result in more profit when compared to a marketplace meaning that you need fewer sales to break even. However, as a trade-off, you will need to generate your own sales!
When selling directly, you will have to take care of your own marketing. This can either be to an existing following you may have, such as through your social media accounts or an email list you have built. The alternative is to market directly to other audiences with paid ads (eg: Facebook or Google AdSense) or promote on forums and groups.
Sell Stream Overlays on Social Media
Targeting potential customers through social media can be tricky if they are not part of your own audience. Work needs to be done to build trust before someone will buy from you.
If selling though a forum such as Reddit, you may need to be a long-standing contributor before mods will allow you to post a sales pitch. There are a variety of groups, channels and hashtags on a lot of social media platforms for selling overlays and some of the more popular ones are:
If you want to sell on your own website then you will need to make sure you have a method for driving visitor traffic to your sales pages.
One way is to rely on some epic SEO (search engine optimization) to bring in the traffic from search engines. However, this will require building up some significant content on the website and/or strong relationships until you are an authority in the space. This will be very time-consuming but once done is the most passive to maintain.
A quicker way is running paid ads on Facebook or Google AdSense and better way if you don’t have the visitor traffic yet. It does require constant investment, time, trial and error but the results can be a lot faster.
Once an effective ad strategy has been developed, this can be scaled to increase sales. To get to that point will require a lot of trial and error and learning what works and what doesn’t.
If you’re successfully attracting potential customers you will still need to host the files that you want to sell. For more information on that, check out my post on How to Host a File for Download the Right Way.
E-commerce Platforms
If you don’t have a website, you can opt to use an e-commerce platform. These can host your sales pages and sometimes the files as well. They will also take care of payment processing, file delivery and make for a slick user-experience. You will still need to drive traffic to your sales pages yourself though. If you have a website already it is also easy to integrate one of the platforms with it.
Examples of e-commerce platforms to sell stream overlays on include:
E-commerce platforms typically require a fee but there are some options to get you started for free. Check out my post How to Sell Digital Products for Free for more information.
Where to Sell Stream Overlay Design Services
Selling pre-made stream overlays on marketplaces is great if you are looking for a passive income that doesn’t require trading time for money. However, if you are happy to put in more continuous effort, you may find yourself earning more by providing custom design services for stream overlays.
The most popular platforms for selling design services are Fiverr and Upwork. You can list your services and design stream overlays to order for a fixed fee. Designers will typically offer one or two revision loops for customers to alter what you come up with. Needless to say it is a lot more effort but once you build up a history of happy clients (and ratings) you can charge a lot more. This can take some time so you’ll need to be prepared to stick with it.
Why Are Stream Overlays Profitable?
Selling stream overlays can be profitable for several reasons:
High demand: Streaming has become increasingly popular in recent years, and many streamers are looking for ways to make their streams look more professional and stand out from the competition.
Repeat customers: Once a streamer finds an overlay they like, they may use it for a long time and may even come back to purchase additional overlays or other design elements.
Low overhead costs: Creating stream overlays typically doesn’t require a lot of expensive equipment or materials, which means that the costs of creating them are relatively low. This allows for a good profit margin when selling them.
Flexible pricing: As a creator, you can set your own prices for your overlays and can adjust them based on the complexity of the design and the amount of time it takes to create. This gives you the flexibility to earn more for higher-end designs.
Scalability: You can sell your stream overlays to multiple customers, meaning you can earn money from each sale and scale up your business.
Overall, selling stream overlays can be a profitable way to use your design skills to serve a growing market.
How to Market and Promote Stream Overlays
Marketing stream overlays can be a bit different than marketing other products, as it requires a knowledge of the streaming community and the platforms they use. Here are some strategies for marketing them:
Utilize social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to reach out to streamers and promote your overlays.
Create a stream overlay showcase, where you can show off different examples of your customizable overlays and how they can be personalized. YouTube and Twitch are good places for this.
Create a website or landing page to promote your customizable overlays, including a portfolio of your work and detailed information about the customization process if that’s what you offer.
Partner with popular streamers to create custom overlays for them and showcase the finished product on their streams.
Use online marketplaces like Etsy, Creative Market, or Envato to list and sell your overlays. Some of these will allow you to create a store page.
Run paid ads to your sales pages. This is great if you don’t have your own audience. You’ll pay more for focused targeting of customers so experiment on platforms such as Facebook Ads with what works.
Whatever you choose to do, it’s important to be active in the streaming community and to connect with other streamers and designers. This can help you build a reputation and get your overlays in front of potential customers. Additionally, consider offering discounts or promotions, as well as creating video tutorials or guides to help streamers to use and customize your overlays.
How Much to Charge For Stream Overlays
Like any other product, you can either compete on price or quality. I would always advise to aim for a high quality product but with competitive pricing. It doesn’t have to be “a race to the bottom” on pricing. Just make sure you’re in the right ballpark and let your product sell itself after that. That being said, it’s never a bad idea to have the occasional sale or upsell available.
Tips for Pricing Stream Overlays Competitively
Pricing stream overlays can be a bit tricky, as it depends on several factors such as the complexity of the design, the level of customization offered and the market demand. Here are some tips on how to price your stream overlays if you’re either selling on a marketplace or directly:
Research your competition: Look at what other designers are charging for similar stream overlays and use that as a starting point for your pricing.
Factor in the time and resources: Consider how much time and resources it took to create the overlay, including design, testing, and customer support. This will help you determine a fair price for your work.
Consider the level of customization: If you offer a high level of customization, you can charge more for your overlays, as it will take more time and resources to create them.
Offer different pricing options: Offer different pricing options for your overlays, such as basic, premium, and custom. This will allow customers to choose the option that best suits their needs and budget.
Be flexible: Be willing to negotiate on price, especially if a customer is interested in purchasing multiple overlays.
Test your prices: Test different price points to see what works best and adjust accordingly.
Evaluate the demand: Check the demand for the type of overlays you are selling and adjust your prices accordingly. If the demand is high, you can charge more, while if the demand is low, you may need to lower your prices.
Be transparent: Be transparent about your pricing, and clearly communicate any costs associated with customization or additional services.
If you are offering something different from your competitors and this is reflected in your pricing, make sure to make clear the benefits in your listing or sales page.
Overall, it’s important to strike a balance between pricing your overlays competitively and ensuring that you’re being fairly compensated for your work. Remember to regularly review your prices and adjust them as necessary.
Typical Prices for Stream Overlays
Average prices between marketplaces differ considerably due to quality and complexity of stream overlays listed but also the number of items included in each product.
It’s important to understand your skill level and select the marketplace suited to the level of quality you are able to create.
Then, check the sale prices of the competition and what kind of items they are bundling together.
As an example, stream overlays on VideoHive will do better if they are animated. Those sold on GraphicRiver and Creative Market need to be of higher quality than those on Etsy or Deviant Art.
Check out the chart below which shows the average sale price of the 10 most popular stream overlays on each marketplace (correct at the time of writing).
Average pricing based on ten bestselling stream overlays per marketplace at time of writing
As shown in the chart, the average sale price on VideoHive is significantly higher (over $30) than other marketplaces due to the fact that there are a lot of animated stream overlays that take a longer time to produce. Deviant Art on the other hand is the opposite with a lot of lower quality 2D stream overlays listed for much lower sales prices ($5 on average).
Conclusion
Your choice on where to sell your stream overlays will depend on the quality of product you are able to produce and whether you already have an existing audience. Selling directly to this audience will usually be more profitable than using a marketplace.
If choosing a marketplace, make sure you assess competitor products and pricing and you’ll stand a good chance of success.
Stream overlays are graphic elements that are displayed on top of a live video stream, and are particular popular on platforms that stream gaming. They can include things like a webcam frame, information about the streamer, and other graphics that add visual interest to the stream. Stream overlays are often used by professional streamers to make their streams look more polished and to provide information to viewers.
What platforms use stream overlays?
Popular platforms that use stream overlays include Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming, Trovo. Instead of using these platform’s native streaming software, streamers may decide to use their favorite broadcast software instead. Popular ones that support overlays include OBS, StreamElements, Streamlabs, XSplit, Lightstream.
What types of stream overlay are there?
Stream overlays include several different types of graphics / functions to provide interest to viewers, communicate statuses or show the streamer’s webcam. The main overlay types are: Stream Background, Webcam Overlay, Header Overlay, Stream Labels, Stream Alerts, Stinger Transition, Stream Screens (Stream Starting Soon, Stream Ended, Intermission, Be Right Back, Offline)
How much should I charge for a twitch overlay?
Prices can vary significantly depending on the quality and type of stream overlay. Expect to charge around $30 for a high-quality animated overlay bundle and $5 for a lower quality 2D overlay.
Where do streamers get their overlays?
Streamers may opt for custom overlays through Fiverr, Upwork or social media. They also typically get their overlays from marketplaces such as Own3D and Nerd or Die but they do not allow independent creators to list their products. Marketplaces that do include GraphicRiver, VideoHive, Create Market and Etsy.
