Product Updates: New Tools to Prepare for Your Livestream
Welcome to our first blog post from the Whatnot Product Team, where we’ll share announcements, new features, and ways to use existing tools to grow your business on Whatnot.
Since Whatnot started we’ve always seen a rise in new buyers and sellers at the start of the year, but this January we saw our biggest growth ever in new sellers, and first-time buyers grew at 10 times the rate of first-time sellers. That’s great news for both new and experienced sellers.
It's been incredible watching so many of you go live for the first time, having fun with your first chatters, and making your first sale – but we know that along with that fun comes plenty of hard work and sometimes even a bit of nerves as you prepare for your first show. While we released more than a feature a day last month, below are three new tools to help you feel confident and prepared heading into your livestream, plus tips to help both new and experienced sellers succeed.
Rehearsal Mode
Learning how to use all the seller tools on Whatnot can take time, and no one wants to figure out how everything works while live – especially if you’re starting your first show with special inventory, or you’re making a big push to bring your followers from social media.
Rehearsal Mode is a new in-app simulator for new sellers to practice going live. Accessible via the new Seller Hub on iOS, it features pre-populated demo products to run auctions on, including simulated bids. Rehearsal Mode also takes you through a guided tour of the features in live by using simulated chat messages, tooltips, and tap indicators. It's a great way to make sure you look polished and put together when you first go live, and going forward it will be a great way to test out new features we release.
Show Management
Live selling is powerful because of the interactivity between sellers and buyers and the energy that generates – but it can be overwhelming trying to keep up with everything going on and getting the next items ready for sale. Our new show management feature set is a game changer for sellers and their mods. You’ll never have to miss out on notifications or important events like tips, offers, or raids during your shows. You can also view:
Chat filters: To help sellers and mods spot important messages more easily, current filters include Questions, Buyers, Mods, and Muted messages.
Viewer list: Wondering who’s watching your stream, and what they’re doing in your stream? See Friends, Host & Mods, and Top Buyers, giving you a clearer view of your audience.
Show stats: Say goodbye to constant Seller Hub refreshing or manually tracking your sales. Our new Show Stats gives real-time access to your show’s statistics, including orders and sales, allowing you to focus on your stream and viewers.
First Week Sales Match
You’ve been selling on marketplaces for years, but you’re nervous that it’s a lot of work to get set up to go live. Fear not, we’re here to help your first week go great. Whatnot offers a cash match on the first $150 of sales for all new sellers who attend an onboarding Zoom. Sellers must stream for a min of two hours and sell to five unique buyers to qualify.
Tips to Succeed as a Whatnot Seller
You’ve signed up and made a few sales - what are the key things to focus on as you scale your business?
Tip 1: Having a Schedule and Building Followers Early is Key
Sellers who go live at least once a week at a regular time see 20% more success in their first three months on Whatnot compared to those who go live more often/for longer but irregularly.
Bootstrap your audience by marketing your shows on social media using our referrals program and you and they will both get free cash to spend on Whatnot! Check out https://www.whatnot.com/dashboard/referrals for your unique link and to track your credits.
Using Promote Tools within the app can help drive 80-140% extra impressions during the promoted time. Currently, we offer two Promote Tools, Show Boost and Show Promotion.
Show Boost is a 15-minute boost of visibility to your show. Show Boost is great for highlighting special moments in your show.
Show Promotion drives a steady stream of impressions to your show throughout a duration of time you specify using a budget that you set. Show Promotion is great for keeping up a critical mass of impressions to your show from beginning to end.
An investment of as little as $25 on either Show Boost or Show Promotion can help set you up for long-term success
Tip 2: Live Listings Help Buyers Understand Your Show
The most common behavior for new buyers in your show is to check your store tab and see the types of products you sell. Having 50+ live listings in your store increases buyer conversion.
Tip 3: Free Shipping for New Buyers Works
When setting up your show, you have the option to cover shipping costs for your new buyers and shows that have free shipping are highlighted to buyers on our discovery surfaces. In 2023 sellers offering free shipping had 5-7 times more first-time buyers than sellers who did not. Orders per seller and total sales per seller were also higher.
We’ll continue to post product updates and insights on ways to grow and manage your business on Whatnot. Check back here for our monthly roundups and more!
– Whatnot Product Team