Promoting Your Livestream

Promote is an easy-to-use tool that boosts your livestream’s visibility in the app. You can select which livestream to promote and then enter a bid amount. When a spot is available to promote the stream, the bid amount and the frequency of past promotions will determine which livestream will be boosted. 

If you win a promotion, your livestream will be boosted to one of the top tiles in your selling category (e.g., Pokémon) for 15 minutes while you're live. Note: This does not guarantee you will secure the #1 spot in your selling category.

The Promote tool is only available for livestreams in the following categories:

• Trading Card Games
• Vintage and Thrift Clothing
• LEGO
• Sports
• Coins and Money

Livestream Promotion Guidelines

We are not limiting the number of promotions a show can receive. However, the frequency of promotions does affect the priority and chance of winning the next spot. 

We suggest sellers limit the number of promotions to at most two per hour to maximize the chance of winning the next spot.  

Promoting Your Livestream on Mobile

1. Open the Whatnot app on your mobile device. 
2. Schedule and open the livestream you want to promote. 
3. Tap the three-dot icon at far right.
   
   
4. Tap Promote.
   
   
5. Toggle on Promote your Show. 
   
6. Enter the desired Bid Amount in the field provided. 
7. Tap Confirm.
   

You’ll know that you’ve won the promotion once you go live via a banner that appears at the top of your screen. If you won, your livestream will be promoted to users for 15 minutes. A similar banner will appear when your promotion has ended.

Promoting Your Livestream on Web

1. Go to whatnot.com in your web browser. 
2. Schedule and open the livestream you want to promote. 
3. Click the More three-dot icon at the bottom of your stream.
   
   
4. Select Promote.
   
   
5. Toggle on Promote your Show. 
   
6. Enter the desired Bid Amount in the field provided. We suggest a bid between $2 and $5. 
7. Tap Confirm. 

You’ll know that you’ve won the promotion once you go live via a banner that appears at the top of your screen. If you won, your livestream will be promoted to users for 15 minutes. A similar banner will appear when your promotion has ended. 

How Promotion Bidding Works

When placing a bid to promote your livestream, we recommend using the suggested or recommended bid. However, you can bid up to $100 and as low as $1. 

All bids made will be deducted from your payments ledger. You will only be charged if your bid wins and your livestream is promoted

We cannot guarantee your livestream will be promoted to the #1 spot in your selling category.  Promotion priority and order are determined based on your bid amount relative to other bids in your category going live at the same time. 

Viewing Promoted Streams

Promoted livestreams will appear at the top of a category's list of livestream. 

To see which livestreams have been promoted, look for the Sponsored text in the livestream thumbnail under the title. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Which categories can I promote a show in?

The Promote tool is available for livestreams in any of the following categories:

• Trading Card Games
• Vintage and Thrift Clothing
• LEGO
• Sports
• Coins and Money

If you are interested in getting notified when we expand to more categories, fill out this form.

Where will my livestream be promoted?

At this time, a livestream will be promoted in the top tile of the category feed associated with that livestream (e.g., Pokemon).

If you make the highest bid among all Whatnot promotions at the time, your livestream may also be promoted in the parent category (e.g., Trading Card Games). Note this is not a guaranteed promotion location and is subject to change in future updates. 

Can I promote for longer than 15 minutes?

At this time, we are only allowing bids for 15-minute increments. This is to ensure boosting is available and equitable for all sellers.

However, once you are live, you can go in and re-promote your livestream for another 15 minutes. If you are the highest bidder, then your livestream will be promoted as long as you stay live. 

Note: The frequency of promotions does affect the priority and chance of winning the next spot. 

Can I choose when I am promoted?

No. Your livestream will be promoted when you go live and when you’ve submitted (and won) the promotion bid.  

Can I see how my livestream performance changes when my livestream is promoted?

We have a Seller Ad Analytics dashboard. You can access it by going to Profile > Seller Analytics > Ad Analytics tab. This is available only on the web.

Can I stop my promotion at any time?

Yes. Follow the same steps used to promote your livestream and toggle off the Promote your show setting anytime before the promotion occurs.  Once the promotion starts, however, you will be unable to turn off this feature and you will be charged for the promotion.