Ways To Make Money On Twitch

Twitch, without a doubt, is the leading platform for streamers and is one of the best sources to make money online. Many were surprised and shocked to know that one of the top gamers Tyler Blevins reportedly earned over $1 million with a few hours of gaming as part of EA’s Apex Legend launch.

Naturally, this makes a whole lot of people, especially gamers and streamers who are already on Twitch try their own luck and see how much they can make on Twitch.

The best part is that there are multiple ways to make money on this platform and this article throws light on most of such ways.

So, read on…

How To Make Money On Twitch?

Here are some of the most popular ways to make money on Twitch:

• Donations
• Youtube
• Patreon
• Affiliate Marketing
• Brands Sponsorship
• Merchandise
• Subscriptions
• Twitch Bits
• Game Sales
• Ad Revenue

When exactly does Twitch pay you?

Once you begin earning on Twitch, the platform will pay you every 15 days provided your account balance is more than $100.

Buy Twitch Viewers

Ways To Make Money On Twitch Without Being a Partner

Let me begin by saying that as a beginner it is extremely difficult to make money on Twitch. It is nearly impossible to earn anything through subscriptions, Twitch Bits, game sales, or ads till you become a Twitch Affiliate or Partner. Not just this, there’s absolutely no scope of earning anything from sponsorships or merchandise because you do not have a large following when you are starting out on this platform.

However, it does not mean that you cannot earn anything without being a Twitch partner. Listed below are the best 4 ways to grow your earnings on Twitch:

• Donations
• Patreon
• YouTube
• Affiliate marketing 

Let’s find out more about each of these in a little bit of detail.

1. Donations

It is not uncommon for Twitch users and followers to support their favorite streamers by donating money or offering tips. Even though you are not allowed to accept Twitch Bits till you become an affiliate of Twitch partner, you can accept donations through a third-party service.

What you can do is you can add a Donate button to your channel and integrate it with services such as Paypal, Streamlabs, Muxy, Donorbox, etc., and accept donations through them.

Now, there are two ways in which you can make it easy for your viewers to donate.

• First of all, you can add a donate panel in the About Me section of your profile.
• Secondly, you can also add a donation link in the chat with the help of services such as those offered by Nightbot and Moobot.

Another way to increase your donations is by selling “in-stream” services. For instance, if you are good at singing, you could record a song in lieu of donations. One of the most interesting things that I have seen gamers do in return for a donation is to drop their armor for a limited period of time. This not only makes him win a good donation but also tends to make the game even more exciting.

2. Youtube

Youtube represents another great opportunity for you to make make money with streaming. What you can actually do is you can upload the best parts of your stream to your Youtube channel. By doing so, you can begin earning money through Youtube ads.

You can also try uploading gaming compilations, interesting and funny clips from your stream or even new content to get more views.

Even though it might take a little bit of effort to start earning money through Youtube just like Twitch, one of the most important benefits of putting up content on Youtube is that you could attract more followers to your Twitch stream or channel. For this, you must make sure that you link back to your Twitch stream from your video descriptions.

And I must say that this is something that a lot of Twitch streamers do.

There are a couple of reasons behind this.

• First and foremost, Twitch does not provide many ways to attract new viewers.
• Secondly and more importantly, Youtube also comes with a lot of other interesting features such as related video suggestions, personal recommendations for viewers, etc. and this tends to increase your scope of getting more followers.
• No wonder, some of the most successful streamers tend to post content daily on Youtube.

3. Patreon

If you have ever tried making money on Twitch you would agree with me that it isn’t easy to do so initially when you don’t have many followers. Not just this, it is also not possible to take benefit of Twitch subscriptions until you become an affiliate.

But Patreon represents a good opportunity wherein you can incentivize your regular viewers to donate money on Patreon in lieu of rewards that you give them. For instance, in exchange for their donations, you could give them important gaming tips and tricks or you could upload exclusive video content for them.

If you decide to go this way, you need to add a link to your Patreon page in your Twitch profile description. Furthermore, you need to promote Patreon rewards to your users while streaming.

4. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is not just one of the best but also the most popular ways to make money online. People who work online often make websites and other digital assets and earn money by way of commissions through the sale of various products.

In a nutshell, affiliate marketing is the process of promoting online offers are getting a fee or commission on everything that you help sell.

Amazon Associates is one of the most well-known affiliate marketing programs with literally millions of affiliates around the world.

Some of the other popular affiliate programs that Twitch streamers can be a part of include Play Asia and LootCrate.

As far as Amazon Associates is concerned, you need to set up Amazon Blacksmith Extension to promote links while streaming.

Furthermore, you can also promote your affiliate links in your social media profiles within the chat. For this purpose, you will need a chatbot.

How To Make Money on Twitch With a Regular Audience

When your regular audience grows, then it becomes far easier to make money on Twitch. As you built up a regular audience you can make money not just with the ways mentioned above but also through two other ways that could include:

• Brand Sponsorships
• Merchandise

1. Brand Sponsorships

In order to get sponsorship deals all that you need is a large and engaged audience that keeps coming back to you for fresh and interesting content every time you begin streaming. It’s worth noting that you don’t need to be a Twitch Affiliate or Partner to grab such sponsorship deals.

The best part is that when you have a sizable audience you can literally promote anything to them including gaming hardware and other products, fashion brands, drinks, musical instruments, etc.

Even though brands themselves reach out to streamers who want to promote their stuff, there’s nothing that hinders you from approaching them directly to grab a sponsorship deal. In other words, you can pitch them directly without any hesitation.

Over and above, there are some services that help set up sponsorship deals between brands and streamers. You can use their services too. Some such services include PowerSpike and HelloGamers.

2. Merchandise

Yet another excellent way to make money with your engaged audience is by selling them merchandise such as t-shirts, stickers, mugs, hoodies, laptop cases, etc. I see a lot of streamers doing that.

• In such a case, you need to set up a Shopify store
• Use a print-on-demand app such as Printify or Printful
• You can also make money in this way through dropshipping.

You can either use a tool such as Canva or Hatchful to create designs or you can hire the services of a designer for creating interesting pieces of merchandise. Fiverr and Upwork are some platforms from where you can hire such designers.

How To Get Paid on Twitch As An Affiliate

In order to become an affiliate on Twitch, you need to meet the following criteria:

• You should have at least 50 followers
• You should have broadcast at least 500 minutes over the past 30 days
• You should have broadcast on at least 7 unique days
• You should have an average of 3 or more concurrent viewers

As you become a Twitch Affiliate, you can make money through a couple of other ways that include:

• Subscriptions
• Twitch bits
• Game sales

1. Subscriptions

One of the most interesting things about Twitch is that it allows viewers to subscribe to their favorite affiliates and access exclusive perks for a monthly subscription.

Most subscribers get access to exclusive chat rooms, subscribers-only streams, unique emoticons, and discounts on various merchandise offered by the streamer.

Typically, there are 3 kinds of subscriptions that come for a price of $4.99, $9.99, and $24.99 per month. Each tier offers a different level of benefits.

And the best part is that Twitch Affiliates get 50% of these earnings. No wonder, subscriptions are a major part of the earnings of streamers.

2. Twitch Bits

Becoming a Twitch affiliate opens up a lot of earning potential for you, even if you’re a small streamer you can make a good amount of money with this program. One way through which you can earn money is through Twitch Bits. These are donations that you can accept directly from your viewers through this platform.

In order to pay you Twitch Bits, viewers must first either purchase them or earn them by watching ads or by filling out surveys. I must mention here that bits come in various sizes and colors.

Bits can be defined as virtual cheers or tips that viewers give to streamers in the chat when they like or love a stream and want to appreciate and support the streamer.

It is interesting to note that Twitch Affiliates get $0.01 for every bit that they receive from viewers. Even though it does not sound much, it can add up to a good amount over time, especially when your audience grows in strength.

3. Game Sales

Finally, as a Twitch Affiliate, you can also earn money by selling games on your channel.

In order to sell games, what you need to do in the first place is to stream yourself playing a game that is available in the Twitch store. As you do so, your profile will automatically begin to display a “Buy Now” button so that viewers can purchase the game or other add-ons related to the game.

It’s worth noting that Twitch Affiliates are eligible to get 5% of the sales made through their channel. Thus, you should not let go of this opportunity.

Making Money On Twitch As A Partner

Twitch has a partner program and if you become one of the best-performing Twitch affiliates, you can apply for their Partner program.

Twitch Partners are a step ahead of Affiliates in the sense that they not only get all the benefits of Twitch Affiliates but also get a share of the ad revenue generated through their streams.

Twitch Ads

Before viewers can join your stream, they are shown pre-roll ads. Not just this, ads appear even while you are streaming. For instance, ads are shown when many Partners take a break in between, such as when need to grab something to eat or visit the washroom.

But how much do Twitch streamers make from such ads?

The worth of Twitch ads may vary between $0.002 and $0.01 per view and there are a couple of factors that could be at play while determining their worth. Some of such factors could include

• Number of concurrent viewers
• Viewers’ geolocations
• Viewers’ genders and ages
• Game being streamed
• Seasonality (for example, ads are typically worth more during the holidays)

Twitch ads are not the most profitable way to earn money on Twitch but if you have a larger viewership, then it can really add up fast. For instance, if an ad is worth $0.008 and you have 10,000 viewers on your stream, then you could earn as much as $80.

Ways To Grow Your Audience On Twitch

The most basic requirement to make money on Twitch is to have a sizable audience. You simply cannot make a dime without having an engaging audience that keeps coming for more every time you go live with a stream.

I must say that it requires a lot of effort and hard work to help you build a decent audience on Twitch. The worst part is that some people are not able to grow their audience even after putting in a lot of effort.

However, you need not lose hope since listed below are some of the best ways to grow your audience:

1. Find a Good Niche for Yourself

In order to get attention, you must be able to stand out from the crowd and you must be doing that makes you look different from others. One of the most effective and proven ways to do so is by carving out a niche for yourself.

For instance, you may become an expert in a new game that is trending. If you are not someone who can ace the game, you can get attention by being witty or funny.

2. Get Popular On Social Media

As mentioned above, Twitch offers you very few ways to grow your account. This is why it becomes imminent that you grow your social media presence to get more traffic from other platforms such as Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

3. Network with other streamers

One of the best ways to create more opportunities is by networking and supporting other streamers like you who share similar interests.

If you follow some other streamer and stay active in his chat, it is quite possible that he as well as his followers will visit your channel and even follow you. Thus, you are likely to gain a lot more audience by engaging with another streamer.

On top of this, if you build a friendship with another streamer, both of you can push each other’s channel and even host each other. Through this, you can actually reach out to each other’s audience and thus be able to grow your followers.

4. Engage Viewers

Whenever a new viewer joins your stream, it represents a golden opportunity for you to turn him into a subscriber who will stick to you in the long run and will keep coming back each time you go live with a stream.

Thus, you must try to engage with your viewers. You may ask them witty and interesting questions, respond to their comments, send them funny replies, etc. You will realize that it will help you gain more and more audience in the long run.

Conclusion

Earning money on Twitch is not as simple as it sounds but if you follow some of the steps mentioned above, I am sure you will be able to grow your audience and earnings quite substantially.