Just start now to monetize your Twitch account with live streams. Everything you need to know regarding this we try to describe in more detail in our blog.
Videos and Streams have become the most popular form of media in the past few years. The fast and cheaper internet has allowed creators to easily make high-quality videos and share them. On the other hand, it has also enabled users or consumers to watch these videos very easily on their mobile and computer devices.
High-speed internet has made another thing possible that we never thought could work. Live Streaming! Live Streaming is becoming popular among all age groups because of how interactive the Live Streams are. Live Streams allow people to interact with their favorite characters in real-time.
A three-hour-long movie sounds impossible to watch in today's times, but people happily watch a three-hour Stream. Live Streams allow the Viewers to talk to their idols as if they were right there with them. Viewers can see the Streamers' reactions instantly, and it makes them feel so good.
The reason for this is that it feels natural. The Viewers don't have to sit in one place or care about what position they are sitting in while watching a Live Stream. You could literally be doing cartwheels and watching a Live Stream simultaneously, and no one would care! That is the beauty of a Live Stream.
Twitch has become unarguably one of the biggest platforms to broadcast a Live Stream. Both Viewers and Creators love Twitch for many good reasons. The biggest plus-point of Twitch is it enables a person to become a full-time creator.
Twitch understands how important it is to secure the creators financially to preserve this art. For this very reason, it provides creators with a great number of tools to monetize their content. Also, it is a wonderful idea to Buy Twitch Live Views from us to maximize the growth of your channel.
We are here to share with you everything you need to know about how you can make money by Live Streaming on Twitch.
How to monetize your channel on Twitch?
There are many programs Twitch offers to the creators to monetize their content. First, you need to understand what these different programs are.
There are Affiliate and Partner programs that Twitch offers its creators. Consider Affiliate Program to be of a beginner level and Partner Program to be an expert level.
There are different criteria you need to achieve beforehand;
1. Twitch Affiliate Program
Twitch Affiliate Program is aimed at providing monetization options to beginner-level creators. This helps the creators who are just starting to make some money from their efforts and continue to grow their brand.
Twitch offers you a share of the revenue that they generate on/from your channel. The Program keeps creators motivated and gives them much required support earlier in their journeys. Also check out this YouTube video which explains these methods.
There is a criterion for you to become eligible for the Twitch Affiliate Program:
- You should have at least 50 followers.
- You should have a total broadcast time of 500 minutes in the last 30 days.
- You must have broadcasted on seven different days.
- You have an average of 3 or more concurrent Viewers on your Streams.
Once you meet all these required conditions, you can become a Twitch Affiliate. Also, you can keep track of your progress towards becoming a Twitch Affiliate on the Achievements page, under 'Path to Affiliate' of your account's dashboard.
To finish becoming a Twitch Affiliate successfully, you need to follow some basic steps and set up the Program.
- First of all, on meeting all the criteria required, Twitch will notify you via e-mail. You will also get a notification and an announcement on your dashboard.
- Next, you will be asked to provide general information concerning you and your channel.
- After that, accept and sign the Twitch Affiliate agreement.
- Provide the information for your taxes.
- Select a mode of payment. (PayPal, Account Deposits, Wire Transfer or Check)
- And Last but not least, enable two-factor authentication.
What is a two-factor authentication method, and how does it works?
To enhance the security of your account, you should enable two-factor authentication. This method allows Twitch to authenticate a log-in to your account via a password and a mobile phone, hence, two-factor authentication. To enable this, you need to be on a PC and follow these steps:
- Log in to your account and go to the Security Settings page.
- Select an option, ‘enable two-factor authentication.’
- By doing this, you will be asked to re-enter your Twitch password and give your phone number.
- After that, you need to enter the verification code that you received on your mobile phone via text message. There you go!
There must be a question in your head, but how can I make money using Twitch's Affiliate Program? To answer this question, there are five main sources you can use to make an income using Twitch's Affiliate Program.
- Subscriptions on Twitch: although Viewers can watch the streams for free, they can also buy subscriptions to their favorite channels. This way, both creators and Viewers can benefit. Subscriptions on Twitch are divided into three tiers;
Tier 1: First level of subscription, costs 4.99$
Tier 2: Second level of subscription, costs 9.99$
Tier 3: the third level of subscription, costs 24.99$
All three tiers unlock some basic perks for the Viewers, such as;
- Ad-free viewing experience.
- Ability to chat during Sub-only chat mode.
- Not get affected by Chat Slow mode.
- Ability to watch Subscribers only streams.
- Badges to wear during chats and many special emoticons to use.
The money from the subscriptions is split half-half between Twitch and the Streamer.
- Bits on Twitch: Bits are a token of appreciation that your Viewers can give you to cheer you.
For every 100 bits that your channel gets, you get 1$.
- Ad-revenue: The revenue that Twitch generates by showing advertisements on creators' Live Streams is also shared with the creator. The payout of this revenue is given out in 100$ installments upon reaching the threshold. This revenue is rolled from month to month.
- Donations: Your viewers can donate money directly to you without subscriptions. These methods allow you to get 100% of the money donated by a Twitch user. The only drawback to this method is, there is no auto-renewal.
- Video game sales or In-game sales: You get a 5% share from the revenue generated by the sales of video games or in-game items that a person purchases originating via your twitch channel.
These are some amazing ways to make some money early on in your streaming career. This way, you get some financial support and motivation to keep you going.
2. Twitch Partner Program
Twitch Partner Program is for the more established users who are far enough in their Journey. It is an expert-level program that allows you to grow further and run your channel smoothly.
You need to achieve some conditions in a 30-day window to qualify for becoming a Twitch partner.
- You should at least stream for 25 hours.
- You should stream on 12 different days.
- Your Live Streams should have at least 75 concurrent Viewers.
Having met these criteria, you will now become eligible to become a Twitch Partner. But before, let us talk about what features you obtain by becoming a Twitch Partner. The main monetization features of an Affiliate and a Partner are the same.
If you jumped directly to this section skipping the previous section, here’s all you need to know about monetization features you can get as a Twitch Partner.
- Subscriptions on Twitch: although Viewers can watch the streams for free, they can also buy subscriptions to their favorite channels. This way, both creators and Viewers can benefit. Subscriptions on Twitch are divided into three tiers;
Tier 1: First level of subscription, costs 4.99$
Tier 2: Second level of subscription, costs 9.99$
Tier 3: the third level of subscription, costs 24.99$
All three tiers unlock some basic perks for the Viewers, such as;
- Ad-free viewing experience.
- Ability to chat during Sub-only chat mode.
- Not get affected by Chat Slow mode.
- Ability to watch Subscribers only streams.
- Badges to wear during chats and many special emoticons to use.
The money from the subscriptions is split half-half between Twitch and the Streamer.
- Bits on Twitch: Bits are a token of appreciation that your Viewers can give you to cheer you.
For every 100 bits that your channel gets, you get 1$.
- Ad-revenue: The revenue that Twitch generates by showing advertisements on creators' Live Streams is also shared with the creator. The payout of this revenue is given out in 100$ installments upon reaching the threshold. This revenue is rolled from month to month.
- Donations: Your viewers can donate money directly to you without subscriptions. These methods allow you to get 100% of the money donated by a Twitch user. The only drawback to this method is, there is no auto-renewal.
- Video game sales or In-game sales: You get a 5% share from the revenue generated by the sales of video games or in-game items that a person purchases originating via your twitch channel.
So what is the difference between the Twitch Affiliate and Partner Programs? The biggest difference is the tools and services you get as a Partner in contrast to an Affiliate. For example:
- You are given access to ‘custom chat badges.’
- Custom ‘emotes’ and ‘emoticons.’
- You are offered a ‘verified user’ badge.
- Accessibility to custom ‘bit’ badges and ‘cheermotes.’
- Exclusive chat rooms are available to you.
- You get extended video-on-demand storage.
- Priority support by Twitch.
- Free lifetime channel support for your chatbot.
- Special promotional opportunities exclusively for Partners.
- Feature to delay broadcast to ensure fair play during competitive gameplay.
- And free lifetime channel subscriptions (3)
These tools and features provide the best opportunities for you to make as much as possible, engaging content for your audience. These features also allow you to connect and associate with other Twitch Streamers and collaborate on a project.
Currently, these added tools and features are a little bit more focused on gamers and e-sports players, but shortly, more features will be made available as Twitch’s library grows.
Here we have covered all the ways you can make money or monetize your account on the Twitch platform. But there are also a ton of methods you can use to make additional income off-platform. It would be wise not to keep all your eggs in one basket. Not being dependent on only on-platform earning options, you can secure your future in the streaming industry very easily.
Off-platform methods to make money by Live Streaming
1. Taking Sponsors for your streams
Sponsored Streams are excellent for making the most money from a single stream. Once you have become an established Streamer, have a substantial following on your Twitch account. You can find sponsors for your streams who will give a huge amount of money as compared to what you will probably make out of Twitch’s ad revenue.
You can put up a banner in a corner according to the needs of your sponsors, and it won’t make a huge difference on your stream, content-wise. Also, many advertisers will want to put up a short video in between your streams that you need to integrate into the Live Stream a certain number of times.
2. Launch your own Premium Streaming Platform
Since you are already aware that 50% of the revenue generated by your subscription goes to Twitch itself, you know that this is not the most efficient method.
Instead, you can create your own Premium Streaming Platform, where you will be able to design and modify subscription packages however you want. And the biggest advantage is, you will get the maximum revenue generated by those subscriptions.
3. Sell your own Merchandise
Your brand merchandise will be a great source of revenue for you. It will also allow you to bond with your audience much more effectively. You can solidify your community even further by selling merch like T-Shirts, Coffee Mugs, and hats with your brand logo on them, or an inside joke that your community would enjoy.
There are many platforms where you can design your merchandise and share them with your followers. The plus side to this is that you only have to pay for a piece when someone orders it. You don’t need to worry about inventory or shipping too.
4. Add Affiliate links to the description box of your stream
Affiliate marketing is a form of marketing where you share the link of a product to people, and for each purchase made using your link, you can get up to 75% commission. Isn’t this great?
All you have to do is find a product you would like to endorse or a product you are already using in your streams or setup. For example, a gaming chair, a monitor, a custom PC, etc. You can find an affiliate link for the same product and put those links in the description box.
There you go. Now you have all the tools necessary to grow your channel beyond limits. Enjoy!