Being a professional game streamer is no less than a real job. There is nothing more satisfying and exciting than to be able to do what you like the most for a living. If you are someone who is addicted to gaming, can’t live without your hobby, have a combination of business knacks, and communication skills, you are eligible to make money with Twitch.
What Is Twitch
To start with, Twitch is a popular video game streaming service by Amazon. In 2011, Twitch was launched with a sole focus on video games, but later it was expanded to include streams dedicated to music, shows, artworks, and occasional TV series. The streaming service boasts over 2 million unique streamers each month and thousands of these users make money through the Twitch partner program.
Later in 2014, Twitch was purchased by Amazon. Twitch partner program is nothing but a service which offers streamers with additional features like ad placements and paid subscriptions. While not all streamers on Twitch has quit their job, it is true that an impressive number of people make a full time living out of it by live streaming games. Users make money through different ways like micro-donations (Bits), recurring paid subscriptions, sponsorships, affiliate sales, and ads. However, achieving impressive financial success on Twitch involves hard work and dedication as the most popular Twitch partners stream 5-7 days every week to stabilize their user base.
Different Ways To Earn With Twitch
Twitch Bits
In Twitch, accepting donations from viewers is a common way to earn while streaming. The official donation system of Twitch is Bits, which is available only for Twitch partners and affiliates. However, it is not the ones that enable sending money to a streamer with just the push of a button, it is more complicated. Bits are a type of digital currency, which can be purchased from Twitch with real cash using amazon payments.
Twitch bits can be used within Twitch’s chat box to trigger audio and video alerts onscreen. Streamers can earn special badged for using their bits. The more bits they use, the higher the rank of badges they can earn. A Twitch streamer earns $1 for every 100 bits used during the stream.
Ask for Donations
Once you sign up to the stream, you can add a donation button in your channel to allow viewers to send in their contributions. Donations can range from $1 to thousands of dollars. Another easy way to accept donations is via PayPal. You can also set up a PayPal link to receive donations. Accepting donations on Twitch is a common practice. When you grow your channel and have millions of followers, you can opt to become a Twitch partner.
Subscription Programs
Twitch affiliates and partners can accept monthly subscriptions from the audience. One subscription costs around $4.99 each month. For every subscription, the streamer receives 50% of that revenue. So most streamers receive $2.50 for each monthly subscription from viewers. With subscriptions, viewers gain access to badges and emoticons which shows up in the chat. Subscriptions are just like a token of appreciation and loyalty from viewers.
For example, TSM_Hamlinz is a top twitch streamer with over 1 million (1973352) subscribers who has multiple brand partnership with brands like Lenovo, GrubHub, GFuel, TSMshop.com, Logitech, etc. All the brands which he is a part of being featured in his twitch profile too. He also offers a 3 tier subscription plan for his followers with many perks. He is a part of Team Solo Mid or TSM Premiere ESports team based in the US.
A newer benefit to the Twitch subscription is the addition of Twitch prime. When you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you get a free Twitch subscription per month. In 2019, almost everyone has an amazon prime membership and Twitch primes have considerably increased the incomes streamers receive.
Ad Revenue
Revenue earned from advertisements is a monetization tool available only to Twitch partners. When a stream activates their commercial button, viewers receive a video ad. Twitch monitors the number of views for each ad and keep track of the same. Streamers are paid a fixed amount per 1000 views. That figure is referred to as Cost per Mile or CPM.
CPM rate changes are not just based on the quantity, but also on the quality of advertisers bidding to Twitch. Generally, the CPM rate varies between $1-$10. The duration between each can be adjusted by streamers accordingly. While the CPM range seems small, when you break it down it becomes more impressive. For example, a streamer earns 1000 views for an 8-hour stream display ad that displays three times per hour with a CPM rate of $3. This means that the streamer receives $3 per and $9 per hour.
In total, that day they will receive $72 as ad revenue. However, not every user allows advertisements between streams, most of them use ad-block. But don’t get discouraged, ads are still a significant component to earn money with live streaming on Twitch.
How to Become a Twitch Affiliate and Partner?
To become a Twitch affiliate and partner, you got to know the statistical requirements. Here are some of the requirements to qualify as a Twitch affiliate.
- You must stream for over 500 minutes in the last 30 days.
- You must stream on 7 separate days in the last 30 days.
- You must have had the latest 3 viewers for every time you streamed in the last 30 days.
- You need to have at least 50 followers.
Now that you know these requirements, how do you get there? Don’t worry. Though it seems a tough task, you can achieve the goal if you follow these.
- Small goals
- Community building
- Quality of your stream
To gain more followers, play games you like and enjoy. Then you will earn viewers who have a similar liking and you can build a community. Ensure that you have a consistent brand name across your social media channels. Interact with the community you build so it makes people follow you.
Twitch Partner Requirements
- Become a Twitch affiliate
- You must have streamed above 25 in the last month.
- You must have streamed on 12 separate days it the last month.
- You must have at least 75 consistent viewers for every streamed content in the last month.
Twitch has a very consistent system to track these achievements. It is called “Path to partner: If you have achieved Twitch affiliate status, then the next task is to earn 75+ viewers on every stream. Out of all, this might be the most difficult one to achieve. The length and the number of the stream can be easily controlled, but not the number of views. The only way to achieve this is to improve your viewing experience so that viewers come back to you every time. Start with less popular games and even after earning Twitch affiliate, follow the same. Play less famous games until you form a foundation of consistent viewership. The audience will follow you no matter what game is played.
Tips to Become a Twitch Affiliate and Partner
Keep Improving Your Stream Quality
The key to earning a consistent viewer base would be to keep improving the quality of your stream. Do not let audio issues, overlays, donations not showing up, etc. get on your way to Twitch partnership. To keep it going you can even use any great live streaming platforms where you can manage chatbots, loyalty, themes, overlays, etc. Make use of the tools available to offer stunning graphics, overlays and improve the quality of presentation to your community.
Be Social
When you have a community, it becomes important to interact with them on a consistent basis. Keep expanding your audience by interacting and collaborating with other streamers.
Melipastel is a popular partnered variety streamer for Twitch.TV who streams on almost every genre including action, role play, platform, shooter or anything that perks her fancy. She joined Twitch in October 2014 and going strong with 1,82,326 followers in her list. She offers subscriptions for an affordable fee which include perks like subscriber badges, chat, ad-free, private group access, song requests, subscription-only games, and giveaways. She streams mainly between PS4 and PC. She is quite active on social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
Check what do other streamers overlays look like. What about their panels below the stream? What they do on their website and social media. Never copy others, but to learn from them, and develop your personal style which sets you apart from other streamers. Make efforts to welcome new viewers by calling out their user names. Put your chat ahead of anything else.
Find a Schedule and Stick To It
To be consistent with your streams, you must create a schedule that works for you and your audience. Once you define a schedule, make sure that you stick on to it. Some slots might be more accessible than others. Maybe you can stream only during the morning or in events. Try different streaming slots throughout the day to choose the one comfortable for you and what yield more average viewers.
Jenna is a true passionate streamer who started gaming on XBOX at the age of 5. Being a full-time streamer she has got a follower base of 1,92,960 with just 46 videos. She currently plays Fortnite, Apex Legends, Oldschool Runescape, Stronghold Crusader, and Stronghold 2. Her twitch channel is growing fast and she is an active streamer who streams randomly but almost every day of the week she will be active.
Develop Your Personal Brand
Streamers behave and look entirely different from what they really are while they stream. If you decide to change your getup or wear a particular outfit to create a character while streaming, you are free to do whatever that makes you confident. There is no limit to what you can come up with as long as it adheres to the terms of service of Twitch. The way you present yourself to your viewers helps you develop a unique brand that your audience will identify. When you start with, think about creating your personal brand.
Set up a Perfect Stream with Advanced Visuals
The most popular streamers on Twitch not only has a great sound set up, but they also use lots of advanced video and visual setups. A combination of audio effects, transitions and stunning graphics throughout the streaming sessions will make your viewers happy. These days, with all the access to modern technology, it is quite simple to create different scenarios around your stream. You just have to be creative with overlays and animations. Try using images and graphics to customize your channel for a theme and pretty look and feel.
Conclusion
The key to making the most money out of your streaming in Twitch is to gain viewership. As views of your stream increase, the money you earn will also go up. What you need to understand is, making money on Twitch is not as easy as it sounds. Like anything else in your life, building a community on Twitch from the ground needs a lot of dedication and hard work. Behind every success story you see on Twitch, there are thousands of streamers who tried to recreate it and failed. Most of the times streamers fail because they were just copying others and couldn’t build their own brand with consistency. Hard work, consistency, passion, and dedications are what will help you to make money as a Twitch streamer. Most Twitch affiliate partnerships are for video games or video game-related merchandise. With these tips and tricks, you can make an insane amount of money by streaming your favorite games through Twitch.