How to Make Money on Twitch: 8 Tips for Streamers
If you're a Twitch streamer, you may be wondering how to make money on the platform. While it's not a one-size-fits-all approach, there are multiple streams of income you can utilize, including subscriptions, donations, brand deals, and other methods. Building a profitable Twitch career takes time and effort, just like any entrepreneurial venture. In this article, we'll explore the different ways to make money on Twitch and give you some tips on how to leverage your community to earn money outside of the platform.
Why Use Twitch to Make Money?
Twitch is the leading live streaming platform for gamers, musicians, artists, and other creatives. With over 140 million visitors per month, Twitch provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your talents. Plus, unlike competitors like YouTube, Twitch is exclusively dedicated to live streaming, which means users can focus solely on live content. Twitch also offers interactive features like chat rooms, emotes, and the ability to tip or donate to your favorite streamers.
Here are three main uses of Twitch:
- Live streaming of gaming content
- Live streaming of music and art performances
- Interactive conversations between streamers and their audience
How Much Money Can You Make on Twitch?
The amount of money a streamer can make on Twitch varies depending on many factors, including the number of viewers, the number of hours streamed, and the monetization strategies used. According to reports, a basic streamer who averages around 5 to 5,000 viewers per stream can earn anywhere from $50 to $13,000 a month. Top-tier streamers, on the other hand, like NickMercs and Kai Cenat, who average around 50,000 to 90,000 viewers, earn up to $100,000 to $200,000 per month.
Becoming a Twitch Partner vs. Affiliate
Twitch provides two options for streamers to earn income on its platform — the Affiliate program and the more exclusive Partner program. While the Affiliate program, an entry-level tier, offers creators benefits such as ad-running capabilities, the Partner program is reserved for highly successful channels, providing even greater perks. Here's everything you need to know about both programs:
Affiliate Program:
Becoming a Twitch Affiliate is a big achievement for streamers looking to monetize their channels. To qualify for affiliate status, streamers need to meet a specific criteria, which include having at least 50 followers, streaming for at least 8 hours on 7 different days, and receiving an average of 3 viewers per stream. Once eligible, Twitch notifies users through their dashboard, opening the door to additional monetization features.
Once you become an Affiliate, you can earn money through subscriptions, ads, and game sales. A key aspect of Twitch’s Affiliate program is its built-in subscription revenue model, where eligible channels receive an invitation to enable subscriptions, distinguishing them from regular followers. This paid feature allows streamers to earn income directly from their dedicated audience, making the Twitch Affiliate program a crucial step in a streamer's monetization journey.
Partner Program
If you’re a long-term affiliate with a growing audience, consider pursuing the Twitch Partner status. Twitch Partnership Program unlocks valuable tools such as subscriber streams and custom cheermotes. Achieving Partner status signifies reaching a viewership milestone, enabling you to make a living through live streaming on Twitch. To become a Twitch Partner, you need to have at least 75 concurrent viewers and stream for at least 25 hours over 12 different days in a 30-day period. Partners have more monetization options, including sponsorships, game sales, and custom ad deals.
Upon joining Twitch’s Partner program, content creators enter into exclusivity agreements with the platform, unlocking a range of privileged promotional opportunities. These include exclusive features like Partners Spotlights and Panels, engaging in Meet & Greets with fans, and participating in Streamer Zones, among other perks. These off-stream interactions not only add an element of fun to the creator-audience relationship but also play a pivotal role in securing valuable endorsement deals and fostering stronger brand sponsorships.
8 Ways to Make Money on Twitch
Now that the possibility of generating income on Twitch is clear, let's explore some of the key approaches to achieving it. Here are eight strategies for making money on Twitch:
1. Twitch Subscriptions:
Subscriptions are a significant source of income for Twitch streamers. Initiated as a 50/50 split, streamers earn half of each subscription fee, ranging from $4.99 to $24.99 per month, while Twitch claims the other 50%. This model applies exclusively to Twitch Affiliate and Partner accounts, emphasizing the importance of achieving these statuses to unlock subscription options on live streams.
To enhance the viewer experience, streamers can organize subscriber-only streams featuring exclusive chat rooms and content catering to their most dedicated and loyal followers. The perks associated with Twitch subscriptions, such as custom emoticons, subscriber badges, ad-free viewing, and subscriber-only streams, contribute to the overall appeal and success of this monetization strategy.
2. Memberships & Donations:
Many streamers decide to use third-party subscription-based platforms to help build a recurring, reliable income and bypass the 50% cut that Twitch takes from subscription revenue. Platforms like Fourthwall allow fans and subscribers to support your content by paying a monthly membership in exchange for exclusive benefits. Members can gain access to exclusive content, merchandise, and other perks, including Twitch Gifting, which allows your products and memberships to be giftable while you’re live streaming.
In addition, Fourthwall also allows you to receive donations from your followers, giving them the opportunity to sponsor the content they love. All they have to do is choose how much they want to donate and leave a message. You can even show them your appreciation by giving them a personal shout-out during your next livestream. The best part, Fourthwall doesn’t take a percentage off your donations!
3. Sell Merchandise:
Leveraging your personal brand on Twitch extends beyond live streaming. It presents an opportunity to explore additional revenue streams, particularly through merchandise sales. Popular streamers such as Ninja, Pokimane, and Lilypichu exemplify this by successfully establishing and promoting online stores in conjunction with their Twitch channels. By offering branded merchandise like t-shirts, hats, and mugs, streamers not only unlock new revenue streams but also provide a means for dedicated fans to actively support their favorite content creators.
To help begin your merchandise journey, platforms like Fourthwall empowers streamers to effortlessly design and sell custom merchandise through a user-friendly interface. This streamlined e-commerce solution facilitates the marketing of one's brand directly to followers, creating a seamless connection between content creation and brand promotion. As a result, the integration of merchandise sales enhances the overall Twitch experience for both streamers and their engaged audience.
4. Affiliate Marketing:
One of the most common methods for Twitch streamers to generate income is through affiliate programs. Businesses leverage the specific demographic attracted by streamers on Twitch and utilize affiliates to promote their products to their target audience. To tap into the potential of affiliate marketing on Twitch, choose a program that resonates with you and integrate it into your streams by placing the affiliate link or banner in your channel description. By mentioning products during your Twitch streams and sharing affiliate links in the chat, you can receive a portion of the sale.
Additionally, you can curate a selection of your favorite products in your Twitch profile for viewers to explore and purchase. Many streamers, particularly gamers, collaborate with brands and incorporate affiliate links into their streams, promoting items like headsets, cameras, gaming chairs, and other equipment. The best part, you don't need to be a Twitch Partner to engage in affiliate marketing and share affiliate links!
5. Twitch Bits:
Twitch Bits serve as virtual “cheers” or tips, allowing viewers to express their enjoyment of the stream and provide support to the creator. As a Twitch Affiliate, you receive $0.01 for every Bit given to you. While this may seem modest initially, the cumulative effect can be significant as your viewership grows. Twitch Bits not only contribute to the financial aspect of streaming but also enhance interactivity and entertainment for both streamers and viewers.
6. Ad Revenue:
Making money through Twitch ads is an effortless and low-maintenance avenue for streamers to boost their income. Twitch runs ads during streams, allowing content creators to earn a percentage of the revenue generated. This model involves companies or businesses paying streamers to promote their services or products during their streams.
Twitch ads are typically valued between $0.002 and $0.01 per view and are influenced by factors such as the number of concurrent viewers, genders and ages, viewers' geolocations, and seasonality. While the per-view earnings may seem low, with careful consideration and a significant viewership, running occasional ads during streams can accumulate into substantial revenue for streamers.
7. Sponsorships:
Earning money through sponsored partnerships on Twitch involves companies paying streamers to promote their products to their audience. These brand sponsorships serve as a lucrative avenue for advertising revenue on your Twitch channel, similar to running ads and sharing affiliate links. Streamers often collaborate with brands and developers to showcase upcoming games, merchandise, and various products to their viewers.
It's essential to find sponsorships that align with your brand, beliefs, and audience to maintain authenticity while earning money. Unlike Twitch-specific features, sponsor deals are made outside the platform, making them accessible to all, regardless of affiliate or partner status. To secure the best sponsorship deals, consider enhancing your channel's appeal, as brands typically target creators with larger audiences.
8. Game Sales:
For gamers who’ve become Twitch Affiliates, there’s another avenue where you can generate additional income — selling games. Once you've achieved affiliate status, you can select a game available in the Twitch store, stream your gameplay to showcase its features, and let your audience make purchases directly through your channel with the "Buy Now" button on your profile.
As a Twitch Affiliate, you earn a 5% revenue share from the sales generated when viewers buy the game through your stream. It's a fantastic way to combine your passion for gaming and entertainment while earning money for selling the games you love.
How Does Twitch Pay You?
Streamers receive their payments around the 15th of each month, provided their account balance since the last day of the month they were last paid exceeds $50 for most payout methods or $100 for wire transfers. To ensure a smooth payout process, streamers must have no issues with their payout method or account information and maintain an eligible payable status.
Updates on due balances are sent to the streamers' provided email address early each month, offering a comprehensive breakdown through the Payout History Dashboard. This dashboard allows them to view balance estimates and past completed, submitted, or rejected payouts. The payout process typically takes 3-5 business days from the submission date, though processing times may vary, with weekends and public holidays potentially extending the time to receive payouts.
How to Leverage Your Twitch Community to Make Money Outside of Twitch?
Here are two ways to leverage your Twitch community to make money from Twitch:
- Create a YouTube Channel and Monetize Your Content:
By repurposing your Twitch streams into YouTube videos, you broaden your audience and offer viewers an alternative platform for accessing your content. Additionally, take advantage of YouTube's monetization features by enabling ads on your videos. This allows you to generate revenue through ad impressions and further capitalize on the diverse monetization opportunities YouTube offers.
- Offer Memberships:
Create a membership program where viewers can support you financially in exchange for exclusive content or perks. Fourthwall offers streamers theflexibility to design a membership tier that works for them. From passive-only “merch club” tools like members-only products and discounts to a powerful homebase for hosting exclusive content and engaging your community, Fourthwall gives you the creative control to delight your members and reach your goals.
Earn More Revenue With Fourthwall!
At Fourthwall, we make it easy for Twitch streamers to monetize their content, sell products, and offer memberships to their fans. By utilizing Fourthwall, content creators can easily boost their branding and monetization efforts on Twitch and beyond. So don't wait! Explore Fourthwall today and see how you can take your streaming to the next level.