How to Make Money on Twitch?

Figuring out how to make money on Twitch, should be your first order of business if you're serious about having a career in content creation.

Twitch allows your everyday streamer to become an entrepreneur, building your follower base and generating an income. The fact that there are over seven million active streamers on Twitch proves that you don’t need to work a conventional nine-to-five job to earn a living.

What is Twitch?

Twitch is a popular live streaming platform that allows gamers, musicians, and content creators of all sorts to broadcast in real-time while audience members communicate and interact with one another via chat rooms. But how does making money on Twitch work?

Twitch Affiliate Program

For many, live streaming is more than just a hobby: it’s their passion. Twitch realizes that creating high-quality content requires a lot of hard work and dedication. They created the Twitch Affiliate program to help hopeful content creators reach their goal of making a living off of doing what they love.

Twitch affiliates can earn money by accepting subscriptions from their viewers and channel subscribers in the amounts of $4.99, $9.99, or $24.99 per month.

To qualify for the Affiliate program, there are a few Twitch Affiliate requirements that must be met. We have all of them covered in this linked aricle.

How to Earn Money on Twitch?

The most popular Twitch influencers have worked their way up the ranks, achieving affiliate status and eventually becoming Twitch partners.

The Partnership program Is similar to the Affiliate program; however, to qualify to become a Twitch partner, streamers must amass a large following and be very active and influential in the Twitch community. Another key difference between the two programs is that you must apply for the Partnership Program. If Twitch accepts a streamer as a partner, a few additional monetization options become available.

The financial success that the top streamers enjoy partially comes from these programs, but a large part of their income comes from other outside sources such as:

Custom Merchandise

It’s rare to see popular live streamers that don’t offer custom merch. Most full-time users will include links on their Twitch account profile that will send you to an online shop where you can buy tee shirts, hats, hoodies, and whatever else they have to offer.

Loyal Twitch fans love to support their favorite channels, so merchandise makes up a significant amount of a streamer’s total income.

Brand Partnerships

A brand partnership is essentially a sponsorship deal with a company that offers a product or service related to your content. These companies will pay streamers to exclusively endorse their brand in live streams and on social media. Gaming equipment companies such as Logitech, Razer, and SteelSeries are a few brands that you will often see promoted on Twitch in this way.

Can You Make Money on Twitch?

Just because a Twitch channel is in its beginning stages doesn’t mean that it can’t be profitable. At first, the number of available income options is limited, but all streamers have to start somewhere. As a channel grows in popularity, so will the opportunities to earn more money.

If You’re Just Getting Started Without Affiliate Status

If you are new to live streaming and are looking to start making money on Twitch, you’re going to need to be creative. Brand new Twitch users don’t have access to the same money-making aids that established channels do, so making a profit is more difficult and initially requires more effort. Buying Twitch viewers is one way to generate a bigger buzz. But these are a few initial methods you can use to start earning an income on the Twitch platform.

• Affiliate Products - Product affiliation is similar to a brand partnership, except there is no long-term commitment. You’ve likely seen this type of product advertising in YouTube videos. VPN networks and mobile games are notorious for this kind of marketing strategy.

  Basically, the company will compensate you for mentioning or giving a short description of their product or service during your live stream. Often they will also allow a streamer to offer special discount codes to attract more customers.  

• Donations - A donation button is another key element that you should add to your Twitch profile right away. This button will take your viewers to an external link allowing them to donate to your channel.

If You’re a Small Channel With Affiliate Status

Reaching Affiliate status is the first major milestone for Twitch users as it opens up the door for significant monetary earnings. As mentioned before, as soon as you become an Affiliate, you will have the ability to accept subscriptions from your viewers, but you will also have the added benefit of earning ad revenue and Twitch Bits.

• Bits - Twitch Bits act like mini donations that content creators can receive from their fans in the form of a “cheer.” Unlike a donation button, all Bit transactions occur within the Twitch platform. This integrated system means that your audience doesn’t have to leave the site to donate, making them much more likely to do so.

  Additionally, Twitch pays all their Affiliates and Partners one cent for each Bit that viewers use on their channels.

• Ads - Reaching Affiliate status also gives you the ability to earn ad revenue. This means that Twitch gives you the option to place ads on your Twitch account in exchange for monetary earnings.

The Bottom Line

Regardless of how much experience a Twitch user has, there are plenty of opportunities to earn an active income from playing video games, making music, or even just talking to an audience. If you’re wondering: “how do you make money on Twitch?”, why not check it out for yourself and join the ever-expanding virtual community that is taking the world by storm.

If you’d like to fast-track your growth, sign up for TwitchGainz.com – it’s free! You’ll be able to offer other Twitch users incentives to follow you or view your streams.