Monetizing Twitch stream — subscriptions, advertising, sponsorship, and more

Twitch is perhaps the biggest live streaming platform today, allowing you to broadcast your gameplay, creative content, or other live streams to an audience that sometimes numbers in millions. This success has meant that content creation has become a viable career option for those with the passion and talent to do so.

It also means that platforms like Twitch have to be financially viable for you to earn a decent living. This is where making money from your channels becomes key; luckily, there are several ways to monetize your streams today.

Benefits of monetizing your streams

Let's look at why you need to monetize your broadcasts on not only Twitch but sites like YouTube, Kick, Facebook, etc:

• Earn revenue: The most obvious reason to monetize yourself on Twitch is to acquire income from your content. Monetizing your channel through various methods like ads, subscriptions, donations, sponsorships, and merchandise sales can earn a steady income from your content.

• Support your passion: For many content creators, streaming on Twitch is a passion project. By monetizing their channels, they can continue to create content and support their passion without worrying about financial barriers.

• Grow your community: Monetizing your channel can help you grow your community by providing incentives for viewers to engage with your content. For example, offering exclusive content or personalized shoutouts to subscribers can create a sense of community and encourage viewers to become more invested in your channel.

• Professionalize your brand: By monetizing your channel, you can professionalize your brand and establish yourself as a serious content creator. This can open up opportunities for sponsorships, collaborations, and other monetization options.

• Fund future projects: Monetizing your channel can help get funds for future projects, such as attending gaming conventions, upgrading equipment, or creating new content. By reinvesting revenue into your channel, you can continue to improve your content and grow your brand.

  Monetizing your streams can have so many benefits   

How to monetize Twitch channel

Monetizing your stream on Twitch requires compliance with the platform's terms of service and community guidelines. It also needs consistent and engaging content that resonates with your audience. By leveraging one or more of these monetization options, content creators can earn revenue and build a loyal community on Twitch:

Broadcasters can monetize their streams on Twitch through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing involves promoting a product or service on your channel and earning a commission on any sales generated through your unique affiliate link.

To start affiliate marketing on Twitch, you'll need to become a Twitch Affiliate, as these members have access to various monetization options, including attaining commissions on sales generated via their unique affiliate link.

Here are the steps to becoming a Twitch Affiliate:

• Meet the eligibility requirements: To become a Twitch Affiliate, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Stream for at least 500 total minutes in the last 30 days.
2. Stream on at least seven unique days in the last 30 days.
3. Have at least 50 followers.

• Apply for the Twitch Affiliate program: Once you've met the eligibility requirements, you can apply for the Twitch Affiliate program. Go to your Twitch dashboard and select the "Channel" tab before hitting the "Get Started" button under "Monetization."
• Accept the Affiliate agreement: Read and accept the Twitch Affiliate agreement.
• Set up payment information: Set up your payment information to receive your earnings.

Once you've become a Twitch Affiliate, you can start promoting products or services on your channel using your unique affiliate link. Here are some tips for successful affiliate marketing:

• Choose products or services that align with your content: It's essential to promote products or services that align with your content and values. This ensures that your audience is interested in the product and is more likely to purchase through your affiliate link.
• Use your unique affiliate link: Make sure to use your unique affiliate link when promoting products or services. This allows the brand to track any sales generated through your channel and ensures that you receive your commission.
• Disclose your affiliation: It's important to disclose any affiliate partnerships to your audience. This maintains transparency and ensures that your audience trusts your recommendations.
• Supply value to your viewers: Focus on providing value to your audience through your content. By creating high-quality content and promoting products or services that align with your content, you can build a loyal and engaged audience that is more likely to make a purchase through your affiliate link.

  Becoming a Twitch Affiliate is a big step in earning from your broadcasts   

One of the most popular ways for Twitch streamers to monetize their channels is through subscriptions. The purple platform offers several subscription tiers, ranging from $4.99 to $24.99 per month, and streamers can earn a portion of the subscription fee.

First and foremost, to be eligible for subscriptions, you need to become a Twitch Affiliate or Partner. Twitch Partners have more requirements to meet and generally have a larger following and consistently high viewership.

Once you have become an Affiliate or Partner, you can start monetizing your stream through subscriptions. To encourage viewers to subscribe, many streamers offer exclusive perks to subscribers. For example, subs may have access to custom emotes, subscriber-only chats, and ad-free viewing.

Here are some tips on how to make the most out of your subscription offerings:

1. Offer a variety of perks: To cater to different types of viewers, offer a variety of perks for subscribers. For example, you can have different tiers of subscriptions with different levels of perks. You can also rotate perks regularly to keep things fresh and exciting.

2. Make your perks visible: Ensure that viewers are aware of the perks you offer. Display them on your stream, in your Twitch profile, and your social media posts. Consider creating custom graphics or overlays to highlight your subscription perks.

3. Promote your subscriptions: Encourage viewers to subscribe by mentioning your subscription offerings during your stream. You can also create alerts or notifications that pop up on the screen whenever someone subscribes.

4. Provide excellent content: Ultimately, viewers will subscribe because they enjoy your content. Provide high-quality content consistently to keep your viewers engaged and coming back for more.

In addition to the standard Twitch subscriptions, streamers can also offer other subscription options. Here are a few examples:

1. Patreon: Patreon is a popular platform that allows creators to offer subscription-based content to their supporters. With Patreon, you can offer exclusive content, merchandise, and other perks to subscribers.

2. YouTube Memberships: If you also create content on YouTube, you can offer memberships on that platform as well. YouTube Memberships work similarly to Twitch subscriptions and allow you to offer exclusive content and perks to subscribers.

3. Discord Nitro: If you have a Discord server, you can offer Nitro subscriptions to your members. Nitro subscribers get access to exclusive emojis, server boosts, and other perks.

4. Twitch Prime: Twitch Prime is a subscription service offered by Amazon Prime, and it includes a free Twitch subscription every month. Encourage your viewers to link their Amazon Prime accounts to their Twitch accounts to support your channel for free.

  Remember there’s a difference between being a Partner and an Affiliate   

Another great way to monetize your streams on Twitch is through ads. The site allows broadcasters to run ads on their channels, and in return, they earn a portion of the ad revenue. Again, to be eligible to run ads on your stream, you need to be a Twitch Affiliate or Partner.

There are two types of ads you can run on Twitch:

1. Pre-roll ads: These are ads that run before your stream starts. Viewers who join your stream after the ads have started will see the remainder of the ad before being able to view your stream.
2. Mid-roll ads: These are ads that run during your stream. You can manually trigger mid-roll ads at any time during your stream, but you need to ensure that you do not run too many ads as this can disrupt the viewing experience and discourage viewers from returning.

To run ads on your stream, follow these steps:

1. Click on the "Stream Manager" tab on your Twitch dashboard.

2. Click on the "Quick Actions" button and select "Run Ad."

3. Select the ad type you want to run (pre-roll or mid-roll) and the duration of the ad.

4. Click "Run Ad" to start the ad.

It's important to note that running too many ads can negatively impact your viewer's experience. It's best to space out your ads and not run them too frequently. You can also consider offering ad-free viewing as a perk for subscribers.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Twitch ad revenue is based on CPM, which stands for cost per mille or cost per thousand. This means that you earn a certain amount of money for every thousand views on the ad. The amount you earn can vary depending on factors such as your location and the advertiser's budget.

In addition to running ads on your stream, you can also earn revenue through Twitch's Bounty Board program, which connects streamers with brands looking for influencers to promote their products. You can browse through the available bounties and apply to them to promote a product that aligns with your brand and audience.

  There are so many avenues to monetizing your content on Twitch today   

Another awesome way to monetize your streams on Twitch is through sponsorships. These are partnerships between content creators and brands, where the online star promotes the latter's products or services in exchange for compensation.

To attract sponsors, you need to have a sizable following and a strong presence on Twitch. Brands are looking for streamers who have a dedicated audience that is engaged and interested in their content. To increase your chances of getting sponsorships, you can focus on building a niche audience and creating content that aligns with a particular brand's values or products.

Here are some steps to follow to monetize your stream on Twitch via sponsorships:

1. Build a strong brand: Develop a brand that is authentic, consistent, and engaging. This includes creating a brand logo, custom graphics, and branding materials that reflect your personality and content.
2. Grow your audience: To attract sponsors, you need to have a large and engaged audience. You can achieve this by creating high-quality content, interacting with your viewers, and promoting your channel on social media.
3. Reach out to potential sponsors: Once you have a strong brand and audience, you can start reaching out to potential sponsors. Look for brands that align with your content and values, and reach out to them with a proposal that outlines how you can promote their products or services on your channel.
4. Negotiate the terms: Once a brand expresses interest in sponsoring your channel, you'll need to negotiate the terms of the partnership. This includes the compensation you'll receive, the duration of the sponsorship, and the scope of the promotional activities.
5. Fulfill your obligations: Once you've agreed to the terms of the sponsorship, it's essential to fulfill your obligations to the brand. This includes promoting their products or services on your channel, providing feedback and metrics on the campaign's success, and adhering to any guidelines or requirements set by the brand.

It's important to note that sponsorships should be disclosed to your audience. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires influencers to disclose any sponsored content to their followers to maintain transparency and trust. Failure to disclose sponsorships can result in legal and ethical consequences.

You can also monetize your Twitch streams through donations. The Amazon-owned platform has a built-in donation feature called "Bits," which allows viewers to purchase virtual currency that they can use to donate to their favorite streamers.

To start receiving donations on Twitch, you'll need to enable the "Cheering" feature, which allows viewers to purchase Bits and use them to support your channel. Here are the steps to enable Cheering:

1. Go to your Twitch dashboard and click on the "Partner Settings" tab.
2. Select "Cheer" from the left-hand menu.
3. Enable "Cheering" by toggling the switch to "On."
4. Customize your Cheering settings, such as the minimum amount of Bits required to cheer and the maximum amount of Bits that can be cheered at once.

Once you've enabled Cheering on your channel, viewers can start purchasing Bits and using them to support you. Here are some tips for encouraging donations:

1. Create a donation goal: Setting a donation goal can motivate viewers to donate by giving them a clear objective to work towards. For example, you can set a goal to purchase new equipment or attend a gaming convention.
2. Show appreciation for donations: It's essential to acknowledge and thank viewers who donate to your channel. You can use custom alerts or chat messages to show appreciation and encourage others to donate.
3. Provide incentives for donations: Offering incentives for donations can encourage viewers to donate. For example, you can offer personalized shoutouts, exclusive content, or access to a private Discord channel.
4. Use a donation tracker: A donation tracker can show your progress toward your donation goal and encourage viewers to donate more to reach the goal.

It's important to note that Twitch takes a portion of the revenue from Bits. It takes a 30% cut of the revenue from Cheering, meaning that you'll receive 70% of the revenue from donations.

In addition to encouraging viewers to use Bits, you can also use Bits to engage with your audience. For example, you can use Bits to enable interactive features such as polls, chat emotes, or mini-games.

On top of Cheering, you can also receive donations through other platforms such as PayPal or Patreon. However, it's essential to disclose any donations received to your audience and comply with any legal or tax requirements related to donations.

  Some of the biggest names on Twitch make thousands via merch sales   

Monetizing your stream on Twitch via merchandise sales can be a great way to earn revenue from your channel. By selling branded merchandise such as t-shirts, hoodies, and hats, you can generate additional income while promoting your brand.

Here are the steps to monetize your stream on Twitch via merch:

• Create a design: The first step in creating merchandise for your channel is to create a design that reflects your brand. You can create your design using graphic design software or hire a designer to create custom designs.
• Choose a merchandising platform: There are several merchandise platforms available that allow you to create and sell your merchandise, such as Teespring, Spreadshirt, and Streamlabs Merch. Research and compare different platforms to find one that meets your needs.
• Upload your design: Once you've chosen a merchandising platform, you can upload your design and customize your merchandise options, such as colors, sizes, and materials.
• Promote your merchandise: Once your products are available for sale, you can promote them on your Twitch channel and social media platforms. Consider offering discounts or exclusive promotions to encourage viewers to purchase your merchandise.

It's important to note that selling merchandise on Twitch requires that you comply with its terms of service and community guidelines. For example, you cannot sell merchandise that promotes hate speech or violates copyright laws.

In addition to selling branded merchandise, you can also consider creating limited edition merchandise or merchandise tied to specific events or milestones. This can create a sense of exclusivity and encourage viewers to purchase your merchandise.

Conclusion

There are many ways to monetize your stream on Twitch. As a streamer, it's important to find a monetization strategy that works for you and your audience. By building a loyal following and providing quality content, you can earn a sustainable income from your Twitch channel.