Using Twitch as your passion and now you want to turn it into your professional? Well, look no further as today, we are going to talk about the same.
Twitch is a big platform where all gaming enthusiasts can be found. But if you think you’re just wasting your hours spending on Twitch, then you’re all wrong.
You can start earning a good amount through Twitch and for that, all you need to do is to go through this extensive guide on a beginner’s guide to earn money on Twitch. Let’s roll in-
What all do you need to make money on Twitch?
Before you jump on how to make money on Twitch, you also need to know about the things that you need in order to start making money from your Twitch account. So here are these-
- Twitch account- So this is the basic that you need. However, please know that you need to be at least 13 years old or older than this to have a Twitch account. And please know that even if you’re 13, your account will be under your guardian’s or parent’s supervision until you turn 18.
- PC- You for sure need a PC or a laptop to start using it. Also, it can be done through a gaming console or through your phone too. But a bigger screen will be better.
- Cam and Microphone- Your camera and microphone are a must when you’re using Twitch as a platform. Why? Because you will have to have a chat with your viewers.
- Streaming software- If you’re opting for it as something professional, you will have to have broadcasting software to share your content. It could be anything such as Twitch Studio, Streamkabs Desktop, OBS Project or more.
Note- Please know that you don’t have to use any software randomly. You must give it some research and then do it.
How to build your audience on Twitch?
So before we start talking about how to start earning through Twitch, you need to know that you must have some audience on your Twitch account so that you can monetize it. And for that, you need to follow the given steps that we’re sharing below-
Find your niche
The one of the biggest and yet the easiest thing you can do is to find your niche. If you don’t understand it, let me simplify it for you.
You need to give your account some direction. For eg, if you’re talking about one thing, you need to pick it as your niche and go in-depth of it. If you try to become a master of everything, you will fail. Instead, find one niche and cover all the possible aspects of it.
You need to make sure that you’re sticking to one and not trying your hands on everything you see.
Educate your viewers
Understand one thing that you’re not the only channel talking about that niche. You’ve got millions of competitions available. So why you? For that, you need to build your own space and educate your viewers so they can find a reason to stay with you.
Make sure that you’re giving them the knowledge that they’re hardly getting anywhere else or even if they’re getting it, they should love the way you speak. Start interacting more and more to your audience and play some games occasionally.
If you add that fun element in your stream, you will get more and more views and people will love to see you over others. However, you need to be really good at it.
Build your network
You need to focus on building your network than to just stream. You should build a community out of it and make your viewers a part of it. They should get that friendly vibe from you that they will love to stick around.
If you see some competition, take it in a competitive spirit and make a friends out of them. Start hosting a stream together for a change so that their audience can also start liking you. Try to use the feature of live chat as much as you can.
Try interacting and talking so that whenever they see your name, they click on it and reach to your profile.
Add your brand or share your social media profiles
If you just don’t want to limit your audience to this platform, try getting the best out of it. You can easily share your other social media handles and welcome them to be a part of it.
It could be anything such as your Twitter handle, YouTube handle or even your Instagram one. If you’re already owning a brand, you can use Twitch to promote it as well by adding a link at it.
If you interconnect your social profiles, chances are high that someone following you on YouTube will also be following you on Instagram and Twitch.
How to make money on Twitch as a beginner?
Okay, so here, we are going to talk about how you can make plenty of money on Twitch if you’re just a beginner with almost no new skillset.
Even if you’ve just started using Twitch, these methods will be possible for you.
However, nothing comes without effort and thus, you need to have at least a few viewers for every stream, and once you have it, you can follow these methods and start earning-
1- Donations
If you’re still a beginner, it is for sure that you are not able to have your subscription tier yet; however, even if you don’t have it, you can start earning by receiving some donations from your viewers. For this, you will have to set up an option to receive donations and require a third party.
Once you set up your donation button, all your donations will easily come through your PayPal account. Basically, here they will support your channel and show some love towards it if they like them and thus, you need to make sure that they actually like your streams.
2- Patreon subscriptions
Patreon subscriptions aren’t those programs you can have once you have enough views. Streamers can easily set the subscription tiers with Patreon and also share some rewards and perks with each level.
You can very easily link it with your Twitch profile and set up this subscription option. Your subscribers will be the ones choosing if they want to be the part or not and to convince them, you can also bring some rewards. For eg, you can get them a personalized shout-out or such things.
3- Amazon associates
So the third option to earn money being a beginner is through the Amazon Associate program. If you’re not aware of it, let us brief you about the same. Through this program, any comparatively new streamer can start earning. But how? The process is quite simple.
All you need to do is start sharing and discussing the Amazon product links. Make sure that you only talk in favour of it. Once your audience is convinced about it, they will click on your Amazon affiliate link and buy the product. Amazon will pay you a percentage of that purchase made through your affiliate link if they buy something.
However, you need to be really good at choosing and sharing the products and convincing your audience about how good is it for you.
How to make money on Twitch as an affiliate?
Okay, so assuming that you’ve been using Twitch for a long time and now successfully become an affiliate of it, here are some ways to start earning. Of course, it becomes easier for an affiliate to earn in comparison to a beginner but there are still some eligibility criteria that you need to pass. Here is it-
- You need to have at least 50 followers in your account.
- You must have at least seven unique broadcast days within the last 30 days.
- You must have at least a 500-minute broadcast within the last 30 days.
- You should have an average of three concurrent viewers within the last 30 days.
If you meet all these criteria, then congratulations, you can become an affiliate member now. Once you do it, you can follow these given methods and start earning-
1- Twitch subscriptions
Okay, a Twitch subscription is the easiest thing you can do to earn once you become an affiliate of it. Here, you will have to share the subscription tier with your subscribers, and your subscribe button will start to appear just below the bottom right of your stream.
Once anyone clicks on it, they will know about all the rewards they will get by subscribing to your account. There are by default three subscription plans available. They’re for $4.99, $9.99 and $24.99 per month. With each level, subscribers will get a set of perks decided by you.
You can choose it and customize it as per your wish. It could be anything- an ad-free viewing, name in chat, and more. The command will be yours.
2- Twitch bits
If you want something extra, you can also try the Twitch bits where your viewers will send 1¢ to you in order to cheer you up. However, you will only be able to receive it when you stream. And again, you can easily set a limit here as a minimum number of bits your follower can send you. It could be 1 or even 100 bits as per your audience and reach.
Your followers can buy these bits (also known as cheermotes) in bulk and keep sending them to you whenever they feel like it. Although the amount is small, it can make a difference.
How to make money on Twitch through a Twitch partner?
You must be thinking what is the difference between a Twitch partner and an affiliate. To be more clear, the Twitch Partner program is a step ahead of your Twitch Affiliate. However, you will have to sign up to become a Twitch Partner. Here are the ways via which you can earn money-
Note- Talking about the eligibility criteria, it is not very clear now so you need to check if you’re eligible or not manually.
1- Twitch Partner Program
If you have a good audience and know that your account is doing good in the community, then the Twitch Partner program is all for you. You will have to stream for around 25 hours, should have around 75 viewers, and you must stream for 12 days and you can start earning a good amount through the Partner achievement dashboard.
2- Twitch ads
Twitch ads are basically those ads that you can run during your streams. However, you need to crack their eligibility criteria to get this.
Once you’re done with it, you can easily earn a good amount on each ad view. Here, the game is about the views you get on your ads. If it is high, you will be paid high. On an avg, you will be earning around $3.50 for every 1000 views.
If you lie on that criterion where you get enough views on your streams, going for the ads will be beneficial as you can earn a good amount without walking an extra mile.
How to make money on Twitch as an influencer?
Although no such influencer thing is officially available on Twitch, it is there to an extent. If you’re a pro at your skills and have already made a large fan base with your streams, you can do wonders with it and make good money. Here are some ways through which you can earn-
1- Through brand sponsorships
Brand sponsorships are no new term for any of us. We all are aware of it. It is done when a brand comes to you and pays you some money for showing its product to your audience. It can be done in multiple ways. You can either do it in a very organic manner where you will not show your audience that you’re being paid for promoting this product.
You also need to write as a disclaimer that Twitch has no relation to it. Here, you will talk about the brand but will not add them openly as your paid promotions whereas another one is to show it that it is a paid promotion and mention it everywhere.
You need to show your audience that you’re being paid for promoting it and the brand will pay you for it.
2- Merchandise
You can also start earning by offering your own merchandise to your audience. Now it could be anything and everything. Be it a shirt, pen, clothing or anything else, you just need to promote it. However, make sure that you’ve your logo on it.
For doing the same, you can use Streamlabs and promote your store and make your audience purchase the same. However, it only works when your audience is obsessed with you and can literally do anything.
Also, you need to offer them a fair deal so that they feel that they should invest in the same.
3- Affiliate marketing
We’ve already discussed Amazon associates and how you can earn a good amount through it even when you’re a beginner.
Affiliate marketing is no different. Here, you will have to first go through the sign-up process of those companies from which you’re expecting an affiliate and then wait until you get it approved.
Once you’re approved, you can start putting your affiliate link and convince the users to buy that product. Once they make a purchase, you will earn a cut from it.
Note- For more visibility, you can also start putting the links on your profile and share why it is a good buy for them. If your users make a purchase, it will get you more income.
Better Representation of Twitch Streamers Revenue
| Method | Percentage of Revenue |
|---|---|
| Subscriptions | 50% |
| Bits | 20% |
| Donations | 15% |
| Ads | 10% |
| Other | 5% |
Subscriptions are the most popular way for Twitch streamers to earn money. This is because subscriptions provide a steady stream of income, and they are relatively easy for viewers to purchase. Bits are another popular way for streamers to earn money, but they are not as reliable as subscriptions.
Donations are also popular for streamers to earn money but are not as common as subscriptions or bits. Ads are a less popular way for streamers to earn money, but they can be a significant source of income for large streamers.
Other methods of earning money on Twitch include affiliate marketing, merchandise sales, and sponsorships.
Wrapping up.
And here you are. You have successfully read the whole guide on how to make money on Twitch as a beginner and at other levels. We have tried including everything important to you. However, if you still think that we have forgotten to add anything that can be beneficial for you, please comment below and let us know.
FAQ
1- How much money can you make on Twitch?
We have learned how to make money on Twitch. But did we talk about how much can you actually earn through Twitch? If you start bringing some revenue to the app, Twitch will start paying you once every 15 days. However, your amount should surpass the minimum balance of $100 at least. This amount that you generate will depend on your viewers and live streams. Here’s a rough figure where you can know some approx amount-
- 5-10 average viewers per stream- $50-$200 per month
- 20 average viewers per stream- $200-$400 per month
- 50 average viewers per stream- $500-$750 per month
- 100 average viewers per stream -$1,000-$1,500 per month
- 1,000 average viewers per stream- $5,000 per month
- 5,000 average viewers per stream- $13,000 per month
- 10,000 average viewers per stream- $30,000 per month
- 50,000+ average viewers per stream- $100,000-$200,000+ per month
2- How many views will you need to get paid on Twitch?
If you want to become a Twitch affiliate, you will have at least 50 followers and should crack a few other conditions we’ve already listed above. If you want to become a Twitch Partner, the criteria will be 75 concurrent viewers within the last 30 days.
3- Is it hard to make money on Twitch?
Well, it is surely not the most challenging thing you do to make money but requires some dedication and hard work to achieve it. However, if you’ve good content and you master your niche, all you need to do is to become regular with it and you will soon start to make money.
