How To Make Money Streaming Games on Twitch

As a streaming platform, Twitch has become an integral part of gaming culture. From the hilarious personalities to the insanely skilled competitive gamers, we love to see what our favorite streamers are up to. They’re a part of our routine, and they give us quality content and a sense of community without fail.

If you’re a gamer, you’ve likely thought about what it would be like to become a Twitch streamer. Or maybe you’ve gone a step further and have started a Twitch channel of your own.

If that sounds like you, you need to learn everything you can about how to make money streaming games on Twitch. Twitch can be a fantastic way for gamers of all types to make some money doing what they love, so here’s a complete guide on what monetization looks like on Twitch and how you can achieve it.

How Can You Become a Twitch Partner?

Anybody can start a Twitch channel. It’s as simple as making a Twitch account, getting a streaming setup, and going live. But not every beginner Twitch channel is monetized.

In order to monetize, you’ve got to develop your channel and following. Once you meet certain thresholds, you can apply to become a Twitch Affiliate or Partner, where you have full access to all of Twitch’s monetization features.

Becoming a Twitch Partner is super achievable. Even small streamers can become partners — but it is going to take some work. So here are all the metrics you’ll need to hit before you can officially become a Partner and start earning some real cash playing games.

Becoming a Twitch Affiliate

Lucky for you, there’s a stepping stone on the way to becoming a full-blown Twitch Partner, and that is the Twitch Affiliate Program. Becoming a Twitch Affiliate is a bit easier than becoming a Partner, and you’ll still get access to some of the revenue streams that Partners get.

Twitch has certain criteria you have to meet before you can apply to become an Affiliate. You’ll have to:

• Broadcast at least 500 minutes in the last 30 days
• Broadcast on seven unique days in the last 30 days
• Have an average of three concurrent viewers or more in the last 30 days
• Have at least 50 followers

These numbers are fairly achievable, but it will definitely require some dedication to achieve them. Streaming one or two times a week is more than some people are willing to commit, but if you’ve got the devotion, you can manage.

Affiliate Perks

There are a lot of benefits that come with Affiliate status. Let’s start with the one you’re probably most excited about — the money!

Affiliates unlock monetization in a few different ways. For starters, you get access to subscriptions, also called subs. Subs are a Twitch streamer’s bread and butter. It’s one of the most consistent and predictable sources of income on the platform.

The subscription fee is a monthly fee, and you get to decide exactly how much it will cost to subscribe to your channel. You can also add different tiers to your Twitch subscriptions, with more and more features unlocking in the higher subscription tiers.

Affiliates also get access to Twitch Bits and Emotes. If you don’t know what those are, Twitch users can buy Bits (a virtual currency) and Emotes (a special emoticon that shows up in chat) on Twitch and use them to Cheer on your streams in real time. This causes an animation to pop up and is a great way for your fans to support you and stand out among other fans.

And finally, you get access to advertisements and ad revenue. You can choose how often and when ads air on your Twitch streams. Twitch ad views and clicks generate revenue, and you get a share of that revenue.

Streamers make 50 percent of all of the revenue their channels bring in, which is a pretty decent payout.

There are also some other Affiliate benefits aside from money. You get 14 days of VOD storage instead of seven and can engage your audience further with features like polls.

Becoming a Twitch Partner

Now it’s true that you have access to almost all of the monetization features as a Twitch Affiliate, but if you really want your career on Twitch to get moving, you’ll probably want to obtain the coveted Partner status. So keep grinding once you hit Affiliate to achieve your goal of becoming a career streamer.

The viewership criteria for the Twitch Partner Program are obviously going to be a bit higher, but if you stick to your formula, you should be able to get there.

Here’s what you have to do:

• Stream for 25 hours over the last 30 days
• Stream on 12 different days
• Have an average of 75 concurrent viewers

These numbers are a big jump from the Affiliate thresholds. Going from three average viewers to 75 is likely going to be quite the grind for you. But if you keep at it and keep putting out quality content, you’ll get there.

Partner Benefits

Once you meet the thresholds set in place, you’ll have the chance to apply to become a Partner. Your label will switch from Affiliate to Partner, and you’ll get all the Partner perks on top of all of the amazing Affiliate perks you’ve been enjoying.

When it comes to revenue, it looks just about the same as it does for Affiliates. The only differences are that you gain access to Custom Cheermotes along with the normal Cheermotes, and you unlock 60 different Sub Emotes instead of the previous five.

This just gives your viewers a few more options when it comes to supporting your channel and setting themselves apart from the rest of your fans.

On top of all of that, you’ll now get to reap the benefits of 60 days of VOD storage. You’ll also get priority customer service from the Twitch Support team, and you’ll even gain the ability to put your stream on a 15-minute delay so you can stop worrying about stream snipers.

How Else Can You Make Money on Twitch?

To recap, the main ways to make money on Twitch are subscriptions, advertising revenue, and Cheers. Your viewers can also send you donations via Bits, which are a form of virtual currency on Twitch. But these aren’t the only sources of revenue that streamers rely on when it comes to Twitch.

Sponsorships

Harnessing brand sponsorships can be a lucrative strategy for boosting your Twitch revenue. By partnering with brands that resonate with your content and audience, you can create a win-win situation.

Integrating products organically during streams, using branded overlays, or hosting sponsored events not only adds value to your viewers but also opens a stream of income. Authenticity is key with this path — make sure you align yourself with brands that you’re truly passionate about.

With a strategic blend of entertainment and brand synergy, you can unlock the potential of brand sponsorships as a way to make money on Twitch.

Affiliate Marketing

Unlocking revenue on Twitch is as easy as integrating affiliate marketing into your content strategy. Recommending products you genuinely love through affiliate links lets you earn a commission on each sale without disrupting your authentic vibe.

From gaming gear to lifestyle essentials, handpick items that resonate with your audience. Seamlessly weave them into your streams or panels to help your subscribers find amazing new products while building your revenue streams.

Transparency builds trust, so make sure your community knows about the affiliate partnership. With a sprinkle of savvy marketing, you can level up your earnings while keeping your Twitch game strong.

Merch

Don’t forget that you can also always create some merch for yourself and sell that through your Twitch channel. Just plug your products during your streams and send people to your website or Patreon to buy your merch so they can support you directly.

Your merch can include:

• T-shirts
• Stickers
• Hats
• Water bottles

If you work hard at developing all of these money-making strategies, you can start to earn some serious cash on Twitch.

How Can You Grow Your Twitch Channel?

Now that we know methods of making money on Twitch, it’s time to talk about how to get to a place where we can utilize all of them. So without further ado, let’s talk about what you can do to grow your Twitch channel successfully to gain more followers, subscribers, and viewers.

The more your channel grows, the more money you make!

Find Your Crowd

When you’re just starting out as a streamer or content creator, it can be tempting to throw a bunch of different content at the wall and see what sticks. You might want to stream a ton of different games, talk about a ton of different things, and diversify your content.

Resist that temptation! Remember, your channel is a brand, and you need to establish what that brand is if you want people to latch onto it. Your viewers and subs should know what to expect from you to some degree. For gamers, it’s best to pick one popular game, or at least a genre of games, and stick to it.

It’s best to look for a game that’s popular but not too popular. This way, there will be fewer creators vying for streaming space in that game.

But the most important thing is to create content that you’re passionate about. Find the niche that sets your heart on fire and pursue it. People will be drawn to your passion and genuineness, and your following will grow.

Get a Good Streaming Setup

When you’re just starting out, use whatever streaming equipment you can get your hands on. The most important thing is to start streaming. A good mic, a good webcam, and a powerful computer are all important pieces of gear a streamer should have.

But as you progress in your streaming career, you may want to upgrade your setup so that it’s optimized to make high-quality streams time after time. You want to make sure your game is in high def on stream, your camera looks good, and your mic sounds good. All of these things will set you apart and show people you’re serious about creating incredible content.

Stream Consistently

It’s SUPER important with streaming to do it regularly so your followers and subs know when to tune into your stream. The people who love your content will keep coming back if they know when and where to find you, so make it easy on them.

Just set up a streaming schedule that you can definitely stick to. Don’t set an unrealistic, unachievable goal with your stream schedule. Even if your schedule is as simple as streaming at 2 pm every day, that will help build consistency.

Interact With Your Stream

Your stream needs to grab people and hold their attention. Streams usually last for at least an hour or two, and every minute of that needs to have something going on so that your viewers don’t lose interest.

Interacting with your chat not only makes your stream more exciting but it helps you create personal connections with fans so they feel more connected to you and your content.

So make sure to respond to comments in chat. Always thank people for bits, cheers, emotes, and gifted subs, and shoutout your subscribers by their username. Talk about your other social media accounts and videos, update people about your life and your channel, and create polls on your stream to make it engaging and fun for your Twitch audience.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Other social media apps are critical to growing your platform on Twitch. Not only do they allow you to let your people know when you’re about to go live, but they offer your fans another way to engage with your content.

So clip highlights and bloopers from your streams, give them a quick edit, and post them on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube Shorts. One great way to do this is to film an educational stream and edit out the important parts to make them into a tutorial video for your YouTube channel.

Use your live streams as content on your other platforms to draw in a new audience. Social media is immensely powerful, so make it work for you and help grow your channel.

And tools like Powder, which help you grab clips from your streams automatically with AI, can go a long way saving you time getting that short video content to cross-post, so you can get more mileage out of each stream and grow your audience.

Becoming a Streamer

Streaming is an incredibly competitive field, and it’s difficult to make it out there as a full-time streamer. But thanks to Powder, now you know what you need to do to find some success as a gaming influencer creating content on Twitch. So get out there, take this advice to heart, and watch your streams get more and more successful by the day!  

For more information about Twitch and for powerful clipping software that makes a streamer’s life easier, head on over to Powder PC.

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