With an annual average of 2.84 million concurrent viewers, nine million streamers as of 2021, and a steadily growing annual revenue that topped $750 million in 2020, Twitch reigns supreme in live streaming for gamers. Not to mention, while gamers are by far the most common broadcasters on Twitch, other live streamers like musicians and sports commentators have also taken to the platform.
Many of those streamers make money, and some even manage to make a full-time living. Here, we’ll go over some basic Twitch monetization techniques, along with a few ideas for boosting your income.
Basic Twitch Revenue Streams
To start, Twitch has two programs to help streamers get started making money. The first is Twitch’s affiliate program, which allows relatively new streamers to start earning. To qualify for the affiliate level, streamers need to meet these criteria:
- 50 followers
- Broadcast 500 minutes total over the previous 30 days
- Broadcast on at least seven different days
- Get three or more concurrent viewers per stream on average
Once you reach that level, you’ll have five different income sources:
- 50% of subscriber income
- $1 for every 100 Twitch Bits you receive.
- 5% of video game sales or add-on sales originating from your channel
- 100% of any donations made to your channel
- Ad revenue, paid when you reach a $100 threshold
As your channel grows, you may reach the Twitch Partner level, which allows you the same revenue streams, but adds a host of powerful tools to help you grow like custom chat badges, a verified user badge, further video-on-demand storage, priority support, promotional opportunities, and more. To qualify to apply as a partner, you have to hit a few extra metrics within any 30-day stretch:
- Average 75 concurrent viewers
- Stream 25 total hours
- Stream 12 separate days
When you reach this level, a button with unlock on your achievements dashboard to apply for partner status. You’ll be evaluated based on your ability to keep these metrics up and your adherence to Twitch’s community guidelines, Terms of Service, and DMCA guidelines.
Other Ways to Monetize Twitch
Once you have a decent following and a consistent show, you can supplement your income on the platform in several ways.
Third-Party Sponsors
All companies are eager to reach their potential customers in fresh ways, which means your following is worth money to you. Once you’re popular enough, you can get sponsored by any number of companies – game-makers if you’re a gamer, instruments and recording equipment if you play music, and other products that fit your audience’s demographic.
Merchandise
Popular streamers are in a perfect position to offer merchandise like t-shirts, stickers, mugs – really any merchandise your fans are likely to want. It’s relatively easy to get going with on-demand merch sales using a service like Printful or TeeSpring.
Affiliate Links
Not to be confused with Twitch’s affiliate program, affiliate links are links to products you mention or endorse that track back to you and allow you to share revenue. Most famously, anyone can create an Amazon affiliate account, but many other companies offer affiliate programs that reward you for driving customers their way.
Make Your Own Platform
Finally, if you’re ready to go to the next level, nothing is stopping you from offering up your own custom streaming platform. Then you’d have total control over branding, keep 100% of your profits, and let fans interact with your content without distraction. Building your own streaming platform is potentially more profitable than staying on Twitch or another third-party platform—it’s also not that difficult.
If you’re ready to go, contact MAZ to learn how we can help you build your own streaming platform with no hassle.