How to make money on Twitch

As one of the top apps for broadcasting, Twitch is without a doubt making a splash in the world of livestreams and video games. No wonder, then, that Twitch users are actually making money and careers out of it. Nickmercs, one of the most famous broadcasters around, is estimated to make $64.990 American dollars each month only on subscriptions. So how did he do it? 

Twitch Partners 

There are several ways to generate an income from Twitch, starting with the app’s very own affiliate program. To qualify as an Affiliate, you need:

• 50 followers
• 500 total minutes broadcast in the last 30 days,
• 7 unique broadcast days over the last 30 days,
• average of 3+ concurrent viewers over the last 30 days.

Still, you start earning money when you upgrade to being a Twitch partner, as you will be able to access to many options of monetizing. To be a partner, you have to: 

• Stream for 25 hours in the last 30 days
• Stream for 12 unique days in the last 30 days
• Reach 75 average viewers in the last 30 days

Ads

Once you’ve qualified as a Twitch Partner, you will be able to start including ads on your streams. Of course, you won’t be doing five figures immediately. Just like everything online, it takes a lot of work to build a community. The bigger the community, the bigger the chances of getting better sponsors and ad revenue. On Twitch, ads work a bit differently than on YouTube, and more similar to TV spots. Whenever you start a stream, there’s almost always a thirty-second ad. Also, whenever the Twitch streamer wants, they can press an Ad button that delivers another  30-second ad. Usually, you’ll see them do it when they get something to eat or have to get up to use the bathroom, but still, keep in mind not to abuse them as it can get boring for the viewers.

Ad rates depend on the demand and viewers a channel has. Streamings of new releases, very popular themes or even very popular broadcasters, most likely have more expensive ad rates than the average stream. 

Subscriptions

Another popular way in which streamers make money is through subscriptions. Sounds weird if you are not used to Twitch, but is a very common practice to support your favorite streamer. Subscribing is the ultimate way to show a streamer some love, as you will pay a monthly fee and put money in the Twitcher’s pocket. Officially, Twitch Partners and Affiliates receive 50% of the total subscription fee, so for the $4.99 tier, the streamer would get around $2.50. There are also subscriptions of $9.99 and $24.99. 

Twitch streamers tend to offer benefits to their subscribers, in order to motivate them to join and give them exclusive content depending on the type of subscription they have.  

Donations

Donations are a popular way online creators make money, and Twitch is no stranger to them. The Twitch currency is known as “bits”, and they are a virtual good you can buy and use to Cheer, a way to show support via chat. Just like any currency, they have a cost and nowadays for $1,40 USD you can get 100 bits to spend. Keep in mind, that for every Bit used on Cheers, the affiliate receives $0,01 USD.

Merch

Since Twitch is part of Amazon, they allow the option to sell merchandising via the latter. This is something many YouTubers do as well, but keep in mind that this is something you should do once you have a very loyal community, otherwise it may not work well. Whether you sell gadgets, t-shirts, hoodies or mugs, this is a great way to brand yourself as well as making money. 

No matter if you are just starting to use Twitch or you are an experienced streamer, be sure to always include royalty free music when you are broadcasting. Even if it’s playing in the back, you risk infringing Twitch’s copyright policies, which could lead to being banned from Twitch. If you are looking for royalty free music for Twitch, then look no further, you’ve come to the right place.