Hey there Sea Changers and welcome back you my site aimed at everything to do with making money online. Today we are going to look a look at the social media side of things as we look at 5 ways to make money on Twitch. The idea of streaming your favorite video game or doing a little dance may seem like a far-fetched method for earning income for many, but for others it’s the way they make over $1,000,000 per year. And, with over 10 million unique streamers in 2020 and over 2 million viewers on the platform at any one time (https://twitchtracker.com/), this is definitely an area where some money can be made.

As with any online money making caper, you won’t jump on the platform, upload a video of you playing the guitar and then suddenly become a millionaire. However, in time there are several ways in which you can monetize your channel and create a stable income from it. So, can you make money on Twitch? Let’s see…

What is Twitch?

Twitch is a live streaming video platform that was originally designed to broadcast video games being played by gamers. While they still do that, there are now channels dedicated to all sorts of topics from cooking and painting to just someone sitting at their desk talking about things going on in their lives. You can also chat with the players and other viewers in real time, which makes for a great community and there are channels dedicated to different games, popular streamers, or just about anything else!

As it has grown, there has become more and more ways in which imaginative streamers can earn an income as well. I have listed 5 of these options here.

Option 1 – Donations

You generally won’t get rich from donations alone, but they’re definitely one of the easiest and most lucrative ways to make money on Twitch. Donations are used for two different things:

1. To show appreciation for a broadcaster
2. To request a specific action (such as asking them for help with completing a tough level in a multiplayer game etc.)

To accept donations, all you need is the PayPal button that Twitch provides for free on your channel page. They will take a small cut from each donation of course, but if you are providing enough amazing content to generate donations as per our two categories above, then it’s still a good way of earning money on Twitch.

It should also be noted here that you can also make donations through your Twitch chat with the ‘!donate’ command as well. These however can’t be tracked by PayPal or Twitch so it can be open to fraudulent activity.

Option 2: Affiliate Marketing

In traditional website based affiliate marketing, programs are setup by companies or marketplace platforms (Amazon, Ebay etc.) that allow marketers to join and then refer traffic to them via customised affiliate links. In these processes, affiliate marketers write about their chosen niche and related products and then refer readers to a link where they will purchase directly from the vendors. The vendors then pay a commission for the sale.

When it comes to Twitch, affiliate marketing works in exactly the same manner where you can place affiliate links on your videos for the products that you are using, discussing or reviewing. This mirrors a website in that you obviously need a good following and the trustworthiness to convince people to buy.

And of course, If you have a large enough audience then brands will start to reach out to you so that they can place affiliate links on your videos in exchange for commission.

Option 3: Sponsorships & Partnership Programs

As a follow on from the last sentence above, as your stream gains popularity, there are companies out there who will be willing to pay you for incorporating their brand into your broadcasts. This can include just about anything you can imagine such as:

• Wearing branded t-shirts during your streams.
• Using certain equipment such as microphones or headsets.
• Drinking certain drinks etc.
• Placing posters on walls behind you.

Sponsorships and partnership programs are also offered through platforms such as VigLink who will often reach out to popular channel owners when they have new relevant offers.

Option 4: Commercial Breaks

Along the lines of partnerships etc. outlined in the previous section above, there is another option that works the same as a website or YouTube channel in that Twitch streamers can accept commercial breaks during their stream. This is paid for by brands looking for an opportunity to advertise themselves on popular channels where income is usually earned by the number of views generated for those ads.

These can be setup within Twitch itself or if you are using a program such as Streamlabs, then this can be set up for you once you reach a certain number of views etc.

Option 5: YouTube Gaming Partnership Program

And finally, whilst this may not technically be a method of earning an income on Twitch itself, if you want a more secure long-term revenue stream, then consider leveraging your Twitch popularity by moving over some or all of your content to YouTube Gaming. Once you’ve submitted your application, they’ll look at the number of subscribers you have and views you get per video along with several other factors to decide whether or not to accept you onto their Partner Program.

This then is entirely based on your existing audience instead of trying to find new viewers for each broadcast, so it makes sense even if your main goal is just building up an audience. The income earned here is done so predominately via advertising and to join the program you will need:

1. Have at least 1,000 subscribers.
2. Have at least 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months.
3. Channel/content must adhere to the YouTube Partner Program policies, YouTube Terms of Service, YouTube spam policies, and the Community Guidelines.

However, as YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world behind Google, this provides a method to increase your income from the other options listed above as well.

Conclusion

And there it is – 5 way to make money on Twitch. I hope it has been helpful and as usual, please do not hesitate to comment below if you have any questions, need some advice or have any experiences to share.

Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own online video based business?

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Until next time

Have fun

Paul

Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.