How To Make Money On Twitch In 2021 – The Ultimate Guide

While many people don’t seem to take gaming seriously, being a professional gamer can actually earn you a living. If you are eager to make money on Twitch, you’ve come to the right place!

This article includes a brief guide on how to earn revenue from the go-to streaming platform for gamers – Twitch. Without further ado, let’s get started!

How To Make Money On Twitch

Do you want to know how to make money on Twitch? There are several ways to do so, with and without being a partner.

Making Money On Twitch Without Being A Partner

Earning income from streaming can be a daunting task, especially if you just started a new streaming business.

There are tons of things that you won’t be able to do when you’re new to the platform, including making money from subscriptions, sponsorships, game sales, you name it!

Worry not! You can still have earnings from Twitch without being a partner. Below are the four ways to try:

• Donations
• YouTube
• Affiliate marketing

Donations

You’re likely to get donations from fans and subscribers once you have built a large audience on Twitch. 

However, donations don’t necessarily correspond with the number of subscribers you have. Sometimes, a good number of loyal fans are enough. Those who are generous enough can donate up to hundreds of dollars to the person they love. 

The thing is, you won’t be able to get what’s called Bit donations (from Twitch Bits), which will later be available once you have become an Affiliate or Partner. Thus, what kind of donations are we talking about here, and how are you doing to get it? Simple enough – third-party services!

Collect your donations by adding a ‘Donate’ button to your Twitch channel to your PayPal, Stripe, or any other services to your liking. A majority of Twitch users will likely have PayPal, so it should be your first consideration.

Another way to get your donations on Twitch is to promote the donation link in your Twitch chat next time you’re live streaming.

However, it is advisable to be careful with scammers. Some people would make a donation, but later, they file a chargeback, causing you to lose the money. For that reason, before giving a shout-out to these people, do check if the money is there.

YouTube

If you are new to Twitch but already have a solid audience base on YouTube, consider making YouTube videos. They should contain the best parts of your streams on Twitch.

It is possible to earn revenue from YouTube ads. However, you will have to be a YouTube Partner first.

Even if you are not, it is still advisable to post on YouTube since Twitch is slightly limited in terms of offering ways to attract viewers. On the other hand, YouTube provides quite a bunch of features for this, including video suggestions, search results, personal recommendations, etc.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is one way to make money from Twitch without being a partner. It’s worth noting that affiliate marketing is different from being a Twitch Affiliate.

Affiliate marketing means promoting a product or service while offering your audience a coupon code, which is usually 10-20% off. Twitch is owned by Amazon, making this e-commerce site people’s consideration when adding affiliate links.

Of course, there are also other providers with appealing affiliate opportunities, and you’ll be the ones to find them. Twitch does not have anything to do with seeking and signing up for your potential partner sites.

Making Money On Twitch With An Audience Base

Once you have built a considerable audience base for your Twitch channel, things should be easier now. 

Brand Sponsorships

You don’t need to be a Twitch Partner or Affiliate to promote brand sponsorships. Yet, it is virtually impossible to make money this way if you don’t have a decent amount of following.

Once brands have determined that your audience can be their potential customers, they’re going to reach out to you. However, that’s not always the case if you only have a regular audience base. What you can do is pitch them yourself!

Research your viewer base’s insight carefully, make a detailed plan on how you’re going to promote the brand’s products/services. Then, pick up the phone, and start calling people!

Typically, there are two main forms of sponsorships.

1. Brands pay you to display their products while streaming on Twitch, and of course, a shout-out. The products vary and can be literally anything, from gaming hardware to energy drinks and even musical instruments.
2. Brands pay you to play their new game during streams with the hope of getting new players to know and play it as well. In this case, you’re getting paid for the added publicity and exposure to such companies.

Sponsorships are different from affiliate programs because you’re going to be forming a direct partnership with a company (the sponsor) as opposed to getting a commission of referral sales. 

Merchandise

Once you have built a close-knit community on Twitch, offer your fans an opportunity to bond with you even further. One of the most common ways to do so is to offer your customized merchandise.

Before starting to sell merchandise, ask for confirmation from your audience whether or not they are going to buy such items. This is important, especially if you don’t have a large following.

Then, ask for the ones they’re more likely to buy: t-shirts, stickers, or laptop cases? It may seem absurd, but not wrong to do this. After you have everything sorted out, add a panel link to your Twitch descriptions. 

Making Money On Twitch As A Twitch Affiliate

After your account has met Twitch’s specific terms and conditions, you can become a Twitch Affiliate. The Affiliate eligibility includes:

• Having at least 50 followers
• Streaming a total of 500 minutes in the past 30 days
• Streaming on 7 unique days in the past 30 days
• Having 3 or more concurrent viewers on average

Sometimes, you’re even invited to be a Twitch Affiliate once your account has met all the requirements.

Twitch Subscriptions

This is the primary way that the majority of Twitch streamers take advantage of when becoming a Twitch Affiliate.

The platform will allow users to access an exclusive chat with their favorite Affiliates and other exclusive perks for a monthly fee, respectively $4.99, $9.99, and $24.99.

However, the money earned will be split between you and Twitch. The platform receives 50% of the profit, and you get the rest 50%.

Twitch Bits

Once you’re a Twitch Affiliate, you can accept donations directly via Twitch Bits.

Users can earn Twitch Bits in various ways, including watching ads, taking surveys, or purchasing Twitch Bits packages. Every time a user gives you a Twitch Bit, you get $0.01. 

And while it doesn’t sound much, you’ll be amazed at how much you’re getting at the end of every stream.

Game Sales

While game sales are not as common as other methods, you can still consider trying it out. 

What you need to do is to stream yourself playing a game from the Twitch store. If a user purchases the game along with the game items from your channel using a “Buy now” button, you’re getting a 5% share commission from Twitch.

Making Money On Twitch As A Twitch Partner

Being a Twitch Partner is almost like being a Twitch Affiliate. While you’re going to receive the same benefits, you’ll also get to receive the share of the ad revenue from your streams.

Plus, Partners are given a channel badge displaying right on their profiles – proof of them being a popular streamer on Twitch.

To become a Twitch Partner, you must:

• Have at least 25 broadcast hours over the past 30 days
• Broadcasted on at least 12 unique days over the last 30 days
• Have 75 or more concurrent viewers on average

Twitch Ads

Pre-roll ads are likely to be shown before users can join a streaming room.

As Twitch Partner, you can generate as many mid-roll ads as you want, but make it reasonable. No one wants to see your streams if it’s going to be full of ads.

For every 1,000 views of your ads, you get $7. Unless you have a large following, you won’t be getting much advertising revenue. 

Wrap Up

Can you make money on Twitch? Absolutely! With the methods mentioned above, making Twitch one of your main sources of income has never been that easy!

Now that you know how to make money on Twitch, what else are you waiting for? With hard work and dedication, nothing is impossible. While applying these methods, don’t sleep on creating great content. Isn’t that why your viewers watch your streams in the first place anyway?

If you have any questions about the mentioned methods, let us know in the comment section below. Thank you for reading!