Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, has become one of the best platforms for streaming. Although its launch went largely unnoticed, it currently has more than 17.5 million daily active users, which has led more and more companies to design marketing strategies on Twitch. However, despite its growing success, this platform still raises many doubts, such as whether or not it can really be monetized, so in this article we explain how you can make money streaming on Twitch.
How to monetize your Twitch channel
Twitch is a streaming platform that is used, above all, to broadcast live video game games. Its growth, however, has made room for other themes, so currently different types of profiles can be found among users, which has increased interest in monetizing content. But how to monetize Twitch?
Enable the bits
The bits is one of the most popular ways to monetize a Twitch channel. This is a type of currency that is used within the platform and that users can use to get and send Cheers, Cheermotes or personalized Cheermotes in the chats of content creators, which would be emoticons, animated emoticons and custom emoticons respectively. For each emoticon sent, The creator of this receives financial compensationspecifically $0.01.
The bits can also be used within some extensions, so every time a user uses it within one of them, its creator will receive 80% of that $0.01 and 20% will go to the extension developer.
The best thing about this monetization method is that it is fully managed by Twitch, so it is very convenient and secure, especially for those channels with millions of subscribers.
Encourage subscription to your channel
For a content creator it is essential to get subscribers, since these are the channel’s greatest support. Of course, you have to think that The subscription has a monthly cost for the viewerso through it you should be able to get a series of exclusive advantages, such as viewing content without ads or access to personalized Cheermotes, among other things.
There are also gift subscriptions, which are those that one viewer gives to another so that they have exclusive access to the channel. Offering these types of subscriptions is also a way to thank followers for their support and, at the same time, grow the channel.
Become an Amazon affiliate
Twitch is a platform that belongs to Amazon, so one of the best ways to monetize the channel is by recommending products that are sold in this great ecommerce.
If a retransmission is used to recommend and link to items sold on Amazon, as long as they are related in some way to the theme of the channel, Twitch can become a very good source of income, especially if you have a high number of subscribers and viewers. You do not have to meet any type of requirement to become an Amazon affiliate, just talk about the product using the live link and provide the corresponding link.
Put ads on your streams
Another way to monetize a Twitch channel is through ads. In this case Income will depend on the number of viewers who see the advertising.
The ideal is to start with one minute of advertising per hour of broadcast, since it is a very short break that will not bother viewers too much. Depending on your acceptance, this time may be increased to up to three minutes. Of course, the public must know when or how often there will be a pause, so it is recommended to notify whether the ads are entered manually or automated.
The most important thing is to present the advertising as a short break in the broadcast, so care must be taken about its duration and frequency, which cannot be less than 15 minutes. It is not recommended to concentrate your ads at the beginning or end, as this is when they tend to have the smallest audience.
Get sponsorships
There are brands that are looking for content creators who talk about their products or services, even let them try them live, which is another way to make money through Twitch. The ideal is to find a sponsorship that fits with the theme of the channel and the values that are transmitted through it.
At this point it is important to make it clear that it is not about accepting for the sake of accepting, but rather assessing whether you can talk about that product or service in a natural way. You should also carefully assess whether the conditions offered by the company are good and fair enough.
Be part of the Twitch affiliate program
Twitch has a very interesting affiliate program, which is usually the step before becoming a partner. To be an affiliate on Twitch and earn money through this platform It is necessary to meet a series of requirements:
- Have streamed a minimum of 8 hours on 7 different days over the last 30 days.
- Have at least 50 followers.
- Have an average of 3 viewers per broadcast.
They are not very demanding or difficult requirements to meet, so practically any content creator who regularly uses the platform can meet them. Being an affiliate it is already possible to earn money through subscriptions and the sale of bits and you can already promote products. What you cannot do is obtain income through advertising, since to do so you need to be a partner.
Enter the Twitch Partners program
To enter the Twitch Partner program More demanding requirements must be met compared to those of affiliates, but it is the best way to monetize a channel on this platform. These requirements are:
- Have streamed a minimum of 25 hours in the last 30 days.
- Transmissions must be on at least 12 different days.
- Have an average of 75 viewers per streaming.
If these requirements are met, an application to be a partner can be sent, which will be reviewed very carefully. This means that meeting the requirements does not guarantee entry into the program, which has numerous advantages for the streamer, such as the possibility of earning income through advertisements, channel customization, or exclusive access to special promotions. In addition, subscribers will be able to choose between three different payment methods, which may increase their number.
Use of external platforms
And finally, another way to make money streaming with Twitch is by joining this platform to other external ones, like streamlots and streamion.
Streamloots
Through streamloots you can create interactive card decks, which can make a live show much more dynamic. This type of letters They serve to get the creator to do a certain action.
The cards are sold by chests and any user can use them within a live, since all they have to do is lift it for it to become effective. You can also create special letters for specific dates, such as Halloween, Christmas or Valentine’s Day.
Streamion
Streamion is an alternative to earning money through ads without being a partner, since this platform introduces advertising into the channel in an automated way. Additionally, the streamer can choose the frequency with which the ads will appear, as well as their duration.
Twitch: advantages and disadvantages of monetizing your channel
One of the main advantages of Twitch is that Monetizing content is relatively simple, especially compared to other platforms such as YouTube, Instagram or Facebook. Besides, All users who enter Twitch do so with the idea of watching livesomething that does not happen in other social networks where the content is much more varied.
Another advantage of being on Twitch is that initially this platform was born to broadcast live video game games, but little by little other themes have found their way into it. So There are topics in which there might not be much competitionso standing out can be easier, which would lead to achieving an important source of income.
However, Twitch also has its disadvantages, one of them being the regularity and obligation to broadcast a minimum of hours per month in order to earn an income. Furthermore, these hours must be spread over a minimum of days. You must also offer very good content that is different from the rest, especially in topics with a lot of competition, or obtaining subscribers and income becomes very difficult.
We can conclude, then, that Twitch is a platform that can be monetized in many different ways. Of course, regularity in live shows is required and also content that is good enough for there to be viewers willing to pay for it.