Livestreaming on Twitch or other platforms is a massive passion for various gaming enthusiasts, entertainers, or creatives. With the vast cosmos of livestreaming expanding around the globe, it is thrilling to see that more and more people find an entry into this exciting community.
Numerous hobby streamers also want to pursue livestreaming as a potential career opportunity that supports them part-time or even full-time. To help this particular group of people, we assembled the ultimate guide to monetization on Twitch livestreams, highlighting various ways to make money with ads, subscriptions, Bits, Twitch extensions, and more.
The guide will include the following methods for making money on Twitch:
- Subscriptions
- Ads
- Bits
- Twitch Extensions
- Other types of income such as donations, merchandising, affiliate programs, and sponsorships
#1 Being eligible to gain revenue with livestreams
At the start of your journey, there is some preparation required. In this guide, we will focus on Twitch livestreams but feel free to use our tips and tricks for YouTube, Facebook Gaming, or other platforms.
So, you created your Twitch account, livestreamed for a couple of times, and acquired a small community of loyal viewers: Now it is time to make your first steps towards a multitude of potential income streams. On Twitch, this means that you will need the Affiliate status for your livestreaming account.
The requirements for the Affiliate status are the following:
- At least 500 total minutes broadcast in the last 30 days
- At least 7 unique broadcast days in the previous 30 days
- An average of 3 concurrent viewers or more over the previous 30 days
- At least 50 Followers
You can find additional info on the Affiliate status in the official Twitch FAQ. As soon as you finish your registration, you will earn money using Ads, Bits, and Subscriptions. This information is also applicable to Twitch Partners, who need to meet several additional requirements for their status.
#2 Twitch features: Ads, Bits, and Subscriptions
The built-in Twitch features such as Ads, Bits, and Subscriptions are a good starting point for your revenue and will help you make money with livestreaming.
Ads
Ads are the video clips played as soon as a viewer tunes in to your livestream (pre-roll) or during the livestream (mid-roll). You will track the income in the Revenue Breakdown of your Channel Analytics which can be found in your Twitch Dashboard. You can run ads through your Live Dashboard but make sure to choose the timeframe wisely as you want to place them during your content breaks so that no one misses the action.
Bits
Bits are a virtual currency that viewers can purchase to support their favorite content creators. Viewers that spend Bits in your livestream chat will be able to highlight their messages with special emotes. You will receive money based on the number of Bits spent on your channel. To track this income livestream, you will need to visit the Revenue Breakdown of your Channel Analytics.
Subscriptions
The Twitch Subscriptions (Subs) are a monthly channel membership that viewers can activate on your channel to support the livestream. These can be activated through payment by the viewer or the usage of a monthly Twitch Prime subscription. The latter will not be renewed automatically, however. You will earn money based on the number of active subscriptions in your channel so make sure to offer great benefits for your viewers, such as thrilling channel emotes or exclusive Discord channels for your subs. Your viewers will also be able to gift subscriptions to other viewers with the Sub Gifts feature. The exact costs for a Twitch subscription are based on the Local Subscription Pricing.
#3 Twitch Extensions
Twitch extensions are often overseen and are one of the most fun, engaging, and easy ways of making money on Twitch. These apps are minor upgrades that you can place under your livestream or directly in the livestream player that enable additional features. The most prominent example is Sound Alerts: An app that lets your viewers play sounds in your livestream with Bits (and Channel Points).
Installing Sound Alerts
You can install Sound Alerts easily by using the following tutorial video or visiting the homepage and logging in with your Twitch account.
Creating your alerts to start earning money
After using the tutorial to install Sound Alerts in your livestream, you are ready to start earning money. Use the dashboard to add sounds and determine the corresponding amount of Bits. As soon as viewers begin to use these sounds, you will earn a share of the income. You can also use the tool as an all-in-one solution for all your livestream alerts and other features. Please note that the monetization features can only be used by livestreamers with the Affiliate or Partner status.
#4 Other income types
As a livestreamer with a small community, you will have the opportunity to use a variety of ways to earn income with your livestream. We will give you a short rundown of other possibilities in the following paragraph:
- Donations: You can set up a donation button to let your viewers support you directly
- Merchandising: You can sell merchandise with your brand or logo to create an additional income stream
- Affiliate Programs: Programs such as Amazon Affiliate will let you link your favorite products to your viewers so that you earn a share if someone buys something through your recommendation
- Sponsorships: As soon as you grow your audience further, you can arrange sponsorships with gaming companies and other brands
We hope that this guide gave you a quick overview of the revenue possibilities for your livestream. For additional information, feel free to visit the Sound Alerts help desk. Happy streaming!