How to make money on twitch 2020
An actual step-by-step guide on how to monetize your stream on Twitch and make money with multiple income sources written by an industry expert.
Before we begin on this guide it’s worth noting that getting to the point of earning enough to quit your job or having twitch become your main source of income is not easy and at times won’t always be fun. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy it but it’s important to remember this - There is a lot that goes on with successful twitch streamers that you simply don’t see. Hours and hours of time poured into work that the viewer never even realize took place. This is the important stuff, this is the stuff that you need to focus on. Chances are, if you’re already streaming, you can do the playing games and entertaining the audience already! It’s the behind the scenes part that’s lacking!
So many streamers wonder why after the all effort they get nowhere. Well, I am in a unique position of having worked with literally thousands of streamers in the last few years and after many weeks of perfecting this guide, I am certain I have the answers for you.
This guide is not just a generic list of stuff you can do, we have included real advice for actually achieving the goal of making money and urge you to read it in full. There is not much here in terms of how to develop your on screen personality, about equipment or which games to play. More of a strategy on how to actually get that dollar! Save this page and reference back to it as you move through the steps and I promise you’re onto a winner!
Step 1 - Get to affiliate
Step 2 - Obtain and retain Subscribers
Step 3 - Donations
Step 1 - Get to affiliate -
Note - do not skip this step if you are already Twitch affiliate. There is advice here that can benefit you later on.
I will assume at this stage you have your twitch account set up and are streaming already. Duh!
So, what’s “twitch affiliate”? Simply put this is a way to make money from your stream by earning money through subscriptions, bits and even game sales. More on these later, for now let’s work on how to get it.
The actual twitch requirements are as follows -
50 Followers.
500 total minutes broadcast over the last 30 days.
7 unique broadcast days (in the last 30).
An average of 3 or more concurrent viewers.
Post brand appropriate content and use this to create your brand
Now how to actually get to affiliate.
First thing, don’t worry about getting to affiliate fast it really does not matter. There is a unique opportunity in not having many viewers that really gives you a chance to work out your style, get your setup right and get comfortable streaming. This is a marathon, not a sprint!
Ask friends and family for support.
If you want to earn money from this, you have got to treat it like a business. When you start out in a business what do you do to get your first bit of work? You hand out your business card to people know, you tell your friends to spread the word, you reach out to those closest to you first.
This is no different and chances are you already have a few friends that stream or are interested in gaming or whatever it is you stream anyways. This is a double edge sword because you will also find these people the most comfortable to stream in front of when you start out.
That being said - beware of making you stream an exclusive club of only people you know. This is something I see all to often. Everyone must be welcome or you will not grow!
Get your socials sorted early.
Get your Twitter, Instagram, Discord and YouTube up and running at the start. Add them to your panels (we have free ones if you’re on a budget).
This is what panels are and some tips on how to use them if you’re just starting out.
This is super important not only because it will bring you some followers to help get to affiliate but also because later we will be leveraging your social media following to increase viewership on your stream in other ways.
Simply put - the more people that follow you, the more people will know about you.
Get your name out there where ever you can and you’re onto a winner! The streamers that I see that have good early success are the ones that get their social media right early on.
Set up your accounts, keep the names consistent to your brand and off we go!
Now, how do we use social media to help achieve affiliate status? I hear you ask. Well here are the rules -
Engage with accounts in the industry.
This does not mean spamming!! I can’t stress this enough.
Engaging properly means to actually be involved in topics and subjects that relate to your stream. Yes, we do have in mind that we are hoping those we engage with eventually follow us back and subscribe but you must give value to those you are engaging with.
Vote on polls, tweet your opinions on new game releases, comment on posts that are relevant to your stream and just get stuck in!
At this early stage, social media is your chance to get a small community together on your stream. You won’t be doing this forever but for now it works.
Link your stream to your socials.
Obvious but it does get missed. People may think you’re a great and really want to watch you but they won’t spend long searching for you if you don’t make it easy for them.
Link your stream as a domain on your social profiles and let people know where to find you.
Post brand appropriate content and use this to create your brand.
It’s really very difficult for me to advise exactly on this because every streamer has a different personality and different themes.
Honestly, unless you are playing a character for your stream, being yourself here is what works best.
Don’t mix up too much personal stuff with your stream Instagram though. People will of course be interested in you but don’t give everything away on social media. The trick is to give people just enough to be interested in you and your stream but not so much that they won’t need to tune in and see it.
Making money from social media and using it to direct people to your stream are two very different things and the strategies don’t mix well!
That is for now on socials, but we will be back later!
Stream!
Most people react confused at this when I recommend this as part of the advice I give to those wanting to react twitch affiliate requirements because it sounds so obvious!
If you’re not streaming, not only are you not reaching twitch’s requirements for affiliate, you’re also not putting in the early practice you’ll need later on. This early development is often overlooked.
If you think the people at the top were great streaming personalities when they started out, you’re mistaken. I hate to repeat myself but this is a profession, something you need to get good at. And I’m not talking about being good at games I mean get good at streaming itself.
The trick to getting affiliate isn’t spamming and grinding (although some grinding will be needed later on!) it’s a natural process that will come as you develop your brand.
Stream, stream, stream. Get good at it and the affiliate status will come with it.
Raid or host other channels.
Interacting with other streams is a great way to get your name out there.
By raiding or hosting, your name will appear and the streamer may give you a mention as well as an alert popping up with your name.
Not only does this support other small streamers, it also means your name is out there for others to see.
Again, don’t spam! Spend time on the stream, interact and engage in the same way we did with social media and Twitch itself could be another way to drive viewers to your channel.
Step 2 - Obtain and retain Subscribers.
So, you’ve done it! After all those hours, your affiliate email has come through confirming you are in. Now it’s time to recoup some of the money you’ve been spending on games and equipment!!
Getting subscribers is not easy at first but it is rewarding when you do. Here is what do to turn viewers into subbed viewers -
Reward those that subscribe.
Being a subscriber needs to be a privilege for your viewers.
Remember this and base your strategy around it and you can’t go wrong!
Coming up with rewards is where you need to be creative. This truly is one of the fun parts of monetising your stream.
Here are some suggestions for perks that you can offer your subscribers -
Offer the chance for your subs to play games with you.
Offer subscriber real life meet ups at gaming events.
Double entry in stream giveaways.
Offer subs special roles in your Discord server.
Put your chat into sub only mode from time to time.
Do the occasional Subscriber only streams.
Run subscriber only giveaways.
Adding an alert notification when a new twitch subscriber is a brilliant incentive and something that is very much recommended! Nothing beats seeing your name pop up on the screen.
Give those that subscribe a shoutout and a thanks. This could be enough for someone else to want to also drop a sub! We offer alert notifications as part of our Animated Stream Package and included in our pre-made packages too.
Retaining subscribers
This is a great point of reference because getting a load of subs at the start to then lose half of them the next month is not only deflating, but also leads to many people feeling as though their hard work has been wasted, leading to them wanting to give up.
Keeping subscribers is just as important as getting new ones!
Sub Badges.
Our number one for sub retention.
In short, subscriber badges are badges are given to your subscribers that appear when they contribute to your steams chat. Give people a great badge and they have a great reason to subscribe. Give them the opportunity for an even cooler badge in the future and they will want to stick around!
I understand there are varying budgets for everyone but spending $3000 on a gaming PC $800 in equipment and decoration $300 on games and then buying cheap generic sub badges makes no sense to me!
I totally get that there is a place for twitch template graphics for streaming and am not against them but when it comes to Sub Badges and twitch Emotes, if you’re serious about making money on twitch, I believe custom is the only way.
The reason I say this is that if your subscribers are paying to sub, you have to give them value! A template sub badge just isn’t going to do it! That doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune either. Our Custom, hand drawn badges are just $15 USD each.
Emotes.
Pretty much see above! Emotes are so important to your subscribers and getting them right is very important.
A few quick tips on emotes -
Consider festive emotes.
Create emotes based on “in jokes” unique to your stream to creat a community feel.
Have emotes that interactive and encourage chat engagement. A “hi” emote for example.
Get your streams feedback on new emotes. What should I do for my next emote? Is a question worth asking! This also goes a long way to increasing the community feeling.
React when people use the emotes, make those that don’t have them, want them!
We offer Custom Hand Drawn Emotes starting from $10 USD each. Again, you don’t have to spend a fortune, but with twitch emotes, custom is the way forward.
Another note on subscribers .
Treating your stream like a small business means you have to be a little bit of everything but for the most part a marketer and salesman/woman.
Don’t be overpowering but do remind your viewers why it’s awesome to be a subscriber and why it’s not cool to not be one!
Offering true value is important and selling it is even more so.
The trick is to make those who are not subscribed want to subscribe by reinforcing the idea that being subbed is a privilege and holds the exclusivity and prestige that just watching doesn’t have.
I know many readers will be thinking this is a little cold and ruins the feeling of community like you’re tricking people into subscribing. That’s absolutely not what it’s about.
In business terms, if you’re not providing a good product no one will buy it.
But if you are, why not advertise it?
Step 3 - Donations.
Twitch Donations are worth getting set up early after reaching affiliate status. These are a great income source and will most likely be your biggest source of income for a while at the start.
Remind your subscribers the options they have to donate but do not plug it every 2 minutes on your stream!
Never ask for donations but do let the stream know that the opportunity to support you is there.
There are several options for donations that include.
Twitch cheers
Streamlabs offer a one time donation
A great tip for maximizing donations is to tell your stream what you’re spending it on, set a donation goal and update them with how close you are to achieving it.
Your audience will be much more willing to get involved if they know what they are donating for.
If it’s for new equipment to improve your stream, that’s cool. If it’s just because you want to earn money and make your dream job become a reality, that’s fine too! Just be honest with the audience.
Adding an alert animation, just like with the subscriber alert I mentioned earlier really does increase the likelihood someone will donate.
When they do, go crazy, thank them, shout them out and others will follow!
Create a “hall of fame” for those that have subscribed the highest amount to your stream. The phycology here is simple -
If your top donation is $20 and someone was thinking of donation $20 they may just increase it a little to get to the top of the leader board!
That’s it for the end of this part. Check back soon for part two which will be arriving next week!