Top 5 Tips on How to Make Money on Twitch

First thing’s first: What is Twitch and how does it work? Twitch is one of the most popular online platforms for gamers, with more than 4 million broadcasters each month and 17.5 million average daily users who stream while gaming or watch others stream. While many users are only viewers, there is a good amount of Twitch users who hope to turn their hobby into a source of income. 

In fact, some streamers earn big figures each year. These are typically the streamers who have thousands of followers and spend most of the day broadcasting, gaming, and hosting other people on their channel. But don’t let that scare you off! With a little commitment and consistency, making money on Twitch is an entirely reachable goal.

Now for the good part: How Twitch streamers get paid. Streamers are paid on the 15th of every month, given that they meet the criteria. Depending on the day of the week and the payout method, it usually takes around 3-5 business days before they receive the money. The minimum payout is $50 for most payment methods, which include ACH/direct deposit, eCheck/local bank, PayPal, and check methods. If a streamer doesn’t reach the minimum amount, their balance rolls over to the following month. 

For more information on how Twitch pays, check out this article.

If you’re interested in monetizing your Twitch channel, it’s only normal that you want to know how much money we’re talkin’ here. The range varies depending on how big a streamer’s following is. But generally speaking, smaller streamers can expect to earn between $50 and $1,500 per month, while successful streamers make anywhere between $3,000 to $5,000 per month. And then there’s the top of the top on Twitch who earn at least $30,000 a month–yes, you read that right. 

Now that we have your attention, let’s take a look at how you can throw your hat in the ring and start making money on Twitch.

1. Start by Getting New Followers

“How do I get followers on Twitch?” A perfectly normal question for any Twitch streamer newbie to ask. We recommend to start by announcing your new Twitch channel to your followers on other platforms, like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks. Post the link to your channel and make an announcement with a date, like: “Hey folks, I’ve just opened a Twitch channel and hope to meet you all at 8 pm for some laughs.”

When people show up, you just need to get there, say hi, and tell them what’s the purpose of the channel. Make it natural and fresh. People often like streamers who improvise and talk to them directly rather than following a script. Choose interesting topics (or games) to talk about and and speak to your audience as you would a friend. 

To increase engagement, it’s also good to come up with questions that they can answer in the chat. You can then use their answers to spark a conversation. 

And last but not least, keep new material flowing. The most successful Twitch broadcasters are the ones who have a lot of content on their channel and give their followers something new to watch. 

Once your Twitch channel has gained some traction, you can start reaching out to some brands you’d like to partner with. They’ll give you their product, you’ll show it on your channel and normally you’ll get a commission for each sale you make. 

Be clever when choosing and contacting a brand, especially if your channel has no more than a thousand followers. Smaller brands are normally looking for streamers with +1K followers, while bigger brands will have tougher requirements to join their partnership program. If your audience is not as big, you can look for hardware and software companies to partner with–they’re usually open to collaborating with Twitch streamers. 

 People can support your channel via subscriptions from $4.99 per month. The Twitch website says, “Viewers can subscribe to your channel to unlock perks, such as exclusive chat rooms, emoticons, and merchandise discounts. Monthly subscriptions start at $4.99, with $9.99 and $24.99 options available.” You’ll then receive a cut of each subscription. 

Another way to make money on Twitch is through bits. According to their site, “Bits are a virtual good you can buy on Twitch that give you the power to encourage and show support for streamers, get attention in chat through animated emoticons, get recognition through badges, leaderboards, and acknowledgment from the streamer, and even unlock loot during special esports events. Bits also allow you to chat in Sub Only chat rooms.” 

You decide the benefits of subscriptions to your channel and the number of bits needed to cheer or talk in your channel. You’ll receive $0.01 for each bit used on your channel. Users are able to purchase bits on Twitch through Amazon Payments and PayPal. 

Subscriptions and Bits are available automatically for Twitch affiliates. If you want to know how to make money as a Twitch affiliate you need to know that there are certain requirements to meet: 

• At least 500 total minutes broadcast in the last 30 days
• At least 7 unique broadcast days in the last 30 days
• An average of 3 concurrent viewers or more over the last 30 days
• At least 50 Followers

Read more about how to become a Twitch affiliate here. 

You can monetize your Twitch channel by activating ads so that when you’re streaming, ads show up. The duration of ads can go from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. How much you earn depends on how many people see the ads, which means the bigger your audience, the bigger your earnings. 

We recommend showing ads in the middle of your streams, as there are normally more viewers in the middle than at the beginning or the end. To allow ads on your channel you’ll need to sign up as a Twitch affiliate or as a Twitch Partner. Partners receive a number of exclusive perks that are not available to the affiliates on the Twitch platform. Learn more about how to become a Twitch Partner and how much a Twitch Partner makes here.

Now that you have some tips on how to make money on Twitch, the only thing left to do is to  be patient. Building a loyal following on Twitch takes time, consistency, and good content that you’re passionate about. Try these recommendations and success will surely follow. 

And if you just want to use Twitch for fun with your friends and followers, you can also connect Voicemod voice changer and stream with a modified voice. With 100+ unique voices, you can broadcast with a baby voice, a demon voice, a girl voice, a robot voice, or any of our AI voices. Learn more about our AI voice changer here.