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How to make money on Twitch: our ultimate guide to making a cash-worthy stream
Christine Ottoni • June 11, 2018
The ultimate guide on how to make money on Twitch
Twitch is more than a place to watch video games. In fact, with millions of monthly viewers, Twitch is quickly becoming a place for savvy gamers to carve out cutting-edge careers for themselves as streamers. More and more, gamers are asking themselves how to make money on Twitch.
Streamers game and share commentary, host tournaments where other players can compete and add an interactive, personal aspect to watching online gaming. There’s a whole other world of streaming on Twitch called IRL (aka In Real Life) where you can live stream art, hobbies, crafts, cooking, motivational talks and more.
Streamers often partner with businesses and brands (like Ting) and use their platform as a tool in affiliate marketing. Streamers use their channels to spread the word about products and services and start raking in sponsorships for tournaments and events and even bounties on sign-ups for services.
Find out how to stream on Twitch
In this post, we’ll help you become a Twitch streamer, starting with the basics of how to stream with Twitch. Then, we’ll walk you through some starting points for monetizing your stream so you can start making money on Twitch.
Wondering how to make money on Twitch? Ting partners with streamers and helps them learn how to talk Ting and promote smarter mobile. If you already have an audience on Twitch, consider working with us to grow your base and spread the word about smarter mobile.
How to stream on Twitch, PC or Mac
The first question to ask yourself (if you’re not a seasoned streamer already) is how to start streaming on Twitch. If you want to use your computer, read on about how to set up a stream for your PC or Mac.
How to set up a Twitch stream
The best way to stream on Twitch is with whatever equipment you’re most comfortable with. You can do it with a Mac or a PC, with your built-in hardware (a webcam and microphone) or external hardware.
It’s likely that your setup will improve over time with more practice and you’ll learn about what works and what doesn’t. The easiest way to get started is with your laptop’s built-in camera and microphone, as well as the right software.
Get started with Twitch OBS
You have a couple options when it comes to streaming on Twitch and you’re going to need some extra software to get your streaming vision off the ground. You’ll need a way to share your screen in a way that’s optimized for gaming viewing.
Open Broadcast Streaming (OBS) software lets you optimize screen recordings for specific games and share your gaming experience with the world. Check out Twitch’s broadcast page for some specific recommendations and links to setup guides. Twitch recommends Bebo, Streamlabs, XSplit and Open Broadcast Software.
Choose the one that works for you, download it and test it out. Lots of these OBS options and open source and totally free to use.
Your Twitch stream key
Your Twitch stream key is a crucial piece of information that connects your Twitch account to whatever OBS you’re using. You can get your Twitch stream key in your Twitch dashboard and put it into your OBS setup when prompted.
How to stream on Twitch with Xbox One or PS4
You can stream Twitch on PS4 or Xbox One without downloading an OBS or any additional software. With Xbox One, just grab the free Twitch app, log into your Twitch account and grab a code from twitch.tv/activate to link your Xbox Live gamertag to your Twitch account. Follow the rest of the setup steps from Twitch and you’ll be live streaming in minutes.
For PS4, you’ll have to grab the Twitch app as well. Once you’ve downloaded the app, the process is a bit simpler than Xbox One to start livestreaming. Just press the Share button on your controller, select Broadcast Gameplay and then select Twitch and login. You’ll be able to choose where you’re pulling video from, set your title and stream quality and start broadcasting. For full setup details, see the Twitch website.
Now you’re on the big stage, all set up with a brand new stream. Maybe at first only your friends visit or interact with you but there’s a ton of viewers out there, so how can you reach them?
How to be a Twitch streamer? Get an audience.
Social media is a great place to start. In fact, lots of the streamers we work with have strong social media accounts with a ton of followers. Take a look at what other popular streams are doing, like BaseTrade TV on Twitter. Get involved in the community and start making some noise.
Making money on Twitch can be a whole different game
Setting up a stream is one thing, but gaining an audience and turning your stream into something that makes money requires a bit of extra legwork. If you’re wondering how to make money on Twitch, read on. It’s time to take on an entrepreneurial mindset and start thinking about what products, brands or services your viewers and audience might find helpful or useful.
Remember, you don’t need to have thousands of viewers to monetize your stream. You have to be savvy at promotion, be smart with social media and use all the tools at your disposal to share meaningful products and services with your audience. A bad match is a bad match and gamers will see right through promotion that doesn’t make sense for them.
How to make money on Twitch? Find out what your audience wants and ways you can add value to their viewership. We’ve talked a lot about how authenticity is an important part of affiliate marketing. It’s better to be honest and upfront and promote products and services to your base that they’ll actually find useful.
Why Ting is a great option for gamers
For a long time, we’ve talked about Ting as a solid option for mobile service for gamers. You can bring any phone you want, you get tools to take control of your bill and you only pay for the service you actually use. Gamers tend to be on Wi-Fi a lot, and with Wi-Fi calling and messenger apps that connect to the Internet, you don’t really need to spend on texts, minutes or data at all. You’re never penalized for low usage on Ting, in fact, we give you the tips, tricks, hacks and tools to do it. What’s more, Ting does rates, not plans. Come and go as you please.
Thinking about turning your stream into a business?
Here’s how to make money on Twitch: work with Ting. We want to hear from you.