Twitch Affiliate Program Review — Gaming Platform and Broadcasting King

​About Twitch

Initially, Twitch was part of Justin.tv, a software created by Justin Kan and Emmett Shear. The gaming section ended up outdoing the rest of the categories forcing the creators to come up with Twitch.tv specifically for gamers to stream their content. 

In 2014, Twitch had grown so large that the company was renamed Twitch Interactive and was worth around 1 billion dollars. Google was even in talks to acquire the gaming platform.  

You see, gamers have always enjoyed watching other players do their thing. In fact, they tend to stream into contests at local gaming centers and have been known to come out and support their favorite players. 

Twitch.tv allows gamers around the world to come together in one place. Not only do they get to watch live streams of their favorite games but also take part in the interactive streams and connect with other gamers.  

Sounds like fun, right?

After some more years of negotiation, Amazon bought Twitch in 2016. Its prime members have additional benefits on Twitch.tv including a free subscription to one of their favorite streamers channels.

Many people earn a livable income using the Twitch.tv site. These gamers will usually have acquired an affiliate status or rose to the top of the file and become a Twitch partner. 

Applying to be a Twitch affiliate

There are a few thresholds that you must meet to become a Twitch affiliate. Once you have every requirement ticked off, you are ready to apply to become an affiliate.

Let’s look into what it takes to be an affiliate on Twitch. 

Age: For starters, you must be at least 13 years old with parental consent or at least 18 years old to join the program.

Adequate stream hours: In addition to being of age, you should be able to stream at least 8 hours daily for 30 days and have streamed consistently for the last seven days before you apply. 

Views: Your streams must have some viewers to qualify. Generally, you need not less than three per stream in the case of the affiliate program.

Enough followers: You need a good following to qualify. It should be not less than 50 followers. All these are meant to keep only the most committed affiliates; those who can help the site make some revenue.   

Twitch offers its users multiple ways to earn money. On one end, game creators can accept donations from their viewers. On the other end, you could become an affiliate and earn handsomely promoting Twitch offers to your viewers. 

Here is a chart with the eligibility requirements to join the affiliate program …

​What are their commission rates?

How much can you make on Twitch as an affiliate? Generally affiliates earn 5% of the sales that come from their channel pages. But there’s more.

There are four main ways anyone can earn money here. Here are them and the commission rates of each method. 

Getting subscribers

It’s the first and possibly the most lucrative. Your subscribers have several plans to pick that range from a FREE prime plan subscription, $2.99, $9.99, and $24.99 monthly plans. You also get one global subscriber emote and two optional additional ones for $9.99 and $24.99 each.

You also have the freedom to give the perks of each of the offers you give. 

Through Bits

Bits will usually pay $0.01 per bit cheered on your channel. The entire point of bits is to allow your subscribers to support your content right on the twitch platform. They do this by cheering for your content.

And if they do, you get a percentage of the revenue, which is mostly fair. 

By promoting new games

If you stream a new video game that has just been released and get a few purchases from your subscribers, you can get a percentage in commission for each person that buys.

That’s a great way for game makers to popularize their new creations and equally for gamers to try out a new game and earn while at it. 

In addition to the three ways above, Twitch has lately introduced several events and specialty programs. The benefit of these programs is that they offer affiliates ways to monetize their content. 

Getting Started as an Affiliate

There are a number of good video guides out there on how to be a successful Twitch affiliate. This video will give you some ideas on how to get started.

Tools and creative for affiliates

There are several tools at your disposal as a Twitch affiliate. They include bits, subscriptions, and game sales. 

Bits

This monetization tool allows creatives on Twitch to earn from doing what they love. Bits are like a virtual version of tips and enable creators to benefit from their audience at the go. 

Game sales 

Game sales are a great tool that affiliates can take advantage of. Chances are your fans already trust you. If you suggest the coolest new games in the market, they might just be willing to purchase and try them out. Doing this allows you as an affiliate to earn. 

The site is working to provide analytics for creators to help them keep track of their growth on the platform. Affiliates get a lot of benefits that help them continue to grow and hopefully make it to partner status on Twitch. 

And talking of Twitch partners…

What’s the difference between Twitch affiliate versus partner?

Affiliates and partners on Twitch get different benefits. Let’s look at the main differentiating factors between being a Twitch affiliate and a partner. 

Custom Emotes: For starters, affiliates don’t get custom emotes while partners have that benefit. As far as game sales are concerned, both partners and affiliates can earn money from these. Partners, unlike affiliates, can also get ad revenue from their streams. 

Badges: Partners get badges and sub-budges on their channels. Affiliates get paid by other broadcasters while partners are paid directly by Twitch. 

Both partners and affiliates get their money after 45-days. Partners, however, get direct support from the company and enjoy a few extra perks that the affiliates do not.

If you want to be their partner, you need to be an affiliate first because you cannot be a partner and an affiliate at the same time.

Here’s a chart that shows the difference …

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Pros and Cons —
Twitch Affiliate Program

DISADVANTAGES

Your revenue from bits and subscriptions is shared with Twitch

Your content is exclusive to Twitch for the first 24 hours

Conclusion 

Generally, Twitch is a great platform to earn money for many gamers. Fulfilling their requirements and gaining affiliate status is relatively easy. With some consistency, a lot of gamers can become affiliates. The benefits outweigh the cons. Hence, we would definitely recommend the Twitch affiliate program. 

Join Twitch and begin making extra income online today.  

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FAQ