Any up and coming Twitch streamer these days has dreams of making it big on the platform. One of the first steps on this journey is to become an Affiliate as part of the Twitch Affiliate program. Many people might think that this is a huge moment for your streaming career, as you can now start monetising your channel and begin to see some revenue as a result of streaming. But are there any downsides to becoming an Affiliate on Twitch?
We’ll be walking you through all there is to know about the advantages and disadvantages of becoming an Affiliate on Twitch.
First off, who can become an Affiliate and how can you get there?
Who can become an Affiliate?
Any streamer on the Twitch platform has the potential to become an Affiliate. Provided that you aren’t already a Partner on the platform, the Affiliate program is designed for smaller streamers who have ticked the boxes on the following prerequisites:
- A minimum of 50 followers on your Twitch account
- A minimum of 500 minutes of broadcast time
- Streaming on 7 unique days
- Average of at least 3 concurrent viewers on your streams
These must all be maintained over a 30 day period in order to qualify for the Affiliate program.
Advantages of becoming an Affiliate on Twitch
The first major advantage of becoming an Affiliate on Twitch is that you’ll be able to start earning money. This money comes in a few different forms. The first of these is through advertisements that appear on your channel when people click through to your stream. The second is through “bits”, which are essentially virtual goods that your stream viewers can gift you. Lastly, subscriptions from viewers will make up the majority of your revenue stream.
How much money can you make on Twitch?
This question really depends on the size of your channel and how many viewers you tend to receive. When looking at the stats, for every subscription payment that you receive, there’s roughly a 50/50 split between the revenue you receive and the half that Twitch receives.
If you start putting in the time and effort to really grow your stream at this stage, then you could make Twitch a full time job, by earning several thousand dollars or more a month.
Ability to add custom emotes
Another big plus of becoming an Affiliate is that you’ll gain the ability to add custom emotes for your viewers. These emotes are a great part of the Twitch community and many viewers love to share their admiration for a channel by using them.
One of the great ways to acknowledge your audience, particularly as you grow, is to use animated Twitch alerts to really boost engagement. Building these alerts in combination with your new custom emotes is a nice way to create a real sense of community on your channel. This again will only help you to grow even further on the platform.
Disadvantages of becoming an Affiliate on Twitch
Despite the allure of monetisation waiting for you on the other side of becoming an Affiliate, there are a few “disadvantages” to keep in mind before you officially join the program. Even though you can start earning some revenue, this also means that Twitch will be taking a healthy cut of your Bits and subscriptions.
This is where the use of a donation system has become very popular, with the best way to show your support on a channel through is by donating some cash to them directly. On Twitch, you don’t actually need to be an Affiliate to add this link, so we recommend setting this donation link up as early as possible, so you have a direct way for people to show their support (without becoming an Affiliate).
Content Exclusivity
Another disadvantage of becoming an Affiliate is that the content that you stream as part of your latest broadcast on Twitch is 100% exclusive to the platform for 24 hours after your stream ends. This means that although you could be dying to get the latest highlights up on YouTube to share with your fans, you’d actually be breaching the terms and conditions of the Affiliate contract.
You can directly share the Twitch link out to your Twitter, but you won’t be able to create unique content with it for other purposes.
Create a personalised stream
Whether you choose to become an affiliate on Twitch or not, the most important thing is that you’re creating a completely personalised stream that resonates with your audience. One of the best ways of ensuring your channel looks and feels professional and in line with your vision is by investing in animated stream packages.
These packages are filled with all you need to get going with your stream, making sure that you’re adding the level of professionalism to your channel that people are often expecting these days.
