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This 2021, many people are doing tons of side-hustles in order to cope with the trying times. Unknown to many, live streamers are those that make a good living this year. Not only can they enjoy the games they’re playing, but they’re also earning revenue. How? Through live streaming. Yes, you read that right. Live streaming your online gaming activities can help you make money. There are several platforms from which these gamers can reach great viewership.
On Twitch alone, as much as 5,000 gaming channels get more than 72.2% of viewing time. This means, there is a market out there for this kind of activity.
With other sites, such as YouTube, Mixer, and Facebook Gaming that you can explore, there are tons of opportunities waiting to be discovered.
In this post, we’ll provide you with different tips and tricks on how well-known online gamers and streamers are making a good living. Here are some of them:
How to Make Money Live Streaming Your Games
1. Receive Donations/Tips from Viewers
For many, live streaming may be a hobby. It’s something they do out of whim simply because they want to share what they do with their followers. However, when they receive their first donation from fans, it may dawn on them that their viewers are appreciating what they do. They offer entertainment and they can get something from it through donations and tips.
Many of the live streaming platforms in the market allows players to earn through streaming through donations. These are usually integrated within the platform as currencies that users can use during live streaming.
For YouTube, their tipping service is Super Chat. In this service, viewers will send tips to make their messages pinnable on the channel’s chat window. Pinning their message lets them become more visible. Users can also buy chat animations in the form of Super Stickers, and live streamers can get a percentage from the sales.
For Twitch, viewers will use Bits as a form of “cheering” for the live streamers. For Twitch affiliates, each Bit used will award a cent as their “cut” from the purchase. With the Bits, live streaming viewers can send a message with a Cheemote.
In Facebook Gaming, viewers can send Stars to live streamers, wherein they get a cent for every Star sent. However, to get a cut from the Stars, live streamers must be part of the platform’s Level Up Program.
DLive offers a different take by allowing viewers to buy blockchain-integrated Lino points in exchange for interaction during live streams. When it comes to Mixer, viewers can earn Sparks when they watch live streams. They can then use these to buy Skills, which are gifs and animations. Alternatively, viewers can also purchase Embers and trade them off for better Skills with higher payouts.
How do you encourage viewers to give you donations and tips? Acknowledge them by giving them a shoutout! If the donation comes with a message, answer them with a smile.
2. Get Regular Payments from Viewers
If tips and donations would come at random, it would be nice to explore the regular viewer payment strategy. With regular payments for your live streams, you can get a percentage from what the viewers pay. While it will get you a couple of bucks for each, they can add up if you would have tons of viewers making these payments. Since this may be similar to a subscription, there are a few requirements that you have to comply with. Some platforms offer this feature as an exclusive for their content creators. To date, YouTube has a channel membership program where live streamers can get monthly payments. Potential partners must meet the eligibility requirements of the YouTube Partner Program. Similarly, Twitch already has a paid subscription program that allows live streamers to become Affiliates or Partners.
One way to increase your subscription is to create content that would only be exclusively available to subscribed viewers. Increase engagement by giving them a shoutout when they celebrate their subscription anniversary.
3. Avail of Advertisements
Live streamers can also earn through advertisements. Some platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, offer to advertise. YouTube has different ad formats like display, overlay, pre-rolls, and mid-rolls ads. Facebook Live, on the other hand, would only offer mid-roll advertisements when the live stream hits a certain number of views.
Doing advertisements during live streaming can be a bit controversial because they may be considered a little biased. That’s why it’s important for you to have control over what advertisement would come out of your channel. You may also have to take note that some viewers may opt to install software that blocks advertisements from showing. As such, it may significantly affect your earnings from ads. So, it should not be the only way for you to monetize your live streaming.
4. Get Sponsorships
When you already have a good following, you may notice that you may secure some lucrative brand sponsorships. If you’re lucky, these brands may be the ones to reach out to you. If not, you may have to reach out to them and cut a deal. Make sure that you only endorse brands that are in line with your beliefs. Since you are dealing with brands, you have to make sure that you understand all the legalities behind it. Check the fine print of the deal. Have someone knowledgeable to negotiate the deal with you. You also have to take note of your responsibilities as part of the deal.
Some deals may cause you to have a brand sponsor your streams. They can give you products as part of your giveaways. In turn, these brands would increase their online visibility and reputation through you. You may also have to mention that the brand sponsored your stream for transparency.
Sponsored content is also possible when you partner with a game developer. In this case, you may live stream that you are playing their game. This encourages your viewers to become familiar with the game. You may also need to display banners during your live stream as part of the deal.
Another important detail you should not forget when going for sponsorship deals is getting the pulse of your audience. When signing an agreement, brands may ask you what type of content you are producing, and which of them has great traction among viewers. You have to keep in mind that your audience should be at the core of your content. When they lose interest in what you are producing, you’ll lose the viewership, and you’ll also have to say goodbye to the sponsors as well.
5. Affiliate Links
Live streamers can also earn from taking part in affiliate programs. In this partnership, live streamers can get a commission when the viewers click on the affiliate links and buy using the link they can find during your live stream. Live streamers can also provide coupon codes that you announce on your channel. Similarly, you can also add links to the video description. Make sure that these links do not affect the quality of your content. Remember, your content should not suffer for the sake of getting earnings from the links. Your priority should be creating good content.
6. Develop Your Merchandise
Most live streamers also earn money by creating their own merch. You have to understand that the viewers would typically have a community of their own, and creating merch would make them feel they are part of the community. There’s a sense of belongingness. You can start creating mugs, shirts, hoodies or jackets, or even keychains that you can offer to your viewers.
However, you have to keep in mind that when you do this, you’ll also have to think about the design process, manner of production, keeping tabs of the inventory, and managing the shipping while taking care of your live streaming. To keep things organized, you may need to have a dedicated person to manage all the orders. You can choose to have an online store so the process is automated. This way, you can stay focused on your live streaming and promoting your merch.
7. Offer Mentoring Sessions
If you think that you are good enough at playing online games, whether it be mobile games such as CS: GO or Dota 2, or playing casino games, such as poker or blackjack. You can also use your channel to serve as a learning session. You can make the live stream locked for paying viewers so they can get pointers from you as an expert in the field. You can either do it one-on-one or for viewers who can pledge high support or you can also do it as a one-time offering.
The Internet has offered tons of opportunities for many individuals to earn money. Nowadays, even doing something that you love, like playing online, can already bring you good money. In fact, some are making a good career out of streaming and playing online. With some even earning thousands of dollars competing in eSports tournaments.
Ready to make money with live streaming?
