Twitch Affiliate is a program for approved streamers to earn money by monetizing their channel.
This status allows you to receive financial support while building an audience, which also benefits from the Affiliates Program.
After getting access to Twitch Affiliate, the streamer can offer custom emotes and exclusive rewards for more viewership engagement. The requirements to become a Twitch Affiliate are fairly accessible.
First, you will need to stream for eight hours (500 minutes) on seven different days. Additionally, you will need at least 50 followers and an average of three viewers per stream. Complying with these requirements in under 30 days is necessary for approval.
Most people can apply for Twitch Affiliate, but Twitch ultimately decides on approval. Still, you can try a few things to increase your broadcast value and show Twitch that you can be a valuable asset.
In this article, you will learn all about the Twitch Affiliate Program, tips to join faster, and potential alternatives you may want to try.
What Does Twitch Affiliate Mean?
Twitch Affiliate is a partnership program between streamers and the platform.
Under this program, content creators can share links and promotional content to make money while streaming on Twitch. Viewers watch this content, and the streamer receives a part of the revenue.
Twitch Affiliate Requirements
Becoming a Twitch Affiliate requires some milestones. For starters, you must comply with the rules and regulations presented in the platform.
Secondly, you must comply with the minimum requirements. Let’s give you a thorough overview.
How to Get an Affiliate on Twitch
- Obtain 50 followers.
- 500 minutes (approximately 8 hours) of streaming.
- Stream on seven different days of the week.
- Broadcast to three viewers on average.
Complying with these requirements simultaneously within 30 days is necessary to qualify for the program.
The requirements to become an affiliate on Twitch are relatively easy to achieve. Of course, your ability to reach these milestones will depend on your dedication entirely.
Remember, these are only the minimum demands asked by Twitch to grant affiliates membership. If you want to dedicate to streaming, increase broadcast time to gain more viewers, followers, and subscriptions.
How to Know if You Qualify for Twitch Affiliate?
Keeping track of followers, viewership, and streaming time can be a hassle.
Luckily, Twitch makes it easier for streamers by including this valuable data in the Creator Dashboard.
Here’s how you can access this information −
- Go to Twitch and log into your account.
- Find your channel’s avatar in the top-right corner, and click on it.
- Proceed to click on the Creator Dashboard.
- Move on to the Insights option, found in the left sidebar menu.
- Choose Achievements.
- Click on Path to Affiliate.
After following these steps, you will access a new window with detailed information on your Twitch Affiliate progress.
Take note of the milestones achieved, and work on the remaining ones to comply with the requirements as quickly as possible.
Even if you meet the affiliate requirements, it is still up to Twitch to accept your application.
If Twitch considers you fit for the program, you will receive a notification with an email. This final step includes setting up payment information and other minor tasks.
Overall, it may take two to three weeks to finish the application process.
Tips on How to Become a Twitch Affiliate Fast
Building a solid viewer following is essential to becoming a Twitch Affiliate. This achievement is perhaps the most difficult step for new streamers.
However, consistent work, organization, and commitment to your craft will draw more eyes faster.
Streaming for 500 Minutes in 7 Unique Broadcasts within 30 days
Don’t let 500 minutes discourage you, as 500 minutes equals only 8 hours of streaming per month. Additionally, unique broadcasts mean that you must stream on seven different days. So if you stream before breakfast and after dinner in the same day, that only counts as one broadcast.
Stream for At Least Two Hours
This amount of broadcasting time in seven days is enough to complete the timeline milestone. If you’re serious about streaming, you should broadcast as much as you can. More exposure will likely bring more viewers to your channel.
Create a Consistent Schedule
Seven unique broadcasts allow you to stream content at least two days per week within 30 days. Plan ahead, and create a consistent streaming schedule. When new viewers discover your channel, they will know when to return.
Getting 50 Followers and Three Concurrent Viewers Over 30 Days
Viewers often look at different channels while searching through their favorite categories. Your duty as a streamer is to keep them engaged and entertained, which you can accomplish by following these tips.
Invite family and friends
Those close to you can be the first to support your channel and growth. Invite them to keep up with your broadcasts, ask them to follow your stream, and request they spread the word around.
Even if a family member or friend is not familiar with streaming platforms, they can still assist you in your new endeavor.
Do What You Love!
This tip sounds cliché, but most popular Twitch streamers began their career as a hobby. Play video games that you like, talk about your passions in just chatting or show your craft in the respective category.
Be Charismatic
Being charismatic is a trait not all people have, but you should not give up your entertainment value. Many people are shy in person-to-person interaction, but they feel more relaxed in front of a camera.
Take this opportunity to try something different and let yourself loose.
Engage With New Viewers
Treat new viewers with respect by interacting and engaging with them. Ask how they are, how’s their day going, what they would like to see, etc.
You also need to keep your chat organized and free of trolls and spammers. New audiences appreciate a clean chat to communicate with the streamer.
Avoid Follow-for-Follow schemes
Follow-for-follow (F4F) is when two streamers agree to follow each other to help boost your follower numbers. While this may seem like a quick way to reach the 50 follower threshold, you will only be sabotaging your future as a streamer. When engaging in F4F tactics, you’re not building a true audience. Most of these streamer your trade follows with will not watch your stream, which you need as well. They will likely not share your stream. They will not be true fans.
Streaming isn’t just about followers, it’s about building a brand. Building something people want to genuinely be a part of. So focus on attracting your target audience and growing your stream organically.
Build Your Brand
Building a consistent brand name is an effective method to let the audience know they can invest their time in your work. Create and maintain active accounts on socials like Twitter, Facebook, and others.
Using other platforms like YouTube will also help, as YouTube’s audience is bigger, and the algorithm is likely to recommend your channel. You can use YouTube’s capacity to save VODs to promote your Twitch live streams.
Benefits of Joining the Twitch Affiliate Program
The Twitch Affiliate Program offers many benefits, whether you plan on streaming as a hobby or for a living.
Monetization
You can earn money through different methods after earning the Twitch Affiliate status.
Naturally, monetary compensation will depend on your audience’s willingness to support you. Your viewers can support your work as follows.
- Channel subscriptions
- Twitch Bits
- Donations
- Advertisement
Rewarding your audience support will show your appreciation, and they will come back.
Set up features like premium emotes, events for subscribers, special chat modes, channel points, and more.
Transcoding
One thing new streamers don’t know is that they will have limited resolution options. Becoming a Twitch Affiliate improves your likelihood of receiving transcoding priority and broadcasting your content in 360p, 720p, or 1080p.
More video quality and resolution options can be a significant help for viewers with limited internet speeds.
Not all Twitch affiliates get access to transcoding at first. This feature will also depend on other factors, like the viewer count and overall performance.
Engagement Tools
Other features like polls and predictions will be readily available under the Twitch Affiliate agreement. These tools increase audience engagement, allowing them to participate with you more closely.
Polls and predictions also allow the audience to interact with each other, discussing the topic at hand. Thus, these features can influence fandom and community building significantly.
One Step Closer to Becoming One of Twitch Partners
Becoming a Twitch Partner is the goal for most streamers on the platform.
This status separates serious content creators from the rest, offering multiple more features like custom Cheermotes, better monetization programs, and fewer fees.
Reaching this level is only possible after a successful run as a Twitch Affiliate.
Things to Consider Before Becoming a Twitch Affiliate
Getting a decent following and the possibility to earn money while streaming is tempting. Nonetheless, turning an apparent hobby into a profitable career can scare viewers away.
These are some of the things you must consider while trying to achieve Affiliate Status for your Twitch channel.
Evaluate When to Implement Ads
Implementing ads as soon as you become an affiliate will make you look greedy. Plus, you would not earn much money with few viewers anyway.
Focus on building a community first. In time, it may be your audience encouraging you to enable ads to support you.
Make Sure You Want to Stream on Twitch Only
After becoming a Twitch affiliate, you cannot turn on simultaneous broadcasting on other streaming platforms. Doing can cause you to lose your Twitch affiliate status. Exclusivity clauses are good for consolidating your career, but they will limit some of your work.
So, When Should You Consider Twitch Affiliate?
Joining the Twitch Affiliate Program may slow down your growth when you’re a new streamer. Therefore, you should avoid becoming an affiliate until you’re sure you want to do it.
Experimenting with other platforms is a good decision to find out whether Twitch is the right platform for you.
You Should Apply for a Twitch Affiliate account If −
- You decided that you want to stream on Twitch exclusively and no other platforms.
- You consider that you can achieve Twitch Partnership in the short or mid-term.
- The money you will receive as revenue is enough to potentially slow down your growth.
- No other platform met your demands as a content creator.
Alternatives for Monetization and Audience Rewards
Overall, you should not go for the Twitch Affiliate achievement right after unlocking it. Building a solid viewership is more important.
While you draw more eyes to your content, you can use alternatives to earn money and compensate your audience.
Alternatives to Earn Money as a Streamer
Did you know that Twitch takes 50% of your subscription revenue? This amount of money is often too high for newer streamers dedicated to this gig full-time.
Luckily, you can use third-party alternatives to receive financial support from your audience. Here are some of them −
- Patreon, which takes a 10% cut.
- Ko-Fi, which requires a 5% fee only.
- FanHouse, with just 10%.
- StreamElements, StreamLabs, and Ko-Fi for tipping with 0% fees.
Set up accounts on either of these platforms and inform your viewers about it.
Using these alternatives will allow you to receive monetary compensation while solidifying a larger audience to promote ads.
Alternatives to Reward Your Audience for Their Support
Exclusive emotes and channel points encourage viewers to engage with the streamers actively. These features are not available until you become an Affiliate, but you can still use some alternatives.
For custom emotes, you can use browser extensions like Better Twitch TV
This extension is free, and over four million Twitch users have it. Thus, you can take advantage of it by uploading custom channel emotes for your audience to unlock.
BTTV also offers other perks around interface enhancement to make the viewer’s experience more fun.
Channel or loyalty points are also available using other mediums, like Chatbot, Cloudbot, Botisimo, or Firebot
These are effective solutions to provide a loyalty point system and let your viewers know you care for them.
Final Words — Is the Twitch Affiliate Program Worth It?
Becoming a Twitch Affiliate is relatively easy. However, the real question is whether you should follow through with it.
Being eligible for the program does not mean you should become a part of it. As a new streamer, postponing your application may be a better idea.
Truthfully, you will not make a lot of money with the minimum number of followers and viewers needed for the affiliate program. Instead, you may scare away concurring viewers after implementing the advertisement so soon.
If you must add a monetization method, consider a third-party alternative.
Viewers will notice you are serious about streaming, but they won’t have to consume advertisements and promotional content.
This will also allow you to grow even further to build a consistent viewership.
Apply for Twitch Affiliate only when you’re ready to commit fully. Meanwhile, make the most out of other platforms to reach a bigger audience.
