Everything You Need To Know About The Twitch Affiliate Program

Not everyone is suited to the 9-5 grind. Or, you might just be looking for an extra boost to your income.

If you’re already a Twitch streamer, then you’re halfway there to making money from your hobby!

Joining the Twitch Affiliate program can help boost and improve your channel. It’s also the first step to becoming a Twitch Partner.

Read on to find out everything you need to know about the program, from its eligibility requirements to how its affiliate marketing works.

What Is the Twitch Affiliate Program?

The Twitch Affiliate program is one-way Twitch streamers earn money through affiliate marketing while playing video games, doing live vlogs, or streaming other creative content.

As one of the top paying affiliate programs, some promoters are finding it very lucrative to jump on board.

Related Programs:

• Nike affiliate program

How Affiliate Marketing Works with Twitch

The Twitch affiliate program is simple and works just like standard programs in the niche of affiliate marketing.

It is a program that allows you to make money through commissions, giving you Affiliate links from game companies and paying you if you play their products enough.

For example, if you’re playing Skyrim and someone buys it through your Affiliate link, you’ll get a small percentage from that sale.

Essentially, you playing and enjoying their game is a simple but effective way to advertise the game from your Twitch stream.

When you think about it, it is a benefit to the companies, as affiliate marketing is usually cheaper than traditional advertising.

Think about it – you get more information about a game from a cinematic trailer, or from watching the gameplay?

Affiliate marketing lets the game speak for itself.

What Is a Twitch Affiliate?

A Twitch Affiliate is a qualified member of the Twitch affiliate program.

While most streamers play video games, there are plenty of other ideas to stream, including:

• Daily vlogs or “Just chatting” content
• Your music-making process
• Get ready with me style videos
• Cooking
• Arts and crafts
• Fitness training

The list goes on and on.

If you want to make money streaming, you are by no means limited to gaming on your Twitch stream.

Twitch Affiliates are also able to customize emotes for their subscribers to use, receive donations, and store live streams on demand for 14 days.

And for those who are looking to monetize their audience even further, there is also the Amazon affiliate program in which they can promote products on the platform and earn even more.

How Much Does the Twitch Affiliate Program Pay?

We’ve already gone over game sales (or affiliate links), which tend to pay a 5% commission on each sale, as an avenue for earning money on Twitch.

However, there are a few other ways Affiliates can earn revenue.

Other TikTok Monetization Methods

1. Channel Subscriptions

While anyone can view your live streams (with ads) viewers have different subscription tiers, including:

• $4.99
• $9.99
• $24.99
• A subscription through Amazon Prime

Subscribers gain access to different perks depending on how much they pay, including exclusive emotes, subscriber badges, and ad-free viewing.

2. Twitch Bits

“Bits” is the term for subscriber donations, where Twitch users can donate and send a message as you stream. Twitch bits are equivalent to 1¢.

You can track this, and other earnings, through the “Revenue” tab on your Dashboard.

3. Advertisements on a Stream

You can make money from your viewership, even if they’re not all paying for subscriptions.

Ads played on your stream will earn you money. That can be over $100 per minute of ad, depending on how many you run and how often you stream.

Editor’s Note:

This type of monetization model is one that many social media platforms are taking note of.

It is already a core strategy for how to make money on TikTok, but as time goes on, this type of earning will become even more prevalent on many other social media platforms as well.

How Do Twitch Payouts Work?

Payouts have a $100 monthly minimum.

In other words, if you don’t hit the $100 threshold in a month, the balance rolls over to the next month.

Once you reach that amount, Twitch will process your payout around the 15th of the following month.

Additionally, Affiliate payouts come with a fee.

For US-based Affiliates, that will vary based on which payment method you use.

Twitch Affiliate Program Eligibility and Requirements

You don’t have to defeat Sephiroth or the Flamlurker to get Twitch Affiliate status.

Rather, you just have to meet a standard list of requirements.

Age Requirements

First off, you need to be at least 13 years old to be a Twitch Affiliate.

Additionally, if you’re between 13 and 18, Twitch requires a parent or guardian to sign the Twitch Affiliate Agreement.

Program Eligibility

The program eligibility includes steps that you want to take to naturally boost your Twitch channel.

These requirements include:

• 50 followers for your Twitch channel
• Broadcasting for a total of 500 minutes (a little over eight hours) in the last 30 days
• Broadcasting for seven different days over the last 30 days
• An average of at least three simultaneous viewers within the last 30 days

You can keep up with your progress in the “Path to Affiliate Achievement” tab on your Creator Dashboard.

When you complete a goal, a checkmark will appear beside it.

How Will I Know If I Qualify and If I do, Where Will I See an Invite?

You’ll know if you qualify once you have a checkmark beside each of the four tasks.

Within a few weeks of meeting each requirement, Twitch will send you an invitation through email.

They will also notify you through the “Notification” tab on your Twitch account.

What Is the Difference Between a Twitch Partner and a Twitch Affiliate?

If you want to level up on Twitch, you’re aiming for a Twitch Partnership.

If an Affiliate is a part-timer, a Twitch Partner is the full-time worker.

You have to become an Affiliate before you become a Partner.

The Path to Partner achievement plan is similar to the Affiliate plan, but with higher requirements.

These include:

• 25 hours of streaming
• Streaming on 12 separate days
• 75 simultaneous viewers on average

Of course, these have the same 30-day time limit.

Unlike Affiliates, Partners have to go through an application process.

How Do I Apply for the Twitch Affiliate Program?

You don’t really apply to become a Twitch Affiliate. Instead, you get an invitation that you can accept.

Once you’ve accepted, Twitch will ask you to do a few things, including:

• Give them basic information about yourself
• Sign the Twitch Affiliate Agreement
• Fill out royalty and service tax interviews
• Complete the Tipalti form for payment methods (direct deposit, Paypal, check, etc.)

Tips and Tricks to Become an Affiliate Faster

While these aren’t requirements for the Affiliate program, these tips and tricks will help improve the quality of your channel.

1. A high-quality channel usually means a boost in viewership and followers.

First, get familiar with Twitch’s guidelines.

Twitch can be strict about its rules and regulations.

You can easily get suspended or banned due to copyright claims or other violations, such as harassment or bullying.

2. You should stream as often as possible.

Try to do so more often than the required seven days.

Plan your streams and experiment with different things.

What’s more, release a schedule on social media so a viewer knows when to join.

3. Make your streams high quality.

With that in mind, buy a quality microphone and camera.

Don’t just rely on a built-in headphone microphone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

Joining the Twitch Affiliate program is a great way to get your foot in the door of earning money at home.

It’s also a crucial first step on the path to being a Twitch partner.

Getting the status will motivate you to be consistent with streaming and to build your personal brand.

If you’re not already streaming, create a Twitch channel and get to it ASAP to have fun and earn at the same time!