In addition, many people have chosen to stream to generate income due to this rise in popularity. But is streaming worth giving a shot as a career option?
Is Streaming a Good Career?
The streaming industry can be a viable career choice if you like interacting with others, entertaining them, and being flexible. The top 100 Twitch streamers make upwards of $30,000 per month through ads and donations. These also enjoy an enormous following across social media platforms. Earning enough money to make streaming your career can take some time if you are starting. For someone with an Instagram following, streaming might become much easier than it would for a newbie. The bright side is that you can earn a salary while playing video games every day or interacting with thousands of viewers each day. Sounds amazing, right?
Can You Make a Living as a Streamer?
Yes, you can support yourself as a live streamer. The truth is that thousands of people worldwide make a career by live streaming; nevertheless, if you want to earn a living as a live streamer, it will need time and effort. Also, your efforts might not pay you soon, and it might take months or even years to get your first few dollars via streaming. An average Twitch streamer with a decent number of viewers can easily make anywhere from $3000 to $5000 every month. Please note that this is the income of an average streamer. If you get to the top 1% of the streamers, you might as well earn more than any regular desk job! All of this sounds amazing; however, how do streamers earn money? Let’s find an answer to this question.
How Do Streamers Make Money?
Every streaming platform broadcasts ads on your stream, and the streaming platform gives you an incentive for the same. However, most streamers only earn a fraction of their income via ads. It is often the additional revenue streams that contribute to the income of streamers. Numerous full-time streamers are independent of the platform’s revenue possibilities to support their financial needs. Here are some ways by which streamers earn their paycheck:
Donations
Although you can’t set up subscription tiers initially, you can still get donations from viewers of your video feeds. A third-party business can configure this option. For example, create a PayPal donation button on your account, or use a tool like Streamlabs to generate a tip page to earn extra cash from tips and contributions on your channel.
Patreon memberships
Patreon is a membership platform that makes it simple for creators to receive payment. It offers creators a method to be compensated for the work they currently do (webcomics, videos, songs, podcasts.) Fans can pay as little as $1 per month for each published post. Following the processing of your customers’ payments, you get the collective amount on the first of every month. Patreon is a terrific way to generate revenue from subscribers because it adds a different payment source to the creator’s revenue. As a streamer, you can specify your subscription levels and the benefits associated with each on Patreon.
Merchandise
Once you have a sizable enough audience, selling your goods or merch is another way to make money. This could include products with your brand or design, such as t-shirts, blankets, hoodies, pens, and hats. With the help of websites like Streamlabs, you can set up and market your Twitch store with your products so that your viewers may buy them and support you even more.
Create Course/Mentorship/Lessons
Offering services to aspiring Twitch streamers is another way to profit from your audience on the platform. For example, you can offer coaching services to share your knowledge of growing a following on Twitch, Facebook, or YouTube. If you have a loyal audience, it will surely chime in to register for your mentorship tutorials. You could add a price tag to these courses when they become popular in the community.
Collaborate with Brands
To begin brand collaborations, there is a general notion that brands only collaborate with top-tier streamers for integrations. However, micro-influencers have recently come into focus for firms looking to get their products in front of relevant consumers. This is particularly true when trying to draw in younger customers loyal to the platform. You typically respect a streamer’s opinions and suggestions when loyal to them. In addition to providing goods discounts, there are many other ways to work with brands. Hosting unboxing broadcasts, giveaways, brand shout-outs, product placement, or publicizing new product launches are all ways to start making money. Brands’ typical promotion format allows plenty of space for creativity on your stream and social media.
Bits/Super Chats From Fans
A Super Chat is a for-profit message that enhances a viewer’s comment by making it more vibrant and attention-grabbing than regular comments. New ones in the conversation stream replace older comments, but Super Chats are unique and rise to the top of the chat window. In essence, viewers of live events pay for your attention. (If they’re very kind, they might do it to support you; probably both.) If these potential revenue sources excite you and you consider streaming as a career, you might want to explore the different streaming options.
Here are a few tips to boost your super chats:
Perform interactive activities Explain how your subscribers’ donations can aid your channel in increasing attendance at live streams by promoting them Make the viewers feel valued.
What Type of Streamer Can You Become on Different Platforms?
Streaming is an amazing career opportunity and has a huge element of creativity involved in the process. You must prove your creative caliber at each step, right from choosing the correct streaming category. However, when there are so many categories to pick from, it often becomes hard to choose the one that perfectly matches your strengths. Although gaming stands on top of all streaming categories, there are many more streaming categories that get significant viewerships and hold the potential to become great career options. Here are a few streaming categories that you can choose from:
Video Games
The most viewed streaming category is video game streaming, irrespective of the platform. Be it YouTube, Twitch, or even Facebook, video game streaming dominates every other streaming category. However, with great viewership comes great competition, and video game streaming will test your patience to the last bit. It will be hard to gain viewers, but game stream watchers are an extremely loyal viewer base. We recommend only choosing this category if you are passionate about a game and are ready to take on the intense competition. Perks associated with video game streaming:
Give enlightening commentary or analysis about the game. Learn about the gaming community Gain knowledge of game mechanics Make a name for yourself as a reliable source among gaming enthusiasts.
Reaction Streamer
We seek validation for our choices, and reaction channels exploit this human need. As a reaction streamer, you may react to the latest video, movie trailer, or meme compilations, and your audience enjoys all of this content while also enjoying your reaction. Also, reaction streaming is one of the easiest ways to gain new viewers, as reacting to a trendy topic can easily spike your viewership. However, on the flip side, this viewership might not be as loyal as a gaming viewer base, and the viewership could also be temporary. Here are a few points to note if you want to become a reaction streamer:
Track all the trendy topics and react to them as quickly as possible. Be as witty as possible to retain the viewers and turn them into subscribers. Make sure the content you are reacting to is copyright free.
Music Streamer
If you are an indie musician who loves to tinker with tunes, you might want to try streaming music. There are times when the chartbusters become monotonous, and the audience wants to listen to something fresh and unheard. Such an audience loves to chime into an indie musician’s stream and appreciate their music. Similar to video game viewers, music viewers are extremely loyal as well, and they are also great at sending super chats to support their favorite creators. Here are a few things to note if you want to stream music:
Only try your hand at music streaming if you genuinely love music. Try showcasing new music while also talking to your audience. Avoid tunes similar to existing music on the streaming platform, as it can lead to copyright strikes.
The Just Chatting Streamer
The ‘Just Chatting’ streaming category is quickly gaining popularity as audiences love to hear from their favorite streamers. A chat streamer’s charm and entertainment draw in their audience as community hosts. Almost anything can happen during a “Just Chatting” Twitch stream, including watching humorous videos, karaoke night, fostering community, or even cooking. If you wish to become a ‘Just Chatting’ streamer, here are a few points that you should note:
As the audience tunes in to have a heartfelt conversation with their favorite streamer, make sure you constantly interact with the audience. Just chatting can easily become monotonous, so make sure you do new things on each of your streams.
Become a Niche or Topic Expert
Let’s say you have sound programming, filmmaking, or even cooking knowledge. Conventionally, it makes more sense to compile your knowledge into pre-recorded videos and post them online. However, you might be surprised to know how fast niche expert streamers are gaining popularity across streaming platforms. If you know anything under the sky that your audience might find relevant, stream it and spread your knowledge.
How to Become a Successful Live Streamer: A Complete Guide
Honestly, there exists no perfect guide to a successful streaming career. However, here are a few things that you should note to fast-track your way ahead of other streamers:
#1. Identify Your Goal
Prior to beginning your streaming journey, write down your goals. What, according to you, should your success in streaming look like? Think about your motivations to go live, and stick to these motivations even when you become successful.
#2. Choose a Niche and Identify Your Expertise
Consider what will set your channel apart from the rest to determine its niche. What makes you different from the millions of other streamers available? Think about what you can specialize in when it comes to live streaming. Make sure you focus on activities you enjoy or won’t mind repeating.
#3. Make Sure to Portray Yourself in Good Light
Your personality plays an important role in why viewers tune in. Your audience expects you to be sincere, no matter how engaging and approachable you are.
#4. Don’t Shy Away From Investing in Good Hardware
A high level of quality is expected of live-streaming content. The quality of your stream will not keep viewers interested if it is subpar or the connection keeps dropping. Invest in a good webcam and microphone to create a stream that viewers will enjoy.
#5. Comply With the Streaming Platform’s Regulations
A violation of the streaming platform’s regulations can kill your streaming career before it even starts. Read the terms of service before you begin broadcasting to avoid a nasty surprise later. You should also pay attention to how you appear while live streaming. Streaming services will penalize you if you use poor language or express nasty viewpoints, preventing you from pursuing your dream career.
#6. Steam Consistently
It is impossible to grow an audience if you are inconsistent. Make sure you stream consistently, preferably on a consistent day of the week or at a consistent time. As soon as you prove your consistency, your audience will also become consistent in watching your live streams. To keep up with your stream schedule when you’re away, you may pre-record and schedule your streams using Restream events.
#7. Avoid burnout
Live streaming consumes your time quickly, leaving little time for anything else. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance cannot be overstated, especially if you work for yourself.
Is It Worth Becoming a Streamer?
Streaming is worthwhile if you like to entertain and communicate with others. Every day, more and more people are making a full-time living out of their passion for streaming. Not to mention that you will be putting effort into a hobby. Streaming may be worthwhile even if it can be a lot of labor. Even though it can take some time to get there, streaming can be a terrific job. It can take a lot of work to succeed as a streamer. Many streamers continue to stream for years with little to no improvement. However, it can be a terrific job for the selected few who succeed in breaking through and creating a community that supports them. Here are a few perks apart from the monetary benefit that streaming brings to the table: Live streaming is a great way to build your brand and reach more people. You can connect with new audiences, make them feel part of the show, and increase their loyalty towards you. It’s also a great way to promote your business or product and gain valuable insights from the audience. One of the best things about live streaming is that it’s very easy to start. All you need is a webcam, computer, and internet connection! Here are a few downsides of becoming a streamer: Live streaming can easily take up your time and consume your day. Moreover, streaming for long hours can easily affect your mental and physical well-being. Additionally, it can be heartbreaking to put in the effort and not see your channel grow.
What’s the Success Rate, and How Much Luck Goes into Becoming a Successful Streamer?
There are over 8.5 million streamers on Twitch alone, and the site hosts thousands of live broadcasts simultaneously. On Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and other live platforms, there are numerous broadcasters, yet most of them have few viewers. To draw viewers, you must compete with all of these other streamers, which is difficult. Building a fan base requires much effort outside of streaming and takes time—even years. However, if you’re prepared to put in the effort or already have a loyal following on another platform, you can eventually make live streaming your full-time career.
Final Thoughts
So there you go! The above points are only a few things you can do to expand your Twitch, Facebook, or YouTube streaming channel. Your creativity and your approach will largely determine your channel’s trajectory. Finding a solution that works for everyone is impossible, so experiment with various approaches to see which works best for you and your audience. In the end, it’s all about having fun. Utilizing these tactics will improve your internet visibility and help you build a loyal following. It’s time for you to activate your camera and microphone, launch a streaming channel, and start doing your best. Lastly, be patient and stay motivated, irrespective of the numbers. There will be fruitful results in the end! Next, you can check out the best webcams for YouTube/Twitch streaming.
