How to Become a Streamer and Make Money (The Honest Version)

So you want to become a streamer and make money. First things first: you want to hit Affiliate on Twitch, or the equivalent on Kick. That's what unlocks subs, tips, and ad money. If you're on Twitch, I broke down the current Affiliate requirements and how to actually hit them here.

But let me share some stuff the other articles won't, because this is going to be the biggest reality check you get.

I got into streaming to make money too

When I got into streaming, my first thought was I'm gonna make a ton of money.

That's not how things worked. At all.

If you're getting into this to make money, here's the part nobody ranking for this search will tell you: the easiest money doesn't come from streaming. It comes from what streaming teaches you.

I know. What? What are you talking about?

The easiest money is the skills, not the fame

What I get paid to do now is probably the easiest money I've ever made, and it exists because businesses everywhere need someone to run their social media, build their online communities, come up with YouTube strategies, work with influencers, or figure out livestreams.

Now think about what you're doing as a streamer. You're creating content live. You're building a community. You're posting on socials as you go, I hope. You're networking, and I hate that word, but you are.

You are getting firsthand experience in the exact things businesses pay for.

And I know what you're thinking. "I'm a beginner, I don't really know anything, I'm just starting to post, just starting to co-stream." Yeah. But you know just a little bit more than a business does about it. A business that would pay someone like you to do it. You don't need to be super skilled. You need a bit of know-how versus someone who has none, and you're actively living your hobby, which says a lot. Then go deliver when they hire you. You just need someone to take a chance.

Social media manager. Influencer marketing. YouTube strategist. Content manager. Those are the doors streaming quietly opens. That's the easiest money I know how to make.

I put my real numbers from streaming vs this work in Why Should You Listen to Me if you want the receipts.

I'm not telling you to quit before you start

I'm not saying don't stream, don't make content, don't chase it. I'm saying the odds of making it on fame alone are really thin, and I hate saying that, because I know exactly the feeling you have right now. That determination that you're going to make this work. I was there too.

But over time I started realizing what I was actually good at. Thirteen years of content creation later, here I am: helping businesses and inspiring creators. That's what all of it was building toward, I just couldn't see it at the start.

How to actually make money as a small streamer

If you do hit Affiliate and want to grow the money side, here's how I'd play it.

Listen to your community. Really listen. As you build, get them involved in decisions. I've suggested before letting them pick your first emote, but take it further: understand what they want and give it to them.

Build a Discord server while you're at it. Now you have a community off the platform you can talk to any time, pitch ideas to, and rally. Keep building like that and you keep attracting more people, and the money follows the community, not the other way around.

I never made it the long game myself, so that's not the full blueprint. But that's how I'd play it.

The short version

Hit Affiliate. Build a community that actually gets a say. And the whole time, pay attention to the skills you're stacking, because content, community, and strategy are worth money to businesses long before fame pays you a cent.

Streaming might make you money. What streaming teaches you definitely can.

I write this blog for creators going from zero to their first 1,000. Subscribe below and every post lands in your inbox.