What is Twitch?

What is Twitch and how does it work?

Twitch is a streaming platform. You can watch live streams from all sorts of creators and even begin your own streaming channel. It is especially popular within the gaming community as a way for gamers to share gaming with others.  But there are many more ways to approach a livestream. Take cooking, travelling, ASMR or music streams for example. There is lots of great live-content to discover!

With more than 35 million daily users and 7 million unique monthly streamers, this is the place to be if you want to make a name for yourself as a streamer. With Twitch, the world is now your stage. Go nuts!

Is Twitch free?

Yes, Twitch is completely free for viewers as well as creators. You can create an account for free to watch live content and make your own. However, there are some functionalities on Twitch that’ll cost money. If you want to show support for your favourite streamers, you can send them donations in the form of Cheers or subscriptions. All these paid options are totally optional and not required!

How to make a Twitch account

Creating a Twitch account is really simple, just follow these easy steps:

1. Go to twitch.tv
2. Click the ‘Sing Up Button’ on the top of the page
3. Pick your username and password
4. Verify your account with a phone number or email
5. Select your date of birth
6. Click on ‘Sing Up’ and you’re ready to go!
   
   

With a Twitch account, you can watch all the creators on the platform. You can also begin your own streams, but there are a few steps you need to follow first. 

How to stream on Twitch

All you need to stream on Twitch is an account and a camera. Whether you film with a smartphone or a professional studio set-up, is entirely up to you. Twitch supplies you with the necessary basic software to start streaming for free! As well as an extensive guide to get you started as a beginning streamer.

To start a Twitch Stream, follow these steps:

• Create and design your Channel Page: here you can spice up your Channel with a bio and banners, as well as adjust settings for your stream
• Choose a streaming software you want to use like Twitch Studio or OBS
• Link your Twitch account to your Streaming software and login
• Choose the settings that are right for your Stream and set-up
• Click on ‘start streaming’ and you’re live!
  
  

How do you earn money with Twitch?

To make money on Twitch, you’ll have to become a Twitch Affiliate or Partner. This way you get money for subscribers who can also give you donations and Twitch Bits. Aside from that you can even run ads on your channel!

Twitch Affiliates

Twitch supports their streamers a lot and likes to give back to the Twitch community. That is why they offer an attractive Affiliate Program for streamers who meet certain requirements:

• Have at least 50 followers
• Streamed for at least 8 hours in the last 30 days
• Streamed on 7 different days in the last 30 days
• Have an average of 3 viewers per stream
  
  

Do you meet the requirements to become an Affiliate? Nice! Now you can take your Twitch Channel to the next level.

Twitch Partner

The next step after Affiliate is becoming a Twitch Partner. This way, you’ll have even more options to earn money on the streaming platform, like more emotes and subscriber badges. You can apply for Partner, if you meet the following requirements:

• You’ve been an Affiliate for a while
• Streamed for at least 25 hours in the last 30 days
• Streamed on 12 different days in the last 30 days
• Have an average of at least 75 viewers per stream
  
  

If your channel meets these requirements, you can apply for Twitch Partner. Whether you get the Partnership status, is up to Twitch.

Twitch Bits and donations

As an affiliate, you get money when viewers subscribe to your channel. You will also receive an emote for each subscriber, and you’ll be able to activate the Bits for Cheers feature. 

Bits are basically tipping functionality which enables your viewers to send you Cheers, animated jewel-shaped Emotes, for some extra support during your broadcast. It’s possible to send various values of Bits, starting at 1 (Worth $0,01) and going up to 10.000 (worth $140) to show support for a channel. Users that send a Cheer receive a Cheer Badge, which displays the amount they have tipped.

You could also set up a donation system through a third-party donation method, like PayPal. However, Twitch Bits are the most reliable way to go. This is because everything is securely arranged within the Twitch platform. Should chargebacks or other payment issues arise, both streamers and users are safe and protected within the Twitch platform.

Support your favourite Twitchers with our Twitch gift cards

Want to show support for your favourite creators on Twitch? The Twitch gift cards from Startselect provide a quick and easy way to top up your Twitch Wallet. Use the credit on Cheers, subscriptions or other donations!

Twitch Gift Code £25

Digital code

£25.00

{ "@context": "http://schema.org/", "@type": "Offer", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "price": "25.00", "url": "https://startselect.com/gb-en/twitch-gift-code-25/67014" }

Variable Twitch Gift Code

Digital code

£15.00-£150.00

Twitch Gift Code £15

Digital code

£15.00

{ "@context": "http://schema.org/", "@type": "Offer", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "price": "15.00", "url": "https://startselect.com/gb-en/twitch-gift-code-15/67013" }

Twitch Gift Code £50

Digital code

£50.00

{ "@context": "http://schema.org/", "@type": "Offer", "priceCurrency": "GBP", "price": "50.00", "url": "https://startselect.com/gb-en/twitch-gift-code-50/67015" }