Strategy
How to Grow Your Stream of Income With Sponsorships on Twitch
In the new age of digital marketing, it’s becoming easier than ever for influencers and content creators to make money online. Twitch is a great place to gain sponsorships, as brands will pay you money to promote their product(s) or service in your streams. Here’s a complete guide on how to grow your stream of income with sponsorships on Twitch.
If you’re a Twitch streamer, sponsorships are a great way to establish your brand and gain an additional stream of income. Once you’ve gained a relatively significant following that is loyal and regularly engages with your streams, you’re eligible to start receiving sponsorships.
Sponsorships are when a brand wants you to promote a certain product or service in your streams. In return, they pay you a fixed price that is typically agreed upon via contract at the beginning of the partnership.
Let’s take a look at how you can get sponsors on Twitch and how it can help you grow your income!
What Is a Sponsorship?
A sponsorship is a partnership between a brand and an influencer/content creator. Brands sponsor influencers and content creators because they want them to promote their brand, products, or services. In return, they pay creators a fixed rate that is agreed upon at the beginning of the partnership.
Sponsorships are one of the best ways to grow your streams of income and make more money from content creation. Plus, a lot of times when a brand enjoys working with you for the first time, they’ll want to keep sponsoring your videos which makes you more money.
How to Get a Sponsorship on Twitch
There are multiple different ways you can get sponsors on Twitch. For bigger creators, sponsors usually reach out to you directly. For smaller creators, it’s harder to get brands to notice your page, so they may not reach out to you as easily. If this is the case, you can try reaching out to brands directly and pitching a sponsorship deal.
Reaching Out to Brands
The great thing about directly reaching out to a brand is that they already know you like their company and there isn’t any other competition. When reaching out to a brand you’d like to work with, it’s crucial that you approach the partnership from the right angle. Here’s how to reach out to a brand you’d like to sponsor your streams:
- Find a company you’d really love to work with
- Find the right contact to reach out to (PR Manager, Social Media Manager, etc)
- Send an email that includes a personal introduction, your idea for the collaboration, and your personal connection to the brand
- Wait for a response (If you don’t hear back within 2 weeks, don’t be afraid to send a follow-up email)
How to Get Sponsorships to Reach Out to You
Ideally, once you start getting a few sponsorships, you won’t have to reach out to brands you’d like to sponsor you. Instead, they will reach out to you. In order for this to happen, you need to make sure your channel meets a certain set of standards. Let’s talk about how you can optimize your Twitch channel to keep sponsorships coming your way.
Determining Your Niche
One of the best things you can do to grow your Twitch channel is to narrow down your niche. With so many streamers active on Twitch, the days of creating general content are gone. Find something specific that you love to make content about whether it’s a specific game or talking about something particular.
By doing this, you’ll gain an audience that directly relates to you and your content, and it’s easier to create a connection and improve your video engagement.
Streaming Consistently
Something else that will give you a better chance of getting sponsors on Twitch is streaming consistently. Some streamers have a specific streaming schedule that they stick to, so their followers know exactly when the next stream will be live. This isn’t necessarily mandatory, but it definitely helps grow the trust between you and your audience.
If posting on a strict schedule doesn’t work for you, you can be more flexible by telling your audience you’ll stream a certain amount of times per week. This way, you’re still maintaining the trust between you and your audience, but there isn’t as much pressure to stream at an exact time or day.
Focusing on the Quality of Streams
With so many streamers occupying Twitch, it’s important that you’re only putting out your best, most high-quality videos. Creating high-quality content not only helps you get sponsors but also helps you attract new followers to your page.
Plus, brands most often only want to work with professional creators. The best way to show your professionalism is through the quality of your content. The quality of your content is often the first thing sponsors will notice about you, and it could make or break a potential sponsorship.
Optimize Your Twitch Profile
Another great way to make your social media presence come across as professional as possible is by optimizing your Twitch profile. For example, including a profile picture that is clear and recognizable is a key factor in attracting new followers.
Be sure that your bio reflects you and your channel and that all of the related fields and filled out. Also, include keywords that your target audience might search for in your bio, as this will help your profile come up easier in searches.
Your Twitch profile is essentially a first impression for anyone looking at your page, including sponsors. If you want a better chance of receiving sponsorships, optimizing your entire profile on Twitch is crucial.
Get Comfortable Hearing “No”
Being a content creator means getting comfortable with a ton of rejection. Especially in the early stages of your social media career, a lot of brands that you reach out to for sponsorships will end up telling you no.
Many factors go into a brand not wanting to sponsor you including budget restraints and marketing strategy, so don’t take it personally. Remember to stay consistent in pitching sponsorships to brands you love, and eventually, the right opportunity will come your way!
