The one, probably the biggest, streaming platform. That’s how we can describe Twitch. Probably you can watch any stream in any category, from the gaming to the contest, from the cooking shows to the talk shows, and you can find more. The categories are endless. One of the best things about Twitch is that everyone can start a career, with a small amount of streaming equipment. Probably, you can start with a notebook. You don’t need devices that cost, thousand of dollars, which was needed a long time ago. You just need two minutes, a registration, and software.

Let’s go and check out Twitch, what this platform is about, where It’s started, and nowadays what are your options. What are the Twitch pages, how you can set your account, request the stream key, buy some bit, or a subscription to your favorite streamer, therefore you can help the broadcaster grow. Because yes, the option is available for everyone, to earn some money with Twitch.

The platform is available on the market for a long time, and it made many changes at the time. You can use the application as well. But we don’t want to continue the description, let’s dive deep into Twitch.

The Twitch

Since it’s starting in 2011, there’s made many changes and updates to the platform. Today, it is a platform owned by Amazon.com, and they acquired with about 970 million dollars. In the beginning, the name was Justin.tv, (named after the first creator Justin Kan), but as the platform get more and more traffic, the new brand was essential. That was the time when Twitch was born. The main site, which is developed by Justin Kan, is started in a startup incubator, called Y Combinator.

When the site started, you had the chance to follow Justin’s life 24/7, as you may see in Truman Show, where Jim Carrey’s everyday life was recorded. The site was completely free, and the gaming section was a highlighted part of the website.

In 2020 the website generated 2,3 billion dollars in revenue, based on subscriptions, donations, and other sponsorships. In 2021 2.84 million user-watched Twitch at the same time, has more than 9 million users, who streamed at least once a month, and more than 18 billion watched hours in 2020. Therefore many people, nowadays use this platform as their main income source. These numbers at the time of the pandemic were outstanding.

Twitch registration

After you go to the site of Twitch, simply at the upper right corner you’ll find the “Sign Up” button, where registration is positioned. You can only register if you are older than 13 years and based on the Policy, under 18 years you should watch the platform with your parents (especially, nowadays with “hot tub streams”). Along with the basic pieces of information, you can add your mobile number as well. When you type your username keep in mind, that it will be your channel URL as well, and you can only change that after 60 days.

After you register you need to authenticate your profile, and after the login, you can follow your favorite streamer, subscribe to one of the channels, or you can send donations. You have many options that you can set, like profile picture, cover image, or description, but not limited to your data privacy settings.

There are also many languages that you can pick, so you have an easy job. There are many accounts cracked nowadays, so you should turn on two-factor authentication, with your mobile number or with the Google Verification app.

Under channel and videos, options you find yourself at the “Creator Dashboard”, where you can specify your channel, add new and create short videos, and manage uploaded videos.

On this page, you can define your Twitch channel type, category, where you want to stream, the logo, and the social channels as well. You can add many extensions, and check reports about the viewers and the view times.

Like, Follow, Subscribe

There are many ways, how you can support a channel or a streamer. The most important two are the follow and the subscription. The following is when you want to have notifications and messages from the channel, and if it’s going live, you’ll know instantly. For that, you don’t need any money, and you can follow as many channels as you want. This is a “positive feedback” for the streamer, it’s getting obvious that the streaming is good.

On the other hand, when you subscribe to a channel you commit yourself to a monthly payment for the streamer. Most countries have the option to pay with local currency, like EUR or USD. The average subscription price is about 3,19 EUR, with 20% off.

For the subscription, just click on the “Subscribe” button, after that you need to give your credit card details. As we mentioned the subscription is a monthly payment, so the 3,99 EUR will automatically withdraw from your bank account.

There’s an option to use your Amazon Prime Gaming subscription, to subscribe to one channel every month. The basic Prime subscription costs 5,99 EUR, which is a good choice, since many in-game objects are included in the subscription, along with the one subscription every month.

How to cancel your Twitch subscription?

Your twitch subscription will renew every month until you decide to not pay the streamer further. Maybe, you want to give the subscription to other streamers, or the content may change. To cancel the subscription click on your profile picture in the upper right corner, and choose “Subscriptions”.

After that, you’ll see your current subscriptions on the page.

Here, click on the gear icon, and pick the red text which says “Don’t Renew Subscription”. With that, you canceled your subscription to the streamer, and in the following month, the amount will not withdraw from your account.

Purchase donation, Bits

You can donate to a streamer with the help of many independent platforms like, Streamlabs, or Patreon, however also Twitch built the option for that, called Bits. This, like a currency, you can purchase and later you can give away for streamers from your wallet. To purchase Bits, click on the upper right corner button called “Get Bits”.

Twitch partnership, income, and affiliate

For a long time as a streamer, you have the option to become a Twitch Partner with your channel. That means, If you streaming for a long time, you have the option to receive donations and subscriptions. If you want to start streaming, you should read our “How to start streaming” article, where you’ll find all details about the program, requirements, and possibilities.

Before you begin your streamer career, you should know where you can get to with streaming, and what conditions you need to fill, to be a Twitch partner. Our future article about “How much money you can earn with Twitch?” will cover you. Keep updated with the latest articles.

However the Twitch partnership program is one of the best, there are several other ways you can earn money, with streaming.

How to find Twitch Stream Key?

Twitch Stream Key is necessary to start streaming, which you need to acquire at the website, then give into one streaming software (Like OBS Studio, or Streamlabs OBS).

At the Creator Dashboard, under Settings – Stream, you’ll find the Primary Stream key. Also, many software nowadays connects with Twitch and you’ll only need to log in, and it automatically retrieves the key from your profile. Also with Streamlabs, the chat and other widgets will work instantly with the log-in options.

Summary

Twitch is a great platform, If you want to spend your free time, speak with others, or If you want to start streaming. If you considering starting your streaming career, you need to prepare that the platform is huge, and you’ll need persistence. But that doesn’t mean that you should give up easily, because, with commitment and a little bit of social media, you have the chance to reach more than ten thousand people. Do you have any questions? Do not hesitate to ask them in the comments.