It has been a while since I posted; I feel like I have neglected my account to focus on studies so hopefully this year I will be more active once again :)
Recently I have been thinking of ways to earn some money to help support my family while also doing what I enjoy and one thing that came to mind was Twitch streaming. I am grateful to have had a lot of support in making an account and streaming from friends and family which has been very helpful and has also caused me to stop being lazy and finally start something.
Game mechanics at its finest!
Creating the Account
With the help of quite a few tutorials, I set up an account. To begin with, of course, you can just set up a twitch account (https://www.twitch.tv/) and go through the simple directions to add a profile picture bio, etc. From there finding a way to broadcast or stream a game on the computer can be tricky, however, with PlayStation, there is a quick and simple broadcast option built-in where once your twitch account has been linked you just set up a few options such as face camera placement if you are using one, the chat placement and stream title. Once these things are set up you are good to go and you can access a dashboard via computer or even a phone app if you wish to manage the stream further. You are also able to stream on mobile devices!
Earning money through streaming
To earn money through twitch there are a few options; one is to become a twitch partner, but you will need a minimum follower and stream time requirement. Once you become a partner you can then set up a subscription service and when people subscribe you'll get around $5-$25 and they will have access to special bonuses within your stream. Through being a twitch partner you can also be gifted "bits" by viewers which is a form of twitch currency that can be bought and used as a form of donation.
Another option to earn money through streaming is to set up a donation box that will be viewable through your account on twitch. There are quite a few services that will allow you to set up a donation box, however, one useful one is https://streamlabs.com/ and I will say I recommend this if you are planning to set up one as it is fairly simple and allows you to link a Paypal account to accept donations if you choose. With stream labs, you will also have many options to access other things within your stream, such as viewing previous streams adding intros etc.
Here is a good tutorial that shows you how to set up donations systems and explains the system quite well.
Other services I have seen being used are ones such as Throne. This basically allows viewers to gift products that a streamer has put in their wishlist from different sites while keeping up privacy. You can also set up a system so that gifts purchased will show up on stream with the viewer's name and/or message.
Ways to promote gifting/donations
The most common ways donations and gifts are promoted is by setting up fun things that the viewers can do by donating, some common ways are letting them use fun emojis, having a leaderboard, pop-ups during streams and acknowledging those who donate a bit more.
End notes
I think the hardest bit for me was setting up small details such as doing a profile pic I do, however, have my sister who was kind enough to start designing me something, although she still hasn't finished yet, but I am looking forward to it.
I honestly thought I would have a hard time with my first stream, because I'm not very confident and don't like just talking to an imaginary audience. Luckily most of my streams I do with friends who are happy to join in with the gaming while I'm streaming and sometimes if one of them doesn't get the chance to join in the game they will ask me to stream just so they can watch :) My first follower was one of those guys so I will say having a group who supports you can really help you start streaming.
If you wish to check out my twitch account it is I do need to work on my account a bit more at this point in time as I still don't have much on it or a set schedule, but I do tend to just stream in my free time and do it for fun.