10 Live Stream Monetization Methods

Live-streaming is a great way to share your passions with the world and connect with like-minded individuals. Also, it can be a good source of additional income.

If you keep putting out quality content on a regular basis, you can be sure that there are people out there willing to support your work financially. It’s just a matter of finding and implementing the right live stream monetization strategy.

To help you get started with live stream monetization, we present 10 monetization techniques that content creators are currently using to great success.

Why Monetize Live Streams?

There can be several reasons to monetize live streams depending on your situation and streaming goals:

• To make live-streaming your full-time job.
• As a side gig for earning extra money.
• If you are a game streamer, to cover the costs of running a game server.
• To expand your budget for content creation.

Streaming statistics show that livestreaming is massively popular, and there is money to be made if you know what you’re doing.

How to Monetize Live Streaming? – 10 Ways

There are many ways to monetize live streaming, from fan donations to corporate sponsorships. Some are more effective depending on your circumstances and financial goals. It is up to you to try them out and see which one works best.

Here are the 10 most popular ones to consider.

1. Ads

Ads are the staple way of earning money online. You get a small percentage for every click, which is not much if you only have a small following, but they can add up over time for a hefty profit. Most streaming platforms have an automated ad placement system, so all you have to do is enable ads on a per-stream or per-channel basis.

You can choose whether to play ads before, during, or after a stream. Pre-stream ads are useful for giving fans something to look at while they wait for the stream to start. Mid-stream ads are great for pauses during long streaming sessions. Post-stream ads are best used in conjunction with shorter live streams.

2. Brand Deals

Another way to monetize live streaming is by signing up for a sponsorship deal with a brand. These deals might require you to give shoutouts, wear branded merchandise, or promote products. You are usually awarded fixed compensation for your services as a promoter, and you might receive bonuses and perks in the form of event invites, exclusive interviews, and discounts on products.

3. Referrals

Referrals are a form of indirect sponsorship. You provide a referral link to a product or service at a particular seller, for example Amazon, and for every purchase, you get a small commission. You won’t be earning millions, but you will accrue enough money over time to pay for things like site maintenance, software subscriptions, etc.

What’s attractive about referrals is that it costs the fans nothing extra. They simply get to support you while buying things they would likely buy anyway.

4. Fan Donations

Crowdsourcing is another viable option for live stream monetization. It works by giving your fans and followers the option to support you with recurring or one-time donations. This method works best if you provide donation incentives such as exclusive content, shoutouts, access to Discord chatrooms, and slots on your private game server. You won’t get many donations when you’re just starting out as a live streamer, but once you gather a sizable fanbase, they can easily cover any running expenses you have.

5. Subscriptions

Receiving an occasional tip from your fans is awesome, but receiving recurring donations is even better. Even small recurring payments of $1 per month per user will start to add up quickly as you acquire new subscribers. What makes this possible is the recurring revenue model, which has been implemented on most streaming platforms.

For instance, on Glimpse you can define a sponsorship level, and users can then pay its sponsorship fee to access your private stream, game server, or your other paywall content.

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You might also want to check out Glimpse’s article on content monetization trends.

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6. Content Syndication

Content syndication is a form of partnership between content producers and distribution outlets. You give the distributor publishing rights for your content in exchange for a one-time fee, or recurring payments. Some syndication platforms may also give you a percentage of advertising revenue your content has generated. This monetization approach requires you to have a VOD library of your previous streaming sessions.

7. Merchandise

If you are already an established name in the streaming world, you can leverage your popularity to sell branded merchandise. You can sell everything from t-shirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, and other assorted paraphernalia. You’d be amazed how much money fans are willing to spend on merchandise to support their favorite streamers.

8. Pay-Per-View

One way to make money off of live streaming is to think of it as a series of digital events. You then charge admission to some of these events. For example, you can stream a Minecraft speedrun for free, and then do a paid-only follow-up stream where you explain your strategies and discuss with fans.

You’ll need a way to charge users for access. Streaming platforms, such as Glimpse, allow you to easily charge along with many other ways of making money from content.

9. Lead Capture

In marketing terms, a live stream is a form of video content that you can use to promote your brand. You can host excerpts from your streams as standalone content on social media channels. This will increase your visibility, which means more followers, fans, and subscribers. Lead capture is not exactly a live stream monetization strategy; it is a way to fully utilize your other monetization channels such as merchandising, donations, subscriptions, etc.

10. Launching Your Own Streaming Platform

Strictly speaking, the best way to profit from live streaming is to have your own streaming platform. This gives you full control over how you monetize content. You can implement a system for monetizing images, video, audio, live broadcasts, and game server access through sponsorships and donations. Which is exactly what you can get with Glimpse, without investing any money in a costly platform. After signing up as a Glimpse creator, you will have full freedom to monetize your content in any way you like.

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You should also check out our article on how to monetize your videos.

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Conclusion

That about covers all the main ways you can earn money through live streaming. We would advise combining them when you can to increase your gains and strengthen your financial stability. Happy earning!

If you would like to monetize other types of content, we suggest checking our article on top content monetization platforms.