In the rapidly evolving world of gaming content creation, financial sustainability remains a significant challenge. While platforms like YouTube and Twitch provide some avenues for income, they also present substantial limitations, particularly for small to medium-sized creators. If you're a gaming creator seeking new revenue streams, this article is for you. We'll explore some common pain points and introduce VOYD as a powerful solution for your community and to maximize your earnings.
Do you face these financial challenges? You are not alone.
1. Limited YouTube Ad Revenue.
For many gaming creators, YouTube ad revenue is a primary income source. However, the gaming vertical often sees lower CPM (Cost Per Mille) and RPM (Revenue Per Mille) rates due to its younger audience with less spending power. This makes it difficult for smaller creators to earn a sustainable income from ads alone.
2. Insufficient Twitch Income.
While Twitch is fantastic for fan interactions, it isn't the most lucrative platform for income. Many creators find that building a following or gaining traffic on Twitch is nearly impossible without first establishing a presence on platforms like TikTok or YouTube.
On Twitch, there are mainly 3 ways aside from brand sponsorship.
Twitch subscribers: one time or recurring on different tiers. Twitch takes away 50%.
Twitch bits: 100 bits = $1. Creators keep 100%. Specific types of bits allow viewers to donate real dollars and in that case Twitch would take a share.
Twitch ads: aside from top tiers streamers, the mechanism is hard for smaller players to make decent money out of ads without severely impacting the viewers’ experience.
Twitch sells an ad to a brand for X dollars
Twitch applies an unknown fee to the ad deal
Twitch claims to give the creator 55% of the deal after the fee
*Every ad that is sold by Twitch as a custom deal.
*Incentive program: if the creator runs a certain number of ads per hour, they get X dollars bonus on an unknown rate. Not a reliable system to earn revenue according to most comments available online.
3. Uncertainty around Kick.
Kick is a new player in providing gamers a streaming platform with monetization possibilities.
However, many of their features are still in beta and thus now not many creators can only rely on Kick for income.
Kick subscribers: creators get 95% of the earning
Kick incentive program: creators will get paid hourly for streaming, with a few eligibility criteria
No ad revenue share for now
Many features are still in beta and thus few creators only rely on Kick for monetization
4. Challenges in Securing Sponsorships.
Sponsorships and brand deals can be hard to come by in the gaming sector. Many creators turn to affiliate programs, but these typically offer limited returns. The competitive environment on major platforms further exacerbates the difficulty of standing out and attracting sponsors.
5. Fierce Competition
YouTube and TikTok are highly competitive, making it challenging for smaller creators to gain visibility. Twitch, in particular, offers nearly no discoverability for smaller streamers, making audience growth a significant hurdle.
Your community is the bedrock of your financial success. Without a dedicated fanbase, there would be no subscriptions on Twitch or Patreon, fewer views on new YouTube uploads, and brands would see no value in sponsoring your content. Merchandise sales would plummet. Essentially, without a community, you wouldn't have the support needed to continue producing content full-time or streaming.
Beyond financial benefits, your community offers critical feedback and emotional support. They serve as a crucial hub for announcing content or game releases, gathering feedback, sourcing inspiration, and even recruiting initial game testers if you’re also a game developer. The appreciation and encouragement from your community are key motivators throughout your journey as a creator.
Building and Managing Your Community: Effective Methods Beyond Mainstream Platforms
Gaming creators often rely on a variety of methods to build and manage their communities outside of major reach platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Here are some common ways:
Method | Objectives |
Open-access discord server
| - Grant access to different themed channels
- Grant access to different server roles
- Play and talk with the fans
- Other community events
|
| Subreddits | - Provides a hub for discussions
|
| YT membership + Discord integration | - Grant access to private discord server to YT members of certain tiers
|
| Patreon+Discord integration | - Grant access to private discord server to patrons of certain tiers
- Assign discord roles to patreon tiers
|
| Other servers or platforms such as Giulded, Teamspeak | - For gaming creators who are looking for alternatives/backups for Discord.
|
| Self-hosted servers | - For privacy-mindful creators who have issues with companies like Discord
|