How do streamers make money on Kick?
Some of the top Kick streamers earn a significant amount of money per stream, but how exactly do content creators make money on the streaming platform?
The streaming industry is massive today, with multiple platforms that content creators can use to stream and make money while doing it. While streaming on Kick is relatively straightforward, it’s a variety of elements that will affect how Kick streamers can earn money. Creating content and going live on Kick may be easy enough, but most content creators need to consider multiple variables. This is why both newcomers and existing streamers should take the time to learn how to make money on Kick.
How to earn money on Kick
There are multiple ways streamers earn money on Kick, including via ad revenue, subscriptions, and other elements that can increase their overall revenue.
The three primary ways that streamers make money on Kick are ads, donations, and subscriptions. Subscriptions are when viewers subscribe to a channel, and the streamer receives a monthly fee. Kick takes a small cut of subscriptions, but streamers get 95%, which is the highest for any streaming platform and one of the main reasons content creators come to Kick. Streamers like Zack “Asmongold” Hoyt have compared their Kick earnings with Twitch. Asmongold displayed that he made almost 10 times more money on Kick in large part due it the platform’s streamer-friendly revenue split.
Kick
Donations are one-time tips that viewers can give directly to streamers, and the money will bypass any third-party to go to the content creator directly. Donations can also be made via a platform’s own form of revenue. On Kick, this means using the KICKs digital currency. This currency can be purchased by users on either desktop or mobile, and then gifted to streamers through platform-specific Gifts.
Ads are simply advertisements displayed during streams, and streamers can earn a specific revenue number based on the ad’s performance, which is largely based on viewership. The more people who are exposed to each ad, and the more time these ads spend being displayed on stream, the more a streamer can potentially make from them. Importantly, Kick does not currently support traditional programmatic advertising, meaning that any ad displays on the platform must be a result of a streamer’s individual sponsors, affiliate partners, and so on.
The resulting revenue number isn’t set and can vary month to month, but it can really add up quickly if a streamer has a decent viewership, regardless of platform. FaZe Clan streamer Rani “StableRonaldo” Netz has showed earnings from a single stream that made him more than $11,000, and more than half of that came from ads. StableRonaldo has much higher viewership than will most streamers, and he makes use of programmatic advertising not available on Kick, but this still gives an idea of what’s possible for streamers if their viewership is high enough to engender support from advertisers.
What each of these methods have in common is that they require streamers to build up an audience. Being active on social media, streaming regularly and on a consistent schedule, interacting with viewers; each of these methods plays a role in growing a channel. And the bigger one’s Kick channel grows, the easier it is to monetize that channel and make more money on Kick.
Other ways streamers can earn on Kick
There are a few other ways streamers earn money that aren’t linked to Kick itself, including affiliate marketing, brand deals, sponsorships, and the sale of merch.
Streamers can market and advertise services or products to earn a commission on each item sold. Many brands also pay bigger streamers money directly to promote their products or even sponsor big streaming events, where the brands can be displayed to thousands of viewers watching at home. Some content creators also want to be recognized as a brand all to their own, and they can sell their own branded merch, which makes them stand out among their peers while also earning some extra money.
Bigger streamers know that they have to take all of these elements and put them together to find the right equation that earns them the money they’re looking to generate via streaming. Increasing viewership to better take advantage of the ad revenue and potential subscribers is a must for any streaming looking to improve their lot. But other elements, like exclusive brand deals and sponsorships, are also important of growth and earnings potential for bigger and more broadly visible streamers and content creators.
Feature image credit: Kick
Khizar Mundia has been playing video games for as long as he can recall. Things have come a long way since the many days he spent playing the original NES, though. He now covers a variety of competitive games and esports, as well as the world of streaming, ranging from Twitch to Kick. If it’s of interest to gamers, it’s of interest to Khizar.
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