How to Get a Sub Button on Twitch

You have decided to begin streaming on Twitch and have worked hard at it for several weeks. 

People have begun watching you, and you get consistent viewers every stream, and some say you’re their favorite streamer.

Then someone asks you why you don’t have a subscribe button like the big streamers, and your response is, “a what now?”

Don’t worry, though, as I am here to walk you through how to get your own sub button. I’ll also explain the benefits the subscription feature offers you and your viewers.

Keep reading to see everything you need to know about Twitch sub buttons!  

So what is a Sub button anyway?

A sub button on Twitch allows viewers to subscribe to a Twitch Channel.

Twitch pays you a certain amount depending on the subscription tier, and in return, they receive whatever benefits you have outlined for your subscribers.

So a sub button lets you collect Twitch channel subscriptions, which are essentially paid follows.

You might like How to add friends on Twitch.

Qualifying for Twitch Affiliate or Partner

Now, let’s get into how you get that sub button on your own channel in the first place.

To begin collecting subscriptions from your followers, you must first qualify for either Twitch Affiliate Program or the Partner Program. 

Doing so is not easy and will take a lot of work and effort to qualify, but it will be worth it in the end. 

Once you qualify, Twitch will enable the subscription button on your channel, and your followers can begin to sub. 

Note that you can not enable or disable the sub button via your settings, as Twitch is the only one that can do that.

Also, check out this article on how to stream private on Twitch.

How to qualify for the Twitch Affiliate Program

The Twitch Affiliate is a great way to start if you’re serious about streaming.

Twitch Affiliate Qualifications:

  • Stream 7 unique days during 30 days
  • Stream for more than 8 hours during those 30 days
  • Collect 50+ followers 
  • Have an average of three viewers (concurrent viewers) at the same time viewing your stream during the 30 days (raids where people sent viewers to your channel counts as well)

Once you have achieved Twitch Affiliate status, you can begin working towards Twitch Partner, which has much higher qualifications but also comes with its own benefits.

As a Twitch affiliate, you get the following benefits:

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  • Cheermotes (bits cheers)
  • Up to 5 Unlockable Sub emotes
  • Advertising revenue share
  • Priority access to video transcoding
  • Subscriber Streams
  • 14 days of Video-On-Demand (VOD) storage
  • The possibility of doing reruns
  • Channel Points
  • Polls
  • Instant Emote Uploads
  • Change the prefix of your name once
  • Standard Customer Service

Notice that you pay for the pay-out fees in the affiliate program, whereas Twitch covers the payout expenses in the Partner program.

How to qualify for the Twitch Partner Program

When you’re ready to take your streaming to the next level and maybe make it a supplementary or even primary source of income, the Twitch Partnership Program is the next step.

Twitch Partner Qualifications: 

  • Stream 12 unique days during 30 days
  • Stream longer than 25 hours during those 30 days
  • Have 75+ average viewers (concurrent viewers) per stream during the 30 days

As a Twitch Partner, you get the following benefits:

  • Custom Cheermotes (bits cheers)
  • Up to 60 Unlockable Sub emotes
  • Advertising revenue share
  • Full access to video transcoding
  • Squad Streams
  • Subscriber Streams
  • 60 days of Video-On-Demand (VOD) storage
  • Delay your stream by up to 15 minutes
  • The possibility of doing reruns
  • Twitch covering payout fees
  • Channel Points
  • Polls
  • Instant Emote Uploads
  • Change the prefix of your name once every 60 days
  • Priority Partner Service
  • Verified Channel Badge

Notice that even though you qualify for the Partner program, it doesn’t mean you are guaranteed Partner status.

Becoming a Partner requires you to apply manually (an Apply button will appear when you are eligible).

Then the Twitch Partnerships team will review your application to ensure the quality and content are up to par. This usually takes about a week.

If you didn’t get in, you need to improve something and reapply again.

Ensure your content always conforms to the Twitch Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and DMCA Guidelines (copyright).

Benefits of a Sub Button 

You have finally reached Twitch Affiliate status, the sub button is on your channel, and now you are curious about the different benefits for you and your viewers. 

There are many benefits your viewers can reap from subscribing to your channel, while there are fewer but still massive benefits for you. 

Streamer Subscription Benefits

First, a sub button means you can finally monetize your channel and begin making a steady income.

It will not be much initially, but if you keep at it and continue to work hard, subscriptions can snowball and make you a nice chunk of money.

Overall, it’s possible to monetize your Twitch channel in two ways: through shared ad revenue and your subscribers paying a monthly fee for a regular subscription.

Of course, that’s not counting all the secondary possibilities, such as working directly with brands, sponsorships, etc.

Besides regular subscriptions, you can also get gifted subscribers. A Twitch user can now use the gift subscription option to support favorite channels (aka you!) by gifting a free subscription to a viewer for your channel.

While a gifted sub is only available for a limited period, it’s a great way to boost your channel and get viewers hooked. Plus, it’s always good if viewers see that others have chosen to subscribe.

Alongside subscriptions, viewers can also gift Twitch Bits to you or donate money directly, which can help supplement the income earned from subscriptions. 

Additional benefits include creating a Twitch Panel showcasing your latest subscribers, which can motivate others to sub.

Viewer Subscription Benefits

What about viewers, though?

Besides supporting their favorite content creators, what benefits do they get for subscribing to a channel?

Well, subscribers get the most benefits, not only from what Twitch offers them but also from additional benefits you may have available to subscribers. 

It could be a discord server for everyone to hang out together or access subscriber-only unique streams or anything you want it to be. 

Now, what does Twitch give to subscribers?

The first benefit is emotes.

Emotes are a big part of Internet culture, especially on Twitch, and when someone subscribes to a channel, they can use those emotes everywhere else on Twitch.

Emote creation is entirely up to the creator, so for newer streamers, this may not always be the best benefit initially. However, in the long run, creating cool custom emotes is a great way to stand out and spread your brand on the platform.

Alongside emotes, subscribers also get special badges next to their name, which shows how long they have subscribed to the channel. The longer they subscribe, the fancier their badge is. 

Maybe that does not float your boat, though, and when you subscribe to a channel, you truly want to feel special.

Well, in that case, when you subscribe to a channel, that allows you access to a streamer’s subscriber-only chat. 

Many popular streamers include that option to motivate people to subscribe. 

Finally, subscribing to a streamer provides ad-free viewing, so you can watch them without having those pesky ads pop up right before the play of a century. 

Tips to Help You Get Your Sub Button Quicker

While it can seem like you may never get that sub button, here are some tips to help you on your journey and get that sub button quicker than ever! 

  1. Work with other streamers: Twitch is a huge community of streamers and viewers, and one of the best ways to grow your channel is by streaming and working with other creators on the platform. Even if you are a small channel, it is not difficult to find channels your size and shoot them a collab request.
  2. Invite your family or friends to watch you: It may seem strange to ask your friends or family to come to watch your stream, but it can help get that subscription button. They can lurk if they want to, as that still counts for the viewership requirements.
  3. Play niche games: It can seem like a great idea to stream League of Legends or Fortnite, but those games are oversaturated in the streaming community and will not help you as a new streamer. Instead, focus on niche games, and grow your audience before branching out into the bigger and super popular games.
  4. Join Twitch Communities: What better way to connect with other creators than by joining online communities made explicitly for Twitch streamers? Hundreds of these groups are available on social media, such as Discord, Reddit, and even Facebook. So, check a few out, get to know other creators, and start growing your channel!

Getting fake followers? Check out how to stop robot viewers on Twitch.

Cost of Twitch Subscriptions 

So, how much money do Twitch subscriptions cost, and how much can you, the streamer, expect to take home from each sub? 

There are three different subscription options: Tier 1 for $4.99/monthly, Tier 2 for $9.99/monthly, and Tier 3 for 24.99/monthly. 

The price also depends on whether the subscriber subscribes for one month, three months, six months, or 12 months.

But how much of that money do you get as a streamer?

The amount of money you earn is typically 50% of all subscriptions minus the transaction fees (dependent on your payment method) for affiliates.

For example, someone purchases a Tier 1 monthly subscription. From that $4.99, you would get roughly $2.50, while Twitch would take the other $2.50. 

If you would like a complete breakdown on this topic, check out this article which breaks down everything you need about Twitch subscriptions

Conclusion

Getting a sub button on Twitch takes time, effort, and hard work, but if you stick to it, you will collect subs from your loyal viewers in no time.

If you found this article helpful, check out some of my other articles, like this one about the best monitor for streaming. Until next time, happy gaming!


FAQ

What if Someone Subscribes to My Channel With a Twitch Prime Subscription?

If someone subscribes to your channel with a Prime gaming subscription, Twitch will treat it the same as a Tier 1 subscription that lasts for one month. You will receive ~$2.50 from it, and the subscriber will enjoy all the perks that come from it. 

Can Subscriptions be Refunded?

No, subscriptions cannot be refunded once they have been purchased. If you donate directly to a streamer, Twitch may honor a refund, but it is entirely within their discretion regarding any refund request. 

Should I Ask For Subscriptions or Donations?

As a streamer, you may wonder if you should ask for subscriptions or donations from your viewers. Typically, subscriptions are the better option as they help grow your channel and can leverage additional subscriptions from other viewers over time. Donations are great, but subscriptions are better in the long run. 


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jan has played video games since the early 1980s. He loves getting immersed in video games as a way to take his mind off stuff when the outside world gets too scary. A lifelong gamer, the big interest led to a job as a lecturer on game sound at the University of Copenhagen and several written articles on video games for magazines.

Read more on the About Page.