With more than 140 million monthly active users in 2024, it’s safe to say Twitch is one of the premier streaming platforms. It has secured its place as a hub for watching megawatt stars play the newest gaming titles and provide other forms of entertainment. 

Becoming a sponsored streamer is a top goal of many users of the platform, from the new ones with stars in their eyes to more seasoned names. The problem is, many don’t know how or where to begin, what to offer in a sponsorship deal, or how to find sponsors. 

That’s what this guide is designed to help you do. Jam-packed with up-to-the-minute information and guidance, you’ll feel confident seeking Twitch sponsors. 

What Does It Mean to be Sponsored on Twitch?

A Twitch sponsorship is between a company or individual and a streamer on Twitch. 

The types of sponsors you work with vary. Here are the kinds to select from:

• Promotional sponsors: These sponsors will promote your channel to their audience. They sometimes include media organizations but can also be major companies or influencers. 
• In-kind sponsors: A contra or in-kind sponsor provides freebies, like merch, food, or other items. They’re useful to a point, but it depends on the type of sponsorship deal. 
• Cash sponsors: Here’s the one everybody wants. A cash sponsor pays you for sponsorship services. You can use the money toward buying new games, upgrading your equipment, or advertising and marketing for a broader following. 

What Kinds of Companies Offer Twitch Sponsorships?

Literally all kinds!

While sure, some companies might have been reticent to get on board the Twitch train when it was in its infancy, now that Twitch has exploded and become a hub for and entertainment, it’s unsurprising that more companies want to be involved. 

These businesses span across many industries and niches, which is common when a trend has become as popular as Twitch streaming has. 

Here is a rundown of some of the brands that have been involved in high-profile Twitch partnerships:

• Kellogg’s
• DXRacer 
• Elgato
• Cratejoy 
• Nissin Ramen
• Nord VPN
• Logitech 
• G Fuel
• Kick
• GameStop 
• Fiverr
• PepsiCo
• Netgear 
• Turtle Beach
• Secretlab
• NVIDIA
• Loot Crate
• 5-Hour Energy
• Amazon

As you might have noticed, a lot of brands that get involved in Twitch sponsorships are related to gaming. You’ll see lots of coffee and energy drink brands so gamers can stay focused and lengthen their streams. Cheap, easy, fast meals like Nissin Ramen are another natural fit. 

Although my list only touched on major brands, you’ll also note a lot of brands that make gaming chairs, headsets, computer mice and CPUs, and computer hardware and software get involved in Twitch sponsorship. 

Then, there are the outliers, at least to an extent, like Amazon and PepsiCo. 

Laying the Groundwork for Getting a Twitch Sponsorship

A Twitch sponsorship can open a lot of doors, so what’s required of you to get one? Let’s explore. 

Defining Your Niche

Before you can explain your Twitch brand to another company, you must know it well yourself. 

Sure, you’re a Twitch streamer, but what kind? 

You need to find your niche or specialty to stand out from the tens of thousands of other streamers that companies can work with instead. 

For example, rather than telling prospective sponsors you’re a Twitch streamer and leaving it at that, you can talk about how your specialty is fighting games or Mario games. 

Building Your Audience

If you’ve read my posts on podcast sponsorship, I always say that there’s no magic number for how many followers you must have to get a sponsor. That’s true of Twitch sponsorship as well, but the more followers you have, the better.

Sponsors like to see streamers with a large, loyal, dedicated, and engaged audience. That’s why you can’t buy your way into an audience of 10,000 bots or disengaged users. You should have passionate fans, as sponsors know those people will listen to your recommendations, increasing the sponsor’s chances of conversion. 

Establishing Your Brand

You’re a brand as a Twitch streamer, whether you make a full-time living from streaming or only do it for fun.

A brand includes your tone, color scheme, personality, values, story, and logo. It’s a mix of visual and non-visual elements that define you. Your brand is your business, your mark on the world.

Having a clearcut brand means you can focus less on explaining to a sponsor who you are and what you do. Sponsors care more about audience data and activations than your background story anyway. 

You also want a strong brand for growing your following, so work on solidifying yours if you haven’t already. 

Improving Content Quality

High-quality content helps you rise in the ranks on Twitch, making sponsorships more attainable. 

So, what is high-quality content? It’s professional content recorded with good equipment. You should plan your stream content so you’re not left hemming and hawing live on air, and you should always prioritize engaging content that connects with your audience. 

Improving content quality isn’t an overnight change, but once you start doing it, you’ll notice other advantages, like new viewers and more brand attention. 

Identifying Valuable Services

You don’t need your asset and activation ideas down pat at this early stage, but it doesn’t hurt to begin thinking about what kinds of services you can offer a prospective sponsor and how valuable they may be. 

Steps to Obtain a Twitch Sponsorship

Your Twitch sponsorship goals are within reach. Here is a rundown of how to successfully plan a sponsorship property. 

Segment Your Audience

Who watches your streams? Twitch provides this information for you within your Analytics Overview on the platform. That’s handy for you, as you don’t have to go far to find audience data, the most important asset sponsors care about.

However, the data Twitch presents to you is only the beginning of what you need. You must have deeper insights than who watches your streams between the 18-to-21 crowd, then the 22-to-26 crowd, etc. 

What kinds of brands do they use and enjoy? What events do they attend? What industries do they work in (assuming they’re of legal age to work), and what are their titles? How much money do they make? Are they married or single? Do they have kids? Where do they live?

You will probably have to survey your audience to get more in-depth analytics, and that’s okay. Most sponsorship seekers have to do this. 

It might seem a little extra to break down all this information, but you’d be surprised. Sponsors expect segmented audience data with at least 25 data points for each group. 

In fact, they demand it, as it helps them understand who makes up your audience and where those segments fit into their target market. 

Prospect for Sponsors

So, how do you find sponsors, anyway? Do you start with that list of companies I provided above? I mean, you can, but those are such major brands that are oversaturated in the market that they only work with premium-caliber streamers. 

You might have luck with that, or you might end up getting ghosted or outright ignored. 

I recommend using the brands your audience mentioned as your shortlist of prospects. Using marketing terms, these leads are hotter because they have a stronger connection to your audience.

The further away you get from those brands, the colder your prospects become, meaning there’s likely to be a disconnect between your audience and sponsor. 

That can affect the sponsor’s outcomes. If your audience doesn’t buy what you’re selling, your sponsorship will fail, which means no long-term deal for you. 

Have a Discovery Session

Now that you have a prospect lists, it’s time to reach out to potential sponsors. You can use Twitch for this or email, social media DM, or phone, if you’re into that sort of thing.

You shouldn’t ask for a sponsorship outright. Instead, request a meeting to talk about an opportunity. 

During the meeting, get to know the sponsor’s needs and challenges more deeply by asking what they’re struggling with and what their goals are. 

Don’t use this opportunity to ask basic questions about the company you can find out through a quick Google search; that’s a waste of everyone’s time. Do some research ahead of the meeting so you have the intel you need. 

Ideate Services

Okay, so you’ve had the discovery session and understand what challenges the sponsor faces, so now you can create tailor made services to solve them. Here are some ideas you could lobby the sponsor’s way as a Twitch streamer. 

• Contests or giveaways: An on-air giveaway or contest should use the sponsor’s product or service as the prize. If you opt for a contest, make it easy to enter. For example, the rules might establish that entrants must follow you on social media and then tune into your stream at a specific time. 

• Logos overlays: Logos are usually the bane of my sponsorship existence, but they work better for some industries than others. One industry they’re useful for is Twitch streaming. A logo overlay that appears for most of your stream can drive curiosity among your viewers toward the sponsor. 

• Sales banners: You can display sales banners during your stream linking to a sponsor’s product or services. You should also talk up the products during the segments in which the banners appear. 

• Product placement: Many popular streamers have used a sponsor’s product live on stream. Seeing the product in action can motivate your audience to purchase it, especially if you offer an exclusive discount code. 

• Affiliate links: An affiliate marketing deal requires you to provide a special shopping link to the sponsor’s store or a third-party store like Amazon. When a customer clicks the link and purchases a product, you receive an affiliate commission. The products aren’t priced any differently for the customer. 

• Channel panels: You could add a sponsor graphic to your Twitch panel. The graphics are on a high-traffic part of your channel, as they show up under the livestream on your Twitch profile. 

• Unboxings: You could have your sponsor send you a box of varied products, then open it live on stream, showing off what you receive and trying it on or eating it, depending on what it is. 

• Sponsored gameplay: Another activation to consider is sponsored gameplay, where segments of your stream are sponsored by a company. 

Value Your Sponsorship Property

The next step is to value, which means determining the value of your sponsorship property. The property refers to all your assets, activations, and services. 

So, how in the world do you do that? Look up other Twitch sponsorships and see what they have charged if the pricing information is publicly available. If not, you should research the value of each service you’re offering on the marketplace, then determine if your services are worth more or less.

I know, that’s tricky to do. I recommend increasing the price if your services are clearly advantageous or unique compared to what your competitors do. If you don’t feel like you bring anything extra, you might leave the prices about the same or even reduce them. 

Negotiate Terms

You’ll reach the point where you and the sponsor will get closer to drawing up a contract, which officially makes working together real. I always recommend having an attorney present to vouch for your rights and translate complicated legalese. 

Deliver Services

All the services you plan to deliver will be outlined in the contract. If you don’t think you can reasonably deliver them, then please, don’t officially put it in writing. Failing to live up to your end of the deal can lead to ugly accusations, such as breach of contract, and possibly lawsuits. 

Review and Renegotiate 

When the initial terms of your service end, it’s time to discuss what comes next. I always tell my clients to write up a brief report detailing all the services promised, the delivery success rate, and what the results are for the sponsor. 

It’s nice for the sponsor to see in writing how their ROI improved, and it increases the chances of renegotiation. 

Benefits of Twitch Sponsorships

A Twitch sponsorship can be a game-changer, especially if you’re interested in making streaming your full-time career (or are already in the process of doing so). Here are some advantages that make seeking sponsorship worth your time. 

Increased Revenue

The money you make through a sponsorship can be funneled in many directions that directly benefit your streams, like better equipment for recording longer streams or 4K quality. 

This, in turn, should improve your monthly revenue, as more people will check out your streams. 

Larger Audience Reach

You can also expand the size of your audience with sponsorships, as working with other companies and individuals increases leads. You’ll have to convert them with your high-quality content, but that shouldn’t be a problem. 

Increased Legitimacy

Everyone wants to feel like they’ve made it on Twitch. While amassing millions of views and being a Twitch Partner certainly help, it’s also a sign that you’re successful when you can secure sponsorship opportunities. 

Opens the Door to More Opportunities 

One sponsorship opportunity often begets another. Once you begin generating enough clout, you will find it easier to track down partners who want to work with you, and often quite eagerly, at that! 

FAQs

Do I have to seek sponsors as a Twitch streamer, or will they come to me?

As a new Twitch streamer, you will have to do the legwork to obtain sponsors. Once you begin reaping the benefits of sponsorship, increasing your audience size, and improving the quality and caliber of your content, you will have sponsors banging down your door.

At that point, you’re in a position to be choosy about who you work with, allowing you to finetune the sponsorship selection process to only those your audience would most engage with. 

How much does Twitch sponsorship cost?

You shouldn’t pay a sponsor anything, but they will pay you (if you have a cash sponsor). The going rate for a sponsored social media post in 2024 is $200 per post. However, you must value to determine if you should charge that much. 

Can small streamers get sponsored? 

Yes, of course! You have to put in a lot more work and be patient, but you can get sponsored even if you don’t have a large following. Focusing on connecting with the audience you have and producing high-quality content will help you get there. 

Wrapping Up 

A Twitch sponsorship can be a life-changing opportunity, allowing you to grow your audience and find more lucrative income streams. Although you might have clout as a streamer, you need more than that to impress sponsors. 

You must have a good-sized audience and plenty of deeply niched data. You also need fresh activation and asset ideas based on the sponsor’s challenges. 

Are you ready to make this the year you get Twitch sponsorship? Get on a call with me today to discuss your game plan.