--- title: 'Make Money on YouTube and Twitch Without Being an Affiliate or Partner' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=uR5nlEC6fkc' video_id: 'uR5nlEC6fkc' date: 2026-07-31 duration_sec: 169 --- # Make Money on YouTube and Twitch Without Being an Affiliate or Partner > Source: [Make Money on YouTube and Twitch Without Being an Affiliate or Partner](https://youtube.com/watch?v=uR5nlEC6fkc) ## Summary In this video, VTuber Senpai debunks the myth that streamers must be YouTube Partners or Twitch Affiliates to make money, presenting three alternative monetization strategies: direct support platforms like Ko-fi and Patreon, Amazon Associates affiliate links, and merchandise sales through Stream Elements. ### Key Points - **Common monetization myth** [00:02] — Many new VTubers and streamers believe they can only earn money by being partnered on YouTube or affiliated on Twitch, which is not true. - **Method 1: Ko-fi and Patreon** [00:45] — Create a Ko-fi or Patreon page to accept donations/subscriptions and offer customized perks like Discord roles or handwritten thank-you letters, bypassing platform fees. - **Bypassing platform fees** [01:10] — Adding Ko-fi/Patreon links directly to YouTube descriptions or Twitch donation buttons avoids Twitch's 50% affiliate fee and YouTube's 30% membership fee. - **Method 2: Amazon Associates** [01:24] — Sign up for Amazon Associates and link gear recommendations on your Kick page, allowing viewers to purchase through your affiliate link and earn commissions. - **Method 3: Merch with Stream Elements** [01:52] — Use free platforms like Stream Elements to upload designs for stickers or t-shirts; they take a percentage of each sale with zero upfront cost to you. - **Conclusion: Monetize independently** [02:19] — By linking these platforms, creators can start earning money without joining any partner or affiliate program. ### Conclusion Creators can monetize their content through direct support, affiliate links, and merchandise without needing YouTube or Twitch partnership status. The key is to leverage these alternative platforms and link them effectively to your channel. ## Transcript attention I've seen new vtubers and streamers state that the only way that they can make money is if they are partnered on YouTube or Affiliated on Twitch and honestly that's not really true so today I decided to show you all on how you can monetize on all these different platforms without being a part of their programs but before we get into any of that make sure you smash that subscribe button and hit the like button as well it does help us with the YouTube algorithm and and if you're ever in Need for copyright free or dmca free music consider checking out senpai's Loi links in the description down below the first method we're going to cover is Kofi and patreon by making a Kofi and patreon page it allows you to give more rewards to the people that either subscribe to them or donate to them you can customize the perks that they receive like maybe a special role in a Discord Channel or handing them out handwritten letters thanking them once you've made either of these platforms all you got to do is just open up your YouTube page add them to your description or open up your Twitch page and add them to your little donation button by doing this you're donation button by doing this you're actually avoiding twitch's 50% affiliate subscription fee and YouTube's 30% membership fee the second one is using Amazon associate links from time to time you're going to have people coming up into your live streams or your YouTube videos wondering what kind of equipment that you use you could join very easily by going to Amazon's associate page and just signing up for it then if you link your Amazon to your kick. you can show all the gear that you suggest on one website and they can click on your Amazon associate link and make the proper purchase from there which does can use but some are locked behind the affiliate status so they're not really fully an option the third suggestion is actually making some merch you can use free websites like stream elements you can upload the image that you desire of little neat merch you want like stickers or t-shirts and then just sell them websites like stream elements will just take a percentage of the cut of every merchandise sold and at the end of the day there'll be zero cost for you and by linking all these different you can start making money without joining any kind of program out of all the suggestions given today which ones are you going to use let me know by leaving a comment down below again I'm your V2 Senpai I stream here every Monday Wednesday Friday evenings 5:00 p.m. PST so come on by and say hi special shout out to this month's patreon members Blue Devil chitra and Miss lra Rose thank you so much for your continued support