---
title: 'Make Money Livestreaming in 2026 as a Small Streamer'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=lTO7eKTGjWY'
video_id: 'lTO7eKTGjWY'
date: 2026-07-17
duration_sec: 1523
channel: 'Gael LEVEL'
---

# Make Money Livestreaming in 2026 as a Small Streamer

> Source: [Make Money Livestreaming in 2026 as a Small Streamer](https://youtube.com/watch?v=lTO7eKTGjWY)

## Summary

This video provides actionable tips for small streamers to monetize their live streams more effectively. The creator covers various methods including tipping, channel memberships, affiliate marketing, and selling digital products, emphasizing the importance of offering value to viewers.

### Key Points

- **Tipping as a Monetization Method** [00:13] — Tipping is a popular way to monetize streams. Services like StreamElements and Streamlabs allow setting up tipping pages quickly. It's important to normalize tipping as part of streaming culture, not begging.
- **Platform Currency: Bits and Super Chat** [01:47] — Twitch Bits and YouTube Super Chat allow viewers to support streamers using platform currency. Bits require affiliate status; Super Chat needs to be unlocked. These provide interactive ways for viewers to engage.
- **Tip Goals and Incentives** [03:34] — Setting a tip goal displayed on stream can motivate viewers to contribute. Goals should be specific, like funding a new webcam. Small, achievable goals can also work, as demonstrated by crowdfunding a Paris stream.
- **Custom Alerts and Interactivity** [05:14] — Using external software like Streamlabs, streamers can create custom alerts that disrupt the stream in fun ways, such as muting the mic. This enhances interactivity but should be balanced with free engagement for non-tippers.
- **AI Integration and Other Tools** [06:53] — Websites like StreamElements offer AI-powered features like AI answers to chat questions. Other platforms like Own3d Pro provide unique overlays and alerts. These tools can add novelty to streams.
- **Throne: Wishlist and Gifting** [10:11] — Throne allows viewers to gift physical items to streamers without revealing the streamer's address. It integrates with alerts and social features. However, it may be more expensive for gifters than Amazon.
- **Discord Monetization and Filtering** [14:27] — Using Discord for subscriber-only channels can help filter trolls and provide exclusive content. Bots like Mrx can manage paid roles. This can be cheaper than platform subscriptions.
- **Affiliate Marketing with Amazon** [16:47] — Amazon's affiliate program allows streamers to earn commissions on products they recommend. It's flexible and covers many categories. Streamers should disclose affiliate links and follow laws.
- **Selling Digital Products** [19:42] — Creating and selling digital products like overlays, presets, or guides can generate passive income. Platforms like Gumroad facilitate sales. Physical merch is harder to sell; digital products have higher margins.

### Conclusion

The video concludes that monetizing a live stream involves multiple strategies, from tipping and platform currencies to affiliate marketing and digital products. The key is to offer value and maintain a balance between paid and free interactions.

## Transcript

I don't abide by that. that some bigger streamers are actually making less money than smaller Today, I'm going to give you a couple of tips
to do exactly that, to monetize your stream a little bit better. are definitely the most popular way of monetizing your stream. leave a message and tip you via PayPal and sometimes bank cards.
like StreamElements and Streamlabs will allow you to set that up pretty fast. give you access to widgets, it's actually pretty easy to set up alerts Now when it comes to sharing that tipping page link,
For example, you can have panels right underneath your stream so people can just scroll down Find a tipping panel and click on it and get to it. say would probably want to use a chat bot to post a link from time to time in chat.
They tend to think because I have a donation or a tip I gotta tell you right now, stop thinking like that. That is not the case.
Tipping is absolutely part of live streaming culture, meaning that when viewers come to your stream, they expect you to accept tipping. that you are begging for money just by having a tipping link.
with the stream after they followed subscribe. so not having a tipping page in certain cases means that you have less interaction available on your stream.
which is a way to convert real money into platform currency that people can gift you. you can actually set up some incentives for people to Buy and spend that currency.
has a couple of pre-made effects that are linked to that currency, which is bit. So that's like the only way to get your message read out loud by a robot So what will you do for a certain amount of bits?
Now what are the advantages and disadvantages. Your viewers can spend money on a trusted platform. And those transactions can be done on stream without opening a different tab.
to have access to bits, meaning that people cannot support you through this. of average viewership and signed the affiliate contract.
YouTube, for example, has super chat where your message It's going to pop out a little bit Channel memberships are a monthly support.
As long as you have a YouTube account, I believe you can just go ahead and. to just click and give there's no real in platform.
But it immediately does something different Now, just like Twitch, the live streamer needs to unlock Super Chat in order you're not going to have access to Super Chat.
You can get a widget from them. That is a tip goal. And it's basically going to be a bar displayed on screen at all times. So whatever your funding for.
The total amount that you need and how much you've accumulated so far. But if you're going to do a tip, goal or subgoal or anything that involves money, even if it's not something big or extravagant.
If you're not used to doing horror streams, for example, I'm going to have a heart rate monitor. tip goal to go towards improving the stream.
enough, a better webcam. to not only improve your stream, whether it's visually or just practically.
But on the side of the tippers, Also, your tipping goal can be as small as possible. I remember going around Paris and basically crowdfunding this stream.
you know, public transportation cost and cost for my food. to get me to go out and IRL, live stream myself, at the Eiffel Tower.
We did a bunch of really cool stuff and just one live stream, That was way back. Streamlabs bought them. Fun fact.
and you like to basically tinker with your broadcasting software. that entirely happen on stream or on screen or in chat, using external software like Streamlabs to do pretty much anything you want.
Here's me making a whole Nintendo Switch from scratch inside of OBS studio. It can be a shout out. that don't look like the typical alerts.
You can probably have options that completely disrupt the stream Because sometimes people love to mess around with the streamer like that. It can just be like, hey, mute the mic for one minute with a timer on screen.
It all depends on you, what you like, what you think your viewers will like. As I like to say, the possibilities are truly endless. this is to have a highly interactive live stream.
Where the most disrupting or like the most extravagant stuff is paid. But you also need a bunch of, you know, little things that are not for money. You don't want a stream that is exclusively driven by money,
of people who can't even afford to support you in that way. You don't want to penalize them, or you don't want them to feel bored.
You want to serve both the free viewer and also the obituary tipper. there are some websites that you can use to give you even more stuff.
But if you are into that whole AI stuff. They have some pretty interesting stuff, like the AI answers. Where chat can ask a question and then an AI voice will actually answer on stream.
A friend of mine had like a Gordon Ramsey, which you can just ask questions. can also manage things like sound effects and showing memes on screen I'd say it's a simpler way of managing those interactions
That being said, though very heavy into AI, so if that's not your thing. I'm not condoning it, but I'm letting you know that, hey, this exists. On Pro is another website that is kind of, I'd say comparable to Stream Labs
that you can add that are not like the typical look. original, build your own scenes and have access to some free overlays, I am I am an affiliate with them.
They used to be a regular sponsor of the channel, but, not anymore. Also, they started doing a lot of AI gen AI stuff. I don't know if that's a paid option or not.
They had a thing where you could have alerts show up on screen. that would play on the on the full screen of the streamer.
like on top of the gameplay, on top of everything else. That was like the really cool thing that undid. If not on Dot Pro, You just replace the E with a three.
also has pretty cool like options that you can get ideas from. depending on where you are, you know, the overall goal.
There's also a stream marathon timer, which is I'm probably not going to have You can do like subway fines or Tibetans, I don't know. That will be the total time of you being live.
This is not something that I necessarily condone I've never done it personally, StreamElements has a widget for that. So you can just automated.
So you can unlock, you know, multiple levels of a goal. And then you can reach level two. especially if you have, you know again multiple incentives at each level.
Hold on, because mine is highly customized. And that. Mine is transparent for some reason. you and then, you know, physical coins will drop into the tip jar.
And there's a couple of options. Those are the easy things to just, you know, go on a website, log copy the browser source and add it in your broadcasting software.
Mostly by buying gear and things like that. on a website like throwing, people can directly go and contribute to a goal
or just outright pay for a product and have it shipped to your place. Now, thrown is probably not the only website that does that, but, And I really like the simplicity, especially when it's available,
to your place directly. that is not always available and definitely not available in every country. And basically throne will give the money to the creator, and then the creator
directly with throne in the past, like they basically paid me to advertise So this is my affiliation with throne is that I actually used it.
I've got people, that gifted me all of this, which is nice. And I personally never had any problems with them. That being said, I moved from Paris to where I am now,
where I cannot directly have Amazon orders delivered to me. of course, when people gift you stuff, they actually pay a little bit overhead. more expensive for them to order on throwing the exact same product.
Versus if they were ordering it from Amazon directly. But throne was basically created for creators. So it really has this whole thing in mind where you can have alerts on screen
You can have like a Twitter integration. hey, I got a contribution for this product or someone paid for this product. People can send messages with, you know, their tips or their gifts,
I have a video on it. and you go to your lists, you have the option to create a list. your list is set to public, and then you can share the link.
But here's the thing with Amazon and why I, you know, I don't use that. Like I don't live in the US. your address with people, but it will share the city that you're in.
If you don't have your settings correctly and you have your real name, So you have to be very careful about that. those were made for your friends.
I wouldn't advise sharing your public wishlist with them. remove it, and basically send whatever you want to that address,
Add an item from a private seller, meaning that Amazon will communicate the person's full address to that private seller. It's possible, but it's not meant for that.
A website like throne was made for that specific purpose, So it will not be sharing your address with the people that are gifting you stuff. And there's also a little social aspect where you can see your friends wish list.
But this is all pretty cool. Oh, it's funny because this mousepad I have it right there. I know people love to just see my face
I also still have that vacuum cleaner look at that. Shout out to you C gamer. even if you're not getting money directly, which you absolutely can with thrown.
Getting gifts that might help you improve the stream basically prevents you from having to save up money to buy that new microphone or whatever. I guys, I really want to do IRL streams, but I need a selfie stick,
You have options. like discord, or anywhere else where you might be more present.
and it's not necessarily done to make money most of your time. It's mostly meant to filter out people because as more, The more difficult it becomes to actually filter people.
Being able to avoid trolls, or making it just a little bit more difficult Is actually going to become crucial. but most people just connect it to Twitch or their YouTube.
it will automatically give them a role that allows them to communicate inside the discord or have access to certain channels. especially since the, you know, the split of subscription is like 5050
You could use Discord's own monetization system, or you can use a discord bot such as Mrx that allows you That way, you might be even able to adjust the prices.
I don't know, cheaper than a Twitch sub or a YouTube membership or something if you have a private Instagram or a private Snapchat. if you have a Patreon where you create like extra content, basically
To get more content or just more access And that is worth something. I think the overall tip here is try to give something in return.
Every single time someone has to go into their wallet and give you money. Of course that's up to you. is that avoid doing giveaways where people have to pay to enter.
That's pretty much illegal in multiple countries, but remember that and then they come up with illegal stuff without even knowing it. If you're going to do a giveaway,
And if the goal is to have it just for people who support you, make sure that just followers can participate.
If you've been on the internet for a while, you know, you know, this. I would suggest you try to aim for something that you know
already using, or are really interested in. and blah, blah, blah, try to get yourself affiliated with brands.
If some people are aspiring streamers, lights, microphones. Personally, I say if you want to cover everything, just go for Amazon.
also has an affiliate program, and they work with a bunch of brands That way, you're able to sell basically everything I just listed directly. You don't have to wait until you get another company to this and that.
Like if I want to sell you Razer products, Logitech products also, you don't have, the boundaries of contracts like, hey, you can't sell the competitor's product, No, if you are affiliate with Amazon, everything is coming from Amazon.
You might get lower rates, but at least you are free and you can sell anything. You do need a couple of like followers. You need to you need to have a platform that's already working pretty well.
affiliate links for like Amazon Prime, but also like Amazon Video. I could show you my link and I would make money in that. But it's actually pretty interesting if you're in the U.S or just whatever you
have locally, and you have a lot of people asking you what is your setup, right? you're a PC and you're this and you're dead and people are constantly asking you about it.
but anything where you can like build a PC and things like that, you can direct them towards a link where they can see your specs, you can make a little bit of money.
just make sure you follow the laws, especially when it comes to affiliation. I'm actually making a commission on this. and you're good. For example, once you're a affiliate, you can have like a front page,
basically that can show all of your gear and people can buy directly from their. you need to be pushing every Amazon product people already have. But if I'm being honest, you having good knowledge on your target
audience is going to help you figure out exactly what to put in there. That's a no brainer. Also, since we talked about thrown and I told you that you have the option
that means that you can set up, gift cards as, as items in your wishlist. You just have to put the amount
I just wanted to throw that in there. Anyways, choose your affiliate programs wisely.
Are it's easy to use myself So I sell products related to live streamers. But overlays, transitions, alerts and all that good stuff.
that being said, if you're not a live stream guru, So you need to find something that might apply to you. and really think really hard about what can you produce and actually sell online.
And it needs to have, you know, at least a little bit of value. I have a bunch in front of me right now. They create a bunch of pages, that go with like a certain game.
And potentially this is something that you can sell, Merch is something else that a lot of people will try, Merch is one of the most difficult things to sell,
especially if you do like the no brainer type of merch, Most likely that's not gonna that's not going to work. What I would suggest you do if you're going to do merch,
is to use a company that has a whole marketplace, meaning that but you're creating designs, you're putting them on products, and then those products are available
to everyone on that specific website that are looking up a specific keyword that specific keyword can have to do with the game. Don't don't put the logo of the game or anything like that.
That being said, if you play a certain games, that are not copyrighted, that you can put on a t shirt for example.
I remember using a platform called Spread Shirt to sell a daisy related t shirt. it's like a survival kind of realistic survival game. So you know that they're friendly, that they're not hostile.
So white t shirt, black, huge bold letters to say friendly. it was like, friendly. Now, was that my live streaming t shirt selling? No.
I just came up with a clever ish design and actually sold it. On top of having that on the marketplace, you can also let people know, hey,
This is something that you would buy independently of me in my live stream. that that's all you're going to do on each t shirt,
you're probably going to make maximum like six bucks or something like that. So if you have the talent, the patience that, the knowhow or the know how to learn, how, I would actually advise
But if you don't have time for that. if you're going to make something, either make it be a digital product. Or make it at home.
That way your profit is maximized and you can ensure quality. In fact, if you want inspiration on what other people are selling, IQ Premium Analysis to let you know that people are really out there
Film makers, they sell like, presets or like color presets, like filters, Luts, photographers sell presets or photos, edit. There are a video game guides that are being sold at $35
And there's already five ratings, which means probably more than. So probably more than eight people bought this. I use blender 3D, so sometimes I look for base
models to download, but I can create my own stuff on top of it. People create their own plugins for certain software, such as blender, People create their own brushes for Photoshop.
Their assets for Unity or Unreal Engine. Audio packs for producers. The possibilities are endless.
as a content creator or just a live streamer, is a side hustle. but depending on what you're selling, it can be like it can be very easy
to make a lot of money really fast and really easily, That's really when it kind of becomes. Passive income, even though, you know, true passive income don't exist.
Because, well, you need to create new stuff and also promote the old stuff. There's obviously a ton of other ways to make money. But I don't want to go too much in the direction of,
you know, just listing side hustles that you can do on the internet. I really wanted to keep it kind of linked to your live stream, more of a side hustle than related to live streaming.
Follow me on Twitch because I I'll be streaming. good stuff, I go to gumroad.com/guy level and I'll see you next time.
Like.