Why a brand will pay you to say it live
A pre-roll is easy to ignore. You are harder to ignore, because the viewer already chose your show. That is the reason an offer is worth more than another mid-roll.
- The viewer is already here: Chat can react while the product is on screen. That is a different moment from an ad that plays before the stream starts.
- The viewer is at a computer: A site, a download, a store page, or a signup is one action away. That suits software, games, gear, and any product that wants a visit during the broadcast.
- A smaller channel can be the one they want: Language, game, and audience size are how they filter. A channel that is actually about that game is often a better fit than the largest channel in the directory.
- You keep the show: Subs, Bits, and ad revenue stay where they are. The collaboration is a segment inside the same broadcast. You do not leave the stream to hunt a sponsor inbox.
None of this is a promise of sales. A live audience can leave, mute, or simply not care. The advantage is the fit: a person, a game, and a product in the same minute.
What you get, and what the advertiser gets
You get a place to be found and a thread for the offer. The advertiser gets a list of people who already said they will take paid work. Nobody from the platform reads the script for you.
| Streamer | Advertiser | |
|---|---|---|
| Why they show up | Paid work beside subs, Bits, and ads | A visit, a signup, or a product mention from people already watching |
| What they control | Rate, formats, bio, and whether offers are open | Filters, budget, format, and the message |
| What they can see | The offer, then the thread | Followers, subscribers, live viewers, language, game, and the rate the creator set |
| What is not included | A guarantee that a brand will write | A guarantee of sales. Payment stays between the two people |
Offers you will see that a normal ad network refused
Google, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok refuse some products outright and park others behind a country limit, an age limit, or an extra approval. A brand that cannot clear that auction still needs a person who will say the offer live. That person can be you, if Twitch permits the product and you are willing to say it.
| Display or social ad | Live read on Twitch | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical friction | Unapproved supplements are refused by Google Ads. Alcohol and a lot of dating inventory need extra approval and are limited by country and age on Google, Meta, and TikTok. | The streamer can still talk about a permitted product. Energy drinks, gear, games, and a site visit are ordinary. A supplement or a similar offer is possible when the creator will stand behind the claim. |
| What the viewer does | Skips, scrolls, or never gets the ad because the account was not approved. | Is already in the stream, and can open the site from the same machine. |
| The limit | The network decides. | Twitch still decides what is permitted, and the streamer can decline. A rejected display ad is not permission to break Twitch rules. |
When the promotion is a real part of the stream, Twitch asks the creator to mark Branded Content in Stream Manager. That checkbox tells viewers the stream includes paid promotion. It does not, by itself, finish every legal disclosure the creator and the brand still owe. Say that it is an ad, on screen and out loud, especially for people who join mid-broadcast.
What your card shows before anyone writes
Listing the channel takes an active Premium subscription. You decide the rate, the formats, and whether new offers are open. A logged-in advertiser can browse. Saving you, sending the offer, and the thread take Premium on their side too.
- From Twitch: Display name, Partner or Affiliate, language, current game, whether the channel is live, viewers right now, followers, and subscribers. The creator grants permission for the follower and subscriber counts. The public snapshot refreshes about every ten minutes.
- From the streamer: A short bio, languages, games, the formats they will do, a rate, a currency, and a switch for open or closed.
- Formats: Dedicated segment, overlay, chat mention, panel, or host read.
- The offer: Budget, currency (USD, EUR, or UAH), format, and a message. The streamer gets an email. Five offers per advertiser per UTC day. One open offer per streamer. You cannot offer your own channel.
Follower count is the size of the channel. Viewers now is who is in the room. Neither number is a forecast of clicks or sales.
The kinds of offers that show up
Most offers are something your chat can use without leaving the stream, or one click after it. These are the rooms brands already buy. Your game and your language matter more than a huge follower count.
- Games and launches: A new release, a season, or a mode the channel already plays. The audience came for that game.
- Gear: Headsets, mice, keyboards, chairs, monitors, and PCs. The setup is already on camera.
- Food and energy drinks: Snacks, meal kits, delivery, and drinks people recognize from other streams. Keep the claim ordinary. Do not invent a health result.
- Software and sites: VPNs and privacy tools, editors, overlay tools, courses, and any site that wants a visit while the viewer is at the computer.
- Mobile games and apparel: A download, or a shirt the creator is willing to wear and name.
- Variety and Just Chatting: Beauty, lifestyle, and similar products when that is the audience in the room. The game filter will not save a mismatch.
- Offers display networks often block: Supplements and other products that fail a Google, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok ad review can still be a conversation here, if Twitch permits the product and the streamer will say the words. Alcohol and dating sit in the same bucket: possible only where the rules and the audience allow them.
If you would not say the claim on your own stream, decline the offer.
How you get listed, and how an offer arrives
You start in Settings. Advertisers start in the catalog. A free account can look. Premium is what opens your listing, their shortlist, the offer, and the thread.
Three layers
- The channel: A Premium streamer opens Settings and adds the Twitch channel already linked to the account. Twitch asks permission to show follower and subscriber counts. Another person cannot list that channel.
- The catalog: Advertisers search by name, language, game, Partner or Affiliate, format, follower range, maximum rate, live now, and open to sponsorship. Live channels sort first. Twelve profiles per page.
- The thread: A Premium advertiser saves a channel, then sends the offer. The streamer replies in Inbox. The advertiser continues under My requests. Either side can accept, decline, or mark the job completed. The streamer can block an advertiser.
From account to agreed terms
- Link Twitch: The catalog only accepts the channel already on your account.
- Add the channel: Settings, then Add my channel to the catalog. Fill the profile: bio, languages, games, formats, rate, and whether offers are open.
- Wait to be found: Advertisers filter by language, game, size, rate, and whether you are live. Your card is what they read.
- An offer arrives: It names a budget, a currency, a format, and a message. You get an email.
- You answer in Inbox: Price and terms stay in that thread. The status moves through sent, negotiating, accepted, declined, or completed.
The daily cap is five offers, resetting at 00:00 UTC. A second open offer to the same streamer is refused until the first one is no longer open.
Why this is income, on Twitch and off it
Platform ad share moves when the platform changes the split. A sponsorship is a deal with a buyer, so it travels. A YouTube Live host, a Kick host, and a Twitch host can all read the same product. What changes is where the audience sits and which rules apply.
- It stacks: Subs, Bits, and ads do not have to stop for a read to happen. The read is a segment inside the same broadcast.
- You do not have to be the biggest channel: A brand that needs a language, a region, or a single game often wants the channel that is actually about that.
- They are paying for a visit: The useful result, for them, is a person who opens the site, installs the game, or remembers the product. That is why the offer exists. It is still your call whether the read fits the stream.
This catalog implements that model for Twitch. It does not list YouTube or Kick channels.
How an advertiser will look at you
This is the second audience. A buyer opens the catalog when they want a live read or a visit to a product. Knowing their filters tells you what to put on the card.
- They name an action: A site visit, a download, a code, or a mention. A panel holds a link. A host read explains it. List only the formats you will actually do.
- They match the room: Language and game first. Follower range second. Live now, if their dates are fixed.
- They read your rate: The number on the card is your asking price. Their offer can name a different budget. The thread is where the two numbers meet.
- Their message should be answerable: Product, format, dates, and budget. You can still say no.
How a streamer should treat the first offers
- While the channel is still small: A matching niche matters more than a famous logo. One honest read in the right game is a better start than a script you do not believe.
- Once the room is steady: Publish the formats you will actually do, and close the switch when you are not taking work. A closed profile is clearer than a silent inbox.
- When brands already know the name: The catalog is still a filter, not a replacement for a manager. Use it for offers that fit the formats you listed. Decline the rest in the thread.
Before you accept an offer
- Product: Would you say these words on this channel, under Twitch’s rules?
- Disclosure: Plan the Branded Content checkbox, plus a spoken and on-screen label, before the segment airs.
- Format: Dedicated segment, overlay, chat mention, panel, or host read. One offer, one format.
- Money: Budget and currency are in the offer. How and when it is paid is part of the thread. The platform does not hold the funds.
- Audience: Language, game, and viewers now. Followers are context, not the result.
- Exit: Either person can decline. The streamer can block. Completed is a mark you set, not a payout receipt.
What a listing will not do for you
- It will not read the ad: You say it on stream, after you agree. Nobody from the platform does that for you.
- It will not invent your audience: The counts are a Twitch snapshot. You cannot edit them into a bigger media kit.
- It will not list someone else’s channel: The Twitch account on the profile has to be the one linked to you.
- It will not clear a banned product: A product refused by Google, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok is not automatically allowed on Twitch. If Twitch forbids it, decline.
- It will not pay you: The thread carries the budget. The invoice is between you and the advertiser. They can send five offers a day.
Keep reading
The sponsorship sits beside the rest of a channel’s income. These guides cover that wider stack.
Stream Shake community & channels
Terms worth knowing
- Influencer catalog
- The dashboard list of Twitch channels whose owners opted in and left the profile visible. It is not a scrape of every channel on Twitch.
- Host read
- The streamer says the offer out loud, in their own voice, during the broadcast.
- Dedicated segment
- A set piece inside the stream that is about the product, rather than a one-line mention.
- Overlay
- A graphic on the broadcast that carries the brand while the stream continues.
- Panel
- A block on the channel page, useful for a link that should stay up after the stream ends.
- Branded content
- Twitch’s name for a promotion made in exchange for payment or free goods. When it is a central part of the stream, the creator marks it in Stream Manager so viewers see that the stream includes paid promotion.
- Open to sponsorship
- A switch on the profile. Off means new offers are refused, even if the channel is still listed.
- Asking rate
- The price the streamer typed. The offer can name a different budget. The thread is where the two numbers meet.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I start receiving sponsorship offers?
- Link the Twitch channel on your account, then open Settings and add it to the catalog. You need an active Premium subscription. Fill in a bio, the games and languages, the formats you will do, a rate, and turn on Open to sponsorship. Advertisers who match that card can send an offer. You get an email, and you reply in Inbox.
- Does a listing guarantee a sponsorship?
- No. A listing means advertisers can find the channel and send an offer. You can close offers, decline, or block. A follower count is not a forecast of how many offers you will get, or of clicks and sales.
- Can a YouTube or Kick streamer join this catalog?
- The sponsorship model works on any live platform. This catalog lists Twitch channels only, and only the channel you have already linked to your account. A YouTube or Kick host can still do a live read. They cannot opt that channel into this list.
- Does Stream Shake pay me?
- No. The offer names a budget in USD, EUR, or UAH. The thread is where you and the advertiser agree the price and how it will be paid. The platform stores that conversation and emails you when an offer arrives. It does not hold the funds.
- What formats can I offer?
- Dedicated segment, overlay, chat mention, panel, or host read. You choose which of those appear on your profile. The advertiser picks one when they write.
- Where do the follower and subscriber numbers come from?
- From Twitch, after you grant permission. Live status, current game, language, and viewers right now come from a public snapshot that refreshes about every ten minutes. The rate, bio, formats, and open switch are what you typed.
- Who else uses the catalog?
- Advertisers. A logged-in account can browse. Saving a channel, sending an offer, and the thread require Premium on their side. They can send five offers per UTC day, and only one open offer to the same streamer. If Google, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok refused their ad, that does not make it allowed on Twitch. You still decide, and you still mark Branded Content in Stream Manager when the promotion is a central part of the stream.
Keep reading