Affiliate Marketing on Twitch: A Guide for Partnering with Gaming Streamers

Twitch has transformed the gaming industry by connecting millions of viewers with gaming content creators.

For gaming businesses, Twitch offers a unique platform to reach passionate audiences.

However, while traditional advertising on Twitch exists, partnering directly with streamers through an affiliate program can be much more cost effective.

In this article, we’ll explore the potential of Twitch as an affiliate marketing channel, its benefits for gaming businesses, and how to effectively recruit streamers using features from Coupon Affiliates.

Advertising on Twitch vs. Partnering with Streamers Directly

When it comes to promoting your gaming products or services, there are generally two routes on Twitch: traditional advertising and direct partnerships with streamers. While both methods have their benefits, affiliate marketing with streamers often yields more authentic engagement.

Twitch Advertising

Advertising on Twitch is similar to other online advertising platforms. You can buy ads that play before, during, or after a stream. While this can expose your brand to a large audience, it often lacks the personal touch and authenticity that viewers crave.

Many viewers use ad-blockers or simply ignore traditional ads, meaning you might not achieve the desired engagement. Moreover, ads can interrupt the viewing experience, making viewers less receptive to your message.

Partnering with Streamers through Affiliate Programs

On the other hand, partnering with streamers directly through affiliate programs provides a more authentic and relatable form of advertising. Streamers promote products they genuinely believe in, making their endorsements far more persuasive.

Instead of interrupting the content, streamers seamlessly integrate your brand into their streams, whether by using the product on camera, talking about their experience with it, or offering exclusive discount codes to viewers. This personal touch builds trust and creates a stronger bond between the brand and potential customers.

Are Gaming Influencers Good for Your Affiliate Marketing Program?

Partnering with gaming influencers can be incredibly effective for affiliate marketing, especially in the gaming industry. Let’s look at a few reasons why gaming influencers are beneficial for your affiliate program.

1. High Engagement with a Niche Audience

Twitch streamers have built highly engaged communities that share a passion for gaming. When a streamer recommends a product, viewers are more likely to trust that recommendation because they value the streamer’s opinion.

This makes gaming influencers perfect for affiliate marketing because they deliver your brand message to an audience that’s already interested in gaming-related products.

2. Authenticity and Trust

Influencers on Twitch are known for their authenticity. Their audience often sees them as friends rather than celebrities, and this authenticity translates into real influence. By partnering with a streamer who genuinely loves your product, you can tap into that trust.

When a streamer uses your product live or explains how it enhances their gaming experience, it resonates more with viewers than traditional advertising.

3. Long-Term Relationships with the Audience

Unlike traditional ads that are shown once, influencers can promote products repeatedly, keeping your brand top of mind. Since streamers often have scheduled streams where they interact with viewers over time, their promotion of your product gains consistency and depth.

This means more exposure for your brand and a better chance of converting viewers into customers.

4. Measurable Results with Coupons and Affiliate Links

Twitch partnerships often involve affiliate links or discount codes, making it easy to measure performance. By tracking how many people used a particular coupon code or link, you can determine the effectiveness of the partnership.

This allows you to make informed decisions about which influencers to continue partnering with and what type of content works best.

Examples of Brands Working with Twitch Streamers

To better understand the power of Twitch partnerships, let’s look at some brands that have effectively worked with streamers.

GFuel and Gamer Supps

Energy drink brands like GFuel and Gamer Supps have become household names in the gaming community, largely thanks to partnerships with Twitch streamers.

They provide streamers with custom coupon codes that viewers can use for discounts. In return, streamers earn commissions for every sale made through their code.

This affiliate model works exceptionally well because it creates a win-win situation: viewers get a discount, streamers earn a commission, and the brand reaches a wider audience.

Gaming Hardware and Accessories

Companies like Logitech, SteelSeries, and HyperX, which produce gaming headsets, keyboards, and other peripherals, also use Twitch influencers for promotion.

Streamers will often feature these products during their streams, showing them in action, and providing viewers with a coupon code to purchase them. Since the audience can see the quality and performance of these products live, it makes their recommendations more convincing.

Gaming Chair Companies

Gaming chair brands like Secretlab, DXRacer, and Noblechairs have tapped into the power of Twitch partnerships to showcase their products to a dedicated gaming audience.

Secretlab, known for its premium ergonomic designs, equips popular streamers with chairs to use on camera, pairing the live demonstration with affiliate links or exclusive discount codes.

Similarly, DXRacer, a pioneer in gaming chair innovation, collaborates with influencers who highlight features like adjustable armrests and lumbar support during streams, offering viewers custom promo codes that drive sales while earning streamers commissions.

Noblechairs joins the trend by providing its luxury chairs to streamers, ensuring their sleek designs and comfort are visible in action, often accompanied by limited-time offers or affiliate incentives.

Together, these brands demonstrate how Twitch’s real-time platform allows gaming chairs to shine – streamers showcase the products naturally during long gaming sessions, building trust with viewers who see the quality firsthand.

By blending authentic endorsements with discounts, these companies create a win-win scenario: viewers snag deals, streamers profit, and the brands reach a highly targeted group of gaming enthusiasts.

Razer

Razer, known for its gaming peripherals, also partners with streamers.

These kinds of partnerships allow viewers to directly see how the product functions during gameplay, providing a more impactful impression compared to conventional ads.

These brands demonstrate the potential of Twitch as a platform for gaming-related affiliate marketing. By tapping into the streamer’s influence and offering something valuable to their audience, like discounts, you can effectively promote your brand to a highly targeted group of gaming enthusiasts.

How to Recruit Twitch Streamers to Your Affiliate Program

Recruiting Twitch streamers to your affiliate program requires a strategic approach.

Here are some steps to help you successfully attract and onboard the right partners:

1. Identify the Right Streamers

Not all streamers are suitable for your brand. It’s important to identify streamers whose content aligns with your products or services. Start by researching gaming categories that relate to your offerings.

For instance, if your business sells high-performance gaming chairs, look for streamers who often discuss comfort or setup. Tools like TwitchTracker can help identify streamers with a suitable audience size and engagement level.

2. Make Your Offer Attractive

To attract streamers, your affiliate program should stand out. Consider offering perks beyond commissions, such as:

• Free products for them to use during streams.
• Custom coupon codes that give their viewers a significant discount.
• Performance bonuses to reward highly successful affiliates.

Streamers are more likely to join if they feel they’re getting more than just a standard deal. The more attractive your offer, the more motivated the streamer will be to promote your brand actively.

3. Reach Out with a Personal Touch

When reaching out to streamers, personalised communication is key. Rather than sending a generic email, watch some of their streams, understand their audience, and mention how your product fits well with their content style.

Streamers value partnerships that feel authentic and that demonstrate an understanding of their community.

4. Provide Clear Guidelines and Support

Once you have streamers interested in your affiliate program, provide them with clear guidelines, promotional assets, and any support they may need. Give them the freedom to be creative while promoting your product, as they know their audience best.

At the same time, make sure they understand your brand values and how to effectively communicate your message.

5. Utilise Coupon Affiliates Plugin Features

To make the affiliate program attractive and easy to manage for streamers, you can leverage the features provided by the Coupon Affiliates plugin.

Coupon Affiliates Features Beneficial for Twitch Streamer Partnerships

The Coupon Affiliates plugin for WooCommerce offers several features that can make running a Twitch-focused affiliate program straightforward and effective. Here are some features that would particularly appeal to streamers and make affiliate management easier for your brand:

1. Custom Coupon Codes

Custom coupon codes are a great way to give Twitch streamers a unique identifier for their promotions. With Coupon Affiliates, you can generate specific codes for each streamer, making it easy to track who is driving sales.

Streamers can share these codes with their viewers to offer discounts, which not only incentivises purchases but also directly attributes sales to the individual streamer.

2. Dynamic Creatives

Dynamic creatives are promotional banners or images that change based on certain criteria. By using Coupon Affiliates, you can provide streamers with promotional assets tailored to their audience.

For example, if a streamer is playing a new game that your brand is involved with, you can provide banners that specifically mention that game or related products. This helps streamers create a more cohesive promotional message during their streams.

3. Performance Bonuses

One of the features in Coupon Affiliates is performance-based bonuses. You can set specific sales targets or benchmarks for streamers, rewarding those who reach them with additional commissions or bonuses.

This gamified element can motivate streamers to push your product more during their streams and even host specific events centred around your brand.

4. QR Codes for Ease of Use

Twitch is a highly visual platform, and integrating QR codes into a stream can be a fantastic way to drive conversions. With Coupon Affiliates, you can generate unique QR codes linked to an affiliate’s coupon or landing page.

Streamers can display these codes on screen, making it easy for viewers to scan them with their phones and make purchases without leaving the stream.

5. Real-Time Performance Tracking

The Coupon Affiliates plugin offers real-time performance tracking for affiliates, which is incredibly useful for streamers. It allows them to see the impact of their promotion immediately, motivating them to make adjustments as needed.

This transparency not only builds trust but also helps affiliates optimise their promotional efforts to improve conversions.

Conclusion: Leveraging Twitch for Affiliate Marketing in the Gaming Industry

Twitch provides an incredible opportunity for gaming businesses to reach a passionate audience through authentic content. Instead of relying solely on traditional advertising, partnering directly with Twitch streamers through affiliate programs can yield better engagement, build trust, and drive sales.

The key is to find streamers whose audience aligns with your brand, create an attractive offer, and leverage features like custom coupon codes, dynamic creatives, and performance bonuses.

By using tools like the Coupon Affiliates plugin, you can make it easier for streamers to promote your brand effectively while tracking results seamlessly.

Elliot Sowersby

Elliot Sowersby is a WordPress developer from Yorkshire, United Kingdom. He is the founder and lead developer of Coupon Affiliates and RelyWP.