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- 15 Feb
Everything You Need To Know About Setting Up Twitch Donations
- June 9, 2023
- by Liam Doherty
Adding A Donate Button On Twitch
By adding a donation panel or button to your Twitch channel, you provide a straightforward and easy to understand method of accepting donations. These buttons are one of the first things people see when they land on your channel. Receiving donations is one of the top ways that streamers who are not yet affiliates or don’t meet the Twitch partner requirements, can earn money.
There are several different methods for accepting payments via a donation button. Some of them are discussed below.
PayPal
Paypal is unquestionably the easiest and most popular method for accepting donations amongst Twitch streamers. Given how well known and widespread PayPal is, you can maximize the number of people able to donate. People are already willing to part ways with their money to support you, so it’s a good idea to make the process as simple and pain free as possible. If you want to enable donations on Twitch, follow these steps and you’ll have a donate button linked with PayPal in no time.
Visit the PayPal website and log in using your account information. If you’ve never used PayPal before Sign Up.
Once logged in head over to the Pay & Get Paid from menu then select the More tab. Select Get Started under the Manage your PayPal.Me profile section.
Once set up, you’ll need to make sure your profile status is set On. You’ll then be able to select the share button from the top right.
Scroll down and find the Copy Link button.
- Now head over to your Twitch account and go to your channel page, by selecting your avatar from the top right and then Channel.
Look for the Edit Panels toggle and enable it. Scroll down slightly and you should see a big grey coloured + button then Add a Text or Image Panel.
Give the panel a name by entering it into the Title text field.
- Select Add Image and upload a suitable panel graphic. You can find these panels for free or get them custom made.
- In the Image Links To field enter your Paypal.me link that you copied in step 4
- Once all the information has been entered select Submit.
Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
Love it or hate cryptocurrency is commonly used as an alternative form of payment all over the world. Whether you’re simply a fan of the decentralized concept or perhaps from a country where it’s difficult to accept donations via popular platforms like PayPal.
One of the most convenient ways to accept crypto donations is via NowPayments. Here’s a step by step process on how you can start getting crypto donations on Twitch.
- Head over to NowPayments and create your account. You’ll need to sign up with your email address and enter your crypto wallet address.
- From the left hand sidebar, expand Settings and select Payment Settings.
- Scroll down to the API Keys section and copy the key using the copy button.
- Now you’ll need to create a unique donation link using your API key. Here’s an example : https://nowpayments.io/donation?api_key=XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX. Here the X’s represent your API key. Imagine you API key is 80HY72HY, your unique link would look like this : https://nowpayments.io/donation?api_key=80HY72HY
- Now you simply need to add this unique URL to a panel on your Twitch channel.
- If you’ve never added a panel before, checkout the PayPal section from step 5 onwards.
How To Set Up Charity Donations On Twitch?
Twitch does not yet have a special feature available that allows creators to raise funds from charitable donations via subscriptions or bits. With that being said Twitch does have a charity tool that allows viewers to make charitable donations via PayPal or credit card.
This is a great feature once set up as it allows for more transparency and lets viewers donate directly to the charitable organizations. Because of this, using Twitch’s Charity tool is one of the best ways of fundraising for charities that are important to you.
Charitable fundraising makes it easy to manage any campaign with such tools as campaign marketing, goal tracking, and providing donors with tax-deductible receipts. There’s also an option to direct viewers to other well-known platforms for charity fundraising where they can make direct donations. One such example of this would be Tiltify.
If you like the idea of raising money for reputable charities using Twitch’s built in feature, follow the steps below and launch your first fundraising campaign.
To start off visit your Creator Dashboard for Twitch and choose the Charity button from the left menu.
From the main charity page you can now search through all the verified charities and choose the one that resonates with you the most. You can also search for a charity directly using the search bar.
- Press Create Fundraiser for your chosen charity. If the specific charity you wish to support isn’t listed, you can suggest it through UserVoice, which is the way to request the addition of your charity.
- After being directed to a campaign creation page you can add all of the important information regarding this campaign. You’ll also have the option to set a fundraising goal for you and your community to strive for.
- Once ready go to the My Fundraisers from the charity page in the dashboard and select the Start Fundraiser button displayed on the right of each campaign.
- Once activated, donations will appear in your Activity Feed so you can see who donated what and how much.
Third-Party Apps That Help Set Up Twitch Donations
Whilst the standard way of accepting donations via Twitch is a popular option, it’s not the only way to accept donations. Several third-party apps exist for helping you accept donations for Twitch.
All of these methods will give you your unique donation page link which you can then embed into a panel on your Twitch channels page.
Streamlabs
If you want a highly customizable and easy to understand option for accepting donations then consider setting up a Streamlabs tip page. During the registration process for Streamlabs users are given the option for connecting their Paypal email address with their account. Although PayPal is the most popular option, Streamlabs also supports credit card and Unitpay payment on your tips page.
Here are the steps to set up the tips page from the Streamlabs dashboard:
Visit Streamlabs and log in to access your dashboard. In the left hand sidebar expand Essentials and select Tipping.
- Select the Tip Methods tab, and select Connect for your payment processor of choice. Each method will have separate instructions so follow the specific steps shown on screen when connecting your payment method.
- Once connected you’ll be able to customize the look and layout of your tip page by clicking on the Tip Page Design tab.
If you want to preview your tips page find your unique URL next to Your Tip Page and paste it into the browser.
StreamElements
Another popular platform with helpful tools for generating revenue is StreamElements. They include a wide variety of widgets, such as the HypeCup. Not only do they have widgets to encourage tipping, but you can build your very own tipping page.
By using this tipping page, when viewers want to donate they will first land on your tipping page. From here they can enter the donation amount and message. This is a great way to build a tip page in lieu with your branding.
To set up a donations page on StreamElements follow the steps below.
- Head over to StreamElements and log in.
Once logged into the dashboard expand the sidebar by selecting the hamburger icon from the top left corner.
- Expand Revenue then select Tipping Settings.
From this page you’ll be able to connect your PayPal account, download some default panels and get your tipping page URL.
- Simply add this URL to a donation panel on Twitch, and viewers who want to donate will now land on your tipping page.
- Scroll down further in your tipping settings for even further customization. You can preview changes by pasting your tipping page link into a browser, and simply refreshing this page after changes are made.
Tipeee
TipeeeStream is another great platform that allows streamers to receive donations via its donation button. This platform is much more widely used amongst European streamers. The platform has a feature allowing you to set up a donation page.
Follow these steps to get your TipeeeStream’s donation page up and running.
- Head over to TipeeStream and sign in to your dashboard
Once logged in, select Donation Page from the left hand side bar.
You’ll now need to enter some details, agree to the privacy policy, accept the transaction fees conditions and then select Activate Account.
You’ll now be able to get your donation page unique URL from the text field or change it’s settings.
- Using your donation page link you’ll be able to add it to a donation panel on Twitch. Anybody wanting to donate to you will now land on your customized donation page.
Toonation
Toonation allows users to donate to their favorite streamers using their own credits system. This website is very popular in Korea, and you may never have heard of it. As a content creator you’ll be able to easily accept donations as soon as your account has been created.
Here’s how to start accepting donations via Toonation.
- Head over to Toonation and log in via Twitch. You’ll receive a dialog after signing in prompting you to authorize. If you’re happy to authorize the application hit Authorize.
Scroll down and find your unique donation page link.
- Now add this link to a panel on your Twitch channel, and you’ll be able to start receiving donations.
Twip
Twip is another popular platform in Korea that gives you an option to set up a donation page quickly and easily.
To get your donation page with Twip follow these steps:
- Log into Twip using your Twitch account
- Once logged in head over to the donate page.
- From here you can get your unique donation link and customize the look of your tipping page.
Ko-Fi
Ko-Fi is another all in one solution for setting up a tipping page, allowing you to receive donations from your viewers. This platform has grown in popularity in recent years for content creators. Especially content creators that are less focused on the gaming side of streaming. The reason they use Ko-Fi in this case is so that they can have one consolidated tipping page across multiple platforms.
To begin accepting donations via Ko-Fi on Twitch follow these next steps:
- Head over to Ko-Fi and log in or sign up if you don’t already have an account
- During the signing up process specify that you want are a creator and want to receive tips & donations
- Then choose a suitable username for your donation link
- Upload an avatar, make sure to pick a recognisable avatar so viewers can be sure that the donation page belongs to you
- To start receiving donations you’ll need to set up a payment method from the payments tab on the settings page.
- Once you’ve configured everything, embed your unique donation page link into a panel on Twitch. You can find your link buy simply replacing username with your own in the following link : https://ko-fi.com/username
Buy Me A Coffee
Buy Me A Coffee is a great platform for streamers to raise some extra money whilst pursuing their passion. Similarly to Ko-Fi buy me a coffee is used quite a lot by creators that aren’t solely focused on Twitch. This could be a musician or artist that just happens to stream on Twitch. As such Twitch isn’t the only place where the creator will ask for donations. This platform provides a much more consolidated way to promote your tipping page across multiple media platforms.
Follow these steps to set up your donations page:
- Head over to the Buy Me a Coffee website and either login or sign up.
- Once you have your account created all you have to do is replace username from the following link with your own : https://www.buymeacoffee.com/usernam
- Now with this link you can embed it in a panel on your Twitch channel
Creative Donation Incentives on Twitch
Although most viewers are happy to donate in order to support their favourite streamer, incentivising or reminding viewers is the ultimate way to keep donations flowing in. Many viewers will get immersed in the action and hype of a stream. Finding engaging ways to remind viewers about donations without being pushy is a bit of a balancing act. However, we’ve put together some commonly used ways of doing this.
1. Give Attention To Donators
Taking time to mention a viewer’s name and personally thank them, makes the donator feel appreciated, but also shows that as a streamer you truly value your community’s support. When your audience feels valued their support for you will only grow in strength.
In addition to personally thanking them, you can configure other widgets or alerts to trigger on screen when somebody donates. Firstly this creates hype on stream, but it also visually shows to other viewers that the streamer is receiving donations. When viewers see other community members showing support it creates feel good vibes within the stream and that feeling can quickly spread around.
2. Create Competition Amongst Donators
Adding a wall of fame or top donors panel to your Twitch channel can trigger a competitive element amongst certain members of your community. This panel will be displayed on your profile and lists all of the top donors either during a stream or all time. Aside from the competitive element, listing your biggest supporters is a great way to show appreciation to those who have gone above and beyond in their showing of support.
3. Create Giveaway Hype
Hosting small giveaways and promoting that through your title will grab a lot of new viewers attention. Of course everyone loves freebies, and if you can get creative with the freebies you can create even more of a buzz around your stream. Some ideas of what to giveaway would be a free steam key, or in-game skins from popular games.
In addition to creating hype and drumming up new viewers, this is your chance as a streamer to give back to your community. Reciprocation goes a long way in showing your generosity and also shows how much you value your community.
4. Set Donation Goals via Widgets
Setting donation amount goals is a great way to incentivise donations. Being transparent about what the donations are for is also a great way to let viewers feel like they’re helping you progress as a streamer. Some popular examples of donation goals are, buying a new PC or saving to go to TwitchCon.
Goals like these always do well because viewers know that the donations are being used to improve things like quality of the stream.
Adding a donation goal widget to your stream on Twitch can be done by utilizing third party platforms such as Streamlabs & Streamelements.
Best Practices for Receiving Donations on Twitch
Before you can start accepting subs on Twitch, donations are the best way to earn revenue.If you accept donations on your live stream, you need to be up front and very clear regarding your policy. Viewers need to know that their donations are not necessary and at the same time non-refundable. This information should be clearly indicated wherever it is that you accept donations.
Although accepting donations with platforms such as PayPal make the process simple and reliable, there’s one significant drawback to be aware of. Scammers. Although rare, donations can be abused by scammers by opening filing for chargebacks.
This means that the person who donates can potentially get their money back. For this reason it’s highly recommended to leave the funds inside your PayPal account for up to 60 days. Imagine a situation where you withdraw your funds, spend it, then receive a flurry of chargebacks. You could potentially be in a situation of having to return money that you no longer have.
Unfortunately this is quite a common occurrence and there have been many infamous cases of this over the years which streamers have discussed.
Many of the top streamers mitigate this risk by accepting donations via alternative methods. One example of this is encouraging viewers to donate bits (which are safeguarded by Amazon Payments) and crypto donations (which cannot be canceled or charged back). These forms of payments protect you from these donation scams on PayPal.
Conclusion
Starting out on Twitch can be difficult, even more so if you’re trying to improve the quality of your stream. Before you reach the affiliate level you will not have any monetisation options available directly through Twitch. One of the great ways you can begin earning some money is through donations. Make sure you let viewers know how much you appreciate their support and belief in you. We hope that with this information you’ll be able to start growing and earning money very soon with Twitch donations.
