With the inception of Twitch, playing video games has become a lucrative activity. With streamers gaining more subscribers daily, some have turned it into a source of income. However, if you are wondering why your Twitch revenue is plummeting, you have come to the right place.
Here are 7 reasons why your Twitch revenue might be going down:
- You’re losing subscribers.
- Your customers are no longer buying bits like before.
- You are not pushing your merchandise enough.
- Your viewers are no longer donating like before.
- You are losing brand sponsors.
- You are not selling games like before.
- Increased competition from other streamers.
Let’s discuss these reasons in detail.
1. You’re Losing Subscribers
One of the reasons why your Twitch revenue might be going down is because you are losing subscribers. Having a substantial base of subscribers is essential since they provide streamers with a monthly recurring income.
Below are some reasons why your viewers might be canceling their Twitch subscriptions.
A) Change of Streaming Schedule
You may be losing subscribers because you recently changed your streaming schedule. Most subscribers prefer working with a streamer’s schedule that does not interrupt their daily routine.
For instance, it would be difficult to get many subscribers if most of your streams are during work hours. Ultimately, this leads to a reduction of streams, thus leading to a decrease in revenue.
B) Frequent Technical Issues on Your Streams
It’s challenging to keep your subscribers if most of your streams have technical issues. For instance, if you have a low frame rate or bitrate in your streams, the chances are that people will look for other streamers without such technical problems.
This eventually leads to a decrease in subscriptions, ultimately reducing your monthly revenue.
C) Lack of Valuable Content
Another reason why you are losing subscribers is that you are not providing valuable content. People watch videos on Twitch for entertainment. Thus, you may lose subscribers if your streams are not entertaining or adding value to the lives of your audience members.
Depending on your channel’s focus, you may lose your audience if you no longer give them various tips and tricks they can use when playing the game. Also, ensure that you shout out your loyal subscribers during live streams.
D) Competition From Other Platforms
You may lose viewers because people check other platforms such as YouTube and Facebook Gaming.
YouTube Gaming
Your viewers may be migrating to YouTube gaming because the platform makes it easy to engage with the audience. YouTube’s ubiquity may attract more viewers, leading to a decrease in subscribers and your Twitch revenue.
Facebook Gaming
Facebook gaming may be why you are losing subscribers because of their many integrations.
For instance, the platform enables viewers to easily access other platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter. Ultimately, these integrations may be drawing in more viewers from your Twitch channel, thus leading to a decrease in subscribers.
Additionally, your Twitch revenue may be plunging because you’re not using the subathon strategy to acquire new subscribers, especially when you start to lose subscribers.
2. Your Customers Are No Longer Buying Bits Like Before
Twitch has a digital currency called bits that are used within the platform. Bits allow the viewers to buy emoticons that they can then use to show their love to the streamers in exchange for acknowledgments. These bits offer financial support to the streamers because they are an additional source of income other than the subscriptions.
Thus, your Twitch revenue will go down if the number of bits purchased per subscriber decreases.
It’s best to check the number of bits purchased monthly. If they have plummeted, you can look for a way to encourage your viewers to buy them more frequently.
3. You’re Not Pushing Your Merchandise Enough
Selling merchandise is one of the primary ways streamers make money. You can either design a hoodie or a t-shirt with your logo or imprint your face on products.
A decrease in the merchandise sold per month can be caused by various factors.
For instance, fewer viewers will be inclined to acquire your products if your merchandise is expensive and you are not selling it aggressively. Additionally, your merchandise sales could decrease if you lose subscribers because you ultimately have fewer fans buying your products.
Ultimately, these factors may contribute to your revenue declining.
4. Your Viewers Are No Longer Donating Like Before
The Twitch streamers with many followers often make money through viewer donations. Some viewers may donate money to your channel to help you grow and build an expansive community. Most streamers often chat with them while streaming to show their gratitude.
However, if your Gifted subs have decreased, it may cause your Twitch revenue to go down. You cannot control customer donations since the viewers offer donations based on their appreciation of your content.
Thus, if the quality of your content has decreased, you may receive fewer donations, which ultimately affects your revenue.
5. You’re Losing Brand Sponsors
Some companies use Twitch streamers to advertise their products. In return, the streamers are paid an agreed amount for their services.
This has become an income-generating venture for streamers with many subscribers.
As such, there is a high probability that your revenue is decreasing because you’re losing brand partnerships. For instance, you’ll earn less money if your five brand partnerships are reduced to two.
6. You’re Not Selling Games Like Before
Another way streamers make money is through game sales. When affiliates are playing a game, viewers are allowed to buy the game through their channel, thus receiving some amount for the purchase.
This offers an excellent opportunity for streamers to make extra cash from the sales. However, your revenue will decrease if the game sales are low and they provide a substantial amount of your monthly income.
7. Increased Competition From Other Streamers
Your revenue may decrease if you are streaming a saturated game. For instance, many people usually stream games such as Fortnite and Call of Duty at the same time, thus making the streams competitive and challenging to acquire subscribers.
Furthermore, featuring saturated content makes it hard for viewers to access your streams. Since many people are streaming these games, your viewers may have difficulties looking for your stream, thus encouraging them to subscribe to more easily accessible channels.
Ultimately, you’ll lose subscribers to people who are playing the games better, which may lead to a decrease in revenue.
Final Thoughts
While Twitch provides a platform for you to convert your hobby into an income-generating activity, there are various obstacles that you must endure to earn more money.
This platform is competitive, and you must keep your subscribers happy to prevent them from unsubscribing, thus causing your revenue to decrease.
Other factors that may affect your revenue include:
- Decrease in the purchase of bits.
- Reduction of donations.
- Reduction of brand sponsorships.
