Creators don’t need millions of subscribers to start monetizing their live streams. And there are quicker, easier options than adding pre-roll ads for YouTube monetization.
If you’re ready to learn how to make money streaming, you’re in the right place. This guide shares 10 effective ways to monetize live streams as a creator, complete with the earning potential of each strategy.
Ready to explore how Uscreen’s reliable, scalable solution is helping customers monetize live events through pay-per-view, on-demand content, and memberships?
How to make money live streaming
Turning your live streams into a source of income doesn’t have to be complicated. These strategies show you exactly how to monetize your content, whether you’re just starting streaming or looking to scale your earnings.
Follow this list to discover multiple ways to earn from your streams and make the time you spend live truly pay off.
- Launch your own live streaming platform
- Sell pay-per-view streams
- Create and sell your own products
- Offer related services
- Find a live stream sponsor
- Join an affiliate program
- Ask for tips or pledges
- Sell branded merchandise
- Monetize with live stream ads
- Offer exclusive member perks
1. Launch your own exclusive live streaming platform
Many creators start their live streaming career on a social media platform like Twitch, TikTok LIVE, Facebook Live, or YouTube Live.
These third-party platforms are great for audience-building, but relying on them as a source of monetization is risky.
That’s because they have total control over your live streams. They can take down your profile without recourse, limit visibility in their built-in search engines, and take a huge cut from the ads they run throughout your stream.
The most sustainable and profitable way to make money from your live streams is to have your own platform — specifically, your own live streaming website.
With Uscreen, you can build a platform that allows you to:
- Host your own live streams
- Engage your audience in real-time
- Charge a one-off fee or create a subscription-based model to access exclusive content
- Control your marketing
- Keep 100% of what you earn, regardless of how your viewers pay
Take M/BODY, for example, which launched its live streaming service with Uscreen in 2020 as a place to broadcast live fitness classes.
Using Uscreen’s live streaming and video library features, Marnie engages her audience in real time while building a catalog of classes for anytime access.
You don’t have to run a large operation like M/BODY to benefit from live streaming, though — any creator can connect with their community online.
This business model works for all niches, with individual content creators and small teams. If you have live content to share and a handful of fans who are willing to pay to watch it, this is a scalable way to get paid to stream.
Uscreen is focused on helping creators monetize their video content with features like:
- Live streaming
- Branded OTT apps
- Netflix-style video platform
- A class-leading CMS
It’s no wonder creators who build their live streaming platforms with Uscreen make an average of $12,000 every month.
Ready to explore how Uscreen’s reliable, scalable solution is helping customers monetize live events through pay-per-view, on-demand content, and memberships?
2. Sell pay-per-view streams
Another way to make money from video streaming is to host pay-per-view (PPV) streams. This happens when people pay a small one-time fee to watch your stream.
PPV streams are great if you’re sharing special or exclusive content on your live stream, such as:
- Workshops
- Masterclasses
- Tutorials
Fittest Core is a creator who has incorporated the PPV video model into their monetization strategy.
Boasting a huge library of videos that teach people how to make memory books, people can join their membership program to get access to the entire library.
But there’s also the option to buy individual videos for a one-time fee.
The best part? You don’t need to manually process every sale when monetizing your live broadcast with PPV streams.
Platforms like Uscreen can handle PPV live streams to take the logistical headache out of processing payments. Viewers can pay using their credit card or a payment gateway like PayPal.
You can also use video paywalls, communicate with customers throughout the stream, and create subscription plans for future live streams — all within a single dashboard.
3. Create and sell your own products
Coming up with your own digital product ideas and selling them directly during streams is an excellent way to monetize your audience. Live-streams act as a built-in advertising channel — you can wear your own merch, showcase your products on camera, or naturally mention them while engaging with viewers.
According to one report, live commerce in the U.S. grew to $1.26 billion in 2024, showing many viewers watch live streams with a willingness to financially support creators through products.
The type of product you offer will depend on your niche. It will need to appeal to your viewership and fit your brand.
Selling your own branded physical products — such as stationery, mugs, or clothing — will require a higher cash investment upfront. This can be a profitable stream of income, though, especially if you have a community of fans who want to support your branding.
Digital products, on the other hand, can require more time to create but less financial investment overall. Plus, the cost is one-off, and can be sold as many times as you like. Some popular digital products include:
4. Offer related services
Another way to make money from live streaming is to offer services on the side. Keep in mind that services take more time to fulfill since they’re personalized to each customer, but the monetization potential can be greater if you don’t mind trading time for money.
Freelancers who offer specialist skills like website design, manual testing, and programming can earn over $300 per hour.
Start by identifying a related service your audience would pay for. If you’re a gaming live streamer, for example, sell 1:1 sessions that teach gamers how to improve in their favorite game.
Charli Marie is a graphic designer who puts this strategy into action. Charli hosts YouTube videos where she live-streams the website design process. She offers supplementary premium content to monetize the live stream, including mentoring sessions — a paid service that is promoted in the video description.
Potential design mentees pay Charli $75 for a 30-minute call where she offers career advice, feedback on their web design portfolio, or a job application.
Being able to offer related services again comes back to your niche and your audience – and what you’re able to offer.
5. Find a live stream sponsor
Brand sponsorships and partnerships can be a profitable way to make money from your live stream video content.
Sponsors will pay you to create your content in exchange for a casual “shout-out” or more formal ad-read during your stream. For most content creators, they’re a segment in your live stream where you:
- Mention the brand
- Introduce their product
- Share a short personal testimonial
Here’s an example from the popular YouTube channel MrBallen. He takes the time right at the start of his video to highlight his brand deal:
Sponsors often pay between $15 and $50 per 1,000 views. So, if your YouTube or Facebook live streams are regularly getting 5,000+ views you can earn a solid income as a live streamer.
Brand partnerships tend to bring in the most money. They work well because they connect our content with relevant brands. With a thoughtful approach and content that resonates with our audience, brand partnerships can be very financially rewarding, especially when the brand aligns with our niche.
Isaac Robertson, co-founder of Total Shape
That said, it can be tricky to find and secure a good brand deal, and from there it can be a lengthy process to set up. As a result, brand deals can be a good additional source of revenue, but they’re too unpredictable to rely on consistently.
The brands you partner with also need to be a good fit for your creator business. Your goal isn’t to partner with any brand that comes your way. You want to partner with good brands that offer relevant products to your live stream content.
Sponsors will want to influence the content you create; having the wrong one can cost you subscribers.
Learning how to create the ultimate media kit helps you entice sponsors.
6. Join an affiliate program
Affiliates are people who promote a product or service — typically with a link or a referral code — and receive a commission.
This commission can range between 5% and 30% of the sale (meaning if you sell a $100 product, you could earn between $5 and $30 in commissions).
Using affiliate marketing to monetize your live stream doesn’t guarantee major profits. It’s not a predictable revenue stream; people might be more willing to buy products from certain affiliates.
You’re also at the mercy of the brand changing its affiliate policy — like Amazon, which once slashed commissions from 8% to 3% with little notice on certain product categories. Others, like Amazon Games and luxury beauty products, still pay out 20% and 10%, respectively.
That said, affiliate programs are a great place to start earning money as a live streamer because they’re low-risk. As long as the products are relevant to your subscribers, they’ll be happy to hear about them, and hopefully go on to buy them.
Find affiliate opportunities by:
- Using Amazon Associates or the Twitch affiliate program
- Using a YouTube affiliate program
- Contacting brands within your niche
- Googling a brand name followed by “+ affiliate”
- Joining an affiliate network like Awin
Once you’ve found affiliate partners and joined their program, start monetizing your live streams by showcasing the product during your video. You could even host a tutorial or workshop that tells viewers how to achieve something using the affiliated product. All you need to do is include an affiliate link in the description of your video for viewers to use.
7. Ask for tips or pledges
The easiest way to make money with live streaming is to accept tips.
You can use tools like Patreon,  Kit Tip Jar, YouTube Super Chat, Buy Me A Coffee to ask for monthly “pledges” that provide subscribers with premium benefits. Each new tier offers more value.
Let’s take a look at an example from YouTuber, Patrick (H) Willems, who offers 3 tiers to his audience at $3, $5, or $10 a month.
Depending on the tier they choose, they can get the following perks:
- Access to exclusive live streams
- Their name in a video’s credits
- A hand-drawn comic panel
- Official merchandise
Tip pages are easy to set up, and if you have a large enough following, you could start earning from them in hours.
Direct contributions from my viewers play a significant role. Utilizing platforms like Twitch’s Cheers or YouTube’s Super Chat allows fans to support the content and interact more directly.
Chris Grayson, creator of Stream Scheme
Even though there are several users earning $50,000+ a month through tip platforms like Patreon, this isn’t the standard.
Reports show that only 24 creators on Patreon each receive support from over 20,000 paying members. On average, Patreon creators make between $315 and $1,375.
For that reason, we’d recommend using tips as a supplementary income stream and combining it with other methods on this list.
8. Sell branded merchandise
You can monetize the community around your live streaming channel with branded merchandise.
This not only increases revenue from existing viewers, but it can help you attract new ones. People will become walking billboards of your channel, especially if you’re selling wearable merch like t-shirts, hats, or hoodies.
Choose merchandise that relates to your live streaming niche. For example, if you host live-stream videos about book reviews or where you’re reading, you could sell branded bookmarks or Kindle stickers.
Then, increase merch sales through your live stream by:
- Showcasing the products multiple times in your live stream
- Linking to merchandise in your stream’s description
- Sending follow-up emails to viewers that mention your branded merchandise
Take inspiration from Matthew K Heafy, a heavy metal singer who uses live streaming to engage with his viewership. He monetizes his audience of 250,000+ followers by dropshipping merchandise:
Business models like dropshipping and print-on-demand are great for streamers because you don’t physically touch the products. Items are manufactured and shipped to the end customer whenever an order is placed.
In Matthew’s case, he provides his branded designs to a third-party company. This company creates the products on demand and ships them directly to the customer.
Profits are lower — between 10% and 25% of a sale — but you don’t need to handle or create the goods. You only pay for inventory when you’ve sold it, reducing risk and the need for a fancy warehouse to store your merchandise.
9. Monetize with live stream ads
Advertising is a billion-dollar industry. Take a slice of the money brands spend on advertising by allowing them to display their campaign through your live stream.
There are three main types of live stream video ads you can offer:
- Pre-roll ads: These live-stream ads play automatically before online videos (such as YouTube content) and are usually 15 or 30 seconds long.
- Mid-roll ads: Also known as in-stream ads, this type of campaign usually lasts a minimum of 12 seconds and is placed in the middle of video content.
- Overlay ads: This is a small banner-like ad that takes up the bottom 20% of a video’s screen without obstructing the user’s view.
If you’re live-streaming on YouTube, the platform can run these live-stream ads for you through its Partner Program. But YouTube still needs to take its 45% cut, so you’ll end up with about half of the ad revenue your content generates.
Find out your YouTube CPM and potential ad revenue
The better option is to create your own live stream platform and find your own advertisers. Partner with brands you already have a working relationship with. Ask them to submit a short clip that you play at certain durations throughout the live stream.
You could even host PPV live streams on your own portal and introduce a membership option where viewers can pay a recurring fee each month to bypass ads. (Some 100 million people already pay for this through YouTube Premium — the platform’s built-in ad-skipping feature.)
10. Offer exclusive member perks
Turn casual viewers into paying members by giving them access to benefits they can’t get anywhere else. You can promote these perks during live streams to show viewers what they’re missing and encourage them to subscribe, or share clips on other channels that link to gated, members-only content.
Examples of members-only perks include:
- Exclusive live Q&A sessions or workshops
- Early access to replays or new content
- Downloadable guides, workout plans, or templates
- Personalized shout-outs or advice during live streams
- Access to private forums, chat rooms, or community boards
- Discounts on products, merchandise, or future events
Providing these perks creates a sense of exclusivity and value, encouraging viewers to subscribe, boosting retention, and turning engagement into a reliable revenue stream while keeping your audience connected and actively participating.
The success of creators like Jay Clouse shows the power of this approach. He earned over $460K in just two years from only 200 members by capping his community and offering high-value, exclusive perks.
Limiting membership ensures personalized attention, fosters a strong sense of community, and keeps engagement high, proving that exclusivity can be more profitable than sheer audience size.
Earn extra revenue for your creator business with live streaming
Learning how to make money streaming isn’t as complex as you might have thought.
In fact, finding sponsorships and promoting affiliate products is the easy part. The key to making money in the long run is to establish strong relationships with your viewers — AKA, the people who make monetization possible.
As Stream Scheme’s Chris Grayson summarizes:Â
“Viewers can quickly discern between genuine recommendations and promotional content. Build a strong rapport with your audience by consistently providing valuable insights, interacting with them, and only promoting products and services you truly believe in. Remember that your audience’s trust is your most valuable asset.”
Make money live streaming FAQ
Streamers have multiple ways to turn their audience and content into income. Many successful creators combine multiple revenue streams to maximize earnings, including:
Subscriptions and memberships
Pay-per-view streams
Sponsorships and brand deals
Affiliate marketing
Tips and donations
Merchandise sales
Advertising revenue
It is realistic to monetize your live streams, but it takes time, and an engaged audience. The quickest way to earn money streaming is to charge people for access to your livestreams, join affiliate programs, and sell products or services on the side.Â
If you want to own your audience and revenue away from the fear of demonization, Uscreen is one of the best live streaming platforms to monetize. Creators can build their own website, create an online community around their streams, and process payments — all in one platform.Â
Live streamers on Uscreen make an average of $12,000 every month. This can be higher with supplementary income streams like tips, services, or digital products.Â
Live streaming pros include real-time interaction with your audience and the opportunity to connect with people from all over the globe. Live streaming cons Live streaming offers powerful benefits for building community and engagement, along with a few challenges to prepare for before you start.
Pros of live streaming:
Real-time interaction with your audience
Opportunity to connect with viewers from around the globe
Cons of live streaming:
Technical challenges, such as complex setup and ensuring a stable internet connection
No do-overs — mistakes can happen in real time, though audiences are generally forgiving
It may take a few streams to feel comfortable and confident on camera more of a technical nature. These can include the complexity of your setup, and whether you have a stable internet connection. Because live streaming is live, there aren’t any do-overs. It may take a few live streams to become comfortable making mistakes, but rest assured, your audience won’t hold them against you.
