What‘s the Real Income Potential for Streamers with 100 Viewers?

As a partnered streamer grinding daily to grow my gaming channel, this question gets tossed around a lot: "I have around 100 viewers – how much can I expect to make?" The short answer is $800-$1,500 per month currently. But let‘s dig deeper…

See, when I first hit that 100 viewer average milestone a year ago, I got overeager about going full-time. I naively figured subscriptions and bit donations alone would sustain me. Boy was I wrong! Building a business as a streamer takes understanding your numbers and revenue sources.

So if you’re at 100 average viewers and debating the leap to full-time streaming, I want to provide realistic income projections plus tips I’ve learned the hard way!

Breaking Down Your Revenue Sources

As a Twitch Affiliate or Partner, here are your possible income streams:

Subscriptions – Making up 50% or more of revenue for most full-time streamers. At 100 viewers, estimate 30-60 subscribers paying $5/month. (Revenue share: $2.50 streamer, $2.50 Twitch)

Bits & Tips – Casual viewers more likely to tip bits than subscribe. With engaged community and loyalty incentives, estimate $100-$300 monthly.

Advertisements – Pre-roll ads shown to viewers upon joining stream. For 100 viewer average and solid viewership hours, estimate $100-$250 per month. (Current RPM around $1 per 1,000 ad impressions)

Sponsorships – Brand deals are crucial long-term but unlikely for channels under 500 viewers. Estimate $0 to $500 monthly if established in a niche.

Merchandise – Once you have an engaged audience merch can contribute substantially to overall earnings. But likely small scale at this size.

Adding it up, here’s a realistic monthly income projection:

So realistically, $800-$1,200 per month in net income after expenses like gaming equipment and internet service.

But what gets tricky is streaming consistency. Burnout is real! Maintaining 4-5 quality streams weekly is tough with a small audience. Many Affiliates I know do it part-time around school or their full-time job.

Let’s dig into each monetization source more in-depth…

Subscriptions – Your Bread & Butter

As your channel’s super fans, subscribers make up the core of recurring revenue. Compared to fickle ad money, it’s reliable income you can count on monthly.

But you really have to provide value! Give subscribers-only Discord benefits, loyalty badges, subscriber streams, etc. Make them feel special for supporting you.

General rule of thumb is 5-10% of viewers will subscribe at $5 month. Meaning realistically, around 30-60 paying subscribers currently.

Pro Tip: Create subscriber goals and splash fun on-stream alerts when hit! Gamify it.

Bit Donations – Small Amounts Add Up!

While getting subscribers is tougher, more of your viewers are willing to donate bits. Even viewers not financially able to subscribe may tip small amounts as a friendly gesture.

So create bit goals with fun acknowledgments when hit! The key is making people feel good about supporting you. Disable ad blockers and pre-roll ads so they keep flowing.

Oh, and pay attention to analytics for when you receive the most tips. My biggest bit donations surprisingly happen in the last 30 minutes of streams! When I announce winding down for the night, people rally to support me.

Pro Tip: Personally thank ALL donators, however small the amount. Read their message aloud on-stream.

Advertising – Supplemental At Best

Before I was affiliated, I thought ads would be a jackpot! The reality is, advertising is unreliable pocket change for most streamers under 1,000 viewers.

Why? Well intrusive ads annoy viewers, who then install ad blockers. And lots of folks just mute or tab away during commercial breaks.

For 100 viewers, estimate earnings between $100-$250 per month. That factors in ad block rates as well as accompanies taking 50% revenue share.

Ads DO scale up nicely once you grow your audience and achieve 2,500+ live viewers. That’s when streaming can support you full-time! But at our current size, ads merely supplement other revenue streams.

Sponsorships – The Scaling Powerhouse

Now for most established streamers, sponsored brand deals make up their biggest earnings. I’m talking five and even six figure contracts! But those are unrealistic until you have thousands of live viewers and can promote to tens of thousands of followers.

However, many micro influencers – gaming channels in the 1,000 to 50,000 subscriber range – work with brands for product perks or smaller payments. Expect to earn $100 to $500+ per sponsorship around 100 average viewers.

But honestly, focuses on good content first! If you entertain and engage viewers, monetization will grow over time.

Additional Monetization Methods

Once you perfect your main money-makers, additional options like merchandise open up passive income streams. But realistically, you need an established brand and fanbase first.

I see streamers with just 100 viewers trying to sell merch, and trust me the sales won’t be there! Have some patience and directly ask your community if they want to support you in that way.

Grinding Out Growth

While possible to earn side income with 100 viewers, supporting yourself full-time streaming is tough. Most successful streamers I know didn’t quit their day job until averaging 500+ concurrent viewers.

Why? Well there’s more pressure providing 8 hours of entertainment daily to put food on the table! And higher production value gets costly – paying moderators, upgrading gear, etc.

But growth comes down to consistency and marketing. Commit to a streaming schedule that works for you. Research SEO tactics to rank higher in Twitch search. Collaborate with similar sized channels.

If you provide value to viewers and fans, eventually you’ll build a community that supports you back financially. But stay patient, creative, and persistent even when growth seems slow. You got this!

So in summary, at 100 average viewers you can realistically earn $800 to $1,500 per month from streaming currently. Maximize subscriptions, engage your community to drive more bit donations, and focus on upping viewership hours. Growth won’t happen overnight, but stick with it!

I hope breaking down the numbers helps set expectations. And please hit me up with any other streaming questions! Now let’s get back to the gaming grind. 😎