How to Use Buy Me a Coffee for Streams and Videos
Last Updated on September 17, 2024 by Michael Brockbank
Buy Me a Coffee is a donation platform many creators use to generate income from fans and followers. It works similar to platforms like Patreon and Ko-fi. So, how do you add Buy Me a Coffee to support your game videos and streams?
Actually, it’s quite easy. The hardest part is using the platform to engage your audience, which solely falls on how well you interact.
Before you can go any further, though, you’ll need to set up your own Buy Me a Coffee account. It’s free and you can do quite a bit with it, as I’ll explain later.
Set Up Your Own Buy Me a Coffee AccountHow to Add Buy Me a Coffee to Videos
In this tutorial, I’ll go over both YouTube and Twitch platforms. That’s because you’ll use the Buy Me a Coffee link a bit differently for each one. Still, it’s a pretty simple and straightforward process.
Using YouTube
One of the nice things about using Buy Me a Coffee on your videos and live streams on YouTube is that you can start making money through donations immediately.
This means you don’t have to wait for 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time to technically monetize your channel.
Though, you’ll still need people to watch and donate. But that part is completely on how you interact and engage the audience.
At any rate, once you’ve set up your Buy Me a Coffee account, log in and click the “Settings” option on the left.
Scroll down to the “My page link” section and click the copy button. This is the URL to your Buy Me a Coffee page that you set up when creating the account.
Essentially, this link leads to your BMC blog and donation page. From here, visitors can either give you a one-off donation or pay for a monthly membership.
Though, you’ll need to set all of that up yourself. It’s fairly easy to do, and there are a lot of extras you can offer to really make your page stand out.
The next time you create a live stream or upload videos, add the Buy Me a Coffee URL to the description. This gives viewers a way to click and see your BMC page.
Now, it’s probably best to add a few sentences before the donation link describing what the stream or video is about. That way, you don’t come off as desperate.
This method is perhaps what drives the most amount of money for my writing channel.
Using Twitch
Like YouTube, you can use BMC to immediately start pulling in money from supporters without being an affiliate.
Adding your Buy Me a Coffee link to Twitch is a bit different. That’s because Twitch allows for panels, which can be easily turned into tappable and clickable buttons.
Copying the BMC page URL as you did above, go to your Twitch channel. Click your channel’s name. Essentially, you want to access your Twitch channel directly.
Scroll down to the Panels section and click the toggle to Edit Panels.
Go to any panel in your Twitch channel or create a new one.
From here, you can add an image or even put up a description to explain the purpose of the BMC page. You can then add your URL within the panel as you would any other link.
For example, if you want a panel image to send viewers to your BMC page, paste the URL in the “Image Links To” area.
This will turn the image into a tappable or clickable button to your Buy Me a Coffee page.
You might also what to explore using Twitch’s code Markdown language to add it as a text link within the description. However, this is completely up to you.
Once you’re done, just click the Edit Panels toggle again.
Adding the Buy Me a Coffee Alert to Streams
Did you know you could add special alerts to your streams with Buy Me a Coffee? You can add these alongside any stream alert you have in your software, and they are just as easy to set up as Streamlabs.
From the Settings screen in Buy Me a Coffee, click the “Integrations” option at the top.
On this screen, you’ll find a variety of things Buy Me a Coffee works with, such as Discord, WordPress, and even Zapier. In this instance, you want to click on the “Customize” option to the right of “Stream Alert.”
Here, you can choose from a few different colors for your stream. You can also change the alert sound if you’d rather have something else play when you get a donation.
After making your adjustments, just copy the URL from Buy Me a Coffee and paste it into your preferred software as a Browser Source for your videos.
This completely depends on what platform you use, such as OBS, XSplit, Gamecaster, etc.
Why Use Buy Me a Coffee for Videos and Live Streams?
I use Buy Me a Coffee on WriterSanctuary’s website and YouTube channel. And over the past year or two, I’ve made quite a bit. So, it is a viable platform for making a bit of money as a creator.
Built-in Blogging Platform
If you want to add a blog and build up a following outside of your videos and live streams, Buy Me a Coffee has you covered. In fact, you can even embed your YouTube videos directly into the post.
It’s a good way to engage people who want more than just video content. You can share news, stories, personal experiences, and more with supporters.
Membership Levels for Private Content
Buy Me a Coffee also has membership levels you can utilize. This means you can offer a lighter version of your special content to the lower tiers while offering more for those who pay.
Again, it works much like Patreon whereas you can provide behind-the-scenes videos to higher tiers while offering perhaps photos to the lower ones.
Really, it all comes down to your imagination and what you plan to offer different members.
Photo galleries on your blogging platform are a nice touch. But, you can also include a variety of things ranging from digital products to event tickets.
This means you can easily take Buy Me a Coffee far beyond mere videos and streaming donations.
Go Beyond a Simple PayPal Button
Don’t get me wrong, the PayPal button is nice for getting tips and donations from supporters. But with what’s available on Buy Me a Coffee, you can take it so much further.
There’s a lot to explore, and it’s a free system to use. They only take 5% of the donations without a monthly fee. So, you really don’t lose much except for time by checking out what Buy Me a Coffee can do for your videos.
- Extra Life 2024: Starting My 11th Year of Participation - February 6, 2024
- Review: Is the Sonicgrace Cooling Fan for the Oculus Any Good? - January 11, 2024
- Review: Is Premium Bowling Worth Buying for the Oculus? - February 10, 2023
