This article should help you out with specific questions regarding the payment process and why certain actions were deemed invalid with your Sponsorship campaign. Please take a look through these questions and answers to see if we have an answer for your inquiry!
Q. What is an event?
A. An event refers to the action or actions that a participant (viewers, supporters, etc.) has to take in order for the creator to get credit for them participating in a sponsorship campaign. This may include downloading a game or other service using the creator’s referral link, progressing to a certain point in the game, purchasing a subscription, ordering and receiving a physical product, etc.
Q. What qualifies as a valid event?
A. Each campaign may have a different designation for valid events. For games, new players often play up to a specific part of the game, such as to pass the tutorial or progress to a certain level or area. For other services, it may be to sign up for a subscription, order and receive a product, or perform other actions on the service’s platform. You can review your campaign agreement and/or brief for more information on how valid events are defined.
Q. What is considered an abusive event?
A. An abusive event is any attempt to obtain events that do not meet the campaign’s definition of a valid event. This may include having the same person reach the event threshold on multiple devices, purchasing and immediately canceling a subscription, using a VPN to mask one’s location when using the promotional link, etc. If abusive events are detected during your campaign, this may result in your campaign being revoked, changes to your payment, and potentially suspension from the StreamElements Sponsorships program.
Q. Why were my event results not valid?
A. Your event results were not considered valid because they did not meet the campaign’s definition of a valid event. You can review your campaign agreement or brief for more information on how valid events are defined.
Q. Why was my payment held up?
A. For a payment to be cleared we need to verify the authenticity of the events accumulated over the course of the campaign. In some cases, verification is fairly straightforward and takes a couple of weeks. In others, especially for campaigns that promote a physical product which has to be ordered, shipped and delivered, the verification process can take significantly longer. If abusive events are detected during the verification process, this can both affect how long it takes to get paid and the final payment amount.
Q. How do you determine if an event is not valid?
A. We collaborate with brand sponsors to evaluate end user information, which is anonymous and in full compliance with GDPR and other privacy guidelines. In addition, we have a number of tools at our disposal that allow us to verify whether or not an event is valid. Some of these are automated and run during the deployment process, while others verify events after the campaign has been completed. All of this is backed by our dedicated team, who review flagged cases manually to ensure that the process is working properly.
Q. How come my payouts are not consistent across all campaigns?
A. Each campaign pays a different amount, either per event or when a specific stretch goal is reached. You can check the payout structure of your campaign by reviewing the campaign agreement or brief.
Q. It took a long time to get paid. What steps is SE taking to accelerate payouts?
A. We’ve been hard at work iterating and fine-tuning the event verification and payment process to ensure that creators get paid out in a timely manner, and tweaking our communications to make sure you are alerted whenever there’s a delay or change in payment.
Q. Who should I contact to contest my case?
A. Please reach out to us via our support Discord or by submitting a ticket here: StreamElements — Contact
If you are interested in joining our Sponsorship program, all you need to do is sign up for a StreamElements account with your Twitch ID. If you’re eligible for a campaign offer we will send you an offer email and add the campaign to the Sponsorships page in your account.