DEV Community: kzk guides

Before you turn on Steam Workshop revenue: 3 things modders find out too late (#ad)

kzk guides — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 06:03:29 +0000

Getting an item accepted into a curated Workshop (CS2, Dota 2, TF2) is the hard part, but the payout side trips people up too:

The tax interview can't be saved halfway. Do it in one sitting, with the same legal name you used in contact info.
Payment needs a bank account in your own name that accepts USD. PayPal isn't an option.
The first payment comes no earlier than 90 days after first distribution, and may wait until you've earned $100.

The free page covers the official 25% revenue share and acceptance numbers. The full guide ($2.99, not affiliated with Valve, no income promises) walks through bank, tax forms, withholding and team splits:
https://bamsuni.com/money/en/steam-workshop-revenue-guide/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sales1027

ad — this is our own guide.

GitHub Sponsors in 2026: the 3 numbers to know before you turn it on (#ad)

kzk guides — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 03:08:35 +0000

If you maintain a repo that people actually use, GitHub Sponsors is one of the few ways to get paid without building a separate product. Before you click "Join", these are the three numbers from GitHub's own docs that surprised us most:

0%: sponsorships from personal accounts carry no GitHub fee.
Up to 6%: sponsorships from organization accounts (3% card processing plus 3% service fee; paying by invoice skips the card part).
60 days: your first payout arrives about 60 days after the first sponsorship starts, then monthly. ACH or wire payouts wait until the balance reaches US$100.

A few setup tips:

Turn on two-factor authentication first; setup asks for it.
Have your tax and bank details ready before you start.
Point your sponsor profile at the one repo people depend on most, and write one plain sentence about what sponsorship pays for.

Sponsors are never guaranteed, and results vary by project.

#ad: we wrote a short PDF walkthrough of the whole setup (tiers, tax form, payout) with the sources linked: https://bamsuni.com/money/en/github-sponsors-setup-guide/ ($2.99). The free summary on that page covers the basics too.

Want a better AI answer? Give it a role first (#ad)

kzk guides — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:13:41 +0000

Disclosure (#ad): we run Botkora, an AI shop that sells prompt packs, so weigh this accordingly.

A question we hear a lot: "How do I get ChatGPT to answer like a real recruiter would?"

The simplest fix is a role instruction. Instead of asking "Is my resume good?", tell the AI who it is first. For example, paste something like this into ChatGPT's Custom-instructions boxes:

You are a tough recruiter who screens 200 resumes a day. Be direct, point out what would make you skip this resume, and suggest one concrete fix per issue.

What changes is the angle of the answer: it stops being generic praise and starts reading like a screening note. Results vary by model and by how specific your role is.

A few practical notes:

The same idea works in Claude Projects and Gemini Gems (their project/gem instructions box).
Keep the role narrow: "study coach for a beginner in Python" beats "helpful teacher".
Health, legal and money roles are fine for organizing information, but they are not professional advice.

We put 50 of these role instructions (study coach, writing editor, tough recruiter and more) into a pack, part of our effort to help people upgrade their AIs and build better AI helpers. Each product page shows a plain-vs-with-product test, including where it made little difference: https://botkora.com/en/

Made with AI assistance.

Shipping a Workshop mod? Read this before your first payout (#ad)

kzk guides — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 10:18:22 +0000

If you're submitting items to a curated Steam Workshop (CS2, Dota 2, TF2), a few payout rules catch people off guard:

Acceptance comes first. Items earn nothing until Valve or the developer accepts them, and most submissions are never accepted.
The 25% shown on the About pages is of adjusted gross revenue, after refunds, discounts and taxes, not the sticker price.
Payouts are slow. No payment earlier than 90 days after first distribution, and amounts under $100 may be held.
Bank transfer in USD only, no PayPal. The bank account name must exactly match your legal name in English letters.
The tax interview (W-9 or W-8BEN) can't be saved halfway, and adding a TIN later doesn't refund past withholding.

Check your target game's About page yourself before you start, since rules change.

Disclosure (#ad): we made a short unofficial guide covering this (not affiliated with Valve): https://bamsuni.com/money/en/steam-workshop-revenue-guide/

Open-source maintainers: 5 GitHub Sponsors settings people skip (#ad)

kzk guides — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 07:15:36 +0000

If you just turned on GitHub Sponsors, these five settings are the ones people most often leave half-done:

Goal text - say what the money pays for (time, hosting, a feature).
Tier descriptions - one clear benefit per tier beats a long list.
Welcome message - sponsors read it; a short thank-you plus where to find updates is enough.
Tax info - finish the tax form early so payouts aren't held.
Payout schedule - know when payouts arrive so you're not surprised.

We wrote all of this up in a short guide ($2.99, 6 languages). Disclosure: it's our own product (#ad). → https://bamsuni.com/money/en/github-sponsors-setup-guide/

I compared 30 side-income methods by startup cost. Here's the template we used (#ad)

kzk guides — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 04:16:30 +0000

We made a one-page-per-method comparison: what it costs to start, realistic earnings ranges (not promises), and the first 3 steps for each.

Most methods are free to read on the site. The full 30-method PDF is $9 one-time. Results vary by person.

https://kzk.kr/premium/