Streaming 101 Crash Course — Part 3
Hello again! I’m KateitaK, your local streamer and Community Manager with PowerSpike. Welcome to part three of my Streaming 101 crash course! If you missed part one, you can read over it here, and part two is located here.
Some of these tips may be reiterations from previous posts that I wanted to expand upon due to their importance.
Ready?
>Follow for Follow isn’t real growth — A lot of new streamers are drawn to this particular method of growing their viewer base when they are first starting out. I’ll be honest, I was too when I started streaming. I follow you, you follow me, sounds like a win-win, right? Unfortunately, F4F ends up being nothing but empty follows. What are empty follows, you ask? Empty follows are simply someone following your channel, but never coming by when you’re live since they’re not super interested in your content to begin with. When it comes down to it, followers actually mean very little in regards to success. What matters most is concurrent viewership and community strength.
>Understand that there will be bad days — Everyone experiences slow growth or low viewership at one point or another. It’s perfectly normal to have a few low days, weeks, or even months, especially during the holiday season. Or sometimes, nothing seems to go right. Your internet gets spotty, streaming software decides to act up, or a group of trolls target you. Stay positive — you aren’t alone. Do your best to not let it get you down and keep pushing out content.
>Remember that you will not grow overnight — Growth happens over time, as long as you are laying proper foundation to allow it to happen. Things will always be slow at first. If you make changes or updates, don’t expect to see results right away. Give it time, and adjust as needed. Patience and dedication is key, as well as knowing if you need to make a change. If your growth seems to plateau…
>Expand your content — One of the best ways to grow your channel is to get your content in front of as many eyes as possible and/or try something new. Create YouTube videos of your funny clips, start a vlog, upload some let’s plays. Take moments from your stream you want to share and upload them to Twitter with a relevant hashtag or two. Look for opportunities to collaborate with other streamers. Advertise your stream on Instagram and Facebook. Use every outlet to your advantage to put yourself out there.
>Add your channel name to your game overlay — This may feel redundant as your stream name is everywhere else, but I recommend adding your channel name to your overlay for one big reason. There are countless Twitch clip montage accounts on YouTube who repost clips from random streamers. Most of the time, they don’t give credit to the streamer they took the clip from, often because they gather the clips en masse then compile them together. If someone watches that montage and likes your stream, they have no way of finding you easily. Making it easy to find your stream will always help you. I have personally had people come to my stream to tell me that they found my stream from a clip in a YouTube montage, so I know it works!
>Avoid begging for raids/hosts/people checking out your channel — Support should be given because people genuinely want to, not because it’s obligatory. If you want people to raid or host you, raid them first! It doesn’t guarantee they will raid you back (and don’t expect them to, either), but it’s a polite way to let them know you stream (without actually saying it in their chat and potentially breaking their rules) and perhaps they will return the favor one day. Who knows! In the meantime, hang out in their streams and become a part of different communities.
>Research, research, research! — Don’t depend on this one single blog for all information regarding streaming. Don’t depend on any single resource, for that matter. Watch YouTube videos by stream coaches, read articles, read other blogs, etc. Scour the internet for all the information you can find. The streamers who put the most effort into learning and honing their craft are the ones who are more likely to do well.
>Don’t spend a ton of money on stream equipment — At least to start! I’ve had people tell me in the past that they were interested in streaming and so they decided to spend all of their savings, usually hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, on streaming gear.. Unless you are easily able to afford it without dipping into your savings, this is a terrible idea. I know it’s exciting to want to get the very best gear to kick off your stream, but I highly suggest working with what you have and starting out with the basics. Streaming appears one way to the outside, but is something entirely different when you’re actually doing it yourself. Start small, upgrade as you need it, and feel it out. You may find out that you don’t actually like streaming as much as you thought. (Good thing you didn’t spend your life’s savings on stream gear, huh?)
>Being super Edgy™ is only going to hurt you — If edge is your brand, that’s fine, but beware of just how edgy you are. The way you behave can really hurt your chances of landing future opportunities. I’m not saying you have to be sickeningly sweet and wholesome, but just be mindful of how you interact with people. You can be edgy without hurting other people.
>Put your email in your bio!! — If you want to work with brands or developers, make it super easy for them to contact you. Asking them to DM you on Twitch or Twitter isn’t ideal, as they have a lot of other streamers they could contact much easier, especially if the opportunity is impromptu. If you make it hard for people to contact you, you could miss out on a lot of cool stuff.
>Don’t lock your VODs behind a paywall — It’s a common misconception that setting your VODs to subscriber-only will encourage more people to subscribe. In reality, it will only hinder your growth. If people find your channel when you’re not live, you want to give them the chance to see you perform. They are more likely to come back if they like your previous streams — which they can’t see if it’s sub-only. This applies to professionals in the industry as well. If you make it hard for companies to see your work, you’ll miss out on opportunities because they can’t judge your character.
That’s all for part three, thanks for reading. Good luck with your channel and, as always, feel free to leave a comment with any questions and join the Discord!
