10 Tips For New Streamers
I work with streamers every single day and have for the last few years. I am forever asked by our clients how to make themselves a success in the streaming world. Recently the boss man asked me to write a blog post about what it takes to climb the streaming ranks, calling on my experience of working with thousands of streamers I have been lucky enough to converse with every day since I joined the team here.
What follows is a mixture of my own beliefs, the advice of our customers and something a little more organic and not too analytical. Enjoy! :
Be yourself!
If we were to put these tips in any order this would be my personal number one!
Being yourself is so important. It is of course important to remember you are essentially a host of your very own broadcast, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that people watch streams for the streamer, not just the content.
The best thing about streaming is that you are the show!
The biggest mistake you could make is seeing a streamer that is successful and copying their ‘style’. Doing so will quickly make you see that it’s not their style at all… that's just who they are and usually who they are is the secret to their success.
That's why we watch streamers and that's why streaming is so successful, it’s all about the individual and the like-minded communities they build.
Schedule
Stick to it….stick to it...stick to it. Simple I know, but let me explain.
Your loyal audience will quickly get fed up with tuning in if you’re never there when you say you will be and are cancelling streams every other week. Streaming is something you have to work hard at and while keeping to your schedule can be hard work, you might not always feel like streaming but if you want to be the best, that's what it takes.
Make sure when your viewers expect you to be there, you are there.
Another word on schedules - Like everyone, you probably have a busy and ever-changing personal life, but where possible keep your schedule the same for as long as possible. I know myself that there are streamers that have had the same 7pm on a Wednesday stream slot for years. This is the best way to ensure those viewers keep coming back to catch you live.
Social Media
This one is so very significant in streaming success for so many reasons. Having a solid social media set up is important and doesn’t take much time to get right.
Uploading clips of the stream in the form of highlights get your social media following interested in tuning in for next time.
Maybe a sneak preview of what you have planned for the next stream to get them excited for what's to come?
You can involve your audience more with social media too. Get them to vote on what you’ll play next with surveys or have them enter giveaways.
Without a doubt the number one most powerful use for social media in relation to your stream though is the ‘Going Live’ post. Inform your followers that you’re about to stream and get them to drop by. It’s so crucial we decided to make one and have a Going Live social media template available here for download for free.
Don’t give up because no one is watching!
One of the most common reasons for giving up on a stream is the ‘no viewers’ thing. Just remember this - Everyone and I mean everyone has had it. Even the very biggest have had hours of nobody watching, nobody chatting, no interaction at some stage in their career and here is how, in my opinion it’s not such a bad thing.
Having no one around at first gives you a great opportunity to practice. If there is no one in your stream, just chat away, play your game, do what it is you do! Then, when someone turns up, the stream is flowing and you are in full swing.
Having no one at first means you can build your stream slowly and organically, giving you the chance to settle in and get used to the role you are assuming as host of the stream. Imagine, as a new streamer, being dumped in front of 50,000 viewers all at once. Pretty daunting right?! The only way the big guys handle such massive pressure is because they built up to it. From zero. On an empty stream. With no viewers. Just like you!
Look the part!
Being a great host is one thing but do you have clunky overlays or cheap graphics you got from Fiverr? Your buddy that downloaded a cracked version of photoshop in 2005 has been relied on to freshen up your brand identity? Maybe you don’t have any branding at all?
Branding is a huge part of success on your stream and the only thing worse than no branding is bad branding! First impressions are everything and think - your viewers see your logo and header before they even see you! Awesome scene switching transitions, an amazing personalized logo and animated scenes and overlays will bring your stream tonnes of extra awesome points with those that watch you!
Good branding shows that you take the streaming thing serisouly and that resonates with those watching. At least start with a pre made overlay but also consider something custom. We have everything you need right here to help with that and an expert team to guide you . You’ll be surprised how a little investment can pay dividends on your stream! We are used to working with those just starting out and stream veterans all the same!
Harness the power of YouTube!
It’s fairly rare that viewers will find a new channel to watch directly through the streaming platform. In most cases when I have discussed with my clients how they found sudden and significant growth on their stream it’s usually through a one off YouTube video that got a good amount of views and directed people to their channel through a link in the description.
YouTube is the second biggest search engine on planet earth, Twitch, Mixer, Facebook Gaming etc are most certainly not. People rarely search on these platforms for new things to watch.
On YouTube, your target audience will look for you! All you have to do is direct them to your stream.
The most successful of streamers we have worked with spend a large amount of time working on their YouTube presence. While we could make a whole post detailing the art of success on YouTube, here are a few tips to get you started.
Have a good, professional Thumbnail.
Spend time editing (or learning to edit if you don’t know how!)
Use highlights from your stream to attract people to it.
Post new and popular games that people will be searching for.
Have a catchy title that will make people want to click.
Use tags well to get your videos noticed.
Don’t obsess over the numbers
Even if your ultimate dream is to quit your day and job and become a streamer full time, don’t waste your time focusing on how many views you had on the last stream, how close you are to affiliate or how many followers you have. A resounding number of streamers that do well just treat it like a hobby and continue to even when they are doing it full time.
Obsessing on how long it’s been since your last ‘good stream’ where the numbers were higher than they’ve ever been will only make you unhappy.
You’ll have good weeks and bad weeks, but in the end the numbers don’t matter. What matters is that you’re enjoying it and so are your audience, even if it’s the same two people that turn up every time! Focus on the fun and the numbers will look after themselves.
Pick your games wisely
A part of me kind of didn’t want to add this one in but there is no avoiding that the game you play does play a massive part in viewership. I really believe that playing a game you like will bring you more joy and keep you coming back to play more. There is a delicate balance to have here so read on with caution - you can easily ruin your stream by sticking to this kind of ‘viewership algorithm’ mentality and not enjoying streaming at all.
New games that not a lot of people are playing tend to make you stick out a little from the crowd. For example -At the time of writing there is 145,000 Leagues Of Legends streams going on at once, a pretty crowded market place to say the least! Now, this doesn't mean don’t stream League Of Legends if you love it. DO stream it if you love it. What it means is there isn’t a lot of room for you to grab much of the share as a new streamer.
Playing a new game that's up and coming means you have a chance to gain viewers and, if you pick the right one, although there is no way of knowing it at the time, you may just find yourself in the mist of the next big thing! A lot of streamers have found themselves at the top with a ‘right place right time’ success story. Playing newer unknown games gives you a chance to put yourself in that right place and at the right time!
Play the long game
Becoming a really popular streamer is rare, being an overnight success even more so. In the years I have been working in this industry I have seen so many try and fail. Hundreds that have spent a fortune on state-of-the-art equipment, stream graphics, giveaways and more that have given up after a few weeks because they are not pulling the numbers in that they want.
Remember this - This could take years. Not months, weeks and certainly not days. Years.
Yes, there are exceptions but as a rule it usually takes a very long time. Stick with it, make it a habit and stick to your schedule.I asked one of our more successful streaming clients what would be his most helpful tip was for new streamers before I wrote this article. His number one piece of advice - STREAM!
A bonus tip from our founder -
We have had a unique opportunity here to work with so many streamers of all sizes. During this time there is one resounding thing that separates those that do well and those that do not. So, my tip isn’t much of a tip but rather a question and one you should be asking yourself.
Am I streaming because I want to be a famous streamer or am I streaming because I love streaming?
Mic drop… :)