3 Basic Tips For Aspiring Twitch Streamers & Content Creators

Video sharing, broadcasting and hosting platforms such as Twitch are a major source of income for many passionate content creators throughout the globe. Twitch streamers have amassed over millions of followers and viewers ever since the platform was launched in 2011. Twitch currently has more than 2.2 million monthly broadcasters and 15 million monthly active users. The word influencer fits the profile of streamers extremely well as they have entertained and influenced millions of people in numerous ways and at some point to think about beginning their own journey as a content artist.

The first thought of starting on your own Twitch journey can be exciting and there is a lot to do so we will set you off with our 3 basic tips for aspiring Twitch Streamers & Content Creators.

1. STREAM THE RIGHT WAY

In the beginning it may be very easy and exciting to jump in and start streaming 8 hours a day but remember its a long journey to the top and you may or may not be able to stream the same amount of hours each single day. Make a schedule for your streams, if you are working a regular job in the afternoon then its most appropriate for you to have a night stream routine. If you are lucky enough to have 12 hours of a day to yourself you can split your streams into two sessions.

One thing you should keep in mind is that streaming more is not always better. Its not about the quantity, its the quality of your streams that matter. If you are really entertaining people will be tuning into your 30 minutes stream with more enthusiasm than they will watch someone more quiet stream for 60 minutes.

It is also important to take into account the time difference of countries. If you aim for a western audience while residing in the east you may want to calculate and predict when the majority of your audience and potential subscribers will be online. The most common window for streaming is when people are free and as majority of the population is engaged in some sort of work or education, it is safe to assume that evenings are appropriate for them being able to show up on Twitch.

One of the most important things apart from your creativity will be your hardware. If you plan to stream on a PC be sure to get a good one but that can end up being expensive. With Twitch hosting more than 2.2 million streamers which the 15 million monthly visitors can choose from it will make it quite difficult to choose you if you have a PC with inadequate processing power and an out-of-date graphics card. Processors and Graphics cards are insanely expensive especially when it comes to 4K Gaming which majority of the audience are awed by.

The Intel Core I9-9980XE 18 Cores - 36 Threads - 4.5 GHZ is considered the ultimate gaming, VR and content creation package. Its multi threaded performance delivered by an updated Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 is the market leader for gaming processors.

Sadly this beast costs more than 2000 USD alone!

It does not only stop at the PC you will need additional equipment such as Gameplay Recording Card, Video Editing Software, High Definition Camera, Voice Recording Equipment & more. We do not take into account the cost occurred on content creation which is a highly volatile factor.

But fear not because there is a solution to overly priced gaming desktops and laptops!

The best solution for a cheap setup can be either the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4 Pro console. Consoles come with built-in high definition screen recorders and you can start streaming with a few clicks. After you are done with your streaming you can copy your videos to a USB and take them over to a PC for editing if the need arises. One of the most popular and user-friendly editing software out there is the Adobe Premiere Pro CC but if you are really low on budget you can get an open source software like Blender which also works fine.

2. CREATE A BRAND

How do you wish to represent yourself to the public and to your subscribers. You do not need to create a persona like many YouTubers or Streamers, you can portray yourself to be who you are but remember people who watch your streams are there to be entertained and for a good time. You must possess some sort of attribute that will keep them on the screen.

Many people are very good at strategic FPS games like Macie Jay. MJ is a full time Streamer and YouTuber who is really good at Rainbow Six Siege and from the beginning his strongest attribute has been his skills to be a great strategic thinker with a keyboard and mouse. This was the one reason his fan-base grew from thousands to more than a million today because no matter how quiet he used to be in his videos and streams the rounds used to be entertaining and it was a downright pleasure to watch him play. In the beginning you could choose a single game in which you have sharpened your skills and use that a base to attract people.

Branding yourself on screen is the next important thing. Get yourself a custom designed logo which goes along with your brand name, If your brand name is your own name you could make a logo out of your initials. Remember, the logo represents you and your persona so do not go for a dark colored funky logo if you are a very cool and collected kind of person.

Many creators are opting for their own website and its great if you can afford to put in the time for it but remember that you won't be needing a website when you begin unless you want to sell extremely customized products. For selling your own merchandise you can partner with platforms such as Spreadshirt & Design by humans

3. USE SOCIAL MEDIA

Be consistent on social media. Keeping a regular update on your social media handles lets people know that you are up and active. We know that its better said than done but its about being consistent. Do not always try to hard sell yourself but work hard to be unique and let people gravitate towards you through your content.

Instagram & Twitter

#Hashtags are a great way to engage with like minded people from your field and to get discovered on Instagram & Twitter. Research and explore similar accounts who have a good amount of exposure to understand which hashtags would work for you. Please try to refrain from buying followers from certain type of establishments as an increase in number will do little to help your profile. Remember everybody who is at 100K, 500K and 1Mil followers started with 0 one day.

YouTube

It is one of the most important factors if you are a streamer. Upload your videos (montages, gameplay, best moments, fails, whatever) on a regular basis. Be sure to research a little bit about the game to insert relevant titles, tags and description so that your video shows up on the search results when people search for it. This is most important when you start from ground zero because you would want your account discovered organically as much as possible. Ninja has a great YouTube account with attractive banners and relevant descriptions on each of his videos but then again most of us do not the resources that he has at his disposal. However this should not stop you from getting inspiration from his channel art and elements to create something unique for yourself. There are a lot of tutorials on the web on how to do great stuff with Illustrator and Photoshop so use them to your advantage.

In the end..

These are some basic tips to help you but there are numerous ways to achieve your dream of being a full-time Twitch streamer. We hope you will will begin your journey soon if you haven't already started and know that we are rooting for you! #believe in yourself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjZ0KbJcav0