With the success and growth of Twitch in recent years, streaming is becoming an increasingly lucrative and desirable activity. There is a common misconception, however, that becoming a successful streamer is easy and entirely based on luck.
Sure, successful streamers probably had some luck along the way. Nevertheless, in most cases, this means creating your own luck. There are certain qualities and habits that are a common theme among the top streamers.
Here are five of the most important qualities that lead to becoming a successful streamer.
Entertainment
This might sound simple, but it is the most important quality when it comes to streaming. The number one reason people watch Twitch is to be entertained.
No, you don’t have to emulate Tyler1 and do wild Dragon Ball Z character impressions or be naturally talented at gaming. There are several ways to provide entertainment to an audience, whether it be social, gaming, or IRL streams.
An important thing to practice is to not just let funny moments come by themselves. As a streamer, you must be pro-active in looking for opportunities to make jokes or point out something interesting. Bottom line: create entertaining content.
If you’re a gameplay streamer, you could cosplay your favorite characters from the game or have some days where you play games with viewers. If you’re a streamer who focuses on interacting with the community, set up regular IRL streams to go fishing, cooking, or whatever you feel might be a fun activity for your community to watch and comment on.
Also, it is never too late to change your niche. A lot of streamers – such as Sodapoppin – start out as gameplay streamers for a specific game. Over time, they realize people watch them more for their personality than their gaming skills and end up branching out to variety gaming or IRL content.
It is possible to entertain people in multiple different ways. Ultimately, it is up to you as a streamer to assess what way is best based on your personality and skills.
Community
More recently, many streamers – and especially those in the ‘Just Chatting’ section – build their following through close interaction with their viewers.
Loneliness is becoming an increasingly common problem for people of all ages. Streams help with this as they offer viewers an online community of like-minded people to socialize with each other. It could be interacting directly with the streamer themselves or sharing jokes with and talking to other users in the chat.
Most streamers have a Discord for people to keep in touch with each other when they are offline. It will notify members when they go live on Twitch and allows them to post updates regarding schedule, stream plans, etc.
For new streamers, focusing on building their own community and interacting with viewers should be amongst their highest priorities. It can be what turns a casual viewer into a regular.
Consistency
One of the biggest reasons a stream dies or stops growing is because the streamer doesn’t show up at the time they were supposed to.
If you’re not consistently streaming, potential viewers are going to go somewhere else. This is especially true for new Twitch viewers who haven’t yet developed a preference for a particular stream.
This is why it is important to have a streaming schedule!
Another common mistake streamers make is not streaming when they’re building momentum. If you just had a record-breaking stream for subs or viewers, this is not the time to take a day or two off. Even if it’s a day off in your schedule, it is always worth streaming as soon as possible after a day where you gain substantial growth.
Yes, this takes a lot of self-control and will power. However, just by strictly following your schedule and making sure to take advantage of days with high growth, you’re already ahead of the game.
Flexibility
Sometimes things will go wrong. Sometimes things are completely out of your control.
Have you ever tuned in to a stream where the streamer was constantly complaining and being negative about things? Sure, for some, they might just be having a bad day. For others, their stream is based around excessive complaining.
For an otherwise positive and upbeat streamer, however, this could severely damage their image. Genuine anger can be one of the biggest reasons that viewers are driven away.
Most viewers use Twitch as an escape to their regular life and somewhere where they can unwind. Tuning into a stream after a hard day at work or school to find the streamer throwing their toys out the pram will put most people off.
This is why it’s essential to have a back-up plan for different situations and be prepared for when things go wrong.
A great example of this is the League of Legends streamer IWillDominate, who was losing viewers as it was clear he did not enjoy playing the game anymore. He would regularly complain about the game, its community, and end streams prematurely.
More recently, he has started to replace his gameplay streams with League of Legends-related podcasts as well as co-streaming LCS games. These co-streams bring in around 8K average viewers in comparison to the 3-4K average he would have previously in his gameplay streams.
The best streamers are those who can adapt to different situations and have the bigger picture in mind. That’s also true of life in general, but it definitely applies to streaming!
Equipment
You should ensure you have the necessary equipment for the type of stream that you want to do. For instance, having a low-quality microphone and webcam as a social ‘Just Chatting’ streamer could leave a bad impression with potential viewers.
As a gaming streamer, you want to make sure your PC can handle the strain of streaming and playing games at the same time. If the CPU and graphics card are not powerful enough to handle it, the quality of the stream will suffer.
If you are struggling financially, setting up a donation goal can be a good idea. Committed viewers are likely to support you in buying the necessary equipment to improve your stream quality.
Conclusion
It is a good idea to treat your stream like your own business. After all, if you plan on making money, it is a business. And like any successful, profitable business, it takes planning to put it together.
Most importantly, set goals and do everything in your power to meet them. It could mean streaming long hours, networking with other streamers, or doing something unique in order to get there.
Focus on learning more about yourself and striving to improve every day. Get regular feedback. Update your goals. Adapt to change.
Remember, if this is what you really want, do not give up. Sacrifice today and enjoy the benefits tomorrow.