In this article we collected:
- The main challenges of Streamers
- Streaming advices and actionable tips
- Best books for Streamers to achieve success
Are you into streaming? Whether it comes to various tutorials, house projects or games, you probably know already that just like in any other venture, you need to start with a low profile and gain notoriety as you go. But then, while streaming may seem fun in the beginning, the truth is that such a life could be really challenging.
What Are The Main Challenges of Becoming A Successful Streamer?
01 Consistency · Performing a Weekly On-Air Schedule Could Be Challenging
When it comes to being a professional streamer, one of the most important things is consistency. This means having a regular schedule that your viewers can rely on (e.g. every Friday). For many streamers, this means performing 5-20 hours on-air weekly.
It can be difficult to find time to stream consistently when you have other commitments such as work or school. It can be tough to keep up the energy and enthusiasm required to put on a good show week after week.
Fortunately, there are a few tricks you can do to make sure you stick to your streaming schedule. First of all, try to make a habit from streaming. This will help you to prepare your mind for broadcast stress free every week.
02 Uniqueness · Finding Out New Stream Content Ideas All The Time
If you’re a content creator on Twitch, you know that it can sometimes be difficult to come up with new and unique ideas for your streams. However, it’s important to keep your content fresh and engaging for your viewers.
People are exhausted from traditional,
- there new game come out and everyone plays with it,
- there is a new meta, that everyone is doing,
- there is a new gadget I want to try out,
These contents could be very boring for experienced Twitch viewers. You need to find out how you are differentiate from the crowd. For MrBeast it took 5-6 years (between 2012 and 2017 if we take his counting to 100,000 video the first viral one).
Take inspiration from other content creators. See what others are doing that’s working well and try to put your own spin on it. If you want to be really successful ask your viewers for suggestions and most importantly try them even if they aren’t reasonable at first glance.
03 Limit of Platforms · What if both Twitch and YouTube Banns You?
There is also the stress side, Twitch tends to be strict when we are speaking about rules. We heard a lot of horror stories about permanent banns, we aren’t even surprised when a new name lands on Streamerbans.
Unlike any other jobs, when you make a mistake and loose your job there is always a next place. When you’re “employed” by Twitch, however, making a bigger mistake could end of your streaming career. Twitch streamers could spend hours by telling that comply with all Twitch requirements isn’t as easy as it seems!
What Do I Recommend Personally For Streamers? 10 Streaming Tips
001 Streaming Advice · Pick a unique brand!
Let me pick a random channel name I found on Twitch with 12 concurrent watchers, he is “emirrrrv2”. Well emirrrrv2 must be a good guy, but his brand pick isn’t ok. I would never ever manage to remember his Twitch id.
Remember, having a good memorable brand is essential. Registering a memorable brand is not always easy, but it’s worth the effort. Start by thinking about what makes your nick unique. What are your core values and how can you communicate them through your branding?
Once you have the idea register it, also check .com availability! You can start working on creating a visually appealing logo and panels, as well as developing a strong social media presence (but focus only on 1-2 platforms above Twitch and YouTube).
002 Streaming Advice · Never play all the time!
It’s no secret that people love to play games. They’re fun, they’re entertaining, and they can even be educational. However, there’s a downside to playing games all the time: you miss out speaking with your audience.
Sure, you can talk to people online while you’re playing games, but it’s not the same as “face-to-face” communication, your attention is on another thing. When you’re talking to someone online, you can’t pick up small clues in chat. This will help tp make a real meaningful conversation with your audience!
003 Streaming Advice · Give a show!
Think about your broadcast more like as one man show. If you stop talking the show quickly ends.
Of course, it’s not just about being entertaining. You also need to give value to your audience. This is why it’s really important to take time to prepare to your live show. Collect ideas during your week.
Keep notes! You might forget to mention something important, or worse, you could start rambling and lose your audience’s attention. But if you take the time to make notes, even if it’s just some words, the chances that your show will look organized is pretty high.
004 Streaming Advice · Say their name!
The guys who are watching your stream want to be part of the channel!
The best way to get them to feel like they’re part of the story is to say their nicknames. It makes them feel appreciated and valued, and it’s a great way to make sure they keep coming back for more.
Thank all that they are doing for you (and your channel), even if we are speaking about subscription, follow or even a positive comment.
005 Streaming Advice · Reuse your own broadcast!
Why streamers don’t re-upload their broadcasts to YouTube? I know it’s an extra effort. But this extra step practically doubles your chance to reach audience on another platform.
As Google would says content is the king. If you own a content use it. Use it on Tiktok, on Instagram, on YouTube. Spend time with editing and trim the best parts and add funny titles to show your personality.
006 Streaming Advice · Do challenges!
Would you like to reach highs in the world of streaming? Figure out your own gaming or life challenge.
No, I’m not talking about “getting 1,000 subscribers”, more like “getting 1,000 thank you messages in chat”.
Your challenge needs to be unique and countable, even if it takes weeks to perform. Put your counter to be a visible place on your stream. Hold this on-stream place only for meaningful challenges, not for counting winning or loosing streaks.
Be always cautious don’t do challenges that are endangering your health, I personally think that 48 hours streams are simply meaningless. The streamer is simply unresponsive after 20 hours of broadcast.
007 Streaming Advice · Make streamer friends!
You don’t need to do everything alone! There’s no shame in asking for help, especially when it comes to your streaming career. Whether you’re just starting out as a streamer or you’ve been streaming for years, making friends in the community can help you reach new heights.
Streamers often collaborate with each other on content, giveaways, and more. This is a great way to grow your audience and reach new viewers. Never afraid of loosing a viewer, just remember to be yourself and they will stick to you!
Don’t forget the fun factor. Let’s face it, streaming can be pretty lonely sometimes. Having friends to chat with and game in broadcast makes streaming much more enjoyable and time will fly.
008 Streaming Advice · Have a professional gear!
I intentionally don’t want to put it on the first place, but having a great HD webcam to show your face and a professional microphone is almost essential to reach a decent streaming quality.
I personally know a lot of streamers who constantly loosed viewers because of low sound quality. It simply irritating listening to a distort voice.
Get your own professional equipment!
009 Streaming Advice · Avoid F* words!
I know, you are a good guy, but who cares about this? Well, not consciously, but people attracted to streamers who actually article many positive words in their stream time.
Positivity attracts positive viewers.
010 Streaming Advice · Give Back!
My final advice is very simple. Give back to your audience! Even if it is a virtual hug at the end of your daily broadcast.
People are connected and so are you with your viewers. If they pay with their attention everyday they deserve your attention too. Be selfless, do giveaways, even if it is a small thing. At the end of the day MrBeast became so popular because he did give away a lot of things.
Now let’s back to my book ideas how to be better than an average streamer, how to attract many viewers to your channel and how to build up your own brand.
Whether you are considering picking up some advanced sales, marketing, psychology, business books or even a memoir, here are a few good ones that will give you some insights about the hidden opportunities that you will hardly find on Reddit.
What Are The Best Books for Streamers That Will Grow You?
Tribes, by Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a top-notch influencer in the marketing industry, so you know for a fact that you will get some incredible ideas in terms of growing your popularity. It is all about innovation and brand new ideas that you are less likely to find somewhere else. Now, you probably ask yourself – what does this book have to do with streaming?
This book is ideal about growing your notoriety and building a community around your project. There are, of course, some people out there who make the ideal audience for what you have to share. There are people with different ideas out there and for some of them, your streaming channel is the best in the world. This is what you need to focus on.
As you stream, you will feel the need to reinvent yourself. However, this is only a misconception. There are people out there who are interested in just what you do. Obviously, it does not mean that you can go mediocre. Instead, learn how to become a responsible leader and how to lead the tribe in becoming a role model for as many people as possible.
A Newborn Business: Esports, by Zoltan Andrejkovics
In the latest edition of the book, the author explains not only the esports ecosystem, but also how the streaming world fits into the big bottle of gaming. If you want to understand the streaming world, you need to understand that there are no sharp dividing lines between streaming, gaming and esports.
As an Esports enthusiast, I’ve seen firsthand the massive growth of the industry. If you’re one of the millions of people who want to know how to become a professional gamer, how to build a business around video games, who are the most popular esports athletes, how to be a live streamer or what are the most popular games today, then this book is for you.
The author attempts to introduce the post COVID gaming era, which trends likely to stay with us in the next 3-5 years. The book honestly impressed me, how informative it was, there are a lot of takeaways for streamers for sure.
This book for streamers also includes topics like “gaming & AI”, changes in streaming market and what the big players like Twitch will do next, popularity of esports and what could be the next big thing in gaming.
Twitch for Dummies, by Tee Morris
Trying to find a streaming for dummies book? Consider it done. While this book has been specifically written for Twitch, it provides some principles that can apply to pretty much every streaming platform. With all these, most people will mostly focus on Twitch. It was mostly aimed at gamers, but it has become one of the leading streaming platforms in the world – conferences, concerts, sports and so on.
If you are new to streaming, this book is for you. It is aimed at those who are planning to start streaming, as well as those who have already started it. Find out how to launch a Twitch channel, create a brand, stream all kinds of events – including games, grow an audience and overcome the most common difficulties associated with this beautiful adventure.
The action goes even further. You can learn how to come up with your own streaming studio, but also how to create a successful profile and interact with the audience. Moreover, there are a few useful strategies that could help you reshape your ideas. The guide is suitable for beginners and written in a straightforward and user-friendly manner.
Positioning, by Al Ries and Jack Trout
So, you want to start streaming. You have no idea where to start from. Begin with an idea. Unless it is something really wicked, chances are someone else is doing it already. When it comes to gaming, there are thousands of streamers out there playing the exact same game – similar strategies and ideas. Now, how do you make the difference? How do you get noticed? How do you stand out in the crowd?
Whenever you go live, you basically battle thousands of other people – most of them have more experience than you do. Branding is essential at this point. It sounds sketchy – you just want to stream something, so why would you bother about branding? Whether you agree with it or not, branding is the one way to gain a share of the market – your well-deserved market share.
The streamers life is not all about gaming and streaming all day long. Do nothing and there will barely be a few people noticing you. This book takes the streaming industry to another level because it teaches you how to build a personal brand. Think about the biggest streamers out there – they are not gamers, but brands. You need to become a brand in order to stand out.
The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
This book might be a bit difficult to understand. You need to read further than what it says and actually focus on what it means. It is a book with a bunch of hidden meanings and that is what makes it so good. From many points of view, this release is a godsend for those who need creativity – it applies to more jobs and ventures and steaming is just one of them.
The book will teach you how to overcome obstacles and blocks, but also how to release your inner creativity. According to the author, most people end up facing the so called resistance. The resistance covers all the blocks that prevent you from reaching your true potential. He aims to teach you how to get the job done in a creative manner, regardless of what you need.
How does creativity affect the streamers life? Easy. Anyone can go live by pressing a button. There are thousands of streamers out there with only a few viewers. It is boring and the lack of creativity will keep people away. Go through the resistance and simply take your time to implement all these techniques in order to take your stream to another level.
Superfans, by Pat Flynn
Everyone has a few fans out there, but not everyone has superfans. Sure, there are people who like your work and appreciate your posts. They will follow you live every now and then. But then, superfans are all about being loyal. Not only will they follow you, but they will also share your work and promote your channel. This is what you need in order to grow.
Superfans do all these because they know your content is enjoyable for others as well. They will always remind you that you are doing something incredible – not through words, but through their actions and reactions. However, such superfans will not come out of nowhere.
It takes time, as well as magic, to turn regular fans into superfans. The author comes up with some strategies to gain more superfans and enhance your fan base. Keep in mind that you do not have to impress everyone out there, but just certain people.
Crushing It!, by Gary Vaynerchuk
Often known as Gary Vee, the author has become one of the most realistic influencers out there when it comes to branding. He expanded every business he has been involved with and has grown an incredible audience in a field where video content was not even there. He is a proper brand these days and an incredibly clever investor. This book will give you some insights on how to do it with your streaming channel.
From some points of view, this book is a road map to success. It is not about streaming for dummies, but about growing your audience and brand. You want to become a role model, an influencer. Learn from one of the best in this industry. Go through a plethora of real-life cases and examples that show how important it is to push yourself from more directions.
While there are lessons for more marketing fields, streamers will love the idea of documenting, rather than creating. People need to figure out who you truly are. They want to watch what you develop. Many streamers find the streamers life difficult because they have no skills – people want that. They want to join your journey as you become who you want to be.
Contagious, by Jonah Berger
This book is not just for streamers, but for anyone who wants to explode. It is for anyone who wants to come up with something big that people will talk about. As a streamer, you want people to talk about your channel and mention it to others in order for your work to gain more notoriety.
But then, what makes something go viral? What makes people share certain things? This book explains the benefits of word of mouth, as well as the six elements that can make something go viral. It is all about social currency, emotions, practical value, public, stories and triggers.
This book shows you how to make your streaming content contagious. Use the elements in this book to showcase your strengths, as well as the best clips in your portfolio to bring in the popularity you deserve.
Final Thoughts on Becoming a Successful Streamer
In the end, any of the above-mentioned books can turn your amateur streaming experience with no fans into the ideal streamers life. The more you read and discover, the better – there are handy techniques in each of those titles and each of them will positively affect your influence.
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