How to Grow Your Twitch Channel

If you don’t have time to read the whole thing, here’s an abridged version of growing your Twitch channel!

Streaming on Twitch is hitting the mainstream. We’ve all seen the recent reports on how Ninja makes $500,000 a month. We all know the numbers for the Overwatch League (Well over 100,000 viewers). Streaming on Twitch has gone from something that only the most awkward of nerds and loudest of personalities did, to the hip thing. Stars from YouTube, Professional Athletes, and even Drake are dropping into the purple brand. Everybody has a Twitch Channel. Yourself likely included.

As Twitch continues to climb the ranks on Alexa for world website rankings (Right between Netflix and PornHub) more people want in. The problem is that a lot of people think that streaming on Twitch and getting viewers is as easy as 1-2-3. Fire up Fortnite, turn on OBS and a webcam, and silently play while the viewers clamor for your content. That is called being totally delusional. The fact of the matter is if you want viewers, donations, subscribers, etc. you have to work our ass off for it. This is going to give you all the tools you need to make a kick-ass Twitch Channel. (or Mixer if you stream there for some reason…)

Setting Up a Good Stream

The beauty of streaming is how easy it actually is. All you need is internet, OBS, and a game. Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to actually show your face on stream! Now, Windows Central already did a really easy to follow article already on setting up, so you can check it out here. This guide is going to go over the functions, and aesthetics of an effective channel, specifically on Twitch.

Webcam:

This one is optional, but it can provide a pretty big boost to your watchability. Why? People like seeing other people, and seeing the reactions that you have to the events that transpire. And you also might be really hot. And hot people get views, much to the chagrin of my fellow non-models. But you know what? It isn’t your fault if people watch your stream because they like the way you look. If you got it, flaunt it.

Logitech c922x Pro Stream

The gold standard when it comes to a quick and easy webcam. Nobody has the kind of market share that Logitech has, and for a good reason. The webcam quality is really nice, and it’s a good price for less than $100. You might be paying a little extra for it, but it’s absolutely worth it.

Microsoft LifeCam HD-3000

It’s hard to go against Microsoft in terms of webcams. You won’t be getting the same level of color or clarity on an HD-3000 as the c922x, but at almost a third of the price, it’s REALLY hard to hold it against them. A great starter cam if you don’t mind lower resolution.

Aukey FHD Webcam

Lower profile and similar quality to the LifeCam for the same price. If you aren’t a fan of Microsoft products, or just want something a little sleeker this bad boy won’t let you down or set you back far.

Sound:

Nobody likes a garbled mess of sound during the streams. And a low-quality microphone is going to be the worst thing for that. You might not be recording the next Thriller on your streams, but ensure your sound quality is as high as possible. A few good microphones you can pick up on the cheap when you’re just starting out are:

Cheap microphone options for beginning streamers

Blue Snowball

This is the go-to choice for all streamers just starting out. Connecting via USB, you get a good quality of sound. It comes with some settings on the back to choose how your voice is picked up. You won’t break the bank with it, and the ease of setting up is really handy.

Fifine

Amazon’s #1 choice for a plugin mic is this bad boy. The sound quality is definitely on the average size, but for the price, it’s really hard to beat. Not to mention it’s low profile. So if you just want your beautiful mug in the shot, this is going to do a good job of staying out of sight.

 

Neewer NW-700

This is a microphone for people trying to get something a little more quality. Setting up isn’t super easy, but if you have everything in one place, it’s really nice having a condenser mic with phantom power. The sound quality is better than the other options available, but you’ll need to work with it more.

Higher end microphone options for streamers

Audio Technica AT2020

One of the most popular brands in Twitch, the Audio Technica is in the condenser microphone realm, so you’ll need a full phantom power setup for the microphone.You will need to buy the wire separately, but this is a really quality choice. It doesn’t come with a pop-filter either, so you’ll be investing in more than just the mic. But it’s truly worth it.

Blue Yeti USB Microphone

An absolute step up from the Snowball, the Yeti really gets things done as a pure USB microphone. Its simple plug-in-to-start formula is fantastic for anybody who wants high quality without going through the rigamarole of using a condenser microphone.

Focusrite Scarlett Solo Studio USB Audio Interface and Recording Bundle

If you want to take care of everything all at once, this is your best bet. Not only are you getting some really beautiful sound, but you also get a sold set of headphones and some really nice software to mess around with. So if you want to work on adding sound effects and the like to your stream, you’ll be killing two, three, maybe four birds with one stone. Talk about collateral damage.

Besides getting your mics set up, you also want to think about how you mix your sound. That is to say, how everything works together in terms of you, your game, and maybe some background music. This is purely a matter of taste, but remember that your audience’s taste should take precedent. If they want the music higher, or the song changed, do it when you have a moment.

BIG WARNING FOR COPYRIGHT: Be sure the music you play on stream is something you are allowed to. Believe it or not, you blasting the latest song by Bieber, Imagine Dragons, or whoever the kids are listening to these days isn’t allowed. Just like on YouTube, copyright issues can put your stream in jeopardy.

Make sure your music is either copyright free or cleared by Twitch. Looking up music for Twitch is an easy gig, but if you want a place to start, try out their library at Music.Twitch.tv.

Overlay:

This is honestly bigger than a lot of small streams realize. Whether you are streaming games, art, music, or whatever, think about something. How many of them have overlays? Streaming on Twitch is like streaming on television. And outside of syndicated programming, almost everything has overlays on it. It’s visually dynamic. It puts a lot of different things on the screen. That also goes back to the webcam thing. A good overlay will create an interesting and visually appealing stream.

Other things could be the bit jars that you see. It’s fun and helps promote the idea of giving you the money. And money is nice, isn’t it? Other ways to have a good overlay are notifications. Third-party apps like Streamlabs are damn near an absolute must at this point. Somebody seeing their name on your channel when they follow, host, subscribe, donate, etc. just feels good. I know one of the reasons I host one of my friend’s stream is because her notification is funny.

Having a good theme for everything is also going to be your best bet. Having consistent messaging is extremely important. Remember, you are building a brand. So your brand must be recognizable. You don’t have to remake the wheel, but you do need to have things like color, font, logo, tone, etc.

If you want to do it yourself, I suggest using GIMP, it’s a free tool and has a lot of great plugins you can add. If you are like me and have the artistic capabilities of a 1 armed crab, there are some more options. You can use some pre-built assets that are available for free like at WDflat. They’re chock full of good assets you can be using.

Or, if you are looking for something a bit more detailed, find artists who do commissions. And yes, you have to pay them. Because nobody cares about getting “exposure” on a channel with 4 followers. If you don’t have any friends who could do it, ask for places like Reddit, Facebook groups, or Discord. One person I’d recommend would be the artist Laavka. Really high-quality stuff and uber helpful. But, there is a waiting list. One of the things you could also ask about is Info Panels. Which is a perfect segue to…

Info Panels/Buttons:

You know that bottom of the page underneath your stream? The thing you left totally blank and put no effort into. Big mistake there buddy. Info Panels are incredibly important to the success of your Twitch channel.

Here are some key reasons why:

1.   It makes you look professional/interesting.
   • A well done Info Panel section is like a high-quality pamphlet from a university recruiting someone to attend. Sure, some people will just throw it away immediately. But other people will actually take the time to read the thing. And the better it looks? The better information flows? The more relevant the messaging is? The better the attendance. Or in your case, viewer retention.
2.   It draws viewer interest/helps them get to know you
   • So long as you don’t break terms of service, you can put anything you want in that section! Fun facts? Sure. Computer Specs? Nerd it up bruh. A good panel can effectively introduce yourself to anybody who’s watching your stream. So make sure it’s not just good info, but good visuals too!
3.   It helps with SEO
   • SEO or Search Engine Optimization is tricky with witch Twitch. When you search for “____ + Twitch” you don’t always get an actual Twitch channel. But, when you do, you want to make sure you’re at the top. And based on my tests, panels DO help with on-page SEO.
4.   They create Calls to Action
   • Nobody likes it when someone says “Be sure to like, comment, subscribe!” At the end of the video on YouTube. Thing is: Call to Actions or CTAs are insanely effective. Especially for videos. So if you want people to subscribe, donate, join your Patreon, join your Discord, sign your petition to make the Macarena the national dance, use the Info Panels for it!

Your Name:

Your name is extremely important. Like… it will be one of THE determining factors for whether or not you get traction going. Why? A good, easy to remember name is exactly that. Memorable. You’ll stick into their mind and be easy to search. And that’s the other key. You want to make sure your name is something that doesn’t require a lot of digging. This could be from a specific style to the spelling, an unusual word/name, etc. But if you pick something like Ninja, you’d better be ready to grind for that Search Engine Result Position. Here are some examples of easy to remember names that won’t be buried under a thousand pages on Google:

TimTheTatman

ParallaxStella

TheyCallMeJamsy

Your Logo:

A good logo is important. Your logo is you. It’s a little square of colored pixels that are going to tell the whole world who YOU are. What kind of message are you sending? Because, if you are on Twitch, you are a brand. Control it! Make sure everybody knows that when I click on THIS picture the channel will meet the expectations that it sets forth. And the colors you pick matter as well.

Emotes:

PogChamp. OmegaLUL. TriHard. The thing about how often you see a Twitch channel comment section become a wall of emotes. Wouldn’t it be nice if that could be yours? Now that being an affiliate streamer is a very low bar to cross, you have no reason not to be thinking about an emote. I’ve seen cases where streamers are told outright: “I only subscribed to your channel because your emote is really good.” Know what I say to that? Enjoy my emote and thanks for the cash!

Emotes are now an integral part of your Twitch channel, and again, your brand. You can do it yourself, or find someone to do it for you. There are plenty of tutorials on how to do this, but make sure you read Twitch’s guide first. And even if you aren’t an affiliate, don’t worry! Use Better Twitch TV for emotes as well. Just on Google Chrome, there are 1.5 million unique users of BTTV, and it’s completely free. So really, what do you have to lose?

Up next is what do actually do on stream.

Making your Stream Entertaining

Next is the “you” of the stream. What is appealing about watching you? The biggest complaints I hear from people about small streamers are how boring they are. There’s nothing exciting or interesting about them. They just sit there, never talk, never check on chat, and play the game. They might as well not have the stream on. Stop that.

Does this mean I’m saying you need to ham it up and scream like a child 24/7 ala Ninja? No. But it does mean that you need to know why and show why you’re worth watching. There are four main areas of what makes an interesting streamer. Now, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but these are the most common reasons people watch a certain streamer. These commonly work in tandem with each other, so don’t think you just need to focus on one area and ignore the rest:

1. Personality
2. Skill
3. Appearance
4. Novelty

 Personality:

This is the most important aspect of your Twitch channel. How you interact with the situation. Be it game, guests, and especially chat. There are plenty of personality types, and it’s important to know what yours is. Some people are more energetic like Ninja. Some are hyper-competitive like xQc. And some are so chill you’d think that they’re not even paying attention to the game, like the bearded wonder MattyP89.

What did you notice about the examples? They’re not for everyone. These are streamers that other people would describe as annoying, unfunny, or boring to watch. That’s OK. They’re not for everyone and neither should you. Now, that doesn’t mean you should be an asshole, but it does mean that you should be honest about who you are.

Skill:

If you look at some of the top streamers in the world, they’re pretty damn good at what they do. Ninja, Dr. Disrespect, Ryujehong, Seagull and the like are all “godlike” in their respective games. Like seriously, if I could aim half as good as them I’d feel like Achilles of Troy or something.

But that doesn’t mean you have to be some crazy no-lifer at a game to be watchable. One of my favorite streamers, ParallaxStella, is lucky to get into high silver in Overwatch. But, she’s still tons of fun to watch because you can tell she’s getting better and having fun. (It also helps that she’s a beast at other shooters like Titanfall.) The point is, play to your strengths, and if you aren’t particularly good at a game but love playing, roll with it!

Appearance:

Ah yes… appearances. This is controversial I’m sure, but the truth is, some channels are popular because they are pleasant to look at. This might be because of strong facial features, or they’re “blessed” in certain areas, it just is what it is. But they might also have a kind of “uniform” that they wear. Dr. Disrespect is not only really good at the games he plays; he’s also got sweet hair, a killer mustache, and some slick sunglasses. The dude rocks it.

Additionally, this goes into something I’ll talk about later, and that’s how your stream looks. The way your stream looks is just as important as yours. So even though you don’t walk down the New York runway, you better make sure your stream does. You’ll find out how below.

Novelty:

The best way I could describe this is that it’s your gimmick. This is the special sauce that makes you different from everybody else. Your X – Factor so to speak. Here are some examples of what I’m talking about:

•         EatmyDiction1 had a running series called F*cked Up Fridays where everybody got trashed.
•         MattyP89 does giveaways of games regularly during streams.
•         Dr. Disrespect does his slick daddy shtick.
•         Rudeism will play games with ridiculous controllers. Like he’ll play the gorilla character Winston with actual bananas. (Seriously.)

Other ways to be novel I’ve seen are things like streaming while in the character of the game (Dressing like Mario while playing Super Mario Odyssey), having a mini-league hosted by the for viewers to form teams and compete in, using a heart-rate monitor for stressful games, and many more.

So go out there and try to do something different. Do something that only you can do. (Or at least something that not everyone does.)

These are only parts (large parts) of what makes a streamer who they are. And don’t think that you have to be in the top 10% for absolutely everything. Try to look at these four things and assign a percentage out of a total of 100. Higher % means you want to focus more on that.

Here’s an example for you:

Personality: 30%

I’m pretty fun to watch once I get going and have some people in the chat or online to play with. But if things are slow, or nobody is interacting, I get really quiet. So people who stumble onto my stream are likely to just click back out once they realize that I’m just another boring streamer. I will focus on being more actively engaging. I won’t wait for someone else to talk to me first.

Skills: 10%

I know that I’m not really good at any games that I play. I strive for mediocre. So I’m just going to try to focus on being watchable to play. I won’t be on many highlight reels, but I’m going to avoid being on /r/LivestreamFail.

Appearance: 20%

I probably can’t do a whole lost about how I look. I’m pretty average to look at and honestly, I don’t want how I look to be any kind of focus. But, I am very expressive, so I want people to see my reactions to the game as I play the games. So I’ll try to get a better webcam that is clearer. Also, I want to focus on how my channel looks. Getting a new banner, buttons, and a better logo would do me a world of good. An angry looking blue worm probably isn’t working.

Novelty: 40%

If anything, I want to make my stream different. It feels generic and if I was a viewer I don’t know what would make me want to stick around. I don’t want to have a “character”, and I can’t afford to invest a large amount of money.

“Maybe I could do something to incorporate more sound effects based on what’s happening while I play the game? Like, if I die, the “Fatality” sound effect from Mortal Kombat will play. Or maybe I could do themed days for every day I stream. Throwback Thursdays I’ll play games from my childhood. I have a friend who does a league on Fridays. Maybe I’ll stream my perspective for it. Weird Wednesdays could be dedicated to doing weird indie games…”

The point of this exercise it to think about how you’re going to improve your stream. If you do that and follow through, you will get more viewers. Your retention will go up as well. And if someone stays to watch your stream more, they’ll be more likely to tell other people about you!

But if you’re going to do it, you need to keep doing it.

Maintaining a Schedule for Your Twitch Channel

This one is pretty simple. MAINTAIN A DAMN SCHEDULE! Stream every day? Awesome. More of a weekend streamer? That’s fine. Only available between 3 and 4 in the morning Mondays and Thursdays? That’s… okay, you might want to figure something out on that. But the point is you absolutely MUST have a regular schedule. Here’s why:

1.   People need to know when you’re on. They won’t just drop what they’re doing every time you stream. TV shows keep a schedule for the same reason. So people make time to tune in.
2.   It keeps you motivated. If you don’t have a schedule for when you work out, you quit working out.
3.   You won’t forget. If you don’t remember to schedule your appointments at work, you miss meetings. You keep yourself honest with a schedule.
4.   It enables you to do something else. The worst thing you can do is keep thinking “Oh, should I be streaming NOW!?” Because then you won’t because you work yourself up. Make a schedule, stick to it, and do something else when you aren’t streaming.
5.   You get organized with the rest of your Twitch channel. Guess what? If you’ve got a consistent schedule for streaming, it’s a lot easier to work on the other things I’ve told you to do in this article!

Now, we’re going to talk about one of the trickiest and most important parts. Marketing yourself and your channel.

Marketing Your Channel on Twitch

This is going to sound obvious, but it’s true. You need to market yourself because Twitch will not do it for you. When you start out streaming you be at the bottom of the search results. Twitch bases who is at the top of the search results on how many viewers they get. So the more views someone has, the more likely others are to discover the stream. Just as an example, about 67% of clicks on Google go to the first five search results. The other 33% goes to the other 13,000,000 results. The same idea applies for Twitch. So you already need to have those viewers to get picked up on the search results.

Telling people you are streaming is the best and most effective way. Tell your friends, tell your family, and tell the discord channel you’re on. Tell the press and town crier! Being active on social media is the most important thing to do. Some people will think that sounds like you’re being really spammy. Well, if you do it wrong, it absolutely is. But there is an easy way for that to not be the case which we’ll get into when I tell you how to social media. If you’re doing something you really want to do, people will support you. Who cares if it’s Granny who’s spamming PogChamp in chat? Grinding out every viewer is what it’s all about. Build that momentum.

Doing the Social Media Dance

Listen, I get it. Nobody wants to be that guy/girl who only uses Twitter for the same tweet. “Grinding to 50 followers guys! Get in on Good Vibes. #SupportSmallStreamers #Twitch #Fortnite #Overwatch #Whatsajungler #ThankTwitterformoreroomtohashtagspam…” you get the idea. The best method for not being a total douche-canoe on Social Media with announcing your streams is to follow a Marketing rule called 80/20. 80% of all Social Media you do should have nothing to do with your “product”.

Think about companies like Oreo, Wendy’s, or RedBull. What are they most famous for on Twitter, YouTube, Instagram etc.? Shouting out the latest Quad Stuffed Cookies? The New Taurine and Bull Piss flavored drink? Nope. Jokes. Sassiness. And dropping mother fuckers from the edge of space. Does this say a word about their product? Nope. Does it say something about the brand? Nope. It says EVERYTHING.

Like I said before, if you have a Twitch channel, you have a brand. And you need to understand that you control your messaging. So you need to be interesting and engaging on Social Media. You don’t have to be Khloe Kardashian or anything like that, but you do need to provide value on Social Media. Whether it’s funny quips, highlights from streams (doesn’t have to be yours, just make sure to credit others), or the latest gif from Stranger Things you need to provide value.

Okay, so you’ve got a good social media plan filled with good hashtags, memes, and shout-outs to other streamers, what’s next?

Cross Promotion

What is this a crossover episode? Now, before I begin I’m going to preface this: DO NOT SPAM PEOPLE ASKING FOR SHOUTOUTS. This isn’t 2008 YouTube. That being said, cross-promotion in the digital realm is extremely important. There are categories, sub-categories, and micro-categories of viewers on Twitch. There are tens of thousands of different communities all co-existing in their own insular groups. But before that, here are keys to being genuine with cross promoting:

1.   Actually watch their streams. Make sure that you enjoy their streaming and you aren’t just trying to use somebody. Support them, be active in chat, participate!
2.   Build a relationship with these people first. Don’t just get down to brass tacks. Make sure that you build a familiarity with them. You all might be brand building, but you’re all people as well.
3.   Go into this with a positive attitude. To get away with being an asshole on Twitch you need to be famous. And if you’re reading this article, I doubt you qualify. (Self-burn!)

So what are ways to cross-promote effectively and courteously?

1.   Social Media Shout Outs.
2.    Give somebody a shout out on Social Media. If they reply or reciprocate, awesome! If not, you gave somebody you like watching a little ego boost. You can’t expect every good deed to get tearful thank-yous.
3.   Cross Clip Posting
4.    Show that you actually watched their stream and post a clip of something awesome/funny/interesting they did. If it’s somebody you know, set up cross shout outs.
5.   Discord Promoting
6.    If you don’t have a discord to go with your Twitch channel, you’re doing it wrong. Typically streamers have a channel shoutout section, and you can pick up a couple viewers this way.
7.   Streaming together
8.    You’d be surprised how often people forget this one. If you and somebody else like streaming similar games, try doing a duo stream! Even if you lose a few viewers during the stream to the other, you’ll have more exposure for next time. And if you see a lot of people switching to them, doing be offended. Take it as a learning experience and try to understand WHY it’s happening.

Now onto the million dollar question:

What games should I stream?

Oh, what a wonderfully dangerous question. Do you blaze your own path? Follow the big waves of the hottest trends in gaming? Honestly, this one comes down to preference. Stream the kinds of games you want to stream. Are you a variety streamer who’s key to views is their personality and interacting? More of the competitive gaming type threading the needle as a sniper? Probably better stick to games like CS:GO and Overwatch.

But if you really don’t care what kind of game you’re streaming, go ahead and try different things out. But make sure that no matter what, you don’t spread yourself out too thin. A good case study for this would actually be Pewdiepie. You know, the guy with over 60 million subscribers on YouTube. When he started out, he did one kind of game: Horror titles that would scare him. (Or make him pretend he’s scared.) Eventually, he started to do more different titles because he had grown enough of a following that he wasn’t as likely to lose all of his viewers because he changed things up.

A good example of this would be YouTuber and streamer Lt. Eddy. When he first started doing gaming content, his channel was almost entirely animation based. But then he started to upload highlight reels of him from Overwatch. He then saw his subscriber count fluctuate massively. Why? Because he was also still uploading animations. The people who subscribed for game highlights didn’t care about animations. The people who subscribed for animations didn’t really care about his Overwatch highlights. So he split his channel in two. One for animation, one for gaming. Then, after he got a large enough following, he began to do other games. Games like Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, Fortnite, and… Sakura Swim Club. Gotta get that anime boob demographic. Ah! Demographics.

Choosing your Audience

Building a community for your channel is one of the most fun aspects.

Remember when I talked briefly about how you can’t please everyone? The same goes for your Twitch channel.  I’m going to give you an example of why you shouldn’t try to just be a “general streamer”. Go and ask a hundred people what their favorite topping is for pizza. You’ll get answers like, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham, *shudders* pineapple, and maybe some others. Do you know what happens next? You order a cheese pizza because everyone wants something different. And hardly anyone gets excited about a just cheese pizza.

You need to think about what your pizza is going to look like, and who’s going to want that pizza. (Okay, enough pizza metaphors I’m getting hungry.)

Your channel is exactly that: A channel. Just like how TBS, CNN, Spike TV, and Disney channel target their markets, you need to as well. The message you send out and the product you present needs to match up. (Remember the brand identity stuff?)

More Handy Tools:

Here are some other handy tools that you can use to help your stream. Mess around and try some different things out for your channel. Experiment around and try some things out!

https://www.twitchtools.com

https://twitchtracker.com/

So these are our tips for getting your Twitch Channel off the ground. Best of luck streamers!