Hitting the go live button for your first stream can be a nerve-racking experience. To make sure everything goes smoothly it’s always a good idea to have done some research first. Knowing some tips for streaming on Twitch can really help settle your nerves.
This post will give you some solutions to common issues, and also give you great tips to help you get ahead of the competition.
Have A Practice Stream
Before you go live having a couple of practice streams is the best way to gauge what streaming will be like. Instead of going live, press record on your streaming software. This will allow you to re-watch the stream and find any mistakes. For example, you may notice bad lighting for your webcam, or microphone issues. It’s always better to get these things ironed out before going live.
During these practice streams you should also get into the habit of checking the chat. Of course there will be no viewers present, it’s just about building positive habits.
Engage With Viewers
Engaging with your viewers doesn’t have to be you directly talking to them. Having commentary or discussing things on stream is a way that you can engage with viewers. Use your practice streams to gauge if you are talking enough. If there are long periods where you don’t speak, try to rectify this.
Once you do go live, you will most likely have very few viewers initially. If you see any viewers pop into chat, make sure to say “hi”. Some people enjoy lurking in streams so understand this and don’t try to force them to type. If a viewer does drop a message into chat, make sure to respond, and even ask them how their day was.
After a while you will get better and more confident at interacting with these viewers.
Don’t Focus Too Much On Statistics
While analysing your growth is a great way to gain motivation, it can also be the cause for some negative thoughts about you and your stream. This is especially true if you have your view count visible. One of the most productive things you can do as a new streamer is to hide your view count.
This ensures that you will be putting on the best show possible whether you have 1 viewer or 20. It also cuts out any deflation you might experience from checking the view count mid stream.
Use Social Media
One of the major benefits of social media is being able to interact with your viewers even if you are offline. It also allows you to notify your viewers exactly when you go live. Twitter and Discord are the most popular platforms for engaging with viewers. TikTok on the other hand seems to be a great platform to potentially grow an audience and drive them to your Twitch stream.
Make sure that you are being creative with social media. If the only time you use social media is to tell people you are going live then it’s not going to benefit you much. Share your opinions on streamer related topics and interact with other streamers.
Look Professional
Having a professional brand image has become more and more important as the platform grows. With the huge number of people that now stream, you can really set yourself apart with a professional image.
This not only goes for your streaming hardware such as webcam and microphone. It also applies to your streaming graphics. You can even have animations such as stinger transitions.
Conclusion
Before you start your first stream, it’s a good idea to get a list of tips for streaming on Twitch. You should also get to grips with all of the streaming software and even have a couple of practice runs. Once you are comfortable with streaming and know what to expect it will make your first stream go a lot smoother.