- Chris R.
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- Published: July 9, 2021
- Modified: July 9, 2021
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Whether you are a new streamer or an old one who has been looking to expand their audience, now is the best time to grow your channel. According to a collaborative study by Streamlabs and Stream Hatchet, the viewership across streaming platforms, such as Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube shot up by 78.5% last year to 27.9 billion hours of content watched.
Among all the platforms, Twitch still holds the top market share of hours streamed (90%). This means that people often default to Twitch when they want to watch live games, granting Twitch gamers the biggest opportunity to earn money on the platform.
So, how do you attract these people to your streams? Here are some tips.
Set a schedule
It is important to have a streaming schedule and stick to it. Viewers that have visited your stream once or twice and stuck have different time zones and personal schedules they follow. Streaming at a consistent time slot ensures that there is a chance that they will drop by in the next one.
If you are setting a schedule for the first time, pick time slots on weekday nights or weekends, as these are when people are free from work or school.
Stick to a niche
While being a variety gamer is one way to grow your Twitch channel, it certainly is not the best. The most sustainable way to consistently get viewers is to get subscribers — people who will always drop by when you stream. And each group of viewers will always be interested in the same type of content, so the best way to grow your subscriber count is to focus on a specific gaming niche.
For example, you can stick to a genre like horror or RPG. Restricting your games on a certain platform (like the Nintendo Switch or PC) will also work.
If you are new, you can do your research and find out what gaming categories have a lot of views. Last year, live-streamed online poker games were a big hit. This was because more than half of all Twitch users are aged 18 to 34, which is the main demographic on online poker platforms.
Promote your stream on other sites
It is no secret that small Twitch channels are at a disadvantage on the platform. After all, Twitch’s algorithm will always bump up channels with more viewers and subscribers. So, whenever you stream, expect it to be at the bottom of the category.
This is why you should promote your streams on other places too, like social media or forums. Put up your stream schedule; notify your followers or fellow users through posts when you go live. If you make enough noise, they will get curious and hop in when you are broadcasting. This leads us to the next tip.
Make your playing style stands out
If you want people to stay, then you have to make sure that your playing style is interesting. One advantage is if you are an extremely good player — one who puts in the effort to learn strategies. Some games, like poker and FPS, are good options for this type of playing style. If you want to become a good poker player, for instance, you need to know how to play smart.
One studious way to approach the game is by knowing how to calculate your odds in poker. For example, you could turn to educating your viewers on how to calculate pot odds, implied odds, and other probabilities — something that is rarely done in poker streams.
Meanwhile, in FPS, you can opt to only stick to one staple role, like a support or anchor character, and always choose to play that way in every FPS game. The key is to find your USP that sets you apart from the rest of the streams in your niche.
Growing your Twitch channel will not happen overnight. However, as long as you find the right audience to appeal to and keep them interested, you will gain a following eventually if you stick at it.
Incidentally, Twitch gaming is not the only way to generate money online. If you are interested, check out this article on 23 other ways you can earn some extra money.
