The gaming and eSports platform Twitch gets 140 million unique visitors each month. And each of those visitors spends hours upon hours watching streamers and giving “cheers,” which translates to income for the streamer.
In addition to donations from viewers, those in the top percentage of streamers are added to Twitch’s affiliate program, which grants the streamer a percentage of the revenue from ads and subscriptions.
Now, becoming a successful streamer isn’t easy. But if you know how to become a Twitch streamer, and put in the work necessary to excel, you can make a career out of gaming while interacting with your audience.
Get Your Gear
The first step in becoming a professional Twitch streamer is to get your gear. You can’t game or stream without it! The specific pieces of gear you need will depend on the game you’re playing, so it’s best to have a game or two in mind before you get started.
That said, the two main pieces of gear every Twitch streamer needs are a webcam and a headset. You’ll, of course, also need a PC or gaming console, but don’t feel like you have to have the best of the best out of the gate.
Yes, the quality of your stream is important, but even the highest quality video and production value won’t help you build an audience if you’re not entertaining. It’s better to start with what you have, or what you can comfortably afford, and invest in your streaming once you start making an income.
Live streaming takes practice, but if you have patience and a good personality, you can get the hang of it in no time. Take a look at this guide on live streaming for more tips and tricks.
Create a Streaming Schedule
One of the best Twitch strategies, and just social media strategies in general, is to create a schedule. Your viewers want to know what they can expect from you and when to expect it.
You’ll find that streaming on Twitch daily is quite common. In order to maximize your success, you need to think of Twitch as a part-time job (and in the future, a full-time job).
Let’s say, for instance, that you choose to stream from 6 pm to 10 pm, Monday through Friday. Not every viewer will watch all 20 hours per week of your stream, but they’ll watch parts of it, and knowing when you’ll be streaming will increase the chances of them watching more.
Learn How to Become a Twitch Streamer and Start Your Next Chapter
Now that you know how to become a twitch streamer, you’re ready to get started on your journey. Remember, there are thousands upon thousands of streamers broadcasting at any given moment. Because of this, you aren’t going to see results right away.
However, if you say consistent and make the viewing experience enjoyable for your audience, you’ll see progress sooner than you think.
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