Can You Really Make Money Playing Video Games On Twitch

I see this being asked a lot and the answer is yes you can make money by playing/streaming video games on Twitch but it’s easier said than done.

By that I mean don’t expect to just fire up your computer get your stream connected and just start making money day 1 or heck even day 100 if we’re talking serious money.

It takes a good amount of persistence, skill and/or personality with a little bit relationship building to start making any real money from your stream. I’m going to go into exactly what I mean by that below.

How Long Does It Take Before You Start Making Money On Twitch

This falls under the persistence part. Streaming on Twitch will take you awhile to start to get followers and it’s like a grind in a video game where you do the same thing every day but you’re slowly moving closer to your goal.

The only way around this is if you already have some connections with other streamers or already have a name for yourself in a certain game.

This is a hard question to answer though but I would safely say don’t expect any money for the first couple of months, you may get some generous followers who may donate to you so it’s hard to say.

If you’re talking about money from Twitch advertising in the form of a sub button, then you may never get one but can still earn a good bit through donations of your viewers so it’s always a good idea to setup a donation button asap.

Do You Have To Be Good At Video Games To Be A Twitch Streamer

This relates to the skill/personality part. I see this asked a lot, the answer is no not at all. Some of the most viewed streamers are average at best but they’re entertaining to watch because of how much they rage or because they just have a good personality and communicate well with their viewers.

On the flip side, this alienates certain viewers they only want to watch the best of the best because they are trying to learn themselves how to get better at that game/class.

If you have a good mix of this, then you’ll be making some serious money if you’re consistent.

TIP: Try to get a friend in your voice chat with you when streaming that your viewers may find funny, this helps take all of the pressure off of you to be one size fits all type of streamer.

How Much Time Do You Need To Invest Into Streaming To Be Successful?

This is where is causes most people to throw in the towel.

Streaming is actually causes you to actually be using your time for it, by that I mean there isn’t a passive income side to it really.

This causing the time investment to be high, sure you could only stream one day a week but if you want to make streaming a full time gig then you’re going to need to put more time into it. My suggestion is get a schedule setup, so your followers know when to expect you to be live.

You’d be amazed at how many people will log in to Twitch just to watch their favorite streamer at their startup time then log back off after they go offline.

I can’t give you an exact figure for this question but I would shoot for a minimum of 8 hours a week, with it being spread about between 2-3 streams. A good amount would be 12 hours between 3-4 streams. This is purely subjective of course, so this is in no way an actual guideline by any means.

Just try to put as much time as your schedule allows you and just be prepared for a grind.

How To Build Relationships With Other Streamers On Twitch

This is actually very easy and a great way to increase your followers that most streamers do not take enough advantage of.

Twitch has given its streamers a cool option of hosting another person’s stream, which allows you to basically broadcast as if you were live but it shows someone elses’ stream to your viewers. Got a head of myself there, before you do that it would be good to actually be in their stream and comment.

This way they can put get an idea of who you are before you start broadcasting their stream.

Now just because you do broadcast their stream doesn’t mean they will do it in return but this is a good networking start, especially if there are times when you don’t feel like streaming but still want to work on improving your stream.

Another great way is see if there are any streamers who play a similar game as you and see about getting in touch with them in game to possible get in chat with them to stream together.

These are just a couple of options but there are tons of them out there, just go about it like you’re making a friend in game and actually try to build a friendship with the person, not try to use them for their viewers.

Where Most People Go Wrong

I know tons of people who plan to to start streaming but they keep putting it off for whatever reason possible. Most of the time they’re either waiting for a game to come out to be able to stream or trying to get their setup perfect before starting.

This usually turns into a drawn out process where they basically never begin or it takes them awhile to get going and in that time they could have gotten a good amount of followers.

So my advice is just get started on your stream, everything doesn’t have to be perfect but take that biggest leap and just get going!

Thanks for reading and I hope this helped some of you out there, Ill try to add more to this article as more comes to mind or I learn about new things myself to share with all of you.   

What Equipment Do You Need To Start Streaming On Twitch

Computer Gamer

If you’re looking to get into the streaming scene on twitch then you will need certain equipment to get started, which we’ll be covering in this article.

I’ll be breaking this article down into a couple of different sections by the absolute bare minimum items you need, a nice to have section and a best of the best twitch equipment setup.

There will also be a recommended item suggestion with each section, with upgrade options also available for those who may have more money to spend.

Twitch Bare Minimum Low Cost Streaming Equipment Setup

This is the option for those who really have zero money currently to put into their streaming equipment but still want to get started.

These are pretty much the bare minimum that you can use to get away with for starting up your stream.

The computer specs that are listed on Twitchs’ website are:

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 or AMD Equivalent
MEMORY: 8GB DDR3 SDRAM
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

There are a few different software programs available for streaming but OBS is the cheapest option with it being free.

Technically you don’t need a microphone but you’re going to want to talk with your stream but if you can’t afford one then you could just turn your stream on while you play your games.

The mic that comes on your gaming headset is fine and would be better than not having anything.

Most Twitch viewers tend to like being able to see the person that is streaming so a webcam is recommended item that you should pick up.

Twitch Mid Range Gear Streaming Setup Recommendation

This option is for those who have a little money to put into their setup but not enough to go crazy with it.

I’ll post upgrade option recommendations from the above setup for each of these below.

These are the 4 main components to any real streamers setup so this is where you should make sure you’re good first before moving on to extra stuff.

If you only have enough money for certain items then I would upgrade the computer, mic, webcam and then the software, in that order.

OBS is pretty decent software so you may not even feel the need to upgrade it at all but if you have the fun I would look to getting Gameshow.

On the microphone you can stick with a gaming headset mic but the quality in desktop microphones tends to take it to another level and since listening to you is a main aspect of most streams it will play a crucial part.

What Is The Best Twitch Streaming Equipment

I’m not gonna pick some outrageous setup that costs more than most people make in a year but this will feature some of the top gear that most gamers would kill to have to stream with.

This would be my ideal streaming setup if I got to pick pretty much whatever I wanted.

You got super high quality audio with the Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone and the Logitech C930e has everything you need + plus some for your webcam.

The green screen makes for a nice touch that removes the background image of your room/office in your webcam streaming area and allows you to have your game play everywhere behind you as well.

This gives a nice immersion feel which takes your stream to another level.

How To Get Equipment To Start Streaming

When looking at this list or other peoples steams and seeing how good it runs/looks it’s easy to start wanting stuff that’s way out of your budget.

What I recommend is that you get a setup like or comparable to the tier one setup in this article and start streaming.

This allows you to A) See if you even like streaming because it may not be something that is for you & B) You can start to building your following and maybe start to earn some money through your stream.

If you can start getting some money come in then you can slowly upgrade your stream one item at a time until you have an ideal setup.

What I don’t recommend is putting off to begin streaming until you get the best of the best equipment.

This not only takes away valuable time but also I’ve know a few people who spent a crap ton of money on their streaming setup only to find out that they didn’t really like it.

Something that I want to mention is that your streaming equipment is just a piece of the overall puzzle on how your stream is.

Sure it helps but having the best equipment isn’t going to make your stream successful.

I just wanted to point that out because to often in streams that I’ve been in I see some streamers make excuses on why they don’t have a lot of viewers and that excuse usually revolves around their setup.

Either that or they’ll stop streaming all together until they get all the equipment that I want which I think is a bad idea, because that’s time you’ll never get back in which you could be gaining new followers or just more experience as a streamer.

With that being said if you have a computer that does nothing but lag or keeps restarting a bunch because it can’t handle running a game and the stream then this makes complete sense.

I’m talking more on the lines of those who can run the setup just fine but just want better audio or maybe a faster processor, etc..

21 Tips On How To Be A Better & Successful Twitch Streamer

Computer Gamer

Video Game Streaming Infographic Tips If you’re searching for ideas on how to better yourself as a twitch streamer then you may have what it takes to eventually become successful.

So many people who start streaming think it’s as simple as getting your stream setup, just start playing your favorite game and the money will just start rolling in.

Unfortunately it’s not this simple, which you’ve probably already realized if you’ve searched this topic.

This is why I decided to write this article to help give those who truly want to make something out of their stream.

There will be a mix of my own tips, along with other recommendations that I’ve gathered from other streamers that I’ve reached out to.

Some of these tips may be obvious to you but to others they may have no clue about it, just wanted to throw that out there before we got started.

Engage With Your Viewers

This is the most common thing that I see a lot of new streamers do that turns away many potential followers/viewers.

A lot of viewers don’t just want to watch you play the game unless you’re insanely good at PVP type of games to where they are trying to get better by watching how you do things.

For a majority of viewers they like to ask questions and see you chat back with them. Some even take it personally if you don’t answer or respond to their chat.

This obviously becomes much more difficult to do as you grow in viewers and have constant items to respond to in chat. This leads me to my next point..

Don’t Neglect The Game You’re Playing

On the flip side of things, when you see all of those viewers start to chat with you it can be easy to get so wrapped up in talking with them that you forget to focus your attention on the game you’re “playing”.

Being able to manage your time and multi task between the two is something that actually takes some practice to be able to be fluent with it.

Put A Face To The Voice

If you look at a majority of the top streamers you’ll notice that they all tend to have their webcam showing themselves on the screen (usually in a small box in the bottom left). This helps a lot with engaging with your audience.

If you’re decent looking then it may bring in a few extra viewers as well.

Don’t Be To Stubborn To Ditch Your Music

I’ve been in some really cool twitch channels where I enjoyed their stream but could not stand their insanely bad music. Most viewers won’t be afraid to tell you that you’re music sucks so you may not have to guess on this but this is something to keep in mind.

Possibility: If you refuse to either turn the music off or change the style then you may hit a roadblock in your stream growth.

Take The Time To Set Up Your Stream Layout/Channel

I get you want to get to streaming as quickly as possible but make sure you set up a decent on screen layout at some point. After that make sure to focus on designing your overall channel layout.

Make Connections With Other Streamers

A feature that I really like that Twitch has is they give streamers options to host other streamers channels.

This helps by giving some exposure to all of the followers that one streamer may have to a new channel that they may like but not know anything about.

Set Up A Streaming Schedule

One of the best ways to keep your followers coming back is by having them know when you’re streaming.

There are a few ways to do this but the main way is set up a streaming schedule and try your hardest to follow it as close as possible.

Some viewers log on just to watch certain streamers then log back off after they get through, just like many folks do when waiting for a certain TV show to come on.

Setup A Social Media Presence

Setting up a social media page will allow you to not only update your viewers on when you’re going live but also a potential way to get new followers.

This can also be a good way to let your followers know if you have a change in your streaming schedule come up.

Be Prepared To Grind

Growing your stream is similar to grinding out levels in a video game. You’ll slowly keep growing your followers but it takes putting in time consistently to get there.

Don’t expect much success if you just stream whenever you’re bored just once or twice every couple of weeks.

Have A Decent Computer

No matter how good of a streamer no one will want to watch you if you’re constantly lagging up or your computer keeps shutting down because it can’t handle everything that you’re trying to throw at it.

This doesn’t mean you need to go out and buy a 6k gaming machine but you should at least have something that follows twitches recommend PC specification or better.

Here are the minimum recommendations for your system from twitches website.

  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 or AMD Equivalent (Compare your CPU)
  • MEMORY: 8GB DDR3 SDRAM
  • OS: Windows 7 Home Premium

Mic Check!

Be aware of how your mic sounds to your viewers. Even if you sound great on skype with your buddies while playing WOW, still make sure to check how you sound on your stream.

You can do this by asking your viewers how it sounds or by bringing up your own stream and testing it on a separate computer.

Upgrade Your Microphone

A lot of gamers just use the mic that is attached to their gaming headset, which is fine for the most part. However every little bit counts when streaming so if upgrading your microphone to a desktop type of mic can help you then keep that in mind.

Also looks more professional when you don’t have a mic in your face on your webcam.

Set Up A Follower/Donation Alert

This is where the persons name and/or sound plays whenever they follow/donate/subscribe to you.

Don’t under estimate this because so many people will do this just so you acknowledge them on your stream. I’ll admit if feels pretty good when someone directly thanks you on their stream.

Making it noticeable that they will get a shout out gives a little incentive for them to do one or all of those things I mentioned above.

Check That Internet Connection Bro!

Having that best computer in the world won’t be worth squat (in terms of streaming) if you have crappy internet. Just make sure you have decent internet and that your bandwidth isn’t getting soaked up by others in the house or from your neighbor (wifi password!)

Have A Friend To Chat With (To Begin With)

When you start up your stream and don’t have anyone in chat to answer question then just sitting their playing not talking can be a turn off for some viewers just stopping by to see what your channel is like.

This is why I recommend trying to get a buddy to either play a game with you or just be in some sort of voice chat so y’all can communicate about something gaming related.

Once enough people are in the chat talking with you then you can substitute talking with your friend to talking with viewers by answering their question/responding to comments.

Have Tough Skin Trololol

Trolls are everywhere on the internet and Twitch is no exception. Don’t take any trolls personally by getting upset or they’ll feed off of it and enjoy coming back to make your life hell.

Just try to have a good mod in your chat to be able to keep chat clean, which leads us to our next tip.

Pick Your Mods Wisely

For the most part this isn’t a huge deal but every once in awhile I’ll see a mod in the chat who thinks way to highly of their “mod powers!”

They’ll be way to quick to ban just about everyone which can kill any chances of you building a community of followers.

On the flip side make sure your mods aren’t to nonchalant putting someone getting out of hand in chat in a timeout or a possible ban. Being a mod takes a good balance.

Pick A Niche In Your Streaming

Playing different games every time you stream may seem like a good way to keep your viewers entertained with unique game play but it really determines on how much they are on the stream for your personality or more for the game your playing.

Allow me to explain, if you have gotten most of your visitors from playing multiple games and providing funny commentary while playing it then swapping games a lot is fine because they are most likely their because you’re entertaining.

If you got most of your followers while streaming competitive PVP type of games then your followers may want to see you play those types of games.

Write A Interesting Title For Your Stream

As an example instead of put your title as “Warrior Doing Arena” write some like “Warrior Doing Competitive Level PVP “. There really isn’t a wrong way to do this but it’s more of being creative.

Just read the titles of streams you click on and take note of how their titles read compared to others that you passed over.

Try To Avoid Getting Burned out

I know easier said then done but you need to know your limits. If you’ve been streaming consistently on your schedule and you start noticing that you’re become more annoyed when having to stream than actually enjoying it.

This is where you might need to either look for a new game or take a little vacation from streaming. It will help you better in the long run because if you’re not enjoying streaming then your viewers can see it as well.

Let Your Viewers Know You’re Taking Some Time Off

If you do decide to take a break then give your followers a heads up.

How would you feel if you came on expecting your favorite streamer on their scheduled times and were a no show over and over again. It’s almost like being stood up!

Seriously though, I’m not saying send an individual message to each of your followers but make some sort of effort to let them know.

You can do this by letting them know ahead of time on your streams, you can post it to your social media pages and also put something on your twitch page telling them your on a slight break with your anticipated date of return.

If I Follow These Tips Will I Become A Good Twitch Streamer?

I can’t say whether or not it will make you a good streamer but I will say that you will be a better streamer if you apply these tips to your stream.

I hope at least one of these tips helps you out in some way on your streaming journey. 

Origin PC Vs Digital Storm Vs Alienware Vs Maingear Vs Xidax

ergonomic gaming

This article will be covering custom built gaming computer companies and how hey stack up against one another.

The computer companies that we’ll be looking at are Origin PC Vs Digital Storm Vs Alienware Vs Maingear Vs Xidax Vs Falcon Northwest.

These are some of the best custom gaming computer brands out at the time of writing this article and we’re going to take a look at each of them in this post.

Note that any sales or features that you see on the pictures/information below was on their website when I took the photo, so please do not assume that it is still going on all of the time as these sales may change at anytime. These are not placed in any specific order.

Origin PC Gaming Computers

origin pc computers

Origin is one of the more popular brands mentioned here as it’s been featured in a lot of big name websites and also has it’s computer used by some notable gamers such as Swifty and Bajheera.

Origin has a superb looking website with a great layout to make ordering very straight forward and as easy as possible. Here are some details about Origin:

  • Has Desktop & Gaming Laptops
  • Custom Choice Options Available On How You Build Your PC
  • They Offer Payment Financing
  • Have Good Range Of Systems: From Low-End Systems To High-Level Enthusiast Systems
  • 24/7 Support

Digital Storm Gaming PCs

digital storm gaming pc Digital Storm is another highly popular custom gaming pc brand.

They have created a great brand over there and an impressive community in their forums which allows others to give feedback on your pc build and what they might recommend you changing on it before you make the purchase.

Here are some details about Digital Storm:

  • They Sale Gaming Laptops And Desktops
  • Very High Level Of Custom Choices Available For How You Want Your Machine
  • Offer Financing Through Affirm
  • 9AM-5PM Support
  • Offer A Range Of Low Cost Systems To High Level Decked Out Systems

 

Alienware Gaming Computers

alienware gaming computers Alienware is the largest of all of the companies mentioned here with it being a subsidiary of Dell.

Alienware really gained a lot of it’s popularity through its unique style of computer cases than frankly look just bad ass and have that out of this world type o look that fits perfectly with their brand name.

Here are some details about Alienware:

  • They Sale Laptops, Desktops & Consoles!
  • On The Higher End Price Wise
  • Kickass Looking Cases
  • Lot’s Of Customizing Options
  • They Offer 24/7 Support

 

Maingear Gaming PCs

maingear gaming pcs

Maingear has become one of the top tier custom gaming computer brands available today. They are started to stretch their wings more in terms of uniqueness with builds like Omen which you can see in their picture above.

Here are some details about Maingear:

  • Can Buy Gaming Desktops & Laptops
  • They Offer Financing (US Only Currently)
  • Competitive Pricing Model
  • Very High Level Of Customizing Options Available

Xidax Gaming Computers

xidax gaming computers

Xidax is one of the newer brands in the custom gaming pc world, at least on this list anyways. Even with them being somewhat new that hasn’t stopped them from hitting the ground running.

When you see other well known gaming computer brands on this list being mentioned don’t be surprised to find Xidax being mentioned also somewhere in that conversation.

Some details about Xidax:

  • Have Gaming Desktops & Laptops
  • User Friendly Website, Makes Ordering A Breeze
  • Offer Pre-Built Machines & A Build Your Own Option
  • Financing Is Available

Falcon Northwest Gaming PCs

falcon northwest gaming pcs

Wrapping up our list is Falcon Northwest, which just because they’re at the bottom of this list doesn’t mean I rank them as last among st the others, like I mentioned the order that these were placed doesn’t mean anything.

Falcon NW has earned a high level respect in the gaming pc community, anytime time I see them mentioned in any forum/article they end up getting nothing but positive mentions.

This says a lot about not only their machines but their customer service as well.

Details About Falcon Northwest:

  • They Offer Desktops & Laptops
  • Decent Level Of Customizing Available
  • No Real Lower Level Priced Option Available
  • The Custom Paint Job Is A Nice Touch (Wish It Had More Options)

Which Custom Gaming Computer Brand Should You Buy

For most gamers, my straight forward answer would be Origin. With that being said it’s hard for me to pick your machine because I have zero idea what type of gaming you’re doing, if you’re editing, streaming or possibly even using it for video game creation.

There are way to many factors that I don’t know for me to choose blindly.

I will say that the brands mentioned on this list are the best in the business so ultimately I would feel confident that you would get a great machine from any of the ones mentioned here.

Other than that just take a second and go through each brands, their options and see how you feel about each one. Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save Save