Becoming popular on Twitch can be a pain in the butt process, however I do want to throw you a bone on how to get more viewers on Twitch.
Almost every streamer hits that mental breaking point where they want to throw in the towel because spending all of this effort just isn’t turning out much in the way of viewers.
Even though turning on your stream & playing games doesn’t seem like something that would cause someone to hit a breaking point, it certainly can.
Watching something you’ve put your time into, not make any progress can be demoralizing which is why I’m hoping to help out as much as I can with this article.
Everyone Keeps Leaving My Stream
Before we start to work on your Twitch channel growth we need to identify where the issues are.
If you have people coming into your streams but not sticking around, then it might be a setup issue
By setup I don’t mean an actual technical difficulty like the stream not loading but maybe something along the lines your game might be laggy as hell.
If you have a high bounce rate of users coming but not staying then here is a checklist to go over which might help.
- Trying Changing The Style Of Music You Play In Stream
- Make Sure Your Title & Game Selection Actually Match The Game You’re Playing
- Check Your Mic Sound Quality
- Be Quick To Respond Back To Your Chat
- Are You Commentating Any Or Just Playing The Game Ignoring Everyone?
- Identify Any Actual Technical Difficulties Like Stream Cutting In & Out
No One Even Comes Into My Stream!
If no one is even coming into your stream then that gives us a separate checklist to go over.
If you fall into this category then just make a mental note of that checklist mentioned above for the future.
I’m going to cover this in many steps so if you already know the answer to any steps then just jump over to the next one. I don’t want to leave anyone hanging here.
How Does Twitch Determine Who They Put Higher Up On The Page
Here’s a look the channels I see at the top of the page when I select the game World of Warcraft.
Twitch has a simple ranking system where they show the streamer with the most current viewers 1st, next highest second & so on as you can get an idea from the pic above.
What this means for you with few or no viewers is that people will have to scroll all the way down to past all of these other tempting channels to get to yours.
Now that we have that understood it brings up our next point…
How To Compete Against Popular Twitch Streamers
I know it seems like with how Twitch ranks the popular channels higher it gives a, the rich get richer type of feeling.
First off get it out of your head where you think, “whats the point no one will ever find me past these other 100 streamers”.
This is where most streamers get this wrong.
There are plenty of users who are looking for some specific type of stream they want to watch.
So I wanted to watch a streamer playing WoW who is doing PvP as a Warlock.
This is the first one I found with it being mentioned in their Title.
Moving past my bad paint editing skills I still wanted to show you this.
So now with me in their stream if their any good PvP wise or fun to watch then I could potentially become a follower.
Even though it may not have you bringing in 50 followers a day, these do start to add up.
Okay with that fresh on your mind I want to stay on the focus of this to show you another way to use this process.
Pick A Less Popular Game
With games like WoW or Overwatch their are hundreds of different people that you are competing with for viewers, even if you do niche down you’re still losing the ones that just want to watch someone play the game.
This is where going after a game with less streamer competition comes into play.
Like I said there are hundreds of people streaming WoW, well I’m a viewer & I’m tired of WoW. I want to watch someone play through the South Park: The Stick of Truth game.
When I go over to that game I find only 29 total streams for it. With the top viewer numbers looking like this.
What a lot of streamers will see when looking at that is, there are not enough people watching this game to even try.
A smarter way to look at this is, realizing people do want to watch people play this game & the viewer competition to break into the top 5 is super easy.
I’ll end this section with a fitting quote for it.
Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day
Themed Streams
A cool way to set your stream apart is adding in a little twist to it.
I’ve seen this work in multiple ways like…
- Someone did shots for every donation
- Tried to teach his mom how to play LoL on Stream
- 24 Hour Stream
This is only limited by your creativity, well & Twitchs rules but just come up with some good stuff that Twitch will allow & you’re good to go!
Working With Other Streamers
Don’t look at other streamers as competition, but instead as a way to work together to grow each others viewer base.
Twitch has a cool method of helping promote other streamers channels through its host mode feature.
This lets someone stream like they normally would but instead of showing their stream, they’re showing whoever stream they’re hosting.
This can be a win/win for both parties, not such the person being hosted.
Sometimes, you just are not feeling it but you’ve got a stream schedule setup & don’t want to leave your followers hanging.
The host gets the benefit of still doing a stream & the hostee gets some exposure to the hosts viewer base.
This is an underused method for both parties to gain value.
Promote Your Stream Outside Of Twitch
If you want to take a more proactive approach then you’re my kind of person.
Instead of just waiting for the viewers to find your channel, let’s give those viewers a little heads up about you.
This can be difficult because anywhere that focuses on people to promote anything, especially for free is going to be flooded with others.
Let’s skip that BS & shoot for some areas where it really has nothing to do with streaming.
Where To Advertise Your Twitch Channel
Forums
These can be great, especially specific forums that games you stream.
Some forums actually have a section dedicated to promoting your channel.
Mods in forums have to constantly ban spammers trying to promote all kinds of stuff. So making a new account, promoting your stream in your first post is not going to look good.
Become a part of the community; answer or ask questions, add your avatar, be active.
Then if they allow it, add your twitch stream profile information in your forum signature.
This way it shows up under each post you make.
In Game Promotion
Online games where you can speak to other people is a great way to get promote.
Best thing about this, is that it usually takes less than a minute to do.
For example if you were playing WoW & you were chilling in Orgimmar, simply say something like, “Pryo Mage PVP Stream Starting Up – Check it out at Twitch.tv/yourstreamname”
Something along those lines, get creative with it.
There’s really no need to spam this, just say it once then start doing your PVP.
Social Media
This is a big hit or miss & requires more time than the others I’ve mentioned.
If you actively work at growing your streams social accounts then this can turn a good way to let others know about your stream.
Try to focus on building out 1 social media channel rather than having to spread your time across many.
Tip: Rather than focusing on reaching new viewers, find the streams of other twitch streamers & try to connect with them. Doing this could open doors for you to work together & potentially get them to host your streams.
I personally find social media to be the least effective, however some streamers have had great success with it.
Giveaways
If you have a little money to spend then doing a giveaway on your stream would help get some eyes on your stream.
Unfortunately, most of the viewers you’ll get here will unfollow/stop watching right after the giveaway if over.
However, if your stream is any good then maybe some of them will stick it out to be part of your base of viewers.
Add Some Variety To Your Stream (Examples Included)
First off, you can about about this many way & there is no wrong way.
With that being said, I’ve seen some cool ways some streamers I had gotten bored with had reeled me back in as a viewer because they started adding in different types of stuff to their stream routine.
Here is a great example.
I’ve enjoyed watching a popular twitch streamer called Bajheera.
His popularity came from being good at WoW PVP as a warrior & while I enjoyed watching him play WOW I got tired of it.
Well he is also big into fitness so he does streams in the IRL section of Twitch where he works out & just answers questions/gives tips on working out.
Bring In A Co-Host
If you normally stream alone then looking into adding someone else to your stream that your personalizes vibe well together.
This can be someone together in the same room like a girlfriend or a friend where you’re both on camera together.
However, it doesn’t have to be someone in the same room with you or even appear on the stream, it can be just their voice.
How Long Is Getting Viewers Going To Take
This is the million dollar question & there really is no answer anyone, including myself that will be able to tell you when viewers will come.
You could be chugging along at maybe 3-5 active viewers for a few months then a fellow Twitch streamers decides to host your stream, which bumps you up to 25-50 viewer range everyday.
There are just to many variables when it comes to growing as a streamer & yes, it can be frustrating as hell putting in lots of time without seeing an upward trend in viewers to match that time being put in.
“It’s supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.”
Alas, We Have Come To The End…
Here are some of our other articles you might find useful; Getting a gaming sponsorship & gaming affiliate programs.
If you were sticking with me through the article hoping I would have some secret sauce for how to get more viewers on Twitch then I’m sorry to disappoint.
I’ve listed a good bit of everything I know throughout this article & it should be plenty to get you started.
The bitter sweet reality to becoming poplar on Twitch is just grinding it out.
The bitter speaks for itself but whats sweet about it is, that for every other streamer that throws in the towel while you continue to work at it means that there is just one less person in the race against you.
I know I said, “Don’t look at other streamers as competition” earlier in this article but hopefully you understand what I’m getting at with all of this.
Making your stream into something that will bring you in a nice income will be a emotion roller coaster.
First you’ll be stoked to get everything setup.
Next, you get your first follower, regular viewer, heck you even get excited to have your first troll.
Then comes a downward period where, you’re wondering if this is worth your time because its been 3 months & you’ve only got a $3 donation.
Next month, you make friends with a fellow streamer, who gives you a host & you stream is starting to look alive!
I could go on with this for days but instead I’m just going to make a picture because I’m tired of typing!
