If you're streaming on Twitch, but you don't
know where to focus your attention to improve,
here are 50 marketing based tips to help you
grow your stream.
The key with this list is you're not just
changing the technical or cosmetic components
of your stream, but you're actually figuring
out "the why" of why you'll want to make these
changes.
That's why Taylor is here to help you sell
without selling out.
Without further ado, let's go to the list!
Should you buy custom panels?
Sure, if you have the budget.
But make sure you have one special panel.
It might be a little bit different than the
other panels, but you're drawing the eye to
the place that you want them to go first.
Should you have a camera, or can you stream
without a camera?
What you actually should be focusing on is
what does your thumbnail look like in discovery?
Are you a person who clicks on a thumbnail
because of a person's face, or the content
they present?
Think about the type of audience that you
are, and how you want your audience to perceive
you.
I'd recommend using a camera, because it's
an easy way to get audiences to connect with
you in a personal way.
And it adds something unique to the discovery
thumbnail.
How should you set up your camera picture?
Your scene should look like a selfie.
If you wouldn't want to post that scene on
a social network, change your lighting or
your scene so that it can stand alone as a
still photo on a social network.
Should you use a green screen or not?
It really depends on the type scene you want
to display.
A green screen is a great way to build artistic
expression.
For a green screen, you get digital control
of a scene.
For just a camera, you get physical control
of a scene.
Choose how you want to have control.
Should you buy custom overlays?
Once again, go ahead if you have the budget.
But the available libraries for free resources
are vast.
I'd start with something freely available,
and then upgrade when you have the budget
to support it.
How do you fill the silence?
Make sure you have stories to tell, tips to
give, and reactions to share.
You can play with friends in games to have
conversations to share or just add some background
music to add to the space.
What games should you play?
Play what you like, but find a game with a
robust community.
Then, you can network within that community
to build a robust viewer base.
You CAN play saturated games, but the less
you can rely on the Twitch discovery algorithm
to help you find viewers.
Emotes.
They're the first thing a streamer thinks
about when offering a reward for a subscription.
But a lot of people think about themselves
first when they create an emote.
The best way to think about emotes to grow
your channel is to think about emotes that
could live outside of your chat.
Creating emotes around inside jokes or community
code words are great ways to get started.
Or... what are general emotes that subscribers
would want to use in other channels?
Making your emote viral should be a part of
your channel growth strategy.
If you want to grow your channel, don't rely
on the Twitch algorithm alone.
The best streamers have been able to use other
social media channels to build the first beat
of their growth.
YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and
other social networks are great ways to build
discovery outside of the Twitch discovery
algorithm.
Speaking of YouTube, YouTube has a great discovery
algorithm.
So, use it to your advantage.
Take some of your best clips and post them
to YouTube.
Or post original content, and drive people
back to your Twitch Channel.
When creating YouTube compilations, make sure
to add context.
What is the significance of this compilation
and why would I as a viewer want to watch
it?
What makes it better or different or more
unique than any other compilation out there?
Make sure you have a stream schedule.
This builds expectation for your viewers and
a routine for you.
Your viewers will know when to come find you,
and you'll have an appointment to stream as
well.
Consistency does lead to growth.
Speaking about consistency, should you stream
everyday?
It depends on how much time you have and how
much you want to, really.
In terms of growth though, there are a lot
different things to consider.
Think about supply and demand: do you have
enough viewers that are demanding more streaming
days?
Will more streaming days add to your overall
revenue, or will more streaming days give
you more eyeballs for overall growth?
That's up to you.
But distance does make the heart grow fonder.
It's also much easier to add days when you're
seeing growth as opposed to removing them.
Giveaways on stream don't always equal growth.
They're considered "stuff" (if you saw my
video on rewards and engagement) and might
not be as powerful as you think.
Some folks might only show up for free stuff,
but they won't support your long term growth.
You can give back to your community with giveaways,
or use giveaways as a reward for subscribers,
but giveaways on their own won't lead to strong
growth.
You'll also want to decide how to reward your
subscribers outside of just emotes.
Once again, what's the value that makes you
unique?
But don't just give them everything, there
are specific rewards that can lead to higher
engagement.
I recommend rewards that give status or access.
When should you start making money?
This takes audience engagement, which takes
time.
Build a dedicated fan base first that trusts
you, then ask them to support you financially.
Play the long game here.
Should you use follow 4 follow for growth?
Nope.
See my video on Follow 4 Follow.
Bottom line, you want engaged followers, not
just numbers.
Should you be a dedicated category streamer
or a variety streamer?
What you should to consider is this: what
is more important to the viewer: you or the
game?
If you can build a channel based on your personality,
then being a variety streamer shouldn't be
a problem.
To be honest, a lot of people might discover
you around a specific game, and then leave
when you change.
Find out what you enjoy doing, create content
that's going to keep people in your channel,
and then focus on that.
Try to get in the viewers head of why they're
there for you.
Should you be hosting others?
Sure, if you're feeling generous.
But it makes more sense for growth to have
a static screen that says when you're live,
where else to find you, and what action the
viewer should take.
A call to action is always important.
Like, hey, if you're finding this content
valuable, hit that subscribe button!
If you take a break on your screen, a be right
back screen is a great thing to have.
New and old viewers will get context as to
why you're not on screen.
And it's another opportunity to get them to
take action to follow you on other social
networks, like Twitter.
You have to network.
I know it's hard, but it is essential for
your growth.
It's another channel to leverage to get more
engaged followers.
Jump into other channels in your category,
and make some friends.
Don't start by selling yourself first or plugging
your channel.
You have to give value first to get value.
To get people to chat in your stream and create
engagement, a question of the day is a great
way to get people talking with you, and with
other chatters.
Try it out.
Put the question of the day in your description.
If you want to grow, you have to watch yourself.
Literally.
Play back your previous broadcasts and watch.
Find out what you did well, and what you could
improve on.
Getting perspective is the best way to make
content better.
So give yourself a watch.
That being said, you should also watch other
streamers, see what they do, and how you can
improve.
Don't steal their content, but get inspired
by it and remix it with what makes you unique.
Really, there are no unique messages, just
unique messengers.
[INTERMISSION]
So, what should you talk about on stream?
You should have a plan of what stories or
topics you want to discuss for the day.
And if you come up with ideas during the week,
write them down and use them for streams later
in the week.
Having a pre-determined list will give you
a plan of things to talk about when things
get stale.
And speaking of talking on stream, taking
an improv class is a great way to open your
mind to different ways of communicating.
It just gets you to think in different ways
that you might not have already though of.
Your "going live" sequence is important, as
it alerts the people who are interested in
you to show up.
Make sure you know what channels you want
to hit when you go live, and keep the pattern
up.
It'll build expectations for your audience
to know when you go live.
Your going live notification in the Twitch
app is also an important part of your going
live strategy.
Make sure to use a going live message that
is going to interest your viewers.
You can use duplicate messages, but every
once in a while, change it up to get viewers
re-engaged.
When doing your "going live" notice on social
media, make sure to add context with the what
and the why you're streaming.
If people end up sharing that social media
post, it adds discovery to people who might
have not come across you in the first place.
It also shows new people why they might be
interested in joining your stream for the
first time.
A going live notice in your own Discord channel
is a great way to let viewers know that you're
going live if they've turned off Twitch notifications.
You can set this up automatically with a chatbot,
or you can just post it manually.
There's actually a great function on your
stream deck that can send a message to your
Discord to let people know you're going live
or any other messages.
And I've linked to it in the description below.
Some of the best fodder for your social media
channels are highlights from your stream.
Not sure what clips are the best?
Ask your viewers to clip things for you, or,
you may find that viewers have already clipped
some highlights for you.
Get your community involved in creating short,
cool, sharable pieces of content.
While you're running a stream, a chatbot is
a great way to lightly spam the chat with
things that are important to you.
Things like "don't forget to follow the stream",
follow me on other social media, and more.
Just make sure you're having a time delay
or a chat line delay so that you can have
chatters engaged and they're not blocked out
by the chatbot.
Getting viewers to follow, subscribe, or send
bits can sometimes feel like a challenge.
That's why alerts are there.
Use unique, creative alerts with inside jokes,
gifs, images, sounds, anything that's going
to make the audience want to interact.
This makes the act of doing that gamified,
and makes the interaction even more rewarding.
Don't focus on numbers.
Deal with numbers later.
Focus on creating great content with good
growth strategies to back them up, and the
numbers will come later.
Adding your chat on screen shows that a viewer's
message has been sent.
This will give chatters more incentive to
chat, and give you more incentive to interact
with your chat.
And you'll definitely want to build community
by chatting.
Your chat and your channel is like opening
a local store.
People come and go, you know their names,
you say hello, and you ask them about their
life.
And to continue the conversation, send them
out to social media or your Discord channel.
And speaking about Discord, promoting a Discord
channel is a great way to engage your viewers.
It allows them to create a community around
you and your content.
And it gives you a channel to interact with
them outside of your stream.
But...
When creating a social channel, have a reason
for making that channel.
Find your why on the channels you're creating.
No one wants a dead channel.
Just having a Twitter or Discord only to be
abandoned later is not enough.
Figure out why you're communicating there,
and what it's going to do to add to your content.
If you have to give value to get value, then
why not finish your stream with a raid?
At the end of your stream, send your viewers
to someone you've networked with, or someone
in your channel with a little bit less or
a little bit more viewers than you have.
You could possibly double someone's concurrent
number by sticking to that strategy!
You could also plan a stream raid conga line.
Find other streamers in your channel who stream
before or after you, and try to play raids
off each other.
It's a great way to network, and build growth.
If you're having trouble getting your concurrent
numbers up, or you're having trouble climbing
a categories' discovery window, ask friends
and family to check you out and lurk.
Ask permission to add them to a message group,
and then send them a message when you're going
live.
If you don't want to watch or listen, have
them mute the tab, not the player window because
then the concurrent won't count.
Saying hello to new chatters is the best way
to engage them the first time they chat.
Ask them how they are and what's new.
It's a great way to start a conversation,
and to let them know that you care that they're
there.
Following chat can feel hard when you're really
engrossed in a game.
To make this easier, pop our your chat window,
and put it nextz to you game in windowed mode.
If you're concerned that putting it in windowed
mode is not going to make the game look the
best, remember: you're there to play the game
for your audience, not just for yourself.
So make it as easy as possible for you to
get involved in chat.
Even if the gameplay fidelity has to suffer
juts a little bit.
If you want a quick way to get people engaged
in your stream, play a game that viewers could
play with you.
Invite them to your games by posting your
username in your chatbot or in your panel.
But watch out turning on voice chat, because
you can't always control what viewers say
on stream.
Your about me panel is important.
It gives your viewers context about you, and
helps build a connection between you and your
viewers.
Listen, you don't have to write a novel.
Keep it short, sweet, and to the point.
A good formula is to write who you are, who
you were, and what the future looks of the
content on your stream looks like.
And to drive additional viewers: know your
value and how to communicate it.
What makes you unique and different than other
streamers.
What are the specific traits that are going
to get viewers to watch you.
And if you don't know what your on screen
value is yet, I've got a video down in the
description that will help.
Your stream title is also a powerful tool
to draw in new viewers from Twitch discovery.
It's your second best discovery component
behind your thumbnail.
My best advice is put the most attractive
part of your title in the first 36 characters
of your title.
Anything beyond 36 characters often gets cut
off on desktop version of Twitch.
And it'll be hidden in discovery.
While you're streaming, make sure to put your
going live tweet in your chatbot so that chat
see's it every once in a while.
Then ask your viewers to retweet it.
Don't be afraid to ask for the retweet!
You won't get anywhere without asking, so
give it a shot.
To get more clarity on what's working and
what isn't in your stream, poll your users.
Create a simple straw poll or a net promoter
score to get anonymous feedback on how your
stream is doing.
You might find out something new just because
you asked.
And finally, don't get discouraged!
You're playing the long game here in content
creation.
Media empires weren't built in a day, and
your channel won't either.
Get more "wood behind the arrow" so to speak,
and create more content.
The more you create, the more you'll learn.
So have fun while you do it, have fun while
you fail, and always be learning something
new.
And that's it!
50 Twitch marketing tips to help grow your
stream.
Were any of these tips new to you?
Have any of these tips helped you?
Do any of these tips not work?
Let me know about it in the comments, I'd
love to talk about it.
And of course, join me every week on Twitch
where I can answer your questions about marketing
live.
If you found this content helpful, give me
a like, hit that subscribe button, share it
with your friends.
I'll see you in the next video, keep making
great content.
See ya!
