I get asked how to grow on #Twitch quite a bit. I also (unfortunately) see a lot of misguided attempts to grow. I don't know who needs to hear this, but this is literally the ONLY information you need for how to grow your Twitch channel (thread)
Your Twitch viewership is a function of A) Time B) Effort C) how well you're delivering content your audience (your customers) wants. Time is straight forward, if you're brand new, it's probably going to take you a long time, likely years to get to where you want.
B) Effort. The vast majority of popular streamers didn't get there because of luck, shout outs from others/association with bigger brand names, jumping in a hot tub, or whatever else people think works. It's old school, tireless, and dedicated work.
If you're trying to grow your channel to avoid hard work (e.g., a regular desk job), please quit now. Save yourself, your family, and your friends the trouble. This job is at least 3x as difficult and time consuming as a 9-5. It's not stable and it's not predictable.
And hard work does not mean 200+ hours on stream a month. I have clients that do that, but I have many successful ones that stream as little as 100-120 hours a month. Hard work means pumping your content across the right verticals. Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, blogs...
...wherever your customers live. Speaking of your customers, C) how well you deliver what your audience wants. A content creator is a small business owner. Your viewers are your customers. They like some things and they don't others. Micro and macro creators live and die by...
...their audience. That is why when you switch to a game they don't like, they don't show. You can complain all you want on Twitter about it, but it doesn't matter. You've built up a customer base that likes X and you're trying to provide Y. Plan ahead and built the right base.
So what do your customers want? Almost every consumer of influencer generated content wants one of three things. No really. It's as simple as this, and I don't know why nobody talks about this. Your viewers mostly want either to 1) learn 2) feel or 3) laugh.
Some people want all three, but almost every viewer you have now, or will ever have, wants those three things. If your content doesn't make them learn, feel, or laugh, your stream is DOA. Ever wonder why variety streamers struggle to grow? Because nobody is learning anything.
When you're playing a brand new game, especially a story heavy one, you don't know anything about the game. You can't help your audience how to get better, beat certain bosses, do special tricks, or beat their opponents in multiplayer. You're providing very little value.
The audiences of successful variety streamers are made up of people that either want to feel things through your content, laugh, or likely both. Those are your natural entertainers. They can make anything fun to watch, make you feel the highs and lows, and get those laughs.
If you're not one of those naturally entertaining types, and let's be honest most people aren't, you shouldn't be a variety streamer. You should focus and provide value to your audience through your game knowledge, skill, and mastery.
To wrap up, I'm putting this thread out here because we get a lot of streamers on our doorstep at @GGTalentGroup asking for help. While we can't help everyone out there, I sincerely want the best for the hardest working and most focused creators out there.
The vast majority of all streamers out there will fail to materialize a full-time and sustainable career. I have however seen a surprising number of streamers follow the general advice in this thread and do well. I've seen many more ignore it and see no sustainable growth.
I personally hope and wish for all the best for you and your streaming career. Hopes and wishes are nice but they don't pay the bills. Put in the work if you really, truly want this. It's not for everyone, and that's ok 💙
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
