If you’re into gaming or any other form of digital entertainment, you might find yourself wondering how to monetize your interests. Twitch is the world’s leading interactive live streaming service for music, video games, sports, and entertainment, among other popular categories. If you’re already on the platform, you’re probably aware of just how popular the platform is.
With over 7.4 million active monthly streamers and 140 million active users all over the world, a Twitch account is the obvious choice for content streamers, regardless of niche. When there’s potential to reach earnings in the millions, there’s no reason to hold yourself back.
Keep reading for all the best insider tips to grow your Twitch channel. There are millions of potential viewers waiting to find you!
Excellent Ways to Grow Your Twitch Channel
When it comes to growing your Twitch channel, your goal is to gain a loyal audience that will keep coming back for more of your content. As with all content-creating-oriented work, you get out what you put in, so learning all the best tips and tricks is key.
Optimize Your Twitch Channel
All of the most successful Twitch streaming accounts have well-thought-out, customized profiles. Think of your Twitch profile as your own personal brand. Designing your channel banner is the most important part of this process. This portion is at the very top of your profile and is an excellent way to showcase your brand, game, or other content to help your audience identify with you.
When it comes to your overall profile, your descriptions, images, logo, and color scheme should all be consistent with the image you want to portray. Make sure it looks the way you want it to look when you have millions of viewers visiting your page!
Define Goals for Your Stream
If you’re creating content of any kind, it’s important that you have specific goals in mind. Try to have an idea of what you’re hoping to achieve with your stream. These goals might look different depending on where you are in your Twitch streamer journey.
However, at the end of the day, you always want to grow your channel. This can start out with goals like increasing your reach and growing your audience, and over time that will lead you to more transactions and, hopefully, sponsorships!
If you have an end goal in mind, it will set you up to make a plan so you can get started. You can always adjust along the way as things change or if opportunities arise. Don’t be shy about studying streamers you admire, and it’s always helpful to look at those who are doing what you want to accomplish.
Focus on a Specific Niche
If you want to attract a loyal following on Twitch, it really helps to pick a niche. This doesn’t need to be one specific game, but it can be a type of game or general theme. Of course, if you already have something specific in mind, go with your gut!
If you have more generalized interests and aren’t sure where to begin, take some time to research what’s trending on Twitch. You’ll get a clear view of what viewers want to watch and which specific games are the most popular at a particular time. Whatever niche you land on, just keep in mind you need to stay consistent in order to keep your audience’s attention.
Play the Game You’re Best at
When you’re deciding what types of content you want to incorporate into your Twitch channel, remember to play a game you’re great at. You have to invest quite a bit of time into building your channel and getting a handle on your streaming routine so you don’t need the added burden of playing a game you still need to get used to.
Pick a game you’re not only good at but one you don’t tire easily from. You’ll be logging in a lot of playing time, so make it easier by choosing something you’d want to spend your time on anyway.
Use the Best Live Streaming Equipment
If you’re considering video game streaming on Twitch, there’s a good chance you already have a decent gaming setup. When it comes to streaming, your equipment is just as important. Remember, your viewers are going to spend a lot of time watching your streams, so you want everything to work as smoothly as possible.
You don’t need to break the bank, but just make sure you take some time to do research and find equipment that is good quality from the beginning. This way, you won’t have to worry about replacing anything down the line until you’re ready for an upgrade.
Customize Your Stream Title
Your stream title is going to be how people refer to you and will attract new viewers looking for content like yours. Try to think of a title that includes keywords related to your content. Try to use words that create a sense of energy and get people excited to tune into your live stream.
Stream When Your Audience is Active
One of the most important things about being a Twitch streamer is creating and sticking to a stream schedule. When you’re trying to decide on the best time to stream, think about when your ideal audience is active. Depending on where you’re located, this might end up being at an inconvenient time, but it’ll be worth it if the audience presence is there.
Engage, Engage, Engage
Much like a TV show, podcast, or other digital entertainment, the audience watching your live stream has expectations and depends on you to deliver your content and go live when you say you’re going to. You always want to be engaging with your viewers in every way you can.
Interact with your audience while you’re playing your game and make them feel like they’re involved in the experience. The better you are at engaging with viewers, the more viewers you stand to attract. All it takes is one quality interaction to turn a one-time viewer into a loyal subscriber.
Build a Unique Brand
The best way to grow your Twitch is by looking at it as a brand. From your live content to your channel banner, you want to create a unified look and experience. This makes it easier for potential viewers to identify with you as someone they want to engage with.
Promote Your Stream on the Other Social Media Accounts
Every twitch streamer should have dedicated social media accounts to stay relevant and keep their content fresh. If you don’t already, make sure you stream to YouTube as well as Twitch. This is a great way for new viewers to discover your content and will typically result in an increase in views on your Twitch channel.
Once you’re all decided on your channel name, try to secure the usernames on all social media channels. TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter are all free and incredibly useful tools for getting your name out there and building a following.
It’s also a great way to share updates with your subscribers when you aren’t doing a Livestream. You can also use social media to connect with other Twitch streamers that you might want to work with in the future.
Collaborate with Other Streamers
Another great way to find new potential viewers is through collaborations with other streamers. At the end of the day, everyone wants to grow their channel, improve their content, and increase their subscribers. So, make sure you have some type of value in mind before you contact anyone.
You can use the Twitch platform or other social media channels to find streamers that might be open to collaborations. If you’re lucky, you might find someone with a much larger following who is willing to do collaborations with smaller channels.
If not, look for someone with similar stats to you; it’ll still be great for your analytics. Collaborations always generate excitement, and you’re guaranteed to at least get a few new eyes on your content.
Run a Giveaway
One of the easiest ways to promote your Twitch is with a giveaway. It’s a great way to generate excitement and reward loyal subscribers in the process. It’s also a great way to get new viewers on the hook!
The best time to arrange a giveaway is if you’re celebrating a certain milestone, like a certain number of subscribers, reaching a specific point in the game, or anything else you can think of. Always include your stream title in the giveaway, so it stays attached to anything that gets shared.
Whatever you choose to give away, make sure it’s somewhat related to your content; this way, you know your viewers will be more interested in participating. You can always ask subscribers what they’d like to see in your next giveaway in the chat and see what comes up!
When the giveaway is closed, and you choose your winner, try to get everything over to them as soon as possible. If you want to keep everyone interested in the next one, it’ll help if you build a solid reputation for being on top of everything. You might even get a shoutout on their social media, which means new eyes on your content or at least your stream title!
Understand Your Channel Analytics
Once you have the basics in place and you’re looking for ways to grow, don’t be shy to check out your analytics. The best way to increase twitch views is to understand where they come from. Don’t get hung up on your stats while you’re in the middle of a stream, but take time at the end of each one to go over useful information.
Some of the things you’ll want to take note of include when you hit peak viewership, what length stream performs the best, and where your audience is located. When you understand these crucial stats, you can optimize your streaming strategy and set yourself up for success.
Increase More Visibility to Your Streams
If you already have the above measures in place, the last way to increase Twitch views is by improving visibility. Don’t be shy about putting yourself out there—it’ll be worth it in the long run. You might have social media accounts, but are you posting consistently and interacting with potential viewers?
Before you think about becoming discouraged, remember there is most likely something you can work on to improve your viewership. Don’t be afraid to really get involved in the Twitch community and interact with others who share the same interests and goals as you.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, if you want to grow your twitch channel, you just need to put yourself out there and put in the work. Like most content creation types of work, you get out what you put in, and consistency is a huge part of finding success.
Don’t let anything get in the way of your streaming success; take these helpful tips with you as you build your channel and make a name for yourself in the digital gaming space.
Leave a Reply