One of the best things about living in the 21st century is that there are more career options than ever. Not only that, but more of them are available to you at any given moment. This is especially the case in the entertainment industry, and one of the career paths growing the fastest is the streamer.
Here are the top ten tips to increase your odds of succeeding in this competitive industry.
1. Focus on your main channel
First, you must choose – are you a streamer or a content creator? While you can be both, you must define your main channel and platform. Currently, most streaming is still taking place on Twitch (while YouTube and Kick are putting their best effort into becoming competitive).
Your primary objective is the growth of your main channel. This will give you the social leverage/influence you need to grow on other platforms and grow your presence and income.
So, when choosing how to schedule your time, put your main channel first and then distribute the rest. While this doesn’t have to remain so indefinitely, it’s a smart move early on.
2. Don’t neglect other platforms
The worst thing you can do is focus on a single platform and hope for the best. The thing is that people get banned and deplatformed all the time. Sometimes even for things that are not their fault. You can appeal this decision, but there’s no guarantee that this will yield a positive result.
You should always have a contingency plan and prepare for the worst. This is what being a responsible entrepreneur would do, and it’s exactly the type of approach that you, as a streamer, should strive to become.
3. Create content for other platforms
While we’ve mentioned the importance of focusing on your main platform, you shouldn’t ignore the importance of creating content for other platforms. First of all, this increases your reach and exposure. Some people may find out about you from your YouTube clips and decide to check out your stream. Others may find clips of your play on Instagram or TikTok.
The key thing to remember is that you can monetize each platform. This means that splitting your content across several platforms diversifies your income streams. Sure, the amount of money you get from Twitch donations and YouTube ad revenue may not be comparable, but it’s still a diversification of income.
4. Find some help
Being a streamer is so much work. You must manage your platform, stream (full-time job), manage all your social networks, edit and upload your content to other platforms, run your communities, and manage your chat.
What you need is some help!
You should hire editors, social media managers, and moderators to help you out.
Now, remember, you want people who are skilled and highly motivated. You also want someone who will stick with you in the long run. This means that you have to pay them generously. Giving them a percentage of the respective platform is the best way to incentivize them to try harder. For instance, you can give your YouTube editor 30% of that channel’s revenue. While it may sound like a lot, it will be worth it in the long run.
5. Leverage social media
You also want to be active on social media. If some of your audience members are following you on social media, you can easily announce when you’re streaming and drive more audience this way.
Another thing you can do is use social media to drive more audience. For instance, if the game you’re playing has a huge following (which is always a sound plan), memeing about the game and sharing content in the form of shorts can be quite effective in getting new followers.
As we’ve already described, you’re creating a self-feeding system where you get an audience on one platform and then persuade them to follow you in other spaces, as well.
Also, you can use your social media platform to diversify your revenue streams.
6. Follow up with IRL content
People who follow you will soon develop a peculiar relationship with you. Namely, they’ll start seeing you as if you were a family member or a friend. After all, they interact with you daily, although this is a one-way interaction. You can further enhance connection by erasing the barrier with the help of IRL content.
Turn a huge part of your life into content, even if this means picking the best VPN from the Techopedia list so that you can keep updating them from vacation. Is this necessary? Of course not, but it can give you an edge.
Being a professional streamer is a career choice that will always infringe on your privacy. If you can’t handle this, picking a different career path is probably better.
7. Create a community
One of the best things you can do is start the community. Just because people are watching you and interacting with each other in the Twitch/YouTube chat, this doesn’t mean that you have a community.
To build one, you need to invest in your community platforms. For instance, you should start your subreddit and create discord channels where you interact with fans. Still, you shouldn’t be the one leading the conversation. Your community needs to live independently of you.
Remember that while you should be active there, you can’t do it alone (you simply lack the time). So, you need moderators; just make sure that you moderate the moderators. Nothing will ruin your community quicker than a power-hungry mod.
8. Put in the hours
It’s easy to underestimate the work of a streamer. After all, you’re just sitting behind a computer, playing video games, creating art, or discussing politics and internet drama. The reality is that this is so much work. Sure, you can be a part-time streamer, but how many of those have made it big this way?
A full-time streamer will work as many as 8-12 hours daily. Occasionally, you’ll see your favorite streamer pull a 24-hour stream. Even if you’re just streaming for 5-6 hours daily, there’s so much editing and administrative work behind the scenes. This is always important to keep in mind.
9. Twitch is no longer the only game in town
You must remember that Twitch is no longer the only noteworthy streaming platform. A few months ago, XQC signed a multi-million dollar deal with Kick. Many streamers have completely migrated to Rumble, while even YouTube is getting bigger and bigger when it comes to streaming.
The key thing to remember is that you can and should shop around a bit. This way, you can get the best of both worlds and future-proof your brand.
10. Anything you upload is forever
Anything you upload is online forever. This is a simple truth that you can’t afford to ignore. Sure, you can delete the video, but it still exists. The same thing goes for tweets.
Many people were canceled for something they said or did ten years ago, and there’s no guarantee that this won’t happen to you at one point, either. You need to prepare for this eventuality, and you must have a response.
Sometimes, just being frank about the problem and apologizing is the best course of action, but sometimes you cannot afford this luxury. Ideally, you would ask a professional for advice and actually take their advice to heart.
Streaming is a real career, and you need to be serious when approaching it
When so many people make a living off streaming, it’s hard for anyone to argue that this is not a viable career path. The problem is that not everyone makes it. Sure, chance plays a role in your success in any field of the entertainment industry, but hard work matters even more. With these ten tips, you should be well on your way to making a name for yourself in the streaming community.