A Small Streamer’s Guide To Success (Part 2)

Written by Ben Vollmer

If you are interested in reading part one of this series, click here.

Now that we’ve begun to define what success means to you, what are some things that can help set you apart from other streamers? Here’s a little fact about Twitch.TV that you might not know about: in 2015, Twitch announced that 1.5 million casters had streamed live on their platform. 1.5 million people. Isn’t that crazy?

Now multiply that several times over, because Twitch is more popular than ever and streaming is easier to do than it used to be. So lets assume that there is somewhere in the ballpark of 4 million people who have attempted to stream on Twitch. That’s a lot, right? Well now consider that in that same time frame, only 200,000 have EVER had a stream reach over ten viewers and had 50 followers. In general, it’s estimated (by Twinge.tv) that about 500,000 streamers have ever reached the 15 viewer mark. That’s for just one stream alone, not concurrent, which is much more important.

So even if we assumed that it was an “average” of 15 viewers, that would mean that 12.5% of streamers ever cross that threshold. It’s much more likely, however, that less than 1% of all casters who are actively streaming. According to Twinge.TV and using my channel as an example, my channel sits at an average of 22 viewers. Also according to Twinge, that puts me at about the 3,000th* most popular streamer on Twitch. That means that a stream of 22 viewers puts you in the top .003% of streamers, if we assume about a million of those 4 million are active. **

I bring these up not to intimidate you on how few people have found success, but rather to tell you that, yes, you’re probably already a way more successful streamer than you think. A broad range of people stream with anywhere between 1-3 viewers in their stream (and hey, if that’s you, that’s okay! We’ll get to that later), so if you’re past that, you’re in the minority on Twitch. Congratulations, you’re already well on your way to success.

But where do you go from there?

Don’t Look At Your Viewer Number

This is the most standard piece of advice that every streamer gets, but I think that’s for good reason. As someone who is obsessed with numbers, it’s hard for me not to actively follow how many people go in and out of my streams, even if it’s just out of curiosity.

So why shouldn’t you look at that little red number while you’re casting? For most people, it probably only has a negligible effect one way or the other. For some, it can drastically effect the way that they act on stream. It can be disheartening to be putting in a lot of effort only to see the number drop out of nowhere. What did you do? Where did you go wrong? It serves as a distraction — one that you certainly don’t need since you’re already multitasking.

Try this: when you’re evaluating your success, do it on a month by month basis rather than the trend of one or two days (we’ll get to some tools you can use in a minute). Streamers tend to think in absolutes, so when your viewer number goes down from 5 to 4, it feels like you must have done something wrong. In all likelihood, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. That’s the hardest thing to remember, people aren’t leaving because you’re boring or because you’re having trouble in the game.

Viewers have responsibilities and daily lives, too. It can be as simple as having to leave to go get groceries. Maybe their favorite show is on television? Maybe you just happen to be streaming while they are giving birth to their first child. The fact is that this is not indicative of your streams on a day-to-day basis. Notice that even the largest streamers have moments where their numbers start to fall? That’s because it literally happens to everyone who does this. Don’t let it discourage you and turn on theatre mode to hide that viewer number.

Use Resources

Twitch has just recently updated its dashboard for some excellent stat coverage on your channel. It allows you to check information on how your streams are doing after the fact (and as mentioned above, it’s highly recommended that you wait until your stream is over). Here’s an example:

It’s much better to look at the larger picture: how has your stream done in the last month? What games are you having more success with than others? What times are the most successful for you? These are all things that you can take advantage of and work off of. Using these numbers and resources puts you at a distinct advantage, because other streamers really aren’t paying attention to anything but the numbers during their stream. Stay one step ahead and don’t overreact to small-sample sizes.

Get Over The Initial Hump

Here’s one thing absolutely nobody will tell you: the hardest part about streaming is when growth stops or never gets going. Usually this is most evident right at the beginning, as growing is a LOT harder when you’re at the bottom of most of these games.

For those who are just kicking off, use it as an opportunity to really soak yourself in the game and practice. Yes, it’s hard to practice streaming when you’re not really streaming to anyone. But you’ll thank yourself for it when people eventually come in and start talking – which they will, sometimes it just takes a while. I went two months without getting anyone who ever came back for more than just a couple of streams. It takes time and a lot of persistence.

Talking to an empty room is a lot more difficult than talking to a full one. Without questions or comments to bounce off of, it’s just you and the game. Given that most people watch before they talk, the most important thing for any new viewer is that you are able to chat alongside the game they came to watch. We’ll get to commentary in the last portion of this series, but for now, keep your head down and outlast everyone else. The sad fact of the matter is this: most people will give up. If you want success on Twitch, you can’t.

Thanks for reading! Come back later this week for the final part of the series. If you’re interested in helping Epilogue grow, consider supporting through our Patreon. Even a $1 a month goes a long way in keeping the site alive. 

*Twinge.TV seems to bunch streamers into specific ranges, so this number is almost certainly not totally accurate. Use it as a reference point at most!

**I did my best to grab numbers from several different sources. Unfortunately, these are all just ballpark figures. I trust that I’m not too far off, but if you have anything that’s a little more set in stone, please send me a link!