Twitch For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 6

Improving Your Stream: Being Your Own Harshest Critic

IN THIS CHAPTER

Reviewing your stream’s overall impression

Choosing games to stream

Streaming nongame content

Let me set the stage here: You’ve streamed a few times, you feel like you’re finding a groove, and now you’ve returned here for more tips. (Welcome back!) After a couple gaming sessions, you may be working on that balance between you, your game, and your Chat. Maybe you’ve managed to keep the schedule you’ve set for yourself — such a tight schedule that scientists could calibrate astronomical instruments by it — but it has felt somewhat difficult to find viewers. The numbers just … aren’t there.

First, you have to accept a cold, hard reality about this adventure that is Twitch: You’re in it for the long game. The numbers aren’t going to be there in the first week. They probably won’t be there in the first month. As I’m writing this book, my numbers are fluctuating (the reasons are stated later in this chapter), and I’ve been at this for years. Disappointing viewer numbers are a common reason so many new streamers abandon Twitch within months of launching a channel. You can find many threads on Twitter, Reddit, ...