Live streaming has evolved from a simple pastime into one of the most effective ways to showcase and monetize content. This billion-dollar industry will continue to expand at a rapid pace over the next decade. As a streamer, it is vital to stay on top of trends and strategies in order to stand out from the crowd and achieve growth. This will result in viewers who will interact with you, support your content, and most importantly, subscribe, tip, gift, and donate. Here are the best tips and tricks to grow your stream and increase your channel's average number of viewers on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Kick or any live streaming platform.
IN YOUR STREAM
Maintain a professional look and sound
There’s nothing like having a professional setup to communicate to your viewers that you are putting effort into your streaming content. This can begin with visuals like lighting, background, and stream overlay. The tips for optimizing your overlay include keeping it simple and clean, but still choosing a theme that’s unique to you and your brand. A professional looking stream will attract viewers to your stream and draw them away from your competitors.
Meanwhile, your streaming gear can also enhance how your viewers see and hear you. You want the best webcam and microphone for streaming possible, to ensure your stream looks and sounds great. Check out this list of the best webcams for streamers in 2022, which includes the Logitech StreamCam that’s popular among streamers for its smooth quality and flexible mounting system. To get your audio sounding perfect, use our comprehensive guide to help choose the best microphone, audio interface, and sound proofing for your streaming needs.
Consider using background music to help enhance. StreemTunes offers a catalog of over 1100 songs to use as background music in your stream, for free. Background music can help set the mood and energy levels for your stream, will keep viewers entertained, and add a professional touch. Here are a bunch of copyright free / royalty free music playlists to help get you started.
Provide value and entertainment
Another critical aspect of attracting and retaining viewers is to ensure your streams are valuable and entertaining. A great way to offer value is to choose a game that you are really good at, or to play games that are trending (Only Up, Diablo IV, etc.). Read our post on choosing a game to stream which includes strategies such as selecting a popular game like Valorant that people want to watch, or opting for more interactive game styles like One Troll Army to boost viewer engagement.
Additionally, consider sharing tips, stories, relevant information, and even personal commentary while you stream. If there is any dead air during your streams, or segments where you aren't talking for long periods of time, we recommend playing some royalty-free background music from StreemTunes. Music is always better than silence from an entertainment standpoint.
Interact with your viewers
Viewers come to your channel and stay tuned in when they know they can genuinely connect, interact, and chat with you and the community. You can create opportunities for real-time interactions by playing Marbles on stream, doing polls, quizzes, live Q&A sessions, or even playing games like Wordle together. Remember that monetizing your stream is the same as monetizing a business; it’s essential to possess self-awareness as a business skill so that you can continuously improve and offer a top quality product (your stream) to your clients (your viewers). A great technique to assist with this is gathering feedback from trusted community members to understand what your viewers and subscribers like and what they want to see more from you. You can gather feedback by asking in real time or by letting community members send their comments and suggestions via anonymous links.
OUTSIDE YOUR STREAM
Build a community
Building and growing a strong community means expanding your horizons beyond your streams. Be open to collaborating with streamers, be it by co-hosting or guesting on their streams or promoting each other on your respective channels. It’s also common for streamers to hold social media contests for followers like tag-a-friend posts and hashtag challenges, creating a win-win situation since you get to grow your following while your viewers can be rewarded with exciting prizes. Lastly, don’t forget to treat your viewers as not just viewers, but people you must give back to — invite them to play with you, create subscriber perks, and create a Discord server where you can better engage with one another.
Overall, growing your channel and increasing your viewer count and audience takes a lot of strategic planning. But these efforts are worthwhile, because the more you optimize your stream and bring value to viewers, the more success you will have with monetization.
Exclusively written for StreemTunes.com
by Riley Jaden