The first step is always the hardest. That’s true with anything: Starting a new hobby, making changes to be a better person, achieving your goals, etc.
And the first step in growing your Twitch channel is getting affiliate status. To be an affiliate, you need to meet four criteria in thirty days:
- 50 viewers
- 500 minutes broadcasting
- 7 unique broadcast days
- and an average of 3+ concurrent viewers
Universally, the last is considered the most challenging part of the process. But fear not! Today, we’re going to show how to get 3 average viewers on Twitch.
Does Twitch Count Yourself as a Viewer?
Yes! Twitch will count you as a viewer, so long as you keep your own stream open. Bing Bong! You’ve already got one of those viewers taken care of.
How Does Twitch Calculate Average Viewers?
Twitch calculates your average viewers by taking how many people watched the stream during the live broadcast.
The total for each moment is recorded, and then the average is taken over the aggregate.
So if for the first half you had 6 viewers concurrently, and then 2 during the last half, you’d wind up with an average of 4 viewers.
Fastest Way to Get 3 Average Viewers on Twitch
Let’s cut to the chase and tell you the fastest/most straightforward method for how to get 3 average viewers on Twitch.
Use your local group! Friends, family, pets, teammates, coworkers, whoever! Just ask them to leave your stream on in the background when they’re on their computer.
Technically, they don’t even need to watch actively and can even mute the stream and still count as viewers.
So if you want the quick and dirty way, have a couple people keep your stream up at all times muted in a tab somewhere on the computer, and you’re good to go.
But let’s say you’re more interested in the other ways you can get to the magic number.
11 Best Ways to Reach 3 Concurrent Viewers
Alright, the easy stuff is out of the way. Now, we’re going to talk about how to get 3 average viewers on Twitch sustainably while also creating long-term growth.
1. Game Choice
The type of game you stream will affect your discoverability. Avoid saturated games, which usually mean fewer viewers unless you’re already an established streamer. Instead, go with a niche game.
You’ll be able to carve out a core community of viewers who enjoy the same games that you do.
Remember: Don’t play games you don’t like playing; otherwise, you’re wasting time.
2. Time of Day
If you can control when you’re available to go live, try to pick a time where there’s less competition for the game you’re streaming. You’ll capture the viewers hungry for a specific type of content.
Remember, you’re thinking about how to get to 3 viewers on Twitch. When you’re ready to change stream times at a later date, most of your viewers will follow you. Check out Twitch Strike to find that optimal time.
3. Check Yourself
People watch a specific Twitch channel because they meet the viewer’s criteria. It may be uncomfortable, but ask yourself some tough questions.
Are you entertaining enough? Is your content good? Go back and watch your VODs to really see if you’re doing what it takes.
It’s like reviewing tape of a game in sports; do the work now, so you don’t make the same mistakes in the future.
If you’re short on content inspiration, check out these Twitch stream ideas.
4. Communities
Image: Twitch
No, I don’t mean Follow4Follow, or anything close to that. Those suck, hold you back, and do absolutely nothing (and it can get you banned).
I also don’t mean networking for the sake of networking. It’s shallow, transparent, and transactional.
Building a community with like-minded people and groups, you actually enjoy being part of is the key. These are the people who will have your stream circled on their calendar.
5. Create Content Outside of Twitch
Growing organically through Twitch alone is unheard of these days. Poor discoverability and a weak search algorithm make it almost impossible to get more viewers on Twitch as a newer streamer.
You need to be planting seeds everywhere on social media. The top platforms for creating content outside of Twitch are YouTube and TikTok.
Bonus Tip: A great way to quickly put content up is to take your VODs, clip your highlights, and throw them up on YouTube and TikTok.
Also, download your VODs and put them on your YouTube channel as well. If you have an old channel you don’t use anymore, repurpose it and upload them there. You might even reel in your old subscribers while you’re at it!
6. Stream Title Tips
Stream titles act as your advertising headline to get people to click on your stream. It’s good to be mindful of what title you’re using.
You need to entice people to click on your stream instead of the other channels next to you.
7. Giveaways
Hey, who doesn’t love a little bribery? Politicians sure love it (haha, sick political commentary). But seriously, hosting a giveaway is an almost surefire way to get more viewers.
People love to win, and they love to win stuff! But be warned, you’re likely to attract viewers that won’t stick around.
Use this for a boost, and don’t let people know the exact time your giveaway happens. Just have it be during your stream, and go from there.
That way, the viewers only there for the giveaway will stick around. And that’s where you use your excellent stream to keep them coming back!
Note: You don’t have to spend a lot of money on the giveaways. You could do something like channel points, bonuses on your discord channel, or picking the next game!
Just don’t feel like you need to do $100 gift cards every week to get a couple extra viewers.
8. Stream Quality
This goes back to #3 on checking yourself. You are competing for viewers, and your stream needs to stay clean, stay crisp, and stay prepared.
Make sure your video/audio quality is good. There’s nothing worse than a stream where the audio is unbalanced, scratchy, or way too low, or constantly peaking.
The same goes for if the video is super pixelly or choppy. Ask yourself: Do you watch streams that don’t have decent stream quality control?
9. Consistency
This one will have a lot of long-term dividends. Part of the reason Twitch requirements includes minutes streamed and days streamed in a month has precisely to do with consistency.
You want your viewers to know when you’re going live next, so have a stream schedule. If you’re going live at random times, it’s tough for existing followers to know when to tune in. It’s also hard for people to remember someone who only streams occasionally.
10. Shameless plug
If you’re playing an online game, it can be worth mentioning in chat/comms about how you’re live now and check you out.
WARNING: This can be a risky move to try and pull off, and you could be inviting potential trolls or flamers into your chat. Sure, they’ll count towards your viewer count, but it’s still a risk. Make sure to read the room and see if it’s a good idea.
An innocuous way of going around this is by adding your Twitch channel to your username. An example would be having your Twitch name (e.g. UncirriusGames) and TTV to make your game handle UncirriusGamesTTV. That way people know you’re streaming on Twitch, can check you out, and aren’t seen as a spammer.
11. Affiliate Goal
The first thing you should do to achieve your goals is write them down. The second thing you should do is show the world your goal!
Make an event out of reaching Twitch affiliate status. Hype it up in your community, on social media, with your friends, and on other streams (with permission first).
During your stream, you can incentivize viewers to stick around and share your channel with their friends. Combining this idea with giveaways will give it an important feeling to your channel and grow the community.
Oh, look, #4 on the list! Your community wants to see you succeed, and making it a goal to get to affiliate status will further involve everyone! Win-Win-Win!
Twitch has also created an easy way to track goals for your channel.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it! We hope that these tips on how to get 3 average viewers on Twitch are helpful. The most important thing to remember from these tips is that it’s about the long haul.
Yes, you want to get to the magic number 3, but that’s only the beginning.
These tips will help you build good habits and grow organically over a long period. Make sure you always focus on creating the best content you can, building an engaged community, and the rest will follow naturally.
(And don’t forget to have fun!)
