10 Twitch Streaming Tips for Improving Your Channel to Attract More Viewers

So you’ve been streaming on Twitch for a bit, and you’re having a great time, but you’re not getting as many viewers as you’d like. The problem is, as more and more people start streaming it’s getting even harder to get noticed.

Finding that edge that helps you cut through the noise is now more vital than ever. Here are 10 Twitch streaming tips to do just that and help grow your channel.

1. Setting Up Your Stream Quality for Success

The very first step to growing is making sure your viewers have something worth watching, but if they can’t really tell what is going on, how can you set yourself up for success?

A lot of new streamers on Twitch go for Whatever Works, but you can do better than that. Streaming at a crisp 720p and having great audio can really set you apart from a majority of streamers. Viewers want to enjoy what they watch, and part of that is having a good looking stream.

We have plenty of guides to get you started on giving your stream the edge, whether you use Streamlabs OBS or OBS Studio.

Your stream also needs something attractive to pull people in. Getting hooked up with a clean webcam overlay from one of these websites can really grab viewers from the directory. Spending a little money on premium graphics can go a long way for getting a more personalized look, but if that’s not in this month’s budget, Streamlabs OBS offers a massive amount of Overlays and Themes to get you started.

Once you have all of this setup, it’s time for tip #2. Watching Your Vods.

2. How to Effectively Watch Your Vods

The majority of people skip this step, and I understand, I don’t like my voice much either. I can’t stress this tip enough. I’ve been streaming over a year myself, and I still Watch My Vods Religiously.

The trick is to watch like you are a viewer. What would turn you away from the stream?

• Is the music too loud?
• Is the audio out of balance? (try separating your audio sources in OBS)
• Is there a clear focus on what is happening?

These are things you should be asking yourself while watching. Set a Standard for your Streams, and follow them completely. Consistency is key.

Do you have parts of the stream that are dull? Write it down! Take notes! No one is perfect when they start streaming, and not everyone is born with the streaming personality. It is OKAY. Take the steps to Push for Greatness.

3. Choosing the Right Directory

Before picking a game to play, you have to ask yourself, What am I streaming for? You’ve heard time and time again to stream the games that you have fun with, but that doesn’t always mean growth.

Getting people to start a community with means you have to be able to be found. If you are streaming any game in the top 10, the chances of being found are slim.

This doesn’t mean you can’t stream it, because streaming should be something you enjoy; but if you’re going for growth, these games are a big no-no for being found.

If you can’t enjoy any game that isn’t in the top 10, then stream the game you love. This means you are choosing to not be seen on Twitch, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow.

For this to work, you have to put in overtime on branching out on other platforms and networking your way to the top. Post the outplays to YouTube. Leave a tweet on Twitter of something hilarious that happened. Make yourself known outside of Twitch.

If you’re going for growth, look at games with smaller directories. Find a game that you can enjoy that isn’t oversaturated. If you don’t have anyone to play with, people will come in time.

The key to this is setting yourself up to be found. If you have a quality stream, people will be able to find you through the directory. You may only have 1 or 2 viewers, but in some directories, that will put you in the top 50 streamers. Sometimes this is better than being in the top 10000 in Fortnite.

You can always head over to your Creator Dashboard after stream and take a look at your Stream Summary. In the section Where do my views come from?, you can see how many people came from the browse page. Even with a small community, you are invisible in certain directories.

At the end of the day, you have to make the call on what you want to stream. Enjoying yourself is what matters the most.

4. Add Interaction for Your Viewers

Sometimes streams hit a dull point, but you can counter this in many ways.

Grab a friend before stream and have them play with you. Even if chat is dead, having someone to help create content can add a lot of value to your stream. There is a reason most of the top streamers play together!

If you don’t have a wingman or wingwoman to stay by your side, there are plenty of other ways to add interaction. If you haven’t setup alerts for your stream, do this now.

Stream Alerts can be what makes someone stay, whether it be a fun alert sound when someone follows, or a sub alert that sticks into your head. At this point, we’ve all heard of Shroud’s sub alert. No matter where you are on Twitch, you can’t forget it.

Don’t just stop with followers or subs, customize your bit alerts. For my personal stream, I have “Scare Alerts” setup for specific bit donation amounts. This gives your viewers a way to directly add to your stream, while giving you a venue to make money.

If that doesn’t sit right with you, you can also add sound commands via chatbots. Streamlabs Chatbot and Stream labels both give your viewers ways to contribute with sounds that play on stream. Each can be personalized to make your viewers feel like they hold a special part in your stream. Let’s face it, if it wasn’t for them, streaming wouldn’t mean anything. 

Aside from commands and alerts, interacting with your chat can take you a long way, whether you host polls to help decide games, implement some fun and quirky webcam filters, or even have subscriber nights to just hang out with your people. If you are looking to grow, growing with your community is just as important.

5. Reward Your Viewers

Once you start getting more Twitch followers and building a community, you need to give them incentives to stay. This doesn’t mean spamming giveaways.

Giveaways are great for rewarding your viewers for always choosing you, but it can also have negative effects by pulling in people who are only there for free stuff. It’s up to you how you handle this, but rewarding your viewers will make them feel a part of Your Community.

Setup Goals using one of these popular streaming software, whether it be via Donations or Bits, give your community something they can feel a part of. Use in-game incentives, like reaching a certain rank or beating a certain boss. If you’ve setup a chatbot, most come with loyalty points.

Check out this helpful collection of Twitch channel points ideas.

These are customizable and can be whatever currency you want them to be. Give these out during stream! Setup rewards for a certain amount of points. The viewers are choosing to be there to watch, but giving them rewards will keep them around.

One of the most important ways of rewarding your viewers is by Playing With Them! This can be simple for some streamers, or you can setup specific community days to play with the people that make your stream unique. They are there for you, you should be there for them!

6. Networking to Build a Community

We hear the word “Networking” and think of some specific business tactic that is used to build up coworkers, but in reality, this just means Making Friends.

If you want to plant your banner in Twitch, then you need to be a part of other streamer’s communities. This doesn’t mean showing up in someone’s stream and saying “Hey, I’m going live!!!! XD XD”

Not only is this bad, you are most likely to be banned on the spot. This also makes you look bad. So what’s the right way to do it?

Be the viewer you would want in your stream. Spend time with other streamers! Find people around your viewer level, and relate to them! Twitch is already competitive with streaming alone, so you might as well make friends to build together.

Help other streamers grow, and in turn, you will slowly build up over time.

This also leads into being able to do collaborations. Once you’ve made friends, you can stream the games you love with them. Streamers who play together, grow together.

At the end of the day, you can build your communities together. This is how you get raids or hosts over time, which help push you up in the directories to be found.

7. Building a Consistent Schedule

You’ve probably heard this tip from every reach of the internet. The hardest part of building a schedule is it starts to feel like a job.

Your stream definitely should be treated like a business, but being reliable will set you apart from most of the streaming community.

Take some time to figure out when you stream. For some, that is only when they aren’t working. For others, that doesn’t mean to stream every day. Don’t get into the habit of thinking “Streaming Means Growth.” This is far from the truth, but having a schedule for people to know when you’ll be there can make the difference.

It isn’t just about growth, it’s about being at the right place and the right time. Not just for raids or hosts, but for your viewers. There are over 50,000 streamers online at any given time, and you want to be somewhere people want to stay.

If someone loves watching you, knowing that you’ll be live on certain days is a game changer. You’ll start to build a viewership that can help with growth in the long haul.

Pick a schedule and stick to it. Don’t stream every day. I suggest on only streaming 3 or 4 days a week. This gives viewers time away from you, which makes the days you stream more enticing to be there. Take your off days and spend time growing yourself, whether it be on another platform or perfecting your skills in a game.

8. Future Proof Your Chat

One of the most important parts of growing your channel is having a good chat. This doesn’t mean a chat that is blowing up every second.

This means having a chat that supports a community. Your chat is a Direct Reflection of You as a Streamer. If you leave your chat to run rampant and make other viewers feel uncomfortable, then you will lose viewers. Your chat needs to be an extension of your stream.

This isn’t just about moderation, this is about the conversations and topics that can be held in your chat. Not everyone wants to talk about politics or lewd subjects, and you need to be the defining factor that leads the chat.

Don’t be afraid to put your foot down, because people will follow your lead. Over time, your chat will become something nurturing to viewers.

Building trust with your loyal viewers means a lot, but this doesn’t mean modding everyone you like. A lot of new streamers give the moderator status to people who donate or watch a lot.

Although this is a way to reward loyal viewers, this can also create a mod wall. Mod walls can intimidate new viewers by seeing nothing but mods. Reward your most loyal and trusted viewers with becoming a mod.

9. Finding Your Niche

We’re not talking about food here. You need to jump on board to finding what makes you unique to Twitch.

While “Being friendly and funny” can be important values, there are plenty of streamers that hold those traits. Finding something that makes you unique not only attracts viewers to your stream, but it helps you separate yourself from the majority of most streamers.

Everyone wants to be “The Best” or “The Funniest”, but you have to decide what you are.

Do you have a statement that you stand by? Do you have something in a game that makes you different? Whether you only throw AD bananas as Soraka on League of Legends, or play with Fists Only in shooting games, you need to show people that you are different.

This doesn’t have to just be about gameplay mechanics. You can dedicate your stream to Mental Health, or become a Charity Only Streamer. Figure out what you stand for. Find your strength, and let it be the driving factor in your stream.

10. Take Over the Internet

If you are just starting out on Twitch, or you’ve been a streamer for years, using the internet is the best tool you have.

This doesn’t mean just using Google to remember how to spell certain words, this means using every platform to your advantage.

Create a Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and go the distance. Spread yourself out on social media. You need to let the world know who you are.

Stand up for what you believe in and become something your viewers want to see. Don’t flood your feed with “I’m Going Live”. Share your opinions and make friends.

Using multiple outlets of social media allows you to be seen even when you aren’t live. Post your favorite clips from your stream on a subreddit or in a tweet.

Take pictures of your pets or talk about your passions and what you love. Giving yourself an identity on these platforms will expand your stream and help you grow your Twitch channel.

Let people know who you are, and over time, you’ll grow an audience and hit partnered status with that fancy new verified badge in no time.

If you have any questions or want to talk about your favorite tip from this guide, let us know in the comments!

Guide written by AlfredGG. Check out his Twitch stream here, and YouTube channel here.