Hi all,

So May 8th of 2015, we started to stream consecutively without any real goal in mind other than being consistent and maybe seeing how long we could go for. On Sunday, we're going to be hitting our one year anniversary. Now, we have had it a bit easier thanks to the fact the channel is 4 long-term real life friends, but it's also been challenging in that only one of us is dedicated full time to the channel (myself). So looking back, I just wanted to mention some advice and main things we've done/dealt with, and then open it up to an impromptu AMA that no one will give a shit about. This is most likely geared a bit more towards serious streamers as an FYI. LETS GOOOO!

1. It's Hard as Balls

Okay, so we have 4 people and you'd think that is going to make it easy. Yeah, so did I. But we're not a group like Streamer House who live together and stream 24 hours a day, as awesome as that sounds. 3 of us have jobs, and as such, things get busy and availability is tough. But moving on to things that are more directed at a single streamer, know you have to sacrifice a lot if you stream for any other reason than your own enjoyment or as a hobby. You have to sacrifice your time, your sleep, and also you social life outside of your hopefully awesome community. Every day you're not streaming, every hour offline, is a loss of progress. Every day you take a break can set you back more than you realize, as keeping some viewers is about consistency and habit. We're creatures of habit. Familiarity is comforting. So if you're not on at your regularly scheduled time, and schedule is fucking preemo important, they may find someone else to watch. And keeping viewers is a battle unless they have a loyalty to you, care about you, feel invested in the stream. The true fan theory if you will.

One thing to note is I have seen a few streams that have had good progress and growth die because they realized they wanted to have more of a social life, or have burnt out. It's something that I don't think people realize, so keep it in mind.

2. Game Choice

One day on the Discord server for this subreddit, SHAMELESS PLUG, a gentleman came in and basically was asking for advice on why he hasn't grown. He had 150 new followers in the span of a year and a half. Which to me is pretty abysmal growth. So, I decided to check out his stream a bit to give him some help. His last games he streamed was League of Legends, CS:Go, and Starcraft 2. Two of those games are almost always in the top 5 streamed games. If you have lets say 5 viewers, you're 200 streams down. That's how far someone has to scroll down to find you. OF COURSE YOU AREN'T GROWING. You can't play games that everyone else is unless you draw viewers from outside of Twitch with content somewhere else. No one is gonna find you! Now, there are many other factors it could be. Maybe a random schedule. Maybe he's just an awful streamer (I'm sorry, but not everyone is cut out to be a successful streamer or astronaut). There are so many reasons, but I'm pretty confident that is the big one he had.

Guys. Guys, guys, guys. And girls. Though I use guys for girls. So, guys. Don't stream hugely popular games unless you have a strategy to bring people to watch from outside Twitch and expect growth. Don't go stream Dark Souls 3 day one unless it's for your regulars or yourself. Don't stream Overwatch right now unless you are good with no growth that day. Stream games with 500-2000 viewers. Make your stream title descriptive to what you're doing. The big boys can write "mistakes" as a headline and get away with it. We cannot. Wanna play a big game? Wait a week to a month so that it calms down enough that you can be noticed.

3. Advertising and Social Media

It's a large sea out there, with a lot of fish. Getting noticed is all about consistency and attrition. Be active on Twitter and Facebook. Chime into twitter conversations with things that contribute, as you never know who will like what you said and check your feed history. Also, big streamers may subconsciously remember you and follow you or check out your content. Don't just spam your live links and call it a day, as no one is going to give a shit about your Twitter. Have personality in there. Meme it up. Make it you.

Network with your fellow streamers via Discord or their chats (Don't pimp your shit, just be friendly. It'll get talked about organically). Realize you're in it for the long haul and it's going to be clawing up a mountain for a long time.

4. GameWisp or Patreon

I think these are great resources because you will find people who truly love what you do and want to support you monthly. There are a lot of people who grew up gaming and now have extra income and can be generous. Whether they want to support you, reward you, troll you a bit (least in donations). You're an internet panhandler (thanks, Ducksauce, for that term I stole!). And there is nothing wrong with being compensated for your time. We all love to stream, that's the first priority. But we also love to eat and live a good quality of life, and streams need support to get new games and equipment (if you're lucky). It's never required, but the option should be there. Also, don't feel bad promoting your social media links and Gamewisp tastefully. Metrics are important for when you want to get your foot in the door with organizations, sponsors, etc.

I've already gone pretty long, so feel free to consider this an AMA. I will say we are NOT a huge stream, and my opinions are exactly that, so don't take it as gospel. Hope you all have fun, and stay safe.

Edit: One quick thing I'd like to add that ties into the first point. Streamer Depression is very real. No one ever talks about streamer depression, but it's so very real. Watching numbers go up and down, not making headway, or having a good day and then having it go back to bad days. It's very, very real. And it's tough. Just try to keep your head up and stay positive when it hits. It's like anything in that it will get better. I could say more about it, but I think it deserves it's own post.