We have thousands of hours under our belt in creating, watching and analysing Twitch streams and have compiled everything you need in one place to get started.
Treat this as a hub for what you need to get the ball rolling on your first stream.
We’re also going to cover what to do after your first stream along with some advanced tactics to grow and promote your audience across the platform.
Let’s dive right in.
A deeper look at Twitch
Twitch has exploded in popularity over the past half decade after transitioning over from justin.tv.
We’ve seen some household names come out of the video game streaming platform from Ninja to Shroud and Dr Disrespect.
The platform is also estimated to generate over $600 million in ad revenue making it a gold mine for anyone that can build an audience.
Whether you’re a long time fan of video games or your average Call Of Duty noob, if you’re willing to put in the time you too can build a viewer base playing your favourite game.
We’ve also seen competitors entering into the video game streaming market in recent years such as Mixer, however, Twitch is still unrivalled with the size of their viewer base (approximately 73% total market share).
In this how to stream on Twitch guide, we are going to breakdown how you can prepare your setup, set live your first stream and begin to build a successful streaming career.
Depending on your budget and time restraints you will need to decide on the gear you would like to use, the games to play and the schedule you’re going to stream with.
Preparing for Twitch
To first get the full functionality as a viewer you’ll need to sign up to Twitch with an account. This is completely free and will unlock some additional functionality that non-members don’t have such as following channels and making a profile.
Make sure you know the guidelines
Everyone always skips this part of any sign up process however as Twitch is notoriously known for having extremely strict terms of service (ToS) and community guidelines – it’s vital you give these a read through at least once.
Make your account
Creating an account only requires very basic info – your name, a chosen username, email address, date of birth and password.
If you’re signing up on a mobile device via the app then you can simply use your mobile number.
Extra security for your account (2FA)
This is what you’re going to use to keep your account on lock down.
There are a lot of people that will try and hack accounts that have large follower bases in order to show their own content or steal information.
For this you’ll need to head over to the desktop app and use your mobile number to confirm the code that they send you. From now you’ll need to confirm the one-time-code they send you each time you want to login to your account.
Best software for streaming on Twitch
When it comes to encoding your stream you are going to have a few options which all have their benefits and downfalls.
Most new streamers are going to go with OBS Studio or Streamlabs OBS (SLOBS). SLOBS is a tool built on top of OBS Studio with additional functionality with overlays and monetisation tools.
There is a clear winner between the two which is why we recommend that you start your streaming career with SLOBS (as will most other Twitch affiliates).
There are some secondary streaming software solutions such as XSplit which is a paid alternative. Their main selling point is that there is less setup pre-stream however both OBS Studio and SLOBS can be set up pretty fast with a quick online tutorial – and it’s free.
Another alternative is vMix – we don’t recommend this for first-timers.
As you will be a new streamer you will want to have the ability to lookup any issues with a quick Google search which won’t be an option as their user base is much smaller.
What gear/hardware will you need to broadcast to Twitch?
Hardware is one of the primary components that will determine the quality of the your stream’s output.
From the quality of your microphone to the speed of your CPU – this will all have a direct impact on the look and sound of the stream.
Camera 📷
This is where most people set themselves apart in streaming for the rest of the crowd.
Nothing screams that you’re a serious streamer than a HD camera.
For high-end set ups you’re going to want to use a DSLR camera which will allow you to have a high resolution and crisp video.
New streamers are going to want to go with a more budget friendly option such as the Logitech C920 which is one of the most used webcams – ever!
Microphone 🎙️
Along with this, you’ll definitely want some sort of headset or headphones.
The two main reasons you’re going to want a high-end microphone 1) your voice will be cleaner, clearer and much more pleasant to listen to and 2) it will stop your speakers from sending feedback through your mic and prevent echo.
If you’re on a budget you can go wrong with a Blue Yeti or a Snowball however USB mics are cheaper for a reason – they often output lower quality.
You can definitely stream with any mic that connects to your computer but if you’re going to use low quality Apple Earbuds then you will sound extremely nasally with horrible playback.
Monitor 🖥️
When looking for a monitor to stream on you’re going to want something that is good for gaming – this is what you’re going to probably be doing for most of the time.
An optimal gaming monitor for streaming has a high refresh rate, high resolution (at least 1080p) and is colour accurate.
If you’re on a budget we recommend the Benq 144hz gaming monitor and if you’ve got a larger budget we would go for a Dell Alienware 25″ Gaming Monitor.
Note: If streaming is going to be your primary activity then you will want to avoid ultra wide monitors if possible. The reason for this is that it becomes tricky when trying to record a monitor and display it to people who do not have an ultra-wide monitor. It can be done but will change depending on your make and model – just do a quick Google search.
Streaming PC 💻
Twitch does give some guidelines on what people should have as a baseline in their PC and it’s a good starting point. Ofcourse, the more powerful the better performance you will get however most people won’t start with a $4000+ setup.
You should have as a minimum an Intel Core i5-4670 (or something similar in the AMD product line), 8GB of RAM and a graphics card that is DirectX10 or higher compatible.
While the graphics card recommendations are low, you will want to have at least a GTX1060 so that you can play games at medium-high graphics settings.
Streaming is very CPU intensive because all of the encoding is handled by this component. It would be better to increase your budget for your CPU and get a worse GPU so your video output can maintain a 60fps stream.
Gaming consoles 🕹️
If you’re not going to be streaming PC games then you will need a gaming console to play games from.
Most streamers will be using the latest gaming console whether that be a PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Nintendo Switch.
On Twitch there are categories of people playing older games if you’re wanting to experience some childhood nostalgia.
If you’re interested in Twitch streaming and reading this article then changes are you already have a gaming console.
Capture card 👾
Capture cards are used to capture and encode your video and audio.
These are most often when streaming games from a console (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo) as it will connect to the device and then send the video and audio data to your PC.
Our recommendation for a capture card is the Elgato HD60s as it has a HD 60 frames per second output which can be set up very easily.
If you are just streaming PC games then you are able to use software to encode the video and transmit it to your stream. There will be quality loss if you decide on this method but it is also a free alternative.
Peripherals 🖱️
There are more nice-to-haves and won’t have a direct impact on the quality of your stream.
Get a quality mouse which has a high dots-per-inch DPI for greater precision in games – this is most important in first-person-shooters as you need to lock onto a target as fast as possible.
Along with this get a mechanical keyboard that is responsive. Keyboards are for the most part preference – some people prefer long travel, clicky keys while others like shoft travel with mushy keys.
Streamer controls 🔘
Most streamers have a stream deck or an alternative that offers the same functionality.
The premium option for this is the Elgato stream deck. It comes in a variety of sizes with 6, 15 and 32 button options. They all offer the same functionality of being able to assign macros to each button – each just have a different amount of buttons that you can map.
Streamers use stream decks to quickly execute functions while they’re streaming – you’re not going to want to be manually doing things while you’re in the middle of streaming – eg. changing scenes, playing audio, changing music, switch overlays.
These devices are expensive so there are stream deck alternatives that can give the same functionality such as using a keypad as a MIDI controller and mapping the buttons.
We recommend while you’re first getting started to just use a free software alternative where you can have a virtual stream deck on your phone to control your stream.
Lighting 💡
The visual appeal of your stream will influence how many users click through to your stream from the discover pages.
One method of adding a vibe and color to the stream is adding LED lighting in the background of the stream. These lights will make your thumbnail stick out more and set an overall mood for the stream.
You will also want some regular white lights to put behind your camera or webcam so that your face is fully visible to the camera. The same way that TV shows and movies have bright lights on the subject’s face – you will want to create a similar setup so your face isn’t dark.
Green screens 🟩
If you have seen Twitch before you will notice that a lot of streamers have a transparent background for their stream.
To get this effect you will need to get a green screen set up in your background.
Once you have the physical green screen setup you can then go into your streaming software and configure what you would like your background to be – an image, colour, video or transparent.
Gaming chair 💺
Most of the streams that you are going to make will be many hours long which is why it is vital that you get an ergonomic chair.
First of all a gaming chair is better for health reasons. SItting in a chair that is not optimized for gaming/office work can lead to long term back issues.
A gaming chair will also help you create longer streams as you will be more comfortable than if you use any chair.
With the ability to create longer streamers you will over time accumulate a larger audience with more hours streamed.
We recommend using a racing gaming chair such as a Secretlab Omega or a ThunderX3.
How to live stream to Twitch from a PC
Depending on your level of involvement and time commitment, you’re going to be starting with a different quality stream.
To kick things off you don’t need to have a professional setup but you will need to have something decent enough to have your thumbnail on the Twitch discovery page look appealing.
Once someone then clicks through to your stream, the stream needs to look presentable enough with at least a 720p video and a USB microphone so your voice doesn’t sound like a potato.
As there is a low barrier to entry for streaming on Twitch the market is oversaturated with content creators.
To stand out from the rest of the other creators you will need a unique aspect to your stream and a regular streaming schedule.
Let’s get into the exact steps for setting up your first stream.
Decide on the content of your stream
If you explore the Browse section of Twitch you’ll soon find out that the streaming content you can put out is endless.
Twitch is no longer just a hub of video games – it now has categories of art, music, writing, coding, in-real-life (IRL) streaming and just chatting.
While the bulk of it is video game streaming, you now have the ability to do just about whatever your creative outlet feels like.
Once you decide what you want to stream then you can build your streaming rig around this.
For example, if you want to become a World of Warcraft (WoW) streamer then you know that your primary focus will be on making sure that your streaming setup is equipt to output a high quality video and audio.
Most WoW streamers have eye catching backgrounds with LED lighting so if you want to compete with these streamers on the Browse page you are going to need to have an element of ‘pop’ in your thumbnail.
A different example is if you want to have a drawing stream – for this you may want to use multiple DSLR cameras to show the audience what you are doing from different angles.
Build your streaming rig
As mentioned above once you have an idea of what it is you are going to stream, you can then put together all of the gear and prepare to go live.
As a bare minimum you should have a PC, microphone and camera.
From here, depending on what you’re going to stream, it will depend how much of an investment in money and time you are going to make in order to output the content you are creating.
If you are hesitant whether you will be doing this long-term then it will be better to invest as little as possible to see if you like it – that means you can get started with just a laptop.
Configure all of your software for your streaming setup
Now that you have all of your hardware put together and you can turn your PC, let’s get all of the software installed ad setup so that you can send video and audio through streaming software and stream to Twitch.
First things first, pick which streaming software you are going to use (as outlined above) – we recommend OBS Studio.
Each piece of software will have a different set up process.
Essentially you are going to connect OBS Studio (or your preferred software) to Twitch with a stream key.
This is what will connect your computer to your Twitch account and allow you to push content to your Twitch account.
Optimise your settings
Depending on the hardware that your computer uses, you will want to adjust the settings and optimise the software to ensure you are getting optimise performance and output for your stream.
With a standard hardware setup you can usually output a 900p 60fps stream easily with optimised OBS Studio settings.
Add all of your devices as sources and start to put together the final streaming configuration.
Connect your camera and microphone and make sure that the levels and display settings are set so that you look and sound crisp and clear.
Encoding is one of the most important parts of having a quality stream. Twitch has made their own guidelines for this so it’s best to go with what they recommend.
Complete a test stream
While it’s highly probable that no one will be watching when you first stream you should still complete a test stream.
To do this you should set a stream live on your channel as if you were going to start your first stream.
Once this is up and running get another computer or your mobile phone and open up the stream.
Now you will be able to view the stream as if you were a viewer.
Go through this checklist of tasks and confirm everything is working as it should:
- Make some noise into your microphone, make sure your lighting is good
- Boot up a game and play it for 10 to 15 minutes so that you can make sure that the video stream remains stable.
- Cheer bits to check that stream alerts are appearing on screen
Now that everything is working you can now schedule your first real stream and start your streaming career.
How to livestream to Twitch from a mobile phone or console
A large segment of Twitch is mobile and console streaming – to stream these devices there’s a little more set up involved in order to get the video and audio to a PC.
Streaming these devices also opens up more content that you are able to produce with exclusive games and apps.
For example, if you want to stream Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4 then you will need a PlayStation console as it is an exclusive title.
Many gamers also prefer console streaming vs PC streaming whether that be due to the online community, the controller or the overall ease of use and set up.
How to set up your PlayStation for live streaming
As you’re not streaming directly from a PC you have 2 options to get the video from the console to your Twitch stream.
Stream directly from the console
Link your PS4 to your Twitch account:
- Go to ‘Settings’ from the home dashboard.
- Select ‘Account Management’.
- Go to ‘Link with Other Services’.
- Select ‘Twitch’ and follow the signin instructions.
Use a game capture card to send the video to OBS Studio (recommended)
Set up your PS4 with your game capture card:
- Plug in the game capture card to the console.
- Download and install the Elgato game capture card software.
- Disable HDCP on your PS4
- Add the console as a source in OBS Studio for both video and audio
There are a ton of benefits for using the game capture card method to stream PS4 games to Twitch.
First is you will have more control over what your stream will look like with the ability to customize overlays and gain the full functionality of SLOBS.
You will also be able to have your stream alerts appear for donations, stream chat and design the layout how you want.
If you stream directly from the console then you will be restricted to just streaming the video, the PS4 webcam and using a USB microphone.
Capture cards are what pro-streamers use however if you don’t have any other gear then it’s a free, fast and easy alternative than paying for this piece of tech.
How to set up your Xbox for live streaming
Live streaming from a Xbox is a very similar process to streaming from a PlayStation. You can either stream to Twitch without a capture card via their app.
Alternatively, you can use a capture card to send the video and audio from the console to OBS Studio to gain the full functionality of streaming software.
Stream your Xbox to Twitch without a game capture card
- From the home dashboard go to the ‘Store’ tab and search for ‘Twitch’.
- Download the Twitch app and install it onto your Xbox.
- Start the game that you want to stream and press the ‘Xbox’ button on your controller.
- Open the Twitch app from this menu and select ‘Broadcast’.
- Follow the set up instructions such as naming the streaming and configuring settings.
Stream your Xbox to Twitch with a game capture card (recommended)
- Plug in the game capture card to the console.
- Download and install the Elgato game capture card software.
- Add the console as a source in OBS Studio for both video and audio
How to set up your mobile phone for live streaming
There are many subcategories of streaming on Twitch and one of these is mobile gaming. While console and PC gaming are the larger categories, streaming mobile games will allow you to create content for a niche audience on Twitch.
If you are going to stream directly from your phone with no PC then you will only be able to use the mobile camera.
In order to stream the screen on your mobile so that you can create content around mobile apps then you will need to take a few additional steps.
- Download and install the Streamlabs OBS app for iOS or Android.
- Launch the app and login in with Twitch – you will need to give the app permission to access your profile information.
- Give the app full permissions to access the camera and microphone.
- Once you can see the camera is turned on you will then need to click the computer screen icon in the top left hand corner.
- Press ok when you are prompted with ‘Streamlabs will start capturing everything that’s displayed on your screen’.
- Click the gear in the top left and select Edit Stream Info – here you can set the status and title the stream.
- Hit the red button to go live in the bottom right hand corner, select ‘Stream Games’ and your stream will begin.
If you wanted to create an in-real-life (IRL) stream then you can also do this through SLOBS. Instead of selecting ‘Stream Games’ when you are about to go live you should choose ‘Stream IRL’.
How to set up your Nintendo Switch for live streaming
To stream Nintendo Switch games you are going to need an Elgato game capture card. Unlike the Xbox and PlayStation, there is no inbuilt app or supported functionality for streaming on Twitch directly from the device.
Once you have the game capture card you will plug that into your Nintendo Switch and then the other side of the cable into your computer’s USB port.
With a second HDMI cable plug that into your TV so you can see the video output.
From here you will need to launch OBS Studio and add the capture card as a source. When you add it as a source you will be able to see the gameplay output and drag the video into the OBS scene.
Now set up OBS to go live just like you would with another device and you are ready to go live.
How to build an audience on Twitch
Now that you have your first stream live, it’s time to start your journey of building an audience.
Over time as you establish yourself and put out more content you will inevitably begin to accumulate a follower base (if you content is quality).
Here are a few things you can do to begin building up viewers and followers on Twitch
Set a streaming schedule
Think about streaming as a TV show.
When someone wants to watch their favourite show as it airs on TV, they need to know what channel to find you on and at what time.
If you set a regular time to stream and do it consistently then people know that they can find.
If everyday is too difficult to stick to then why not Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 5pm – 8pm (just as an example). As long as you stay consistent then over time, your audience will grow, if you’re good.
The most important point here is to have a consistent streaming schedule so that people know when you are going to be online.
Improve the quality of your stream
Having high production value in your stream is a large part of what attracts people to a stream.
For viewers who have never seen or heard of you before, you will only have 5 – 10 seconds to impress them and keep them on your channel.
This means that you will need to make sure that your video and audio are high quality and crisp, the game you are playing is entertaining and people will actually enjoy looking at the stream.
You can improve the quality of your stream with hardware upgrades with better microphones, cameras, PC hardware (GPUs and CPUS) for better output from your computer.
There are some additional software improvements you can make if you are using SLOBS such as:
- Notifications/Alerts – As you grow and become a Twitch Partner with a large audience you may want to only have notifications for subscribers, cheers, and donations.
- On-screen chat + TTS – Your chat should be treated as a serious section of your stream and make sure you interact with it as much as possible. Read every question, statement or comment or have SLOBS do it for you so you can respond.
- Overlays – Everyone has seen a streamer with a killer overlay and this really does add some production value to your final product. Streamlabs a huge selection of themes that is color coded meaning that you can have your branding created for you.
- Music – Atmosphere is everything and can really set the energy for your stream. We recommend something as simple as Spotify or Pandora to create a vibe for the stream.
Start streaming in low competition categories
Entering into the Twitch community as a new streamer will mean that your viewership will begin at 0.
Twitch displays streamers on the Browse tab in descending order of viewers which means you’ll be at the bottom.
To increase the change of people discovering you then you can stream games that don’t have established streamers on them. This will make it more likely that your stream will rank higher for that category.
Stream at the right time
Streaming time slots are important in optimising the likelihood that your stream will rank higher in the recommendations sections of Twitch.
Streaming at non-peak times in your time zone (or the time zone of your target audience) will mean that there are less content creators on the platform for you to complete against.
If you stream during the day then there will be significantly less people on Twitch then 10pm at night.
Network with other content creators
The fastest way you are going to grow your channel is by cross promoting your stream with other streamers.
This is going to mean engaging with the community that you want to be a part of so that other streamers know who you are.
Build a community with streaming friends and join the chat of other content creators. When you engage and make yourself know to other people in the community then people will take notice and be familiar with your brand.
One common practice on Twitch is to raid another streamer at the end of the streaming sessions.
Raid other streamers
Raiding is when you send all of your concurrent viewers at the end of your stream to another stream.
This is a good idea to do because if you start to do it to fellow streamers then they are likely to do it to you another time when they finish.
If you have a community of streamers then each of you can take turns at raiding each other’s streams and cross-promote each of your audiences to each other.
This can be done by running a /raid command
Start a Discord server
Discord is an instant messenger app that is heavily used in the gaming community.
You can create a Discord server for your channel and have a chatbot promote it throughout your streams.
In the Discord server create different channels for the community to interact and engage with.
When you set your Twitch stream live you can then make an announcements tagging @channel to notify everyone that you are going live.
Sending out notifications of you going live will fill up the stream when you first go live and increase the concurrent viewers on your stream.
What is the best content to stream on Twitch?
Streaming content on Twitch is a huge task in itself so if you are going to be doing it for long amounts of time you want to stream content you enjoy.
Most streamers build their channel around a single game as they become skilled at a game. This can be both good and bad depending on what you are interested in creating.
Below are a range of advantages and disadvantages for being a single game streamer on Twitch:
Advantages
- Becoming skilled at a single game will make you known for that game. People who are researching a game or who are die hard fans will be looking to experts in the game for tips and tricks.
- By playing a single game you will build a stronger community because each time that you stream you will most likely have the same audience coming back to watch the content.
- Being a single game streamer you are going to get good enough at the game for ESports competitions which will give you more exposure in tournaments and competitions.
Disadvantages
- Once you have built a community around a game it is difficult to transition away from that game. You can pigeonhole yourself into a game or category and if you get tired of it then changing games can cause your concurrent viewer numbers to drop.
- Playing the same game or category can cause fatigue and burnout – without variety in content it’s easy to be very repetitive with content.
- Content can become stale. If you are creating content for a game that rarely gets big updates then the content you stream will often be the same – this is less entertaining for the audience and yourself.
The best content to stream is something you enjoy.
When you are creating content that you enjoy then the audience will see that and be more engaged with your stream.
This will also allow you to stream for longer periods of time.
Twitch rewards content creators who put out a lot of content with many hours of streams – the more hours that your stream is live then the larger the audience you can grow.
How to make money on Twitch
Twitch monetization is something that you will eventually be able to start once you have a large enough viewership.
Once you do have income and cash flow from your stream then you can re-invest this money to improve the quality of your stream and scale the channel.
There are six primary methods of monetization.
Donations
Twitch has a huge donation culture.
Most people who are unfamiliar with Twitch streaming are often surprised by the amount that viewers donate to their favorite streamers.
Think of donations as tips for providing entertainment to viewers – in return for giving them a good time with your stream, people can send you money as a thankyou.
If you are using SLOBS then there is in-built functionality for donations so you can just drop a link in your chat for people to click through to and donate directly to you.
Cheers/bits
This is Twitch’s inbuilt version of donations.
Users can purchase bits directly from Twitch and then cheer (donate) you these bits.
For a basic conversion rate 1 bit equals $0.01 so if someone cheers you 100 bits then they are donating you $1.
Advertising
Running ads on your stream can be a large source of revenue if you have a large viewership.
There are different placements for ads such as:
- Pre-rolls before someone watches your stream.
- Display banners around your stream.
- Video ads during your stream
Ads are paid on a CPM (cost-per-thousand-impressions) basis.
Depending on the time of year, the category you are streaming in and the amount of advertisers bidding on placements for advertising then you will have a CPM rate.
This is how much you will receive for every 1000 impressions on ads.
Sponsorships
When you are well known enough, brands will approach you for sponsorships deals.
You will be given a pay cheque to promote a company’s product.
Especially on Twitch this is a big opportunity as there are so many physical and software products that streamers use to play their games and stream.
From gaming headsets, PC parts, video games, keyboard, gaming mouses and desk setups – brands want to have streamers promote their products because they know audiences trust their favorite streamers.
Affiliate links
When you go to any big content creator’s stream on Twitch you will see that they are recommending a lot of products in their description.
They will link out to Amazon or other company’s websites to products that they use and recommend so that people can purchase the same gear that they use.
When someone clicks one of these links and purchases a product then the streamer will receive a commission for the sale.
The more expensive the item then the larger the commission will be that they receive.
Twitch subscriptions
Viewers can subscribe to a Twitch streamer’s channel for USD$4.99 per month.
Once someone subscribes to a channel they will unlock benefits such as not having ads on the stream, emoticons and badge icons in chat.
Streamers make between $2.50 – $3.50 per subscription depending on whether or not they are a Twitch Affiliate Partner – if you are a partner then you will receive a larger portion of the donation.
Advanced tactics and additional resources
There are some additional features that you can add to your stream that will increase the quality of the stream, promote engagement and interaction from the viewers and make the stream look more professional.
Branding
Building a brand on Twitch is going to have a huge impact on how memorable your stream is to viewers.
Your Twitch name, colors used on the channel, music, pre-show screens, post-show screens, scene transitions will all play a part in your branding.
If you’re not good at design then you can get your whole channel branded for a good price on Fiverr.
Be sure to select a unique and brandable Twitch username – you want a name that is easy to read and say so that it’s memorable. A username like PogChamp3948392green21 will make it very hard for someone to remember who you are.
Overlays and alerts
Overlays are the designs and banners that will be placed over your stream with information and messaging.
If you are using SLOBS then there are a ton of overlays already included in the streaming software.
For more professional branding and a unique look we recommend that you have your own created.
By paying a designer to create assets for the overlays then you will have a much more unique look to the stream.
Turn alerts on so that when a user follows you, subscribes to the channel or donates to the stream then a message or sound will play to notify the entire stream – this will increase engagement and interaction for the stream you will have.
Post Twitch clips and highlights to a YouTube channel
You are able to increase the reach and visibility of your stream if you brand out to other channels.
YouTube is a great platform for discovery as it has the recommendation feature so once the YouTUbe channel has some momentum then videos will start to get recommended to people watching similar content.
When uploading to YouTube just upload short highlights to grab people’s attention where they can then click through to your Twitch channel.
This channel can be used to promote other social channels as well such as Discord, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Incentivise donations
Once you have a viewership you can then start introducing incentives for people to donate.
With more donations you will be able to continuously improve your stream and scale your audience up.
There are a few things you can do to encourage people to donation:
- Use a chatbot to have your donation link sent out in the chat at a set interval – this will give people easy access and know where they can go to donation.
- Use text-to-speak (TTS) so that donation messages are read out to the entire stream – most people will want to donate so they can interact with the stream. Using TTS will make it so the entire stream can hear the message from the donation which you can then respond to.
- Have donation goals and rewards – setting a donation goal at the start of the stream is a good idea. You might not always hit it however if you have a ‘reward’ for something that you will do eg. giveaways, shoutouts and adding viewers as friends on different gaming platforms eg. PlayStation, Xbox or giving them a follow on social media.
- Show to the top donations for the stream – use a data overlay so that viewers who have donated the most are displayed on screen throughout the stream. If someone wants their name on stream then they will donate enough to get up there.
A final note
When it’s all said and done, streaming is all about doing it because you love it.
If you’re not enjoying yourself then your audience will be able to tell.
Aside from them seeing straight through a fake personality you will burn out quickly if you’re only in it for the money.
You won’t have 10,000 concurrent viewers after a month of streaming (unless you have a secret magic trick, in which case comment below!
Nice!