I think one of the biggest questions I get when it comes to streaming is "What game do I play"? The fact of the matter is for a majority of streamers on Twitch, game choice is going to be a huge deciding factor on attracting an audience. There are those rare examples of streamers like SodaPoppin and Lirik who can stream whatever they want and guarantee themselves thousands of viewers, but for the rest of us, it’s not that easy. In today’s post I want to talk about what games you play and how you play them can have a major impact on the growth of your stream.

Rule #1 Have Fun

The most important advice I’m going to give when it comes to picking out a game that you’re going to stream, is that you need to pick a game that you are going to have fun playing every time you stream it. If this isn’t the main reason you’re playing the game, streaming is not for you.  Don’t just pick a game to stream because it’s the flavor of the month and you know someone will watch. As I’ve said before, if you’re not having fun, there is a good chance your stream will not be having fun as well. You can only hide this on your stream for so long. You might be able to get away with this mindset for a short amount of time, but in the long run it will hurt you.

In the blog post Twitch Engagement, I briefly talked about certain conversations that you can use to create interaction, as well as discussed conversations to avoid in a Twitch Chat. Today, I want to go a little deeper into that conversation and focus more on the finer points of what creates a good conversation and how it gets there; so let’s dig deeper.

A Web of Conversation

A simple question can turn into hours of interaction and conversation. It’s amazing how a question like “What should I get tonight for dinner from this Chinese restaurant?” can turn into a conversation about something that is completely unrelated. Twitch is a place full of interesting people from all around the world.  If you have a story to tell about that crazy night you just had at a Walgreens, there’s a decent chance someone in your chat can relate.

I think some of the best streamers on Twitch are those who can make you laugh about the silliest things in life. Storytellers on Twitch tend to be super successful. This doesn’t mean that you need to be a great storyteller if you want to grow your stream, but it will definitely not hurt trying to improve in that department. Storytellers are successful because they can make a mundane experience that a lot of us go through, and turn it into a something fun and hilarious. A chat can really open up with a streamer that is excellent at telling a story.

Having good content on your stream is always the most important aspect of growing your stream, but how do you know if the content you are producing is being well received? Stats are a great way of finding out what works and what doesn’t. The problem is that many streamers rarely, if ever, look at their stats. Over the next couple of weeks and blog posts, I will be doing a series on why stats are important and how broadcasters can use them to effectively grow their stream. Today’s post will focus on the basics of why stats are important. Think of this post as your starter guide to understanding the world of stats!

Why Do Stats Matter?

So why care about stats? Why would knowing the stats behind my stream give me any advantage over someone who doesn’t use them? Stats are the tools that tell you what you’re doing right/wrong. Say you’re testing out a new schedule and you want to see how well the stream performed during different parts of the night… stats will give you that answer. Or maybe there’s a certain part of a game that has more active chatters than another… stats will answer those questions too. If you’re not looking at this information, you’re throwing away valuable tools that will help you fix the mistakes.

Two Friday's a Month, I will be spotlighting a smaller streamer who is doing their best to Stream Big! How do you get your stream spotlighted? Send an email to [email protected] with the following information!

Twitch URL: 
Twitter:
What You Stream: (Examples: Speedrunning (what games), Variety Streamer, League of Legends, CS:GO, etc.)
When You Typically Stream: 
Highlight of You Streaming Big:
Article on Streambig.net that has helped you out the most and why:
Elevator Pitch:

I’ll be going through the submissions and choosing one to two per week! I’ll typically be looking for streamers that have less than 2,000 followers, but on occasion ill make some exceptions! I’m excited to see how you guys are streaming big, and I’m looking forward to showcasing some new streamers!

Today's Featured Streamer: azzurohr


Twitch
twitch.tv/azzurohr

Twitter
@azzurohr

What do you Stream?

Variety of Nintendo games, but I’m big on Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn.

When You Typically Stream
Evenings and Nights on unscheduled days.

Highlight of You Streaming Big

When you first start streaming and attracting an audience the feeling of having people openly support your stream and being happy every time you go live is pretty darn cool. One issue that you will run into at some point is that there will be people who do not like your stream or what it stands for. Whether it’s the layout you use, how big of a sellout you are, how annoying you are, there will be people who just don’t like what you do. Today I want to talk about dealing with these type of personalities and how being the better person will lead to turning some of these people into friends.

Kill’em With Kindness

So you’ve attracted a group of people who don’t like you. It doesn’t matter what their reason is, their mission is to publicly deface what you’re super passionate about. They will say terrible things about you on social media, they will come into your chat just to push your buttons, and bring up things to make you mad. The only way to combat these type of attacks is to fight fire with fire right? Go on an epic twitter rant about how awful these people are and how you’re being victimized! Wrong. Don’t do this. All you’re doing is ticking off the people that actually support you by stooping to the level of the people attacking you. Instead “Kill’em with kindness.” Now I just want to point out, this does not mean kill them, it simply means treat them with real kindness. 

One of the latest trends on Twitch right now is having a Twitch chat bot that provides different functions in your chat. While many of these bots can be helpful, there are certain features that I would personally not vouch for if you’re looking to grow the size of your stream. Today, we’ll discuss some of the more popular bots and big no-no’s if you intend to use them!

Nightbots, and Moobots, and Xanbots, Oh My!

If you’ve decided that you want to have some sort of bot in your chat the next step in the process is choosing which bot you want to use. There are quite a few options out there so deciding on one can be somewhat difficult. Thankfully, Twitch User dhamster has compiled a really nice comparison spreadsheet that goes over all the functions of the most popular bots! You can check out the spreadsheet here.

*Note – this sheet is a little outdated, and dhamster has told me he might be updating it soon, but a lot of the info is still relevant.*

Here’s my quick summary of the three most popular bots:

Every Friday, I will be spotlighting a smaller streamer who is doing their best to Stream Big! How do you get your stream spotlighted? Send an email to [email protected] with the following information!

Twitch URL: 
Twitter:
What You Stream: (Examples: Speedrunning (what games), Variety Streamer, League of Legends, CS:GO, etc.)
When You Typically Stream: 
Highlight of You Streaming Big:
Article on Streambig.net that has helped you out the most and why:
Elevator Pitch:

I’ll be going through the submissions and choosing one to two per week! I’ll typically be looking for streamers that have less than 2,000 followers, but on occasion ill make some exceptions! I’m excited to see how you guys are streaming big, and I’m looking forward to showcasing some new streamers!

Today's Featured Streamer: Kaysick

Twitch
twitch.tv/kaysick

Twitter
@itskaysick

What do you Stream?
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Splatoon, and occasionally other Nintendo games

When You Typically Stream
Monday - Friday starting around 12 PM CST/CDT


Highlight of You Streaming Big

When I launched StreamBig.net, the goal was always to give smaller streamers the tools they needed to grow their stream. Over the course of the past few months I’ve gotten a lot of questions regarding networking opportunities through StreamBig. These thoughts have led to the launch of “Featured Streamer Fridays”

Every Friday, I will be spotlighting a smaller streamer who is doing their best to Stream Big! How do you get your stream spotlighted? Send an email to [email protected] with the following information!


Twitch URL: 
Twitter:
What You Stream: (Examples: Speedrunning (what games), Variety Streamer, League of Legends, CS:GO, etc.)
When You Typically Stream:
Highlight of You Streaming Big:
Article on Streambig.net that has helped you out the most and why:
Elevator Pitch:

I’ll be going through the submissions and choosing one to two per week! I’ll typically be looking for streamers that have less than 2,000 followers, but on occasion ill make some exceptions! I’m excited to see how you guys are streaming big, and I’m looking forward to showcasing some new streamers!

Today's Featured Streamer: Grav

Twitch
twitch.tv/grav 

Twitter
@graviton29

What do you Stream?
Speedruns of Doom 64, Blast Corps, Pilotwings 64, and Bubsy 1.

When You Typically Stream
Evenings or late nights on unscheduled days.

Highlight of You Streaming Big