In previous posts I discussed the importance of networking. This is something that I want to stress a lot: networking is incredibly important to growing your stream. If you’re a good streamer, but no one knows you exist, how do you expect to grow? There’s a very big key to what I just said: if you’re a “good” streamer. The point of today’s post is talk about why content can create the networking, and how important the content is to your stream.
Content is King
I come from a marketing background in college and worked for a few companies in their internet marketing department. A phrase that I learned very quickly working in this field is “Content is King.” The phrase itself is pretty straight forward: You can do all the magical steps of getting your product & information out there, but if your content isn’t quality, no one will care.
Content is King
I come from a marketing background in college and worked for a few companies in their internet marketing department. A phrase that I learned very quickly working in this field is “Content is King.” The phrase itself is pretty straight forward: You can do all the magical steps of getting your product & information out there, but if your content isn’t quality, no one will care.
In my opinion, this phrase works the exact same way on Twitch as it does anywhere else. Networking is great! Meeting people and having them learn about your stream is awesome! The more people that know about your stream the more chances you have of it getting found. But what if your stream content isn’t good? What if that person you network with comes to your channel and is incredibly disappointed in your content? What if they leave and never come back because of a really bad first impression? These are the type of questions that you as a streamer need to be thinking about when you go out and start networking.
When I say content, I’m also talking about a wide range of elements that go into the final product that is your stream. Content is essentially what viewers see when they come to your channel in the forms of your stream as well as your chat. Content can mean the game you play, your personality, the way you interact with chat, and even your community. Excelling in a one or two of these areas doesn’t mean your content is good.
There have been countless times where I sent a very big raid to a stream that I personally enjoyed. Streams that I thought were good streams. The networking was there, and the opportunity for finding new viewers was there, but their stream really never took off from it. Why? The answer is that while I might have enjoyed the content, the vast majority of my viewers had no interest. This is another problem I see in regards to the thought process of streaming. So many streamers say, X person has amazing content, but they never grow. Is it possible that while the content they have is amazing to you, a huge majority will disagree?
When I say content, I’m also talking about a wide range of elements that go into the final product that is your stream. Content is essentially what viewers see when they come to your channel in the forms of your stream as well as your chat. Content can mean the game you play, your personality, the way you interact with chat, and even your community. Excelling in a one or two of these areas doesn’t mean your content is good.
There have been countless times where I sent a very big raid to a stream that I personally enjoyed. Streams that I thought were good streams. The networking was there, and the opportunity for finding new viewers was there, but their stream really never took off from it. Why? The answer is that while I might have enjoyed the content, the vast majority of my viewers had no interest. This is another problem I see in regards to the thought process of streaming. So many streamers say, X person has amazing content, but they never grow. Is it possible that while the content they have is amazing to you, a huge majority will disagree?
Content Creates Networking
I want to pick up on the popular statement that I just mentioned and show you exactly why I truly believe that growth largely stems from the content you create. Ever hear someone say “This streamer’s content is sooooo good; why doesn’t their stream grow?” I honestly say the same exact thing about a lot of streams, but here’s the important point that I want to make: would we say this if their content was bad? The whole premise of this statement is that their content deserves more viewers, but if their content was bad, we wouldn’t even consider making this statement in the first place. In order for networking to work in the way that it’s intended, the content HAS to be good, otherwise there will be no growth. Though remember, the word “good” is subjective. While you might think someone’s content is bad, others might really enjoy it! I honestly feel like when talking about networking and content, you can almost create the argument of “which came first, the chicken or the egg.” But at the end of the day in my opinion, you’re wasting your time and energy networking if you don’t have the content first.
The Factor of Luck
Another discussion I hear a lot revolves around the concept of luck in growing an audience. While I 100% agree that there is a luck factor when it comes to your stream growing, I feel like it’s exaggerated to the point that people use it as an excuse for why their stream isn’t growing. “Oh that person just got extremely lucky and that’s why their stream is big. I’m much better than them.” I hear comments like these a lot, but this mindset is 100% wrong. My motto when it comes to luck is “Luck favors the hardworking.” Those who tend to “get lucky” in streaming are usually the ones who are working the hardest to grow their stream. There are always exceptions to the rule, but go back and think about the people who you think got “lucky.” How often were they streaming, and how much work did they put into their content? The reality is, the more time you put into something and the harder you work, the more opportunities there are for luck to happen. The moment you start to make excuses for luck is the moment you start to go down a very bad path in streamer mindset. When you see someone get “lucky,” it should inspire you to work even harder for more opportunities that they had.
Wrapping it Up
This article stemmed from a spur of the moment discussion that I had on Twitter. It’s a topic that I feel is going to become more and more important as Twitch grows and more people jump into the world of streaming. A streamer that wants to grow should definitely be trying to look for opportunities to network, but never let networking overtake what you put into your stream. The reality is that viewers really don’t care about how much you network, they just want to watch an entertaining stream. As a streamer, be careful not to forget what makes people stick around your channel in the first place: your content.
Follow us on Twitter so you get all the latest updates! @StreamBigNET
I want to pick up on the popular statement that I just mentioned and show you exactly why I truly believe that growth largely stems from the content you create. Ever hear someone say “This streamer’s content is sooooo good; why doesn’t their stream grow?” I honestly say the same exact thing about a lot of streams, but here’s the important point that I want to make: would we say this if their content was bad? The whole premise of this statement is that their content deserves more viewers, but if their content was bad, we wouldn’t even consider making this statement in the first place. In order for networking to work in the way that it’s intended, the content HAS to be good, otherwise there will be no growth. Though remember, the word “good” is subjective. While you might think someone’s content is bad, others might really enjoy it! I honestly feel like when talking about networking and content, you can almost create the argument of “which came first, the chicken or the egg.” But at the end of the day in my opinion, you’re wasting your time and energy networking if you don’t have the content first.
The Factor of Luck
Another discussion I hear a lot revolves around the concept of luck in growing an audience. While I 100% agree that there is a luck factor when it comes to your stream growing, I feel like it’s exaggerated to the point that people use it as an excuse for why their stream isn’t growing. “Oh that person just got extremely lucky and that’s why their stream is big. I’m much better than them.” I hear comments like these a lot, but this mindset is 100% wrong. My motto when it comes to luck is “Luck favors the hardworking.” Those who tend to “get lucky” in streaming are usually the ones who are working the hardest to grow their stream. There are always exceptions to the rule, but go back and think about the people who you think got “lucky.” How often were they streaming, and how much work did they put into their content? The reality is, the more time you put into something and the harder you work, the more opportunities there are for luck to happen. The moment you start to make excuses for luck is the moment you start to go down a very bad path in streamer mindset. When you see someone get “lucky,” it should inspire you to work even harder for more opportunities that they had.
Wrapping it Up
This article stemmed from a spur of the moment discussion that I had on Twitter. It’s a topic that I feel is going to become more and more important as Twitch grows and more people jump into the world of streaming. A streamer that wants to grow should definitely be trying to look for opportunities to network, but never let networking overtake what you put into your stream. The reality is that viewers really don’t care about how much you network, they just want to watch an entertaining stream. As a streamer, be careful not to forget what makes people stick around your channel in the first place: your content.
Follow us on Twitter so you get all the latest updates! @StreamBigNET
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