Oh, to have that highly prized streamer life! Just imagine: waking up and starting your day whenever you want to, because you’re a streamer and you get to set your own hours. When you’re ready, you sit down and set up your PC or console to your favorite game and press that “Broadcast” button. And for the next several hours, you’re playing games with friends or your community. When you’re done, you’re creating clips of your stream for those who couldn’t make it. You get to set your schedule, your breaks, the kind of content you make and what you play. All day everyday. Being a streamer is your own business and you call the shots.
Starting out, however, isn’t going to yield you instant success, because it is a business. You are going to realize very quickly that the starting line is some distance from the finish line. And you know what? Not only is that totally normal, but it’s OK. Everyone starts out somewhere. It’s like making pancakes: the first one is kind of ugly and under-cooked. And the more pancakes you make, the better they are. In the beginning, focusing on creating content for an audience that doesn’t yet exist and still manage to be engaging and funny for the few users who will find their way into your stream should be the main priority.
However, there is a BIG caveat! Don’t just dive into a stream with whatever you have lying around your house. Streaming services have been around for a while now and a lot of users expect a certain level of quality. Take some time and really watch some successful streamers and see the camera angles they use, what kind of overlays and understand what it takes to be at their level. (I’ll cover this in greater detail in future blogs.)
Here are some quick tips to getting started:
1. Get your friends to come and watch to bump up your numbers.
2. Better yet, get your friends to watch and play with you, this will help fill dead air.
3. Make sure you have your stream camera angles, sound, and commands set up before you start going live.
4. Keep watching successful streams to find the best practices for your setup.
5. Be yourself and play what you enjoy.
Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is going be a joy ride 100% of the time. Streaming is super fun and rewarding but at the end of the day this is a job. The more effort you put into it the more you will get out of it. Start off small, manage your expectations and focus on enjoying yourself– if you’re not having fun, your viewers won’t, either!
Next month we’ll dive into engaging with your audience so you can keep those who do give your stream a view! Stay tuned!
Ryan “Fletch” Gero
Follow me on Twitter and Twitch
[feather_follow]Related Links:
– The Stream Dream: I am Fletch
– Pro20: TheHaleyBaby
