Being a beginner live streamer on Twitch isn’t easy. Apart from starting on the back foot due to zero exposure, you’re battling the stress of starting something new. Fortunately, learning the content creation craft isn’t as complex when starting out. All you need is the following essential live streaming tips and tricks to hit the ground running.
Live streaming tips and tricks #1: Audio, audio, audio
Nobody knows what AAA stands for when it comes to games. For live streaming, though, they represent the most important aspect to get right: audio. You can skimp and cheap out on a lot of aspects of your stream. But your sound has to be a cut above it all.
Audiences can easily forgive lower picture resolutions, less than stellar lighting, and games with low-quality visual settings. But you’ll absolutely lose them if you’re making their ears bleed. It all starts with your mic.
You don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for it, but make sure you’re not using the “Made for Skype” $5 headset you found in the bargain bin, either. Any USB mic within the $50-$100 range is going to do the trick. Even if that’s all your budget, spend it on the mic and make do with what you have for everything else.
Live streaming tips and tricks #2: Finding the right place for your face
Did you know that where you position your facecam is important on Twitch? Well, it is. Head over to the Browse section and check out the thumbnails. You’ll notice that the ones you’re most attracted to have the facecam a) in the bottom-right corner or b) hovering somewhere in the middle left. Why?
Because Twitch has the viewer count on the bottom-left and the LIVE sign on the top-left. Placing your cam on either of those places will result in obstructing a part of your face and you don’t want that.
Furthermore, you need to make sure your face is blown up enough to be visible in the thumbnail. People join live streams to interact with people they can see, not disembodied voices.
Live streaming tips and tricks #2: It’s about you, not the game
Many beginner streamers stress about what game to play but that’s getting it all twisted. Your broadcast is about you, not the flavor of the week title you thought was going to take you to Superstardom. Sure, your game of choice needs to have an audience, but they won’t stick around if you’re not compelling to them.
This is a big word to address when you’re starting out. What does it even mean to be “compelling” as a person? The reality is that there’s no clear answer to that. People like different things. The question you should be asking is what kind of stream would you join and how can you make yours be that stream.
It all starts with a bit of planning.
Live streaming tips and tricks #4: Make plans, but…
One live streaming tip that flies completely under the radar for newbies is having a plan. It’s easy to look at pros like Ninja and Shroud and think they’re just winging it. Spoiler alert: they’re not.
They know exactly what they’re going to do and when they’re going to do it throughout their stream. Sure, a ton of content is improvised. That’s the point of a live show, after all; to create content with your audience. But the guidelines are all set before the “go live” button is pressed.
Get your old dusty notepad out and make a quick outline. Consider what topics you’re going to discuss, when you’re going to invite viewers to play with you, when you’ll take a break, and for how long. These are but a few examples of the stuff you need to have laid out in a plan so you aren’t just fumbling about.
Live streaming tips and tricks #5: Always be chatting
If you’re looking to be a streamer then you must have joined more than one or two streams as a viewer. Now, answer truthfully: in how many of those you stuck around was the streamer silent? Dollars to donuts you’re thinking “none” and it makes sense. If you were just going to watch a gameplay video of Fortnite, you’d have an easier time hopping on YouTube for that.
So, it goes without saying that you need to talk as much as possible for however long your stream runs. And yes, even if you have 0 viewers. It only takes a few seconds to hook someone before they’re gone. If that one viewer that decided to give you a chance drops in and they don’t hear you talking, they’re out in a flash.
This is where your plans come into play. Have a list of topics you want to talk about and just go through it with as much detail as possible. It can be anything that isn’t offensive in some way. Did you have pancakes for breakfast? Talk about that and then go on a diatribe of when you had the greatest pancakes ever. If you can make it sound like a story, even better. People love stories and it’s what keeps them coming back for more.
Check out more articles from Yannis for more live streaming tips and tricks!