Stream On: How to Start Your Streaming Career
Are you looking forward to starting your streaming career but you don’t know how to start streaming and what you should look for? No problem! We asked veterans for their top tips for beginner streamers!
This is the first article of our newest series that we have created in collaboration with active streamers to bring you actual, real tips that will help you grow more as a creator. Do you want to know how to start streaming, what you should care about at the beginning of your streaming journey and what you should avoid? Read on and find out!
Step 1: Creating Your Channel
What Do You Think Is Worth Taking Care of at the Very Beginning of Creating a Channel?
There is no doubt that streaming comes from passion first. You need to love what you do and be patient if you won’t immediately see the spectacular effects of your work. But there are definitely some technical and practical things you can do to make your channel and live broadcasts look like a pro. What do streamers have to say about it?
TALK, TALK, TALK
“Train your talking skills. The fact of talking, explaining everything, even though there’s nobody watching at that specific moment is very important. That’s a way to learn how to fill the blanks during your streams but also to be active if a viewer is poping on your channel.”
ADJUST YOUR VIDEO SETTINGS
“Take care of your video and audio settings, good lighting (it doesn’t need to be expensive, just planned out), camera, basic overlays and alerts. Second screen is almost a must to keep up with the chat (be it mobile phone, tablet or just a regular screen).”
SOUND IS EVERYTHING
“Sound. Of course the first thing a viewer sees will be your screen. You can keep it minimalistic but sound is something very important. If you’re always cutting out or there is a lot of background noise, people will be displeased.”
LEARN OBS SKILLS
“I think that you need to have basic quality to start your channel. Getting familiar with OBS Studio and maybe Photoshop is very important because if you don’t have money, you’ll need to do a lot of streaming work by yourself.”
SET UP A CHAT BOT
“Sign up for a service like StreamElements and set up a chat bot, it will be good for both moderation and viewer interaction. Also, having good overlays is also a great thing to have (I always recommend visuals by impulse!).”
Step 2: Things to Remember
What Should Be Avoided at All Costs?
Like everywhere else, streaming also has its own unwritten rules. There are just some things that you should avoid at all costs in order to become a great streamer that will be loved by many.
YOUR OWN VALUE COMES FIRST
“Don’t go out and spend a ton of money on your setup, because entertainment value comes first and foremost. You don’t need a fancy expensive setup to thrive, but you do need to have a stream that’s so engaging that people will want to come back for YOU, not for the game that you play or the gimmicks on your stream.”
DON’T MAKE UP THINGS
“Don’t lie to your viewers, ever. This isn’t a good route to choose. Also, avoid offering them non-qualitative things and poor audio.”
DON’T WASTE MONEY ON SETUP
“Don’t spend hundreds of dollars on equipment, emotes, overlays and stuff. That is not something new viewers are looking for.”
NUMBERS AREN’T THAT IMPORTANT
“Don’t look at numbers. It can frustrate HEAVILY if you keep looking at your follower or viewer count and it can cause you to talk less or talk your frustration out. That’s a No-Go! Also doing countless giveaways. You will get a lot of burner follows which won’t help you grow at all.”
BE POLITE TO EVERYONE
“Don’t offend others in comments and don’t make videos that offend different beliefs, nationalities or orientation.”
Step 3: Learn From Your Experience
Name One Thing You Wish You Had Known at the Start of Your Career.
We all have our regrets and sometimes wish we had known some things earlier. Streaming is no different. It’s normal to make mistakes, it’s the path of growing as a person and acknowledging them makes us better each day. But if we can learn from others, why not do it?
WATCH YOUR PREVIOUS VIDEOS
“Watch your VODs critically and analyse where you can improve in your content and commentary. Can you click to a random point in your stream, watch 10-30 seconds of it, and be entertained enough to continue watching? If not, then you’re not engaging or entertaining your audience enough to succeed as a small streamer, given the extremely tough competition and oversaturation for streaming. If you want to grow, you need to be critical about your own content.”
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
“Learn how to create my own emotes and badges by myself!”
TRY INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE
“Learn how to network with people more. Not just start the stream, play and end it. More lurking in chats, more talking to other people, more playing together with friends and other streamers.”
THERE’S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
“Hm. Don’t sit on what you have. Try to improve and try to engage your community. Find out what they care about and what they like to see (you don’t need to change your personality, but try to make something that is fun for the viewers and for you).”
RE-USE YOUR CONTENT
“Create lots of clips on your channel (if you are on Twitch) and post them on your social media account(s).”
We know that starting from scratch can be tough. That’s why the “Stream on” series came to life with real advice from real streamers. Share your thoughts about this article on your social media or with someone who also wants to know how to start streaming and create their own streaming career, and help them grow!
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For more articles about how to stream, grow your channel and partner with brands, check our blog for streamers.
