Streaming 101: What You're Doing Wrong

Streaming is growing rapidly in popularity thanks to the rise of sites such as Twitch, and of course the ever-popular YouTube. Both of these sights make it possible to monetize playing video games while attracting fans from around the world. Although streaming sounds pretty easy (play video games and broadcast it over the internet) it is much harder than it appears. Here are some tips to help you get started on your streaming journey.

Know your audience

People typically watch streamers for one of two reasons; the first is because they want to be entertained the second is to get an opinion on a game. Granted that these two ideas can be blended it still helps to pick an audience and cater to them. If you want to entertain people, then stick to that and perhaps at the end of the stream recommend the game or say what you liked or disliked about the game. If you want to be more informative stick to telling people what you like and dislike about the game as you play it, this will give many people a first impression view of the game as you play it and they can live through your experience as well.

Highlights

While some people do want to sit and watch an entire stream, others may not or have time to do so they only want to watch the best parts. This is where automated highlights software can be your friend. This type of automated gaming highlights software automatically takes your best moments and compiles them for others to watch. This allows you to reach a lot of people who might otherwise miss out on some of your finest moments. Attracting new viewers while at the same time keeping your old viewers is the key to success and this software can help with that goal. This software also reduces the need for you to create a highlight reel as one is already made for you and some of the sites that offer these services allow your loyal fans to follow you and constantly be appraised of your latest victories while at the same time allowing you to concentrate on playing the game.

Monetizing

There are several ways to make money from streaming, some of them include affiliate marketing, advertising, and sponsorships. You will not make a million dollars overnight, but it is possible to turn streaming into a fairly profitable side business or even your full-time job. Affiliate marketing is essentially the process of including links to products in your stream and when people click on the links and then buy the product you get a small part of the profit. Advertising is exactly what it sounds like, during your stream you advertise a particular product or service and as a result, are compensated for it. Sponsorships are the same as they are in professional sports, a company pays you to exclusively promote their brand and their products.

Final Thoughts

Knowing your audience, using highlights effectively, and monetizing your stream are all ways to help you make the most of your stream. These tips can help you succeed and potentially make a profit or even build your own business from a fairly simple concept. However, the most important thing to remember is to be unique, have something that makes you stand out from all of the other streamers out there so that people will remember your name and face. Whether you are known as a funny streamer or a serious reviewer give people something to remember you by and have a hook to draw in new viewers.