Streaming everyday for as long as possible may seem like a solid way to grow, but is it really? Many new streamers often wonder how often they should stream.

In this article we will discuss how often you should be streaming, as well as for how long. Is it possible to stream too much?

How Often Should You Stream?

If you are new to streaming, you should plan to stream at least 3 days a week if you are trying to grow. 3 days gives people enough chances to tune in and watch your stream while still allowing you enough days off to do things off stream that help with growth such as networking and improving the quality of your stream. 

Once you feel more comfortable streaming you can bump the number of days you stream up to 4 or 5 days, but I personally do not recommend streaming more than 5 days a week. The reason is that as a streamer, no matter how big or small, you need days off to relax and unwind.

Doing anything for 7 days a week, for several hours a day will burn you out. This is why you often see streamers take breaks from streaming in order to get their minds right because they over work themselves.

Streaming can take a major mental toll on you if you are not careful. It’s like the old saying goes, slow and steady wins the race. 

Now the reason I recommend 3 days a week starting off is because you will need time as a new streamer to improve your stream and network. 

Improving your stream does not only mean purchasing better equipment; it also means things like being better on camera, using quality streaming software (click here to see what streaming software I recommend) and improving the aesthetics of your stream. There are so many things that go into streaming that you will miss out on if you are just constantly streaming.

Networking is another key aspect in growing. If you want people to visit your streams, you will have to visit their streams as well. You can’t just expect people to tune in and watch you play while you do nothing for them in return. 

You can also network by reaching out to people on social media platforms like Twitter. Twitter has a huge community of streamers that you can link up with and work with so that way you can both succeed. For more information on networking, check out my article here.

Long story short, when it comes to streaming, often less is more. Don’t think that you have to stream 24/7 in order to grow. It is much better to have a quality stream rather than “Going Live” just for the sake of saying you stream 7 days a week. Nobody will stick around to watch a boring stream. 

Now that we have established that 3 days a week is a pretty solid place to start, now we have to decide how many hours a day you should be streaming. 

How Long Should Your Streams Be?

Your streams should be at least 3 hours long, and even longer if you can continue streaming with high energy after 3 hours. 3 hours is enough time to get in the flow of the stream and allow others enough of a window to stop by and visit your stream. After 3 hours, your energy might begin to fade and you might begin to sacrifice the quality of your stream. 

Now every situation will be different. Obviously the big name streamers stream for way longer than that. I get that. But it is their full time job and they are able to keep their viewers engaged for hours at a time. 

As a new streamer you will not have a lot of people dropping by and if you are streaming by yourself, these streams may drag on if you are not careful. You want to give people who visit your stream the best version of yourself and not some person who is low energy and boring. 

If someone pops in your stream and it is a snooze fest they will leave and more than likely never return. For this reason I think it is better to have short, super high quality streams that people will remember and want to return to. But like I said, if you can keep up a high energy and engaging stream for more than 3 hours then definitely go for it. 

I just don’t believe in streaming longer just so you can be live longer in hopes that more people will stop by just because you are live. When I first started streaming I made this mistake.

Now I have greatly reduced the days and hours that I stream and just focus on having a few, high energy streams every week and I definitely see a difference. 

I get more people who come by and stick around than I did before and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I am way more engaging and energetic in my streams. Short, entertaining streams are the way to go. 

And one last thing on this. If you look at your most recent stream stats then you will likely notice that you have more unique viewers than average viewers.

And why is that? Well unique viewers are your overall viewers. So anyone who stops in and leaves right away will count as a unique viewer.

Now you have to ask yourself, “Why did that person not stick around?” And the answer most of the time is that your content, or whatever you were doing at the time that person entered your stream did not compel them to stay. For this reason it is crucial to always be streaming at your very best. No snoozers.

So we now have the number or days, as well as how long your streams should be, now let’s touch on when the best times to stream are. 

When is the Best Time to Stream?

The best time to stream on Twitch is when there are still a lot of viewers, but not as many channels to compete with. With that being said, the best time to stream on Twitch is going to be between 12 AM and 9 AM PST. During these times you still have a lot of viewers, but have far fewer channels to compete with.

I don’t want to dive too deep into the best time to stream here on this article, but if you want my full breakdown of why this is the best time to stream on Twitch then check out my article here. Streaming at these odd hours may be difficult, but it can really pay off in the long run.

How to Make a Stream Schedule?

If you want to know how to make a stream schedule on Twitch, check out this video below (and subscribe to my channel while you are at it):

Making a schedule is super useful because it lets people know when you will be going live. If someone comes across your Twitch channel, maybe they found you on Youtube or Twitter, you want them to know what your schedule is so that they can stop by if they want to check you out. 

Like I always say, having a streaming schedule will not make or break your stream, but it is just another one of those small victories that you can easily have as a small streamer. It doesn’t hurt you to have a streaming schedule so just do it.

I think it also makes you more reliable to those who follow. I feel like if your followers know that they can count on you to stream when you say you will, then they can trust you with other things like subs and donations. That is just my opinion.  

If you want more info on stream schedules, check out my article by clicking here.

As always, if you have any questions or just want to hang with me, stop by my Twitch channel here and say what’s up!

When it comes to streaming, you should start with 3 days a week and then work up from there. Try your best to have a balance between streaming and doing things outside of your stream to improve your stream. I hope that makes sense because that sounded really weird writing. In the end, streaming can be a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it!

Good luck out there my friends and may all your streams come true.