New to Twitch?  Looking to grow your stream?  Well, sit tight because I’ve got 23 tips on how to get more followers on Twitch.  All tips are actionable RIGHT NOW so read on and keep on gaming.  

Let’s dive in and get your stream growing with these tips to get more followers.  I’ll start with the list and go into detail into each.

23 Tips To Grow Your Following On Twitch

1. Analyze Your Attack.
2. Enjoy What You Do.
3. Stand Out In The Crowd.
4. Look Like A Pro.
5. Sound Like A Pro.
6. Don’t Have Dead Air.
7. Practice, Practice, Practice.
8. Be Active.
9. Be Interactive.
10. Always Engage.
11. Take Advantage Of A.I.
12. Hone Your Focus.
13. Sell The Experience.
14. Optimize Your Settings.
15. Use A Webcam.
16. Keep A Schedule.
17. Use Channel Art.
18. Stick To The Rules.
19. Be Creative.
20. Use Social Media.
21. Watch Your Analytics.
22. Take Advantage Of Channel Points & Rewards.
23. Use A Promotional Network.

Analyze Your Attack

Before you dive into Twitch, it’s a good idea to set up a plan of action.  Take a long look at what game or games you want to stream.  You will want to select a game that has a lot of viewers, but no so many broadcasters.  

If there are too many broadcasters, you’ll have a tough time digging in and making a name for yourself.  Think about going for the lower competition to maximize your chances of success.

Enjoy What You Do

As the old saying goes, if you don’t like what you’re doing, neither will others.  Unless you are an incredible actor or actress, faking that you like the game you’re playing isn’t going to work. 

Your viewers will know and you will definitely lose interest.  And if you can act that good, you should pursue a career on the big screen instead.  For the rest of us, just pick a game you enjoy so there’s no need to fake it.

Stand Out In The Crowd

Have you ever watched a stream and thought to yourself that the person is really boring?  Or maybe they are trying to copy someone else’s stream and it shows.  When it comes to streaming, the same rule applies as for entertainment.  That rule is that if you stand out in a crowd, you’ll be more recognized.  

This is a part of branding yourself.  Maybe you’ve got a schtick, a particular angle that you think will attract people to follow you.  Go with it.  Don’t try to be like everyone else. 

This could be the way you talk or maybe dressing a certain way. Look at Dr. Disrespect for example.

Look Like A Pro

When it comes to streaming, having the right equipment is important.  You don’t want your live stream to be glitchy or really badly pixelated.  You don’t need a Hollywood production, but it has to look professional enough that people take you seriously.

If your stream keeps glitching then I can promise you that people are not going to stick around to watch you.

Another thing you can do to have your stream looking great is to use good lighting. My favorite go to when it comes to lighting is the El Gato Ring Light (click here to see it on Amazon). I recently purchased this light and I love it.

You can connect it to your PC and control it from there. You really can’t go wrong with this light.

Sound Like A Pro

Just like with the appearance of your stream on Twitch, you need to ensure that your sound quality is up to the task as well.  Having a crackle in your sound or having the sound cut in and out is a good way to lose viewers fast.  

One of the best and easiest ways to improve the sound on your stream is by using a quality mic. In all the research I have done and reviews that I have read the best mic out there is the Blue Yeti X which can be found on Amazon. This is a top of the line mic and will take your sound to the next level.

To check out other microphones that I recommend to accommodate all different budgets click here.

Depending on your setup, you may also choose to place some sound proof panels around where you stream (click here to view on Amazon). This will help to minimize echo and reduce any background noise.

Again, you don’t need a Hollywood production, but it has to sound decent, clear, and crisp.   Don’t mud things up with vocal effects or try too hard, you might wind up overdoing it.

Don’t Have Dead Air

Ask anyone who has worked in broadcasting, whether it’s radio or television, and they will tell you that dead air is a very bad thing.  Imagine you’re doing a live stream and a new viewer pops in somewhere in the ‘middle’ of your broadcast.  What do they hear?  

If you have dead air, then they are likely to move on to the next streamer.  Keep it alive and talk to your audience throughout your broadcast.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Sounding good on-air can come naturally to some people.  And to many, it just takes time. Well, there’s a good solution to help speed this up and that is to practice.  Try pretending to chat with your audience when you’re driving or in the shower.

Be Active

One of the most important things you can do when growing a channel or a stream is to be an active member of the community.  Twitch is a social platform, just like YouTube or any other social network.  

Being active in the community is a factor, just like in other social networks, so stay active in the community both by streaming and by interacting with others regularly. 

You must constantly keep your followers updated on when you are going to stream as well as any other updates that will help build engagement within your community.

Be Interactive

Follow other streamers and comment positive things about their broadcasts.  Make yourself a contributing member of the crowd and get your name established. 

This can also help you to find angles to get other streamers to contribute to your channel.  Just like in business, you will want to network yourself, make friends in the community and once you ‘get to know’ others you can invite them to come over to your stream.  

Just watch how you do it, you don’t want to pull people away from other streams by commenting in those streams.  That is not only bad etiquette, but it will get those streamers upset with you.  Encourage others by being positive and helpful and you’ll see that the rewards of gaining followers will come next.

Always Engage

When I say you should always engage, you’ll likely think that I’m referring to being interactive.  However, I want to really drive home the difference.  When I said to be interactive, I was referring to doing so within the community.  But when I say always engage, I’m referring to doing so on your own stream.  Let me give you an example.

Let’s say you’re streaming away and you get someone that pops into the feed and says ‘hello’.  Now, you should engage them by saying hi and welcoming them to the stream.  Think of it this way, your stream is like your online home.

When someone comes over, you should open the door for them and welcome them in, maybe even offering to take their overcoat or give them a tour of your place.  So, why not act the same way online?  

Welcome your viewers and they will feel like they were just invited into your home.  They will feel good about being there and are much more likely to become followers or even subscribers.

You’re probably wondering, how do I engage when I’m busy playing a game and talking to my audience?  Well, there are solutions for that.  First is to simply keep an eye on the comment feed and on your viewer count.  

When you see someone enter, you can say hello.  Now, if you have a LOT of viewers, this is obviously going to get out of hand and fast.  So, we need a solution for engaging people who comment while you are busy playing and talking. 

One can be to get another monitor that you use just for your stream. Another solution is to take advantage of A.I.

Take Advantage Of A.I.

There are all kinds of solutions out there to help to answer comments while you’re busy playing.  You can use a verified bot like Moobot to help you with your audience.  This bot can help you to increase viewer loyalty and engagement as well as help you to streamline your audience. 

With its customizable controls, you can set things up to reward good engagement and remove bad engagement.  

Just make sure that any bot or addon you use with Twitch is verified with the platform.  Beware any bots that claim they can give you free traffic or increase your viewers by tricking the system.  These are bad for your stream and can even get you banned from Twitch so you should only trust verified Twitch partners.

Hone Your Focus

A lot of new streamers try to go too broad on their initial approach.  And many wash away their chances of success by doing so.  You should really focus on your approach. 

Don’t try to do a whole genre of games, just focus on one.  And within that one game, try to have an approach that not only differentiates yourself from other streamers, but also narrows down to a fine focus as compared to a broad channel. 

This focus will make you the authority on that approach rather than being too general.  

Think of it this way, if you were getting surgery for your heart (heaven forbid, but it’s only an example), would you want a general practitioner doing the surgery or a specialized heart surgeon?  Be the specialist.  Be the best at it and the viewers will follow.

Sell The Experience

A big part of being personable and likable on camera is charisma and how you sell the experience.  Try to keep a good level of energy in your stream.  That’s why I say that you should pick a game that you really enjoy. 

People will notice if you aren’t having fun.  And if you are having fun naturally, it comes out on camera and audio, people notice.  And people love to be around good, positive, and exciting energy. 

So, give them what they want.  Sell them on the experience of the game and they will follow.

Optimize Your Settings

Sometimes new streamers think that they have to record and stream in the highest possible definition for the best possible experience.  This couldn’t be more wrong, and I’ll tell you why.  Your viewers can only watch what their phone, tablet or computer can handle.  

Think of it this way, when you get a new game and the requirements are a 4k monitor, if you don’t have one, what is the game going to look like?  Is it even going to work at all?

Twitch has some pretty cool features built in to combat this issue, but it’s not perfect yet.  So, you want to optimize your settings for a decent quality, but not an over the top quality that may be incompatible with your viewers.

For example, an optimal experience might be with output settings of 1280 x 720 pixels with a bicubic downscaling at a setting of 60 frames per second (fps).  This setting will allow most people to easily watch your stream on most devices.

Use A Webcam

I hope you aren’t shy.  Why?  Because one thing is true about most successful streamers is they are on camera.  People want to watch your playing, but they also want to see you.  So, put your shyness away for another day and get yourself a half-decent webcam.  

You could use a super nice webcam like the Logitech BRIO on Amazon, but even using a simple webcam like the Logitech c920 on Amazon will get your face out there and make your viewers feel more connected to your stream.

For more info on webcams that I recommend you can go here.

Keep A Schedule

One thing that is essential to maintaining a following on Twitch is consistency.  When people want to watch you play live, they want to know WHEN they can return to watch you again.  If you decide to be an elitist rebel without a schedule, you’re going to find that you will have a harder time getting consistent viewers. 

This is never going to work unless you’re the best player in the world on a major game.  Good luck with that.

For the rest of us 99.99% of streamers, setting a schedule is the way to go.  Just lock down a time every day or whatever you’re preferred schedule is and make sure you ‘show up for work’. 

Leave your viewers without an opportunity to return on a regular basis and you won’t get followers.  But keep a schedule, and you’ll see over time your following and subscribers grow.

Use Channel Art

Okay, so using channel art isn’t the be-all or end-all of streaming success.  But pleasing channel art can definitely help.  Have you ever heard of branding?  Well, think of it this way, when you think of a company like Nike, you think of the artistic checkmark logo they use.  That’s branding and it works.  

Making a cool logo or stylized art that you use as a visual recognizer of your channel will help grow your brand.  A key to return visitors is having something they recognize.  After all, we all get comfortable with what we are familiar with.  So, have something they can remember and be familiar with.

If you are looking for amazing channel art or overlays then check out OWN3D.TV by clicking here. They have some amazing overlays and alerts to help make your stream POP!

Stick To The Rules

The last thing you want to do is get yourself booted off Twitch.  Before you do anything with your stream, it’s best to familiarize yourself with all of Twitch rules and policies.  It may seem daunting at first, but it’s really not that bad. 

Try making yourself a point-form list of the basic rules and stick it on the wall, maybe above your monitor or somewhere where you can see it but it isn’t on camera. 

That way you can ‘quick reference’ the rules while streaming and stay on-point.  After a short time, you’ll have the rules memorized and won’t need it anymore.  But not following the rules can have devastating effects on your stream, like getting banned from Twitch.

Be Creative

If it’s one thing people don’t want, its a boring experience.  Keeping a creative aspect to your stream is important.  If you’re just doing the usual, the same thing as everyone else, then you’ll never be any better than everyone else.  Remember when I said to stand out in the crowd?  Well, think of your stream like a show.  

You are an entertainer and the masses demand to be entertained.  I’ve seen really cool streams where the broadcast had a little clip or segment that they would put into the stream as a part of their ‘schtick’.  This sort of creativity can really help launch your stream above the crowd.  

Don’t be afraid to try something new, it might just be the next best thing and online things can happen VERY fast.  Seize the opportunity and keep on being different, it’s what people want.

Use Social Media

Just like anything else online, getting publicity is an important aspect of growth.  And there are all kinds of social media platforms at your disposal.  There has never been a better time in history to reach the masses en-masse.  Take full advantage.  

Set up an Instagram account, a Twitter account, and any other social media platforms you want.  Then just drop a few posts every day or every other day to help promote your stream.  This can really help to grow your broadcast fast, especially if you get into existing gaming groups and get permission to drop a link to your stream.

Watch Your Analytics

Once you’ve got things going, keep an eye on your stream analytics.  Learning more about your audience can help you cater to them and grow your followers.  And luckily, Twitch has analytics built right in for you.  Just go into your dashboard and take a look.  There are all kinds of videos online about how to analyze your numbers to help you grow.

Take Advantage Of Channel Points & Rewards

Channel points and rewards are another great way to help grow a following and provoke their engagement.  Using rewards to get your viewers involved is a great way to get returning followers.  And it really drives the engagement and interactivity of your audience.

I wrote a whole guide on channel points by the way so feel free to check it out for a lot more info about channel points than I could squeeze into a tiny little paragraph.

Use A Promotional Network

Lastly, there are promotional networks you can use to help grow your channel.  This is basically a form of advertising and many of these networks charge a fee. 

Just beware of those that claim to get you any kind of automated viewers.  Again, making sure it is a verified and trusted partner to Twitch is important to keep yourself out of the danger zone.  Just make sure you follow the rules, but using a promotional network can vastly expand your audience in a very short period of time.

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!

There are all kinds of strategies you can use to grow your followers.  From maintaining a regular streaming schedule to driving engagement, the list is extensive and there are a lot of things to consider.

Sources

1. Twitch – Making The Most of Channel Points, https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/making-the-most-of-channel-points?language=en_US, Accessed June 9, 2020.
2. Twitch – Channel Points Guide, https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/channel-points-guide?language=en_US#:~:text=Channel%20Points%20is%20a%20customizable,to%20all%20partners%20and%20affiliates., Accessed June 9, 2020.
3. Twitch – Channel Analytics, https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/channel-analytics?language=en_US, Accessed June 9, 2020.
4. Streamspread – http://streamspread.com/index.html, Accessed June 9, 2020.
5. Reddit – How did you get your first 50 followers?, https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/7jcxcq/how_did_you_get_your_first_50_followers/, Accessed June 9, 2020.