3 Things You NEED To Understand If You Want To Grow On Twitch

Twitch is... well it's Twitch. The platform is not streamlined in the way that YouTube is with all their ALgOriTHmS and all that, so it makes it very hard to get discovered solely on the one platform. But in all the time I've spent streaming on Twitch, there are a few things I know now that if I had done differently... well things would have moved much faster.

1. You Can't Rely On Twitch Alone

On Twitch, the only way that you are found, is if you are streaming. You might stream everyday for 8 hours, (you're insane) but there's still 2/3 of everyday that no one is seeing what you do and saying,

"woah, this guy's super good at building dirt huts in Minecraft, I wanna see more of this *follow*"

You cannot, at this point in time, see any significant growth on Twitch if you are not splattering your brand all over at least 2 other (MUCH MORE DISCOVER-ABLE) media platforms. If you are making YouTube content, people can see that shit 24/7! You are discover-able all hours of the day. This goes for Twitter, Instagram, all the rest of them (Twitter being my favourite).

Use these platforms as a funnel to move all of your fans over to Twitch. Create a social media web that interconnects and allows everyone to discover your content in multiple ways, then transfer over to all your other platforms. Not only will you have a much bigger net to catch followers with, but you can create multiple income streams.

2. It's About The Viewers And The Connection

You are likely streaming on Twitch because you're a gamer, and you decided that you want to make playing games a career, and hey! if other people can do it why can't you? The thing that you need to remember here is that you have nothing if you have no viewers. It's about the connection and the relateability you can provide with your fans; and most of that connection is made when you are 'Just Chatting'. They love to watch your gameplay, but the true edge that live streaming has over something like YouTube is the ability to interact. If your favourite YouTuber suddenly stopped in the middle of his Minecraft house tour and said,

"hey Greg! (your name is Greg in this scenario(unless it actually is Greg in which case... hey Greg!)) Great to see you, thanks for watching!"

Well I'd be willing to bet that you'd feel pretty special. That's the true beauty of streaming.

3. You're Too Busy Planning, Not Doing

Now this might not apply to everybody... buuut it'll probably be the majority. I want you to think back to everything you've done, all the hard work you've put into your stream; now how much of that is actually put into streaming or other forms of content creation?

If you're like most people, you've probably researched the best microphone and the best webcam and figured out what's the best for your budget and maybe you spent hours finding the perfect overlay or even learnt to make one yourself. I'm not saying these things aren't important, they are; but if you are honest with yourself, truly honest with yourself, you're probably scared of, or procrastinating on, the things that are actually going to move you forward.

It's not easy not knowing the road ahead, not wanting to feel judged or like you won't be good enough; instead of reading a million blog posts, and watching a trillion YouTube video's on 'How To Grow On Twitch', You need to go and find out for yourself. Read a few articles, watch a couple video's, then take action. Actually find out if you have what it takes to grow on Twitch instead of focusing on trying to feel ready enough to get started.

As always, play games, have fun, and focus on what'll truly help you move forward. Don't self sabotage!