I tried streaming for the first time a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it! I was a bit surprised that I averaged 4 viewers during my first stream. One was probably my mom but it still counts! I thought I would share what I did and what I’m now doing for my future streams!

Things I did before going live the first time:

• Participated in chat in others streams, joined a few games if they asked. I did this for about a year before going live because I enjoyed it.
• Made a few guides on YouTube for various games.
• Learned how to use Streamlabs/Streamelements on a basic level to get some alerts going for new followers and things.
• I spent a ton of time testing my audio and video. The way I recommend doing this is to run OBS and act like you’re going live. Test your overlays, talk like people are listening, play a game to see how the loudness of your voice changes when you concentrate, etc.
• Wrote a description and set a very basic schedule on my panels on Twitch. I only picked Sunday at 1 pm for my schedule because I know I can always stream then but if I have time I can always stream other days.
• Made a Twitter and participated in some discussions in the months leading up to my first stream.
• I found a unique way to play since my game play isn’t the best, my voice is average and my looks probably won’t attract many viewers. By playing Escape from Tarkov in a way that I have never seen anyone else do: try to play every game with a random squad. I shared the idea on r/EscapefromTarkov and got a few comments saying that I would get killed instantly, turns out that’s not the case (so far).
• Right before going live I sent a few messages to my friends on Discord and Whatsapp and told them they could check out my stream if they wanted to. I posted a tweet tagging Twitch and the game I was playing.
• Told my mom I was going to go live.

My stream wasn’t perfect but it was good enough. I learned a lot and there were issues I could fix before my next stream. I was happy and I can’t wait to stream again!

Here are some of the things I have done or will do for my next stream.

• There were some funny moments, I went back through my VOD and clipped these moments myself. I then shared one of these on Twitter.
• The default tags was used for my first stream, next time I plan to throw a few more in there. I checked the top streamers for my game and saw one of them using the “Educational” tag. I explain a lot during my stream so the tag fits and there is only 3 other streamers competing for that tag. So tag your stream to make it show up when people filter just make sure the tags are relevant.
• Share what I learned. I’m making this post to share what I learned and not only will it hopefully help others but it might also result in a view or two. Make sure to add your flair before posting 😉
• I’ll keep telling my friends and my mom when I go live!

UPDATE!

• I made a post on Reddit looking for a group and within an hour I was doing squads with 4 other new players and hit 9 viewers. You can do this with any game, always think of different ways that you can reach more potential viewers.

I hope that this writeup might help others who are struggling with getting viewers or who are considering launching their own first stream. Got any more tips or ideas? Let me know!