Since #TwitchStreamers is trending, here are a few tips to help new streamers!

1) Never stop talking! Stream as if you have an active chat ALWAYS, even if nobody is there. It gives new people finding your stream a glimpse of you as an entertainer, and they may stick around

2) NEVER EVER HAVE YOUR VIEWER NUMBER VISIBLE. Just dont check it at all while you're live. If your number dips, or arent where you want them, it's easy to be disheartened and may make you want to stop the stream early. Dont.

3) Keep a schedule! Even if it's one day a week, make sure it's at the same time. That way people know when to expect you live, and will come back to watch.

4) Make sure other links to your socials, other projects and pages are accurate and easy to find on your stream page! This way viewers are one click away from following your other platforms.

5) Speaking of social media...make sure you post on each platform that you're going live at least one hour prior to going live! Your viewers may not get notified by your stream platform, and this is a good way to make sure people get notified. Pictures are a good thing to add!

6) Self promotion is never a bad thing! How will people know you're out there if you dont put yourself in front of them? BUT avoid tagging people in going live posts, or pestering individuals to watch.

7) PLEASE for the love of all that is good, include your stream channel link in your social media bios! I CANNOT stress that enough. I cant tell you how many times I've gone to someone's social for a stream link, but cant find it and give up. How will people find you???

8) Take. Breaks. Mental health is important. Whether that is stepping away for a day to focus on you, or simply play a different game so you dont grow to hate the one you've been playing, burnout is VERY real. Take care of yourself.

9) Streaming is exhausting. You always have to be "on", monitoring chat, entertaining, and focusing on the game/ subject. You are actively multitasking for hours, so before stream make sure you are well rested, fed, and HYDRATED.

10) HAVE FUN, and be kind! Your mood and mental state will be reflected in chat. If you arent having fun, neither are they. Switch it up and try something new if you feel like you're plateauing. You dont have to do the same thing every stream.

I sincerely hope these help, they are all points that I've adopted, and they've helped grow our community immensely! If you have anything to add, please do, helping each other is wonderful and streaming is not a contest see you on the internet!

Time to revisit this and add some more, so here we go!
11) If you get a request for you to join a stream team you have never heard of, or spoken to anybody in ahead of time, maybe don't join. They probably only want you to grow their numbers, and that's not real support.

12) I see a TON of new streamers post "grinding for affiliate". Please remember that streaming is not a grind for numbers, & if you keep it that way, you viewers will feel like a number. Streaming is fostering a community you should cherish, not "grinding

13) Don't beg people for support, or DM them to raid/ host. Its a turn off, comes off as desperate, & will likely make people actively not want to join you. Instead, make friends across different platforms, & INVITE them to join your streams. Treat people like friends, not tools

14) Don't copy and paste your stream info into dozens of different tweets aimed at different people. it's not genuine, frankly lazy, and anyone scrolling through your profile will see it and will likely earn yourself an immediate mute or block. I see this A LOT.

15) You dont need great equipment to start! I started with a rock band mic using a tissue box as a stand. YEAH. but a little kindness and being entertaining can go A LONG WAY. Upgrade when you can - having the coolest, newest stuff is great, but not necessary by any means.

16) Saying you dont own the rights to music played on stream doesn't make it ok to play copyrighted music. It's in the ToS, which you should be familiar with. there are many great sites for great royalty free music like http://pretzel.rocks ! Don't get suspended for being dumb

17) Follow 4 follow #follow4follow #f4f is the worst, most insincere way to "grow". Sure it may help you reach an affiliate goal, but F4F does nothing to help your other stats, & will make your follower to viewer ratio look god-awful. Take the time to earn genuine REAL viewers

18) If you're on Twitch aiming for affiliate but cant get your average viewers up, keep to short streams a few days a week. Its much easier to keep a few viewers for a whole stream if its short, than stream long periods of time, hoping people stay when they may have stuff to do

19) Still do #5 and post on your socials before you're live, but avoid ONLY posting going live notifs. People like socials to get to know you as a person, and if you treat it as a going live notification machine, people won't want to follow.

20) Get to know your audience! This is a huge part of creating and maintaining a community. Take advantage of the tools social media has to offer to do this and ENGAGE with your community! Ask questions, hold conversation, make polls! Point is, include your viewers in what you do

21) You don't need to stream only one game. Branding yourself as "X" game streamer can GREATLY contribute to burnout, & make you hate the game in the process. You want people to come to your streams & watch for YOU, not the game you're playing. Dont be afraid to play other games!

22) Your behavior on stream will attract the same audience. If youre toxic, that will be the attitude of the community youll build. If you exude positivity and kindness, that will be your community's attitude as well. Think about the community you want & build off that