HOW TO NETWORK 101

welcome to a crash thread course on how to network for streamers (of any size tbh) and do's and don'ts.

BEFORE YOU NETWORK WITH ANYONE: please understand that it is imperative that you know that networking can only go so far!

you need to be continously pushing and innovating your content - do not push mediocre work because you think follow4follow can get you there.

Twitch is a mixture of luck, skill, and quality.

I would say about 80% skill/quality, and 20% being in the right place at the right time.

You want to make sure that when you get those raids/hosts/etc you have done everything you can for your stream.

Now here is the thing and my personal philosophy for networking - you can try to get big streamers attention, but I learned a long time ago from @EVEEEEEZY at VidCon that the trick is networking across.

You want to make friends with folks in the same boat as you!

The reason for this is because, you will be facing the same struggles around the same time and it makes everything a little less lonely.

You can also reach up! But establish the cross way first.

So how do you network across? You find new streams and you hang out in those streams and start to build community. Do this as a method to help you BOTH - do not do this just for yourself. People can see right through that.

Social media is also very important!

Do not self-promote in other people's streams and do not brand yourself as a "small streamer". Do not DM streamers and ask them to promote you.

You are better off using your time asking them if they can mentor you and if you can PAY them for their time/expertise.

You can also network with streamers by hosting game lobbies and asking mutuals to play with you! Host a game of among us and invite folks to play! Host DBD and ask folks to play! Make a tweet asking if anyone wants to play games.

The true key to networking is the ideology of a symbiotic relationship - it is give and take. So what do you have to offer and what do they have to offer you? Are you only seeking to benefit with nothing in return for the other person? If so, it's time to do some soul searching.

If you do not have money to offer to someone that you are seeking mentorship from, do you have other skills to offer? Video editing? Graphic design? Other expertise that is lacking in the Twitch space? You have to figure out how to make people want to help you.

Now, this isn't to say that you will always need some form of trade - but it is much more appealing to be like "hi can we trade x for y" than getting a "can i pick your brain about streaming" inquiry.

You will also need to figure out what you want from Networking - is it a group of friends? Is it numbers? Is it growth for your channel? You will need to solo-investigate what it is that you are after. No one can do that work for you.

Lastly - you cannot rely on networking to do all of the push for your promotion. How are you promoting yourself on social media and twitch? Are you utilizing all of the tools offered to you? Are you posting clips? Are you posting on multiple platforms?

ALSO. FOLLOW4FOLLOW DOES NOT WORK. STOP DOING IT. Numbers don't mean anything if there isn't genuine engagement behind it. A lot of companies will look at or ask for your engagement metrics because those metrics are what is pushing sales.

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