Don’t be an addict. This may fly in the face of some streamers. Streaming a lot can hurt your mental health in a way you cannot predict. If you stream 8 hours a day and don’t give yourself mental and physical breaks you cannot perform in a way that will distinguish you from others. Streaming is not about streaming quantity, but quality when you are small. Pick times that you can always be found. Become part of someones day. The rest of our lives are on a schedule so let yourself fall into somebody else’s. It gives you the break you need, and it also makes you a treat. If they can always have you, you will be old news. Let them want you. A good length for a small streamer is 3 to 6 hours a stream 4 to 5 days a week. Preferably on the shorter side if you have a full time job or family. Do not sacrifice those other things. If you do sacrifice those the stream will break as well and you will have lost everything and gained nothing. Don’t stream full time until it pays full time.

Your viewers will not click follow if you don’t tell them to. They need help noticing they are having a good time. There is a good way to do this and a bad way. The bad way is the YouTube way of “like, comment, and subscribe”. It is robotic. The the good way is organic. “If you are enjoying us make sure you throw a follow out so you can catch us next time!” Do this as a standard every 30 to 45 minutes or 5 minutes after you notice a major viewer count increase.

Same time, same days, same quality. This is a general rule. If you have a special event it makes sense to miss stream, or if you are sick missing is totally normal. But be committed the ways you can be. The stream cannot go backwards. We create an expectation, and we fulfill it. If we succeed at that it does a thing in people. They NEED more. Consistency in you creates consistency 

Do not just respond. People love to hear your voice saying their words. It means OTHER people hear 

 Very often you will get a single chatter dominating chat. It is a good practice talking to chat in a 

If someone mentions personal info that could be a TOS violation put yourself against it, and explain that it’s against TOS. A good example would be:

noobsauce2006: I am 12 years old

you: I sure hope not because that’s against the Terms of Service! If that’s a joke, awesome! Welcome! If not maybe check those rules out!

noobsauce2006: No I really am 12!

you: Alright well we can’t have you here since I know that now! sorry man! Have a fantastic evening!

Then remove the viewer. This could be about drug use, violence, or any number of things. Protect your channel. A single viewer is not worth it when the TOS is so hard to navigate. Show you are trying to follow it.

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The effort you have to put into Lurk for Lurk and Follow for Follow outweighs the benefit. You will grow in follows, but follows and average view count mean nothing without true engagement. They stop the second you stop. It’s also clear if you practice it, and anyone who is familiar with Twitch will look at you as a number faker. Spend your time and effort improving your showmanship, not talking other people into typing L4L in your chat every 15 minutes.

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Make sure you can be seen. If possible prefer the right side of the screen so you aren’t blocked by text. Have a visual element that distinguishes you in that small little box from the ones above or below. A graphic behind you, a bright colored shirt, anything that makes you the person to get the click. This is your first impression. This is meeting your date’s father and shaking hands.

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This is your second impression. If you are not big enough to meme, don’t. 

I HATE THIS %^$# VALK”

Will probably not work for you. 

Use professional titles that imitate the style of the big streamers. Don’t mention the game name in the title. It takes up space. “Blind|Hardest|Valkyrie Queen” Is a good title. It sets an expectation of a professional streamer being on the other side of that click.

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You are not the entire stream. The viewers are the stream as well. You are the entertainment with them. You are the movie screen as well as the the audience. They, including you, are the thing that matters. Without you they still exist. Without them the stream does not.  Get rid of phrases about you when it makes sense to. People need to feel involved and there is no better way than welcoming people to “our” stream. Seeing it as Our stream is what makes it their place to hang out. Speak about it like it is. It helps it feel like the reality it actually is.

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 Lurkers are what twitch is about. Not the L4L but the person who is actively watching without chatting, or the viewer that is listening but working. The majority of your viewers will be someone hanging out when they can. It’s how you can see big streamers with 2000 viewers still reading chat. Acknowledge their importance. Thank the lurkers, and say “lurk away guys! You make this possible”